Cinemaginaire producer Denise Robert calls Le Siege de l’ame Olivier Asselin’s ‘first professional movie, a daring, philosophical fairy tale for adults.’

‘It’s a comedy with a wonderful sense of irony and a period piece,’ says Robert, who coproduced Le Siege with Arlette Dion on a budget of $1.4 million.

The film was shot over 33 days with some additional shooting between April and June 1996 and is one of two Canadian films entered in official competition at this year’s Montreal World Film Festival.

In Le Siege, scripted by Asselin and set in a dreary late 19th century city, scientists seek the key to immortality while others search for the secrets of the soul. The search takes a dramatic twist when young Jules, himself a scientist, uncovers an ancient mummy whose heart continues to beat but whose soul has vanished.

As Jules falls for the beautiful Sophie, a cynical but determined detective begins a subterranean investigation for the seat of the human soul.

Stage and tv actor Emmanuel Bilodeau (Le Volcan tranquille, L’Instit) plays Jules opposite Lucille Fluet (La Liberte d’une statue) in the role of Sophie. Remy Girard (Jesus de Montreal, Ces Enfants d’ailleurs) stars as the secretive detective.

Asselin’s first film, the artistic La liberte d’une statue (1990), won a Special Jury Prize at wff after stunning the local film community when it won the Prix L.E. Ouimet-Molson for best Quebec feature film.

Robert’s filmography includes Denys Arcand’s Joyeux calvaire and the Bernard Henry-Levy international coproduction Le Jour et la nuit, officially selected for the 1997 Berlin Film Festival. Robert is the Canadian producer of Robert Lepage’s Le Confessional, winner of nine Genie awards including best motion picture and the first Canada/u.k./ France coproduction.

Craft credits on Le Siege go to dop Daniel Jobin, art director Stephane Roy, costumiere Helene Rainbird, sound recordist Marcel Chouinard and composer Francois Dompierre.

Asselin’s credits include second unit work on Arcand’s Love and Human Remains and a tv adaptation of the Thomas Bernhard novel Maitres Anciens. Asselin and Fluet are currently writing the director’s third feature film, Le capitalisme sentimental.

Telefilm Canada and sodec are among Le Siege’s investors. The Canadian distributor is Malofilm Distribution.