BEING MARIA
(Maria)
CINEMA COMPETITION
TRUFFAUT THEATRE
Drama, Biopic
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 2
7:20 pm (Screening ends at 9:40 pm)
Followed by a conversation with author Vanessa Schneider and producer Marielle Duigou
Presented in association with:
StudioCanal
Women In Film
North American Premiere | France | 2024 | Drama, Biopic | 100 min | In French with English subtitles
Directed by: Jessica Palud
Written by: Jessica Palud, Laurette Polmanss
Based on the Book by: Vanessa Schneider
Produced by: Marielle Duigou (Les Films de Mina), Alex C. Lo (Cinema Inutile), Christie Molia (Moteur s’il vous plait), Kristina Zimmermann (Orange Studio)
Cinematography: Sébastien Buchmann
Film Editing: Thomas Marchand
Original Score: Benjamin Biolay
Cast: Anamaria Vartolomei (Maria Schneider), Matt Dillon (Marlon Brando), Yvan Attal (Daniel Gélin), Marie Gillain (Marie-Christine), Céleste Brunnquell (Noor), Stanislas Merhar (the agent), Giuseppe Maggio (Bernardo Bertolucci)
International Sales: StudioCanal
US Distributor: Kino Lorber
US Release date: 2025
It’s the early 1970s. The illegitimate daughter of a French character actor, Maria (Anamaria Vartolomei) is an aspiring young actress, herself. At 19, she miraculously lands the female lead in a groundbreaking feature film by a brilliant up-and-coming Italian director. She’ll be playing opposite one of America’s most formidable movie stars. But what seems like a dream come true turns out to be a nightmare. The actress is Maria Schneider. Her co-star is Marlon Brando. The director is Bernardo Bertolucci. The movie is Last Tango in Paris. A highly erotic art film, its raw depiction of rape and graphic sexuality led to international controversy and drew various levels of censorship around the world. The MPAA gave the film an X rating. Bertolucci and Brando both received suspended two-month prison sentences in Italy. But long before the advent of #MeToo and intimacy counsellors, the real toll of the brutal, intentionally calculated on-set sexual and emotional manipulation fell upon Schneider. It devastated her entire life.
Jessica Palud began her career as an assistant director. In 2013, she turned to writing and directing with her first feature, Les yeux fermés. That was followed by two shorts, Poupée (2016) and Marlon (2017), which was nominated for a César Award for Best Short Film. Her second feature film, Revenir (2019), garnered the Best Screenplay Award at the Venice Film Festival, and Being Maria had its world premiere this year in Cannes.
