The house L’Iconoclaste, which published the 2023 Goncourt Prize, has signed a contract with two French production companies.
After selling 700,000 copies, Watch over her , 2023 Goncourt Prize signed Jean-Baptiste Andrea will experience a new life on the big screen.
“I am enchanted by the idea of seeing the exceptional beings from my novel come to life on the screen, in the colors and darkness of a past world, and yet so current,” rejoiced Jean-Baptiste Andréa in a press release. Independent publishing house L’Iconoclaste, which owns the rights to the 600-page novel, has signed a contract with two French production companies to adapt Watch over her at the cinema: Maremako and Montebello Productions. Maremako was co-founded in 2021 by Muriel Sauzay, who worked on the Amazon series Greek salad (2023) by Cédric Klapisch, but also with Dany Boon for Welcome to the Ch’tis in 2008. Muriel Sauzay and François Ivernel, former president of Pathé and founder of Montebello Productions in 2014, both co-produced Slumdog Millionaire Oscar for best film of 2008.
In a joint statement, Muriel Sauzay and François Ivernel did not hide their joy at taking on the adaptation of the Goncourt: «Watch over her is an inventive epic as well as the mise en abyme of our contemporary obsessions, animated by highly romantic characters, intrigues rich in twists and turns, unforgettable scenes which predestine the book to its adaptation to the screen.
Available in 34 languages, the novel narrates the loves of Mimo, a genius sculptor born into poverty, and Viola, a descendant of the most powerful family in Liguria. Mimo, a recluse in a Piedmontese abbey for around forty years, remembers his unique relationship with Viola and returns to the history of his masterpiece.
