Marion Cotillard Steps Behind Camera for ‘Bigger Than Us’ (EXCLUSIVE)
By Elsa Keslassy
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Oscar-winning French actress Marion Cotillard is set to produce Flore Vasseur’s documentary “Bigger Than Us,” with Paris-based Indie Sales on board to represent the title in international markets.
“Bigger Than Us” follows an 18 year-old Indonesian teenager, Melati Wijsen, who has been lobbying her local government to ban the sale and distribution of plastic bags on her island, Bali, for the last six years. Now shooting, the documentary portrays Melati as she embarks on a journey to meet other young leaders and young activists based around the world.
“For more than 20 years, I’ve been involved in environmental and social causes, fighting to raise awareness for a more equitable world,” said Cotillard. “Becoming a mum, I felt instantly that my kid had so much to teach me. A new generation is choosing life and dignity. And they’re showing us the way.”
Cotillard and Ludovic Dardenay are producing “Bigger Than Us” through their banner All You Need, along with the director’s Big Mother Productions and producer Denis Carot at Elzévir Films, whose credits include Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s critically acclaimed documentary “Home.”
previously teamed with Carot on “Marie’s Story,” Jean-Pierre Améris’s Locarno prize-winning drama. Nicolas Eschbach, Indie Sales’ co-founder, said the company looked forward to teaming up again with the French producer following the success of “Marie’s Story.”
“In the vein of ‘Tomorrow,’ the film raises questions that are essential to the future of humanity and which are not yet at all discussed in our societies. We have a common responsibility towards the next generation that the film emphasizes,” said Eschbach, who will kick off pre-sales on the documentary at Cannes.
“Bigger Than Us” just completed a successful crowdfunding campaign, raising more than $110,000. Along with “Home” and Cyril Dion and Mélanie Laurent’s “Tomorrow,” which performed well at the box office in France and traveled globally, the aim with “Bigger Than Us” is to build a large campaign around the documentary to turn it into an event, and deliver a lavishly lensed film that will raise awareness among mainstream audiences.
“In every corner of the planet, young people are raising their voices and taking action on climate change, inequality, migration, agriculture, education, gun control and even corruption,” Indie Sales said in a release.
“Bigger Than Us” will be released in France by Mars Films during the first half of 2020. Mars previously released “Tomorrow.”
