First announced on this blog in September, during at the Toronto International Film Festival, when filming begun on the new project, Omar Sy’s next – the actor stars in the drama titled "Two Is a Family," which is being directed by Hugo Gélin, and with Clemence Poesy co-starring.
The original French title is "Demain tout commence" which translate literally as "Tomorrow, It Begins." I actually like that better than "Two Is a Family," which sounds more like a TV sitcom. Maybe the English-language title will change before the film is released in English-language territories. Maybe not.
Produced by Stéphane Célérier, details on the project aren’t in abundance, but we do know that the film (based on my translation from French to English) will see Omar Sy play a reluctant father to a child he never knew he had, by an ex-girlfriend who suddenly shows up at his doorstep with the kid, and leaves the child there with him, disappearing afterward. Sy’s character, previously leaving a carefree life as a bachelor in the French Riviera, goes on a trip to find the mother, taking the child with him of course, ending up in London, where he takes a job as a stuntman. And, as you’d expect, a transformation follows, as he spends time with the child, and learns how to be a father.
French actress Poesy plays the mother of the child. Newcomer Gloria Colston stars as the kid.
Hugo Gelin directs from a script he co-wrote with Mathieu Oullion and Jean-Andre Yerles.
The film is a co-production between Vendome Production, SND productions and Mars Films.
It’s already drawing international interest from distributors at the American Film Market where it’s being shopped, as Sy is an international star, thanks in great part to the humongous global success that was his break-out film, "Intouchables" 3 years ago, which won him the French equivalent of the Best Actor Oscar – the first time a black actor had won the award in France. Distributors are likely hoping for another feel-good Omar Sy dramedy that’ll win audiences over.
No USA pickup yet.
Above is a first-look at the film via an official film still released by Vendome.
Most recently, Omar Sy starred in "Samba," the latest dramedy directed by Sy’s "Intouchables" helmers – Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano – co-starring Charlotte Gainsbourg and Tahar Rahiin, in a tale of a Senegalese worker who battles to stay in France with the help of an immigration worker.
Sy made history when he became the first black actor to win the César Award for Best Actor (the French equivalent of the Oscars) in 2012, for his work in "Intouchables." He since has been making himself familiar to American audiences, after moving with his family to Los Angeles, and booking roles in Hollywood fare, like the last X-Men movie, and this upcoming "Jurassic Park" sequel.
"Two is a Family" is just one of a handful of new projects on his slate, including Stephen Gaghan’s crime drama "The Candy Store;" a biopic on Rafael Padilla – a former Cuban-born slave, who became the first black artist in France during the Belle Epoque era – and more.
