France TV Distribution, the sales and co-production arm of public broadcaster France Televisions Group, is launching young adult drama “A Night to Live” at the upcoming Unifrance Rendez-Vous which runs Sept. 2-6 in Le Havre.
Distributed worldwide by France TV distribution, the country’s biggest TV exporter, “A Night to Live” is produced by Wanda Productions, a Paris-based TV commercials production company which has diversified into music videos, photography, animated films and TV series for TV channels and streaming platforms.
An eight-part series made up of 26-minute episodes, it will world premiere in French competition at La Rochelle’s Festival de la Fiction, which runs Sept. 10-15.
“A Night to Live” (“Nos vies en l’air”) is written by Margaux Bonhomme whose debut, “Head Above Water,” scored two Cesar nominations and Victor Lockwood (“Mental,” “Nudes”). The series is set to debut on France Télévisions’ young adult-skewed Slash TV, one of whose hits as been “Mental.”
Scheduled for delivery in fourth quarter 2024, the series turns on two teens, Mina and Ocean, who meet on the same Paris roof as they contemplate jumping to their death.
Though across the tracks – Mina comes from Paris’ hard-scrabble Belleville district, Ocean from a high-society background – they connect and agree to a deal: to give life a chance at least for one night before deciding if death is the only option.
Mina is played by Inès Kermas, Ocean by Anthony Goffi (“Déter”).
Adapted from the novel of the same name, by Manon Fargetton, “A Night to Live” is directed by Anthony Jorge and Jonathan Cohen-Berry who teamed to helm “First Love,” prized as best short format series at 2018’s Series Mania and produced by CG Cinéma for Blackpills.
“Suicide is the second most common cause of death among people between the ages of 15 and 24. And yet it’s taboo and very painful and personal subject, making it very hard for young people to ask for help regarding their mental health,” the series’ writers and producers said in a note.
“On the other hand, an Ipsos survey conducted for the Pierre Deniker Foundation reveals that 95% of youths are generally interested in life. We wanted Ocean and Mina’s story to fully reflect the contradiction,” they added.
The series’ writers and producers said they had no cookie-cutter solution to such a complex subject. They do hope, however, “that the series will encourage teenagers to open up to others.”
