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PRODUCTION / FUNDING France / Switzerland

Damien Odoul is back with Theo and the Metamorphosis

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- Produced by Kidam in league with Bord Cadre Films, the director’s 9th feature is set to be unveiled in the Berlinale’s Panorama line-up, with Théo Kermel and Pierre Meunier in lead roles

Damien Odoul is back with Theo and the Metamorphosis
Théo Kermel and Louise Morin in Theo and the Metamorphosis

A familiar face at major international festivals who fell off the grid five or so years ago, Damien Odoul will be making his return to the film world in the Panorama section of the 71st Berlinale where his 9th feature Theo and the Metamorphosis [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Damien Odoul
film profile
]
will enjoy its world premiere as part of the festival’s Industry Event (running 1 – 5 March).

Previous works put forth by the filmmaker include Deep Breath (Jury Special Prize in Venice’s Filmmakers of the Present line-up in 2001), Errance (selected for Toronto in 2003), After We’re Gone (Directors’ Fortnight 2004), Morasseix (shot in 1992 but only screened in 2004 when it was presented in Venice’s Giornate degli Autori), The Story on Richard O. [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
(shown in Venice’s Orizzonti competition in 2007), Le reste du monde (Rotterdam’s Spectrum section in 2012), Rich is the Wolf (screened out of competition in Locarno 2012) and The Fear [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
(unveiled in Toronto 2015 and awarded the Jean-Vigo Prize that very same year).

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Starring in the cast of his latest opus are Théo Kermel (a first feature film for the young actor who has turned heads on stage, as well as in short film Sphinx), Pierre Meunier (a well-known theatre director making a very rare film appearance), Élia Sulem, Louise Morin and Ayumi Roux (the revelation of the 6th season of the series Skam France, who also makes an appearance in Adopt a Daddy [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
).

Written by the director, the story revolves around a 27-year-old man with Down’s syndrome called Théo who lives with his father in a house hidden away in the thick of a forest. They live together in harmony with the surrounding flora and fauna but, one day, his father goes away, leaving Théo alone with his inner world… He embarks upon an odyssey which sees him reinvent himself, open himself up to the world and experiment with freedom, attempting to discover the nature of things, but also the nature of beings…

Theo and the Metamorphosis is produced by Alexandre Perrier on behalf of Kidam, alongside Swiss group Bord Cadre Films, and is co-produced by Wild Bunch (who will also oversee distribution in French cinemas), Same Player, Transpalux, ABS Productions and Swiss firm Freestudios. The feature film also benefits from an advance on receipts from the CNC and enjoys the support of the Occitanie region and of Blaq Out/UniversCiné. International sales are still under negotiation, for those who are interested…

For the record, Kidam is currently steering post-production on Emmanuel Marre’s Zero Fucks Given [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Emmanuel Marre and Julie Le…
film profile
]
, while eye-catching projects currently under development with the firm include Poil de Carotte by Damien Odoul, Le royaume by Emmanuel Laborie, Tempête by Julien Samani, Paula by Angela Terrail and Lazare by Vincent Paronnaud.

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(Translated from French)

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