THE CRIME IS MINE
Mon Crime
Los Angeles Premiere | France | 2023 | Comedy, Drama | 103 min | In French with English subtitles
Directed by: François Ozon
Written by: François Ozon, Philippe Piazzo
Based on the Novel by: Louis Verneuil, George Berr
Produced by: Eric & Nicolas Altmayer (Mandarin & Compagnie), François Ozon (FOZ), SCOPE, Gaumont, Playtime, France 2 Cinéma
Cinematography: Manu Dacoss
Film Editing: Laure Gardette
Original Score: Philippe Rombi
Cast: Nadia Tereszkiewicz (Madeleine Verdier), Rebecca Marder (Pauline Mauléon), Isabelle Huppert (Odette Chaumette), Dany Boon (Palmarède), Fabrice Luchini (the judge), André Dussolier (M. Bonnard), Michel Fau (the prosecutor)
International Sales: Playtime
U.S. Distributor: Music Box Films
U.S. Release date: TBA
Prolific filmmaker François Ozon‘s 22nd feature is an effervescent screwball comedy with a brilliant ensemble cast, loosely adapted from a 1934 French play by Georges Berr and Louis Verneuil. In 1930s Paris, aspiring actress Madeleine Verdier is accused of murdering a lecherous theater producer in self-defense. Once she’s acquitted, she and her aspiring-attorney roommate begin their glorious new life of fame and fortune… until the real truth comes out. With a nod to the #MeToo era, Ozon describes The Crime Is Mine as the final chapter in his feminist trilogy — with 8 Women and Potiche — on “the hold men have over women” and “the ultimate triumph of sisterhood.” And what a delectable triumph it is!
François Ozon is one of the most provocative filmmakers to emerge from the 1990s wave of talented new directors. After earning a Master’s degree in cinema studies, Ozon attended La Femis film school and began to churn out inventive shorts, like A Summer Dress (1996), which won the Best Narrative Short Award at L.A. Outfest and was nominated for a César Award. His first feature, Sitcom, premiered in Cannes in 1998. Ozon has directed 46 films to date — 22 of them features. Among his many awards, he’s nabbed three prizes in Berlin: for Water Drops on Burning Rocks (2000); the musical 8 Women (2002); and By the Grace of God (2018), his piercing examination of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. He’s won five prizes in San Sebastián: for Hideaway (2009), In the House (COLCOA 2013), Young & Beautiful (COLCOA 2014), and The New Girlfriend (2014). His films have garnered 21 César nominations and he was honored with the 2004 Douglas Sirk Award in Hamburg. Peter von Kant (TAFFF 2022), the director’s homage to his cinematic hero, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, was the opening film of that year’s Berlin Film Festival, and The Crime Is Mine premiered as the opening film of this year’s Festival Premiers Plans d’Angers.
