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Kad Merad, Fatsah Bouyahmed and Oulaya Amamra lead the cast of the French adaptation of The Distinguished Citizen, produced by Axel Films. Having kicked off on 5 March in Morocco, filming on Citoyen d'honneur, the 5th feature film by Mohamed Hamidi (discovered in 2013 via Homeland and nominated for the 2016 European Film Award for Best Comedy thanks to One Man and His Cow) is set to wrap in the Paris region tomorrow. Shining bright in the cast are Kad Merad, Fatsah Bouyahmed (who led the cast of One Man and His Cow), Oulaya Amamra (who bagged the Best New Hope César and...

TF1 Studio has scored a raft of sales on Mohamed Hamidi’s comedy “New Biz in the Hood,” which just won the Audience Award at the Alpe d’Huez International Comedy Film Festival.

“New Biz in the Hood” marks Hamidi’s follow-up to “One Man and His Cow,” which grossed more than $10 million and was nominated for a European Film Award in 2016.

The film stars popular French actor-director Gilles Lellouche (“Sink or Swim”) as Fred Bartel, a Paris entrepreneur who has just won the contract of a lifetime, but government inspectors are threatening to shut down his company for tax fraud. Fred and his trendy, pampered team have to move the business to an underprivileged suburb on the outskirts of Paris, where he unexpectedly bonds with Samy, a local wheeler-dealer who shows him around the neighborhood.

Lellouche stars opposite up-and-coming actors Malik Bentalha (“One Man and his Cow”), Sabrina Ouazani (“Taxi 5”) and Camille Lou.

Gaumont is reteaming with “The Intouchables” and “C’est La Vie” production banner Quad on Mohamed Hamidi (“One Man and His Cow”)’s concept company “Queens of The Field.”

The movie is set in a small rural town which is on the verge of losing its funding along with its field. The threat leads the town women to join forces and launch a football crew in order to defend their city. But in a community where football has always been considered a men’s sport, the women’s team turns the town upside down.

“Queens of The Field” is headlined by a strong French cast, including Kad Merad (“Little Nicholas”), Alban Ivanov (“Sink or Swim”), Sabrina Ouazani (“Taxi 5”) and Céline Sallette (“The Returned”).

Hamidi previously directed “One Man and His Cow,” which grossed over $10 million and was nominated for a European Film Award in 2016.

Gaumont described the film...

Jamel Debbouze is producing under his Kissfilms banner alongside Nicolas Duval-Adassovsky.

Source: Arno Roth

‘;New Biz In The Hood’

French director Mohamed Hamidi, whose 2016 breakout picture One Man And His Cow drew 1.3 million spectators in France and sold well internationally, has started shooting his latest comedy about a trendy communication agency forced to locate to a tough, no-go zone in an outer Paris suburb.

TF1 Studio will launch sales on the film – entitled New Biz In The Hood! (Zone Franche) - at the Unifrance Rendez-vous with French Cinema in Paris this week (Jan 18-22). The company has released an exclusive first image from the first week on set.

Nicolas Duval-Adassovsky at Paris-based Quad is producing alongside actor-producer star Jamel Debbouze under his Kissfilms banner. Directorial duo Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache are also on board through their production company Ten Films.

Lellouche co-stars as Paris entrepreneur Fred Bartel who falsely claims his rising communication agency is situated...

Comedy from director Mohamed Hamidi (One Man And His Cow) to start shooting in Paris.

Source: Wiki Commons

Jamel Debbouze, Gilles Lellouche, Mohamed Hamidi

French director Mohamed Hamidi, whose 2016 breakout picture One Man And His Cow drew 1.3 million spectators in France and sold well internationally, has started shooting his latest comedy starring Gilles Lellouche and Jamel Debbouze.

The film, provisionally entitled New Biz In The Hood! (Zone Franche), is about a trendy communication agency forced to locate to a tough, no-go zone in an outer Paris suburb.

TF1 Studio will launch sales on the project at the Unifrance Rendez-vous with French Cinema in Paris this week (Jan 18-22).

Nicolas Duval-Adassovsky at Paris-based Quad is producing alongside actor-producer star Debbouze under his Kissfilms banner. Directorial duo Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache are also on board through their production company Ten Films.

Lellouche co-stars as Paris entrepreneur Fred Bartel who falsely claims his rising communication agency is situated in a tough...

The nominations for the 29th European Film Awards were announced this Saturday in Seville. Four films which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival are included in the race for Best European Film, including the Palme d’Or winner “I, Daniel Blake” and Paul Verhoeven’s “Elle.”

Maren Ade’s “Toni Erdmann” leads the pack with six nominations including Best Film and Best Director. Among the Best Actress and Actor nominees this year are Isabelle Huppert for her critically acclaimed role in “Elle” and Hugh Grant for his charming performance in “Florence Foster Jenkins.”

Read More: British Independent Film Award Nominations: ‘I, Daniel Blake’ Leads with 7

The Efa, in collaboration with the European Film Academy and Efa Productions, honor the greatest achievements in European cinema.

The 2016 European Film Awards will take place on December 10 in Wroclaw, Poland.

Read More: 2016 Ida Documentary Awards Nominations Include ‘13th,’ ‘The White Helmets’ and ‘Fire At...

Exclusive: Pre-sales revealed for feel-good, cross-cultural comedy.

Pathé International is hoping to capitalise internationally on growing domestic buzz for French cross-cultural comedy One Man And His Cow (La Vache) after it swept the awards at the Alpe d’Huez International Comedy Film Festival in January.

Fatsah Bouyahmed won best actor for his performance as an Algerian farmer who crosses France on foot with his prize cow Jacqueline to fulfill a life-long dream of attending the Paris Agricultural Show.

The film — produced by Nicolas Duval Adassovsky, Yann Zenou, Laurent Zeitoun of Quad Films (the team behind global hit Untouchable) alongside popular actor Jamel Debbouze — also clinched the Grand Prix and the audience award.

The film has already pre-sold to Germany and Austria (Alamode), Belgium (Alternative Film) and Switzerland (Pathé) and Pathé International sales chief Muriel Sauzay says there is a potential for the film to travel even wider.

“It’s a really positive, feel-good film about...