THE TOGETHER PROJECT wins SACD Prize at Directors' Fortnight
The Together Project, a French/Icelandic comedy from the late writer/director Sólveig Anspach, has won the SACD Prize, which is given annually to a French-language film in the Directors' Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival. This is the second year in a row that a film with Icelandic ties has been honored at Cannes. Last year, Grímur Hákonarson's Rams won the Un Certain Regard Prize.
The Together Project received a standing ovation after its world premiere at Cannes earlier this week and has since received positive reviews, as previously reported.
The film tells the story of Samir, who travels from his native France to Iceland to make up with his swimming instructor, Agathe, whom he's madly in love with. But when an electric shock leaves him with amnesia, how can he make up for what he can't remember? Can Agathe help him reclaim his memories – and his love for her?
The Together Project was directed by Sólveig Anspach and written by Anspach and Jean-Luc Gaget. It was produced by Skúli Malmquist for Zik Zak Filmworks and Patrick Sobelman for Ex Nihilo. The film stars Florence Loiret Caille and Samir Guesmi, with the Icelandic actors Didda Jónsdóttir, Frosti Jón Runólfsson, Ingvar E. Sigurdsson and Kristbjörg Kjeld playing supporting roles. International sales are handled by Le Pacte.
Principal photography took place during the fall of 2014 and spring of 2015, in both France and Iceland. While shooting, Sólveig Anspach was engaged in a losing battle with breast cancer. With the knowledge that she didn't have a lot of time left, she nevertheless managed to bring the film – the third installment of a trilogy – to its completion.
This is the third film by Sólveig Anspach to be selected for the Cannes Film Festival. In 2001, her French documentary Made in the USA was also selected for Directors' Fortnight, where it won the François Chalais Prize. In 2003, her Icelandic/French/Belgian feature Stormy Weather was selected for the Un Certain Regard section.
Two other Icelandic features have previously been selected for Directors' Fortnight: Thorsteinn Jónsson's Atomic Station in 1984 and Rúnar Rúnarsson's Volcano in 2011.
For more information about The Together Project, visit the Icelandic Film Database.
For more information about writer/director Sólveig Anspach, visit her page on the Icelandic Film Database and her IMDb page.