Being Maria

Maria

TIFF65: Greek Premiere

Maria is a young, struggling actress with promise. When an emerging Italian director casts her to headline a new film alongside an American superstar, her dreams are coming true. But what seems like a big breakthrough turns out to be the start of a living hell. That movie is Last Tango in Paris. The actress is Maria Schneider. A story that exemplifies the influence of toxic masculinity in the realm of the spectacle, an anatomy of (structural) violence and the trauma that wrecked the psyche of a young actress, but mostly a daring portrait that underlines the double standards of cancel culture, as well as the burning imperativeness of the victims’ memory.

Screening Schedule

No physical screenings scheduled.

Direction: Jessica Palud

Script: Jessica Palud, Laurette Polmanss

Cinematography: Sébastien Buchmann

Editing: Thomas Marchand

Sound: Jean-Marie Blondel, Rym Debbarh-Mounir, Vincent Verdoux

Music: Benjamin Biolay

Actors: Anamaria Vartolomei, Matt Dillon, Giuseppe Maggio, Céleste Brunnquell, Yvan Attal

Production: Les Films de Mina

Producers: Marielle Duigou

Co-production: StudioCanal, Moteur S'il Vous Plaît, Cinema Inutile

Co-producers: Alex C. Lo, Kristina Zimmermann, Christie Molia

Costumes: Alexia Crisp-Jones

Sets: Valérie Valéro

Format: DCP

Color: Color

Production Country: France

Production Year: 2024

Duration: 102'

Distribution in Greece: Rosebud.21

Contact: StudioCanal

Jessica Palud

Jessica Palud was born in 1982 in Paris. She started working early on film sets, first in production, then as an assistant director (on films by Sofia Coppola, Bernardo Bertolucci, Eric Lartigau, Philippe Lioret, et al.). In 2017, she directed a short film called Marlon, which was selected in over 150 festivals worldwide (including Toronto and Clermont-Ferrand), won 40 international awards and was nominated for the César Awards. Back Home, her first feature film starring Niels Schneider and Adèle Exarchopoulos, won the Best Screenplay Award at the Venice Film Festival (Orizzonti). Maria is her second feature film.