Monica Bellucci has been cast in the lead role of writer/director Guy Édoin’s latest project Ville-Marie.

“She is really brilliant and she really understood the character,” Édoin told Playback Daily.

Ville-Marie was one of two Canadian projects (along with Igor Drljaca’s Tabija) selected to participate in Cinéfondation’s Atelier program at Cannes.

The program invites 15 directors and producers with promising projects to Cannes, with the goal of connecting the filmmakers to international coproducers.

“It was a long process. We are really honoured to be there because it is really hard to get there,” said Édoin of Ville-Marie‘s admission to Atelier. He hopes the project can find a coproducer partner or an international distributor while at Cannes.

The film will be produced by Félize Frappier of Max Films, with Filmoption distributing the film in Canada. Jean-Simon DesRoches co-wrote the Ville-Maire with Édoin.

Image: cinemafestival / Shutterstock.com