Jumbo

Jumbo (2020)

Jeanne, a shy young woman, works as a night guard at an amusement park and has a close relationship with her mother. While no man can compete with this opposed duo, Jeanne begins to develop strange romantic feelings for Jumbo, the latest attraction at the theme park...

Date of release
2020-07-01
TMDB
5.6 / 10 (62)
Runtime
1h 33m
Genres
Fantasy, Romance
Director
Zoé Wittock

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Awards: 0 · Nominations: 1

Jumbo is a 2020 fantasy drama film written and directed by Zoé Wittock in her feature directorial debut. An international co-production of France, Belgium and Luxembourg, the film stars Noémie Merlant as Jeanne, a shy amusement-park worker who develops a romantic and sexual attachment to a fairground ride. Emmanuelle Bercot, Bastien Bouillon and Sam Louwyck appear in supporting roles.

Production

Wittock developed the idea for Jumbo after reading about Erika Eiffel, who had become known for her romantic attachment to the Eiffel Tower. Wittock contacted Eiffel while researching object sexuality and said that their conversations helped shift her view of the subject away from the stereotypes she had initially associated with it.

Wittock decided not to model Jeanne's relationship directly on the Eiffel Tower, which she considered too static for the film she wanted to make. She instead chose an amusement-park attraction because it could move, produce sounds and use lights, allowing the object to appear responsive without giving it a human voice or turning it into an explicitly anthropomorphic machine.

The project took part in the Mannheim Meeting Place and the Frontières international co-production market before entering production. Anaïs Bertrand produced the film through the French company Insolence Productions, with Belgium's Kwassa Films and Luxembourg's Les Films Fauves as co-producers. Financing included support from the CNC, Eurimages, the Wallonia-Brussels Federation and Film Fund Luxembourg.

Nearly 100 actresses were auditioned for the role of Jeanne. Wittock later recalled that although Merlant gave a strong first audition, she was initially not called back because the director thought her presence appeared too forceful for the character. After continuing the search for several months, Wittock invited her to audition again and cast her in the role.

Jumbo was filmed before Merlant was cast in Céline Sciamma's Portrait of a Lady on Fire, although the latter film was completed and released first. Wittock approached Bercot after seeing her work as both an actress and filmmaker, particularly her performance in My King.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

Recommended