French director Sylvain Fusée is currently in the Czech Republic filming the period comedy Philibert, shooting on sound stages at Barrandov Studios as well as locations in and around Prague.
Philibert is produced by Nikolas and Eric Altmeyer, whose credits include the OSS 117 franchise and François Ozon’s Potiche, which will screen in Toronto and Venice. The film is the theatrical debut of Fusée, who has previously directed numerous television productions for Canal+. Marc Jenny of Prague-based Okko Production is the film’s executive producer.
Philibert is a comedy in the style of Errol Flynn swashbucklers. Belgian actor Jérémie Renier stars in the title role, a young man seeking to avenge his father’s death.
Czech crews have built stage sets and painted backdrops to recreate the look of Hollywood productions of the 1930s and ’40s. Barrandov’s Stage 5 hosts a slave galley with oars and rowing benches, while crews have created an extensive fortress interior on Stage 7. Film Laboratory Barrandov Studios is providing film processing for the production, while Flash Barrandov supplies special effects.
Filming began July 19, making the production one of the first to take advantage of the Czech Republic’s new incentives, which offer filmmakers rebates of up to 20% on their local spend. Fusée will wrap production in the Czech Republic on September 11 before concluding filming with four days on the French coast.
Canal+ will release Philibert on 6 April 2011.