In 2007 we visited one of Britain's busiest train stations to see new comedy French Film in action.
That's the question at the light-hearted centre of French Film, a comedy that was shot in London in the spring of 2007. Jackie Oudney makes her directorial feature debut on the Brit-com, which was written by Scenes Of A Sexual Nature scribe Aschlin Ditta. The Scottish director previously directed several shorts - including the Kino Festival-winning Station in 2000 and BAFTA Scotland-nominated Vagabond Shoes with Iain Glen in 2005 - but it was in the commercials world that she really cut her directorial teeth.
French Film is the second movie by production company Slingshot (their first, Sugarhouse, opened in the UK on 24th August 2007), and they attracted a strong cast to the micro-budget feature. Hugh Bonneville (Notting Hill), Anne-Marie Duff (Shameless), Douglas Henshall (Lawless Heart) and Eric Cantona (kung fu-kicking ex-footballer) all star in the movie, about a journalist (Bonneville) whose worldview is turned upside down when he interviews a Frenchman (Cantona, bien sur!) who self-regards himself as an expert on the nature of love.
Eric Cantona sends himself up in French Film.
Made entirely on location, French Film was shot at various places in London, including the recently refurbished BFI Southbank. We caught up with the cast and crew at Waterloo Station, where a key scene was being staged amid thousands of commuters and holidaymakers en-route to Europe.
French Film is on release in UK cinemas from 15th May 09.
Adrian Hennigan | Published 28 June 07 | Updated 14th May 09
© MMIX
Add your comment
You need to sign in before you can add comments.
Sign in to BBC iD
Read more about the new Film Network.
There are currently no comments for this feature.