Guillaume Canet and Marion Cotillard happily reflected on what they described as the close and collaborative experience they underwent to develop their Cannes Competition title Karma this afternoon during a press conference. 

Canet directed the film from a screenplay he also wrote. But the veteran filmmaker told the press room that he began the project as part of a theoretical task of developing a story that he could write specifically for Cotillard to star in. 

“I know Marion very well. We’ve worked together often, and I’d had this frustration as a director that I hadn’t really written a character commensurate with her talent,” Canet said. “She’s always extraordinary, but I wanted to be on a set with her for a long time to really make the most of her absolutely amazing talent. She’s exceptional and incredibly generous. She never does the same takes. It was a wonderful pleasure to have this experience as a director.” 

Discussing the experience, Cotillard said Canet approached her with several ideas for a feature film before providing her with a full script. 

“They were all actually good. I reacted to everything,” she said of Canet’s ideas. “But it was this particular idea that took shape and seemed very vibrant to me. We naturally realized it was the right topic.  I followed the creative process from the very beginning. There were times of doubt and questioning, but when I read the first script, which wasn’t the final script, I had a strong emotional reaction, and he knows when I have that reaction, I know we’re going in the right direction.”

Karma follows Cotillard as a woman with a troubled past whose new life is upended by a child’s disappearance. The film marks Cotillard and Canet’s sixth collaboration after Little White Lies, Blood Ties, Rock’n Roll, Little White Lies 2, and Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom.

The film is produced by Paris-based Iconoclast in co-production with Canet’s Caneo France. Pathé Films is handling French distribution and international sales.

Cannes runs until May 23.