He’s currently enjoying huge acclaim both Stateside and here with silent charmer The Artist, but director Michel Hazanavicius is looking to get a little more darkly dramatic with his next gig: he’s announced he’ll make war-torn pic The Search.
Inspired by Fred Zinneman’s 1948 film of the same name (which saw a mother searching for her son after he survived the nightmare of Auschwitz), this new version will be set in today’s Chechnya.
"In the original film, the story revolved around a young boy who survived a concentration camp," said Hazanavicius at the Capri, Hollywood fest in Italy. "In my next film, the focus will be on the special relationship between a woman and a young boy as well."
While the film is still in early development, Hazanavicius has confirmed that it’ll be all in colour and features spoken dialogue, but does also boast one of The Artist’s best assets: actress and Hazanavicius other half Bérénice Bejo, who will star as an NGO worker in the region.
But this won’t exactly be Hazanavicius’ next contribution to cinema. He also shot a segment of multi-story sex comedy Les Infidels, which arrives in France next month.