The French film 'La Vénus électrique,' directed by Pierre Salvadori, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday, opening the prestigious event.
The feature film, known in English as 'The Electric Kiss,' is a collaborative project, co-produced by Belgium’s Versus Production and supported by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation’s Centre for Cinema and Audiovisual Arts.
It also benefits from Belgium’s federal tax shelter programme.
Set in early 20th-century Paris, the story revolves around a grieving young painter who, after losing his wife, seeks contact with her spirit through a medium.
However, he unknowingly converses with a young fairground worker, hiding in the medium’s caravan to steal food. Their unusual meeting blossoms into a relationship full of love and deceit.
The film, starring Pio Marmaï, Anaïs Demoustier, Gilles Lellouche, and Vimala Pons, was screened in the Grand Théâtre Lumière following the festival’s opening ceremony, hosted by actress Eye Haïdara.
Salvadori spent years refining the concept, collaborating with Benjamin Charbit and later Benoît Graffin to develop the script.
“The first version dates back to March 2018,” Salvadori explained. “I initially worked with Benjamin for several months before he moved on to a personal project. Afterwards, Benoît and I worked for an entire year.
"Writing isn’t my favourite part, but working with Benoît makes it worthwhile. This is the seventh film we’ve made together, and we’re both chasing a shared ideal – a story balanced between irony, suffering, lightness, and even burlesque.”
This marks Salvadori’s fourth collaboration with actor Pio Marmaï. They previously worked together on “Dans la cour” in 2014, “En liberté!” in 2018, and “La Petite bande” in 2022.
'The Electric Kiss' is set for theatrical release soon after its Cannes premiere.
