Former French President François Hollande has found a new gig. The Socialist Party leader, who served as the leader of France before current President Emmanuel Macron, has joined the voice cast of Silex & the City – The Movie, a feature-film spinoff of a popular, Simpsons-style short-format animated series.
Hollande will lend his famous voice to the new film, which is currently in production, joining more established French talent including Bruno Solo, Julie Gayet, Stéphane Bern, Léa Drucker, Frédéric Beigbeder, Guillaume Gallienne, Léa Salamé and Amélie Nothomb.
Silex & the City follows a Stone Age family, the Dotcoms who embark on a time-travel adventure into the future. Father Blog, voiced by Franck Ekinci, mother Spam (Noémie De Lattre) and their rebellious children Url (Fabien Limousin) and Web (Camille Serceau) are familiar to French audiences. A short-form series based on the comic of the same name by French cartoonist Jul has been a primetime hit over 180, three-minute episodes on French-German network Arte.
Jul will write the Silex & the City film and will co-direct together with Jean-Paul Guigue. The feature will combine 2D animation with live-action sequences.
Franck Ekinci and Marc Jousset’s production company Je Suis Bien Content, whose animated credits include Persepolis, April and the Extraordinary World and Mars Express, will produce together with Arte Cinéma and Belgium’s Leftfield in association with BE-TV in Belgium, SG Images, CNC and Wallimages. Je Suis Bien Content’s studio in Paris and Wahoo! in Liège will handle animation on the film with the live-action portion shot in the Brussels region later this year. Delivery is expected in spring 2024.
Mars Express, a sci-fi animated film featuring the voice talents of Mathieu Amalric, Léa Drucker, Daniel Njo Lobé and Marie Bouvet, is currently in French cinemas.
Haut & Court, whose crime thriller The Night of the 12th was the big winner at this year’s Cesar awards,will release Silex & the City – The Movie in France. Urban is handling international sales.
