Café De Flore

Vanessa Paradis Kevin Parent Hélène Florent Evelyne Brochu in CAFÉ DE FLORE A film by Jean-Marc Vallée Running Time: 120 minutes Language: In French with English Subtitles Publicity Contact: New York City Los Angeles Hook Publicity Marina Bailey Film Publicity Jessica Uzzan Marina Bailey [email protected] [email protected] Luke Carron Sara Tehrani [email protected] [email protected] Synopsis “Café de Flore” is a love story about people separated by time and place but connected in profound and mysterious ways. Atmospheric, fantastical, tragic and hopeful, the film chronicles the parallel fates of Jacqueline, a young mother with a disabled son in 1960s Paris, and Antoine, a recently divorced, successful DJ in present day Montreal. What binds the two stories together is love - euphoric, obsessive, tragic, youthful, timeless love. In 1960s Paris, a working class woman gives birth to her first child, Laurent – a Down Syndrome son. Undaunted she embraces the challenge of raising her beloved offspring as normally as one would any other child. Her husband abandons them both. She bravely brushes this additional hiccup aside as Laurent replaces her spouse as the perfect man of her dreams. As Laurent approaches school age Jacqueline’s aplomb becomes obsessive and cloying. Her increasingly self-destructive attachment to her son is raised to a fever pitch when, at the age of seven, he meets a Down Syndrome girl (Véronique) and experiences his first crush. His sudden desire for independence, and his attraction to Véra, are the catalysts that transform Jacqueline from a loving mother into something resembling a lover scorned. What emerges is a love triangle of potentially tragic proportions. In 21st century Montreal, a forty year old divorcee, Carole, is trying to restart her life after her divorce, two years earlier, from Antoine, a devastatingly handsome, successful touring DJ. Soul mates who’ve been a couple since the age of fifteen, their divorce is a schism that might prove impossible for either of them to put in the past. Making the transition even more difficult for Carole is the fact that her two daughters, one teen, one tween, are about to gain a stepmother, a stunningly beautiful, heartbreaking blonde, a woman about to “steal” away the perfect man of her dreams. The young girls are being cruelly pulled in two different directions, Antoine’s father, a recovering alcoholic, seems to side with his ex-daughter-in-law, and Carole is succumbing to fits of depression and potentially dangerous bouts of sleepwalking. What emerges is a love triangle of potentially tragic proportions. Biographies Jean-Marc Vallée ⎜ Writer / Director Montreal filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallée made his groundbreaking feature debut with “Liste Noire” (Black List), in 1995. The strikingly stylish erotic thriller was a first for its genre in Quebec cinema, and was honored with nine Genie Award nominations. Ten years later, he returned to French-language features with the internationally acclaimed hit, “C.R.A.Z.Y. ” Blending a beguiling coming-of-age tale with a magical ode to outsiders of all ages, the powerful yet poignant C.R.A.Z.Y.’s intensely personal story embraces universal themes. The picture became a phenomenon; distributed in over fifty countries and winning some twenty international festival awards – including the prestigious “Best Canadian Film” prize at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival, 11 Genie Awards, 15 Jutra Awards, and the Golden Reel Award as Canada’s top-performer at the domestic box office. Jean-Marc has also flirted with Hollywood, as well as completing the first two installments of his short film trilogy devoted to father-son relationships; a theme very close to the filmmaker’s heart. “Les Fleurs magiques” (Magical Flowers, 1995) and “Les Mots magiques” (Magical Words, 1998) are individual pieces unified by a dream-like quality, and an eye for their subjects that is both tender and tortured. Both shorts were awarded numerous festival prizes at home, and abroad. His last film “The Young Victoria,” produced by Graham King and Martin Scorsese, won an Oscar for Best Costumes in 2010 and received nominations for Best Art Direction and Best Makeup. Vanessa Paradis ⎜ Jacqueline Vanessa Paradis’ career began when she was discovered on a popular TV show, “L'Ecole Des Fans,” which provided children with the opportunity to demonstrate their talents. Years later, at thirteen, she recorded her first single, “La Magie Des Surprises- Parties.” Her career skyrocketed when her record-producing uncle, Didier Pain, was working with a musician on a song entitled “Joe le Taxi” in which Vanessa was invited to sing. The outcome was instant success. In 1988, her first album, M & J, was released and later Variations Sur Le Mme T'aime (1990). Her third album, the eponymously titled Vanessa Paradis, was produced by Lenny Kravitz in 1992. Her first role for the big screen was in Jean-Claude Brisseau’s “Noce Blanche” (1989). For her exquisite performance in the movie, Vanessa took home a César (the French equivalent of an Oscar). At this point, Vanessa realized that she preferred acting over singing. She later went on to star in René Manzor’s “Un Amour de Sorcière” (1997). In 2000, she released the album Bliss and after seven years of silence, she released Divinidylle in September of 2007. In 2010, she released and toured for her new album Versailles. She has also become a fashion icon by working on exclusive ad campaigns for Chanel. Meanwhile, she has continued her career as a film actress, notably starring in “Girl on the Bridge” by Patrice LeConte (1999) “The Return of James Battle” by Didier and Thierry Poiraud (2004). In 2010, her role in Pascal Chaumeil’s “Heartbreaker,” which garnered over 3.7 million admissions, brought her to the forefront of French cinema. Kevin Parent ⎜ Antoine In 1995, Kevin Parent made his debut in the music industry with the album Pigeon d’argile. In 1998, the album, Grand parleur, petit faiseur, confirmed his talent and originality. The two albums are among the biggest sellers in recording history in Québec and earned him many Félix (Québec awards in music industry), including Male Performer of the Year, Song of the Year, and Songwriter of the Year. Music videos gave Kevin Parent the opportunity to work with noted Canadian directors such as Denis Villeneuve and Francis Leclerc. Leclerc’s productions, “Seigneur” and “Fréquenter l'oublie,” have also been crowned Best Music Videos of the Year by l’ADISQ (Québec association for music industry). In 2003, he joined the rock band The Porn Flakes. This collaboration has revealed Kevin Parent’s boldness and versatility. In Spring 2007, Parent released his first album in English entitled, “Fangless Wolf Facing Winter.” He came back in 2009 with a new self-titled album in French. In 2011, he made his first steps in cinema with a leading role in “Café de Flore,” by Jean-Marc Vallée (C.R.A.Z.Y), a feature film also starring Vanessa Paradis, Évelyne Brochu, and Hélène Florent. Hélène Florent ⎜ Carole A graduate of the Conservatoire d’art dramatique du Québec (2000), Hélène Florent is both an actress and a director. She directed the short films “Madame Bonheur à la rescousse” (2000), “Jazz Square” (2001), and “Celui qui l’dit, celui qui l’est” (1998), which won the Audience Award, and the Screenwriting Award at the Montreal Vidéaste Recherché-e Festival. As an actress, she works in theater, film and television. Her television work has earned her many Gemeau Prizes (Quebec’s Emmys). Recent television series include: “Deux frères, la suite” (2000), “Tribu.com” (2003), “La Promesse” (2005), “Un homme mort” (2005), and “Lance et compte” (2006-2010). She is also known for her leading roles in “Toute la vérité” (2010), and “La Galère” (2007-2012). In theater, Helene Florent has performed on the national Cherbourg scene Le Trident (Mesure pour mesure, Le Chien, Le Colonel et les oiseaux, Le Malade imaginaire, Aux portes du royaume, and Le Cid). With “Yellowknife” (2001) by Rodrigue Jean, she played her first leading role in a feature film. Then, she landed several roles including feature films “Mémoires affectives” (2004) by Francis Leclerc, “La Vie avec mon père” (2005) by Sébastien Rose, “Familia” (2005) by Louise Archambault, “Dans les villes” (2006) by Catherine Martin, “Ma fille mon ange” (2007) by Pierre Szalowski, “Lance et compte : Le film” (2010), and her last movie, “Café de Flore” (2011) by Jean-Marc Vallée. Évelyne Brochu ⎜ Rose Évelyne Brochu, a graduate of the Montreal Conservatory of Dramatic Arts, has already made her presence known on stage having recently appeared in the Claude Poissant directed stage play, Tom à La Ferme. No stranger to film and television, Évelyne starred in such notable Quebec television series including “Aveux, Mirador” and the popular series “La Promesse,” which garnered her three Gémeaux award nominations in the categories of Best Supporting Actress and Best Lead Actress in a television series. Recent film credit include a supporting role in the critically acclaimed film “Polytechnique” (2009), directed by Denis Villeneuve (“Incendies”) as well as “Café de Flore,” directed by Jean-Marc Vallée (C.R.A.Z.Y.) which premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2011. CREW Director: Jean-Marc Vallée Writer: Jean-Marc Vallée Producers (Canada): Pierre Even, Marie-Claude Poulin Co-producer: Jean-Marc Vallée Co-producers (France): Nicolas Coppermann, Jean-Yves Robin In collaboration with: Vanessa Fourgeaud Line Producers: Nicole Hilaréguy, Marc Stanimirovic Cinematographer: Pierre Cottereau Art Direction: Patrice Vermette Editing: Jean-Marc Vallée Sound: Jean Minondo, Martin Pinsonnault Special Effects: Marc Coté, Sylvain Théroux Costumes: Ginette Magny, Emmanuelle Youchnovski Makeup: Christiane Fattori, Frédéric Marin Hair Stylist: Ghyslaine Sant, Frédéric Birault Stills photographer: Sébastien Raymond Casting: Emanuelle Beaugrand-Champagne, Nathalie Boutrie, Constance Demontoy Music Clearance: Lucie Bourgouin Permission Inc.

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