Nicole Garcia Shares Her Experience Reuniting with Marion Cotillard in ‘Milo’ as Studiocanal Kicks Off Sales at EFM
EXCLUSIVE: French actress and director Nicole Garcia has revealed details about her forthcoming film Milo, which brings her together with Oscar-winning star Marion Cotillard. Studiocanal has commenced sales for the film at the European Film Market (EFM).
In Milo, Cotillard portrays a woman who arrives alone in a quiet town in France’s Drome region and takes a job at a local café.
Garcia describes her character as enigmatic, likening her to a figure from a Western. “She’s a stranger and there’s a sense of mystery around her. A bit like a character who rides into town in a Western, although it’s usually a man and not a woman,” she states. As the narrative unfolds, the character’s violent history as a political activist and subsequent incarceration gradually come to light, along with her reasons for relocating to the town.
Garcia emphasizes that the character struggles to recognize the 20-year-old woman she once was. “She’s on parole, and there’s a scene where a judge asks her, ‘What were your thoughts on your conviction?’ And she replies, ‘Do you remember being 20?’”
The screenplay was co-written by Garcia with longtime collaborator Jacques Fieschi, alongside Laurette Polmanss and Olivier Demangel, the latter of whom received a BAFTA award for Class Act. Alain Attal is producing under his Trésor Films banner.
This marks the second collaboration between Cotillard and Garcia, who last worked together on the romantic drama From the Land of the Moon, which premiered in Cannes in 2016. In that film, Cotillard played a woman caught between a post-war marriage of convenience and an affair with a soldier during her recovery.
Garcia notes that this new role is a stark contrast to Cotillard’s previous one. “There was an emotional romanticism in that film, while here, on the contrary, it’s a much quieter role, contained, and deeply felt.”
Joining Cotillard in the cast is rising star Théodore Pellerin, acclaimed for his role in the Cannes Critics’ Week film Nino. The cast also features Laure Calamy from Call My Agent! and Artus, known for his breakout performance in the forthcoming comedy-drama A Little Something Extra.
Garcia has a robust acting career, with nearly 100 film and television credits, and has recently appeared in Isabelle Carré’s Les Rêveurs and Christopher Honoré’s Marcello Mio.
Milo is currently in post-production and is expected to premiere at a major festival later this year.
