L’étranger (The Stranger)

Algiers, 1938. Meursault, a quiet and unassuming employee in his early thirties, attends his mother’s funeral without shedding a tear. The next day, he begins a casual affair with Marie, a work colleague, and quickly slips back into his usual routine.
However, his daily life is soon disrupted by his neighbour, Raymond Sintès, who draws Meursault into his shady dealings — until, on one blisteringly hot day, a tragic event occurs on a beach.

The idea of adapting one of the most famous novels in world literature puts you in a state of anxiety and doubt. Until now, I had only adapted works that were lesser known and less recognised. It was an immense challenge to adapt a masterpiece that everyone has read and that every reader has already staged in their own mind.
But my interest in the book was stronger than my apprehensions, so I threw myself into it with a certain light-heartedness.
And then, very quickly, I realised that diving into L’Étranger was a way of reconnecting with a forgotten part of my personal history. My maternal grandfather was an examining magistrate in Bône (now Annaba), Algeria, and he escaped an attack in 1956, which hastened my family’s return to mainland France. While working on documents and archives, and meeting historians and witnesses of the time, I realised to what extent French families all have some connection with Algeria, and that a heavy silence still often weighs upon our shared histories.

PRODUCTION 1:
Foz - François Ozon

PRODUCTION 2:
Gaumont - Sidonie Dumas
30 Avenue Charles de Gaulle
92200 Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
Tel: +33 0605120402 / +33 0146432180 E-mail: eva.duriez@gaumont.com
Social Media: Gaumont_ - Instagram

PRODUCTION 3:
France 2 Cinema - Valérie Boyer
33, Avenue de l’Opéra
75002 Paris, France
Tel: +33 1.56.22.29.60
E-mail: france2cinema@francetv.fr

WORLD SALES:
Gaumont - Alexis Cassanet
30 Avenue Charles de Gaulle
92200 Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
Tel: +33 1 46 43 22 42
E-mail: international@gaumont.com
Social Media: Gaumont_ - Instagram

ITALIAN DISTRIBUTION:
BIM Produzione - Antonio Medici
Viale di Trastevere, 244
00153 Roma, Italia
Tel: +39 06 323 1057
E-mail: bimproduzione@bimfilm.com
Social Media: bimproduzione - Instagram

PRESS OFFICE:
Brigitta Portier
Tel: +32 477982584
E-mail: brigittaportier@alibicommunications.be
Ulteriori addetti/additional press officers: Quentin Becker - quentin.becker@gaumont.com, Vana’a Edom - vanaa.edom@gaumont.com

ITALIAN PRESS OFFICE:
Mario Locurcio
Tel: +39 3358383364
E-mail: scrivi@emmeperdu.com
Additional press officers: Maria Rosaria - scrivi@emmeperdu.com