“Amelie” director Jean-Pierre Jeunet has assembled a high-profile international cast for his next film, “Violette,” based on Valérie Perrin’s literary sensation “Fresh Water for Flowers” (“Changer l’eau des fleurs”), which sold over 3 million copies worldwide.
Matthias Schoenaerts (“Rust and Bone”), Melvil Poupaud (“Jeanne du Barry”), Anouk Grinberg (“The Innocent”), Sergio Castellitto (“Conclave”) and Alban Lenoir (“Lost Bullet”) have joined the cast and will star opposite Cesar-winning French actor Leila Bekhti (“All Your Faces, “My Mother, God and Sylvie Vartan”), who was previously announced.
“Violette” is produced by Carlo Degli Esposti and Nicola Serra at Palomar (“Piranhas,” “The Count of Monte Cristo”), and Thibault Gast and Matthias Weber at 24 25 Films (“Black Box,” “Kabul”). Both companies are owned by Mediawan. The production kicked off on May 5 for a 13-week shoot across Burgundy, the Paris region, and the South of France.
Co-written by Jeunet and Guillaume Laurant, “Violette” sees Bekhti play Violette Toussaint, a beloved cemetery caretaker whose peaceful life – filled by conversations with quirky workers and the many visitors who share their stories of love, loss, and life – is thrown off course when a mysterious stranger shows up on her doorstep compelling her to confront her troubled past filled with hidden truths. Violette comes to understand that the truth behind long-buried mysteries in her past must be uncovered if she wants to take another chance on life and, against all odds, love.
Studiocanal will launch sales at the Cannes film market ahead of a global release in 2026. The company is co-producing the film, handling international sales, and distributing it directly in key territories including France, the U.K., Germany, Austria, Poland, Australia, and New Zealand.
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