Monday 2 March 2015

Filming in Preuilly

As we left for Paris last month we noticed big coaches and pantechnicons parked outside the médiatheque and across the road at the cemetery in Preuilly. Clearly some filming was in progress. We snapped some photos as we drove by, but it was only on reading the newspaper that we found out what it was all about.
To quote (in translation) the article:

On 3 February an unusual buzz animated the town of Preuilly. Some big trucks were parked opposite the mediatheque. The reason for these strange sights? Sylvain Desclous was shooting a scene from his film Vendeur ('Salesman').
This screenwriter has already made 6 short films. Vendeur is his first feature film. The theme of the film showcases salesmanship as a trade but it is mainly a pretext for the evocation of the father-son relationship, of affection and conflict, separation and reunion.

The film was shot in Marseille, Paris and several municipalities in the northern Touraine, but Sylvain Desclous was particularly keen to shoot some of the important scenes in Preuilly-sur-Claise. As a child he spent his summer holidays in the village, at his grandparent's place in the Faubourg Saint Nicolas, and where some of the family still reside.
Preuilly contributed to the logistics. A dozen locals were recruited from the local populace. They were able to share for an afternoon the cinematic artistic sentiments. 

This film is supported by the Centre Region through the Ciclic Agency. The main roles are played by Gilbert Melki, Pio Marmai and Sara Giraudeau. Romain Bouteille is involved in the distribution.

6 comments:

Jean said...

Exciting!
Plenty of films and tv series have been made around my home patch in Derbyshire. I was a working in the hotel where the cast of "women in love" were staying in the 1960’s. I worked as a chambermaid but my only contact was clearing up the rooms and making the beds! As I only worked weekends and school holidays the senior chambermaids were queuing up take the morning teas and breakfast trays up to the actors' rooms! Normally they were quite happy for us schoolgirls and temps to do the early starts but they all wanted a glimpse of Alan Bates in bed !

Susan said...

I bet he wasn't silly enough to allow himself to be glimpsed in bed.

Jean said...

In these days of paparazzi, smart phones and instant media, most certainly not!
I suspect the trays were handed over to staff who passed them on, but everyone was very excited about the whole thing. It was a magical time.

Susan said...

You giddy young thing you :-)

Loire Daily Photo said...

What luck you saw it before you left! Lots of films are shot around the Palais Royal of course, but they always seemed remote. The one in Preuilly is much closer to home for you, isn't it?

Susan said...

We'll have to be sure to watch the film when it comes out now.

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