"Inglourious Basterds" and
"6 Underground" star
Melanie Laurent has signed on to star in the upcoming biopic
"Rosa Bonheur" directed by
Fabienne Berthaud (
"A Bigger World",
"Lily Sometimes"). The film is being produced by
Carole Scotta, Barbara Letellier and
Caroline Benjo at Haut et Court, the company behind
"Coco Before Chanel" and
"The Night of the 12th" .
The film chronicles the life of
Rosa Bonheur, a trailblazing feminist and artist who rose to fame in 19th century France. Laurent will star in the titular role in Berthaud's film which has been described as a "sprawling period movie". The film will also chronicle Bonheur's world acclaim, including in the U.S. where she befriended
William Frederick Cody, aka Buffalo Bill. Bonheur's most iconic work, "The Horse Fair", which is a 16-foot canvas unveiled in 1853, is currently hanging at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Filming will take place on location in Bonheur's well-preserved atelier at her Château de By in Thomery, where she worked and lived for over 40 years, alongside her partner
Nathalie Micas and later with
Anna Klumpke, an American painter. The crew includes
Nathalie Durand, the cinematographer of
Xavier Legrand's Venice prize-winning
"Custody". The film will shoot in French with some English dialogue.
Berthaud is working closely with
Katherine Brault, who bought the Chateau de By in 2017 and transformed it into a museum. Across the chateau and its attics, Brault uncovered hundreds of letters, works of art, objects and documents that have stayed intact for over a century and will be used by Berthaud for the movie.
