Cannes: ‘Deerskin’ With Jean Dujardin to Open Directors’ Fortnight

By Elsa Keslassy

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Quentin Dupieux’s “Deerskin,” an offbeat French comedy with Jean Dujardin (“The Artist”) and Adèle Haenel (“BPM”), is set to open the Cannes Film Festival’s Directors’ Fortnight.

“Deerskin,” which marks Dupieux’s seventh feature, stars Dujardin as a man who becomes obsessed with owning a pricey designer deerskin jacket, leading him to blow his life savings and even turn to crime. Mathieu and Thomas Verhaeghe at Paris-based Atelier de Production produced the movie. WTFilms represents “Deerskin” in international markets.

Dupieux previously attended Directors’ Fortnight in 2013 with the short film “Wrong Cops,” which was the first chapter of the feature film of the same name presented earlier that year at Sundance.

Dupieux, who began his career working with Michel Gondry on music videos and advertising clips, made his feature debut with “Nonfilm” in 2001. His third film, “Rubber,” played at Cannes’ Critics’ Week in 2010.

He also directed “In Reality,” which played at the Venice Film Festival, and “Keep an Eye Out,” a surrealistic film starring Benoît Poelvoorde, which played well in French theaters.

“Deerskin” will be released in France by Diaphana on June 19. Directors’ Fortnight will take place May 15-25. It will be the first edition under new artistic director Paolo Moretti, who succeeded Edouard Waintrop. The full lineup will be announced April 23.