Juliette Binoche has lined up her next project. The Oscar-winning actress will portray a journalist in “Vision,” from “Radiance” director Naomi Kawase, ScreenDaily confirms. Filming on the mysterious-sounding drama has already begun in Japan.
Binoche will play Jeanne, “a journalist tracking a mysterious rare herb that appears only once every 997 years,” the source reports. “Further plot details remain under wraps although the producers revealed that Kawase’s trademark themes of ‘nature and the cycle of life’ will feature prominently in the work.”
“Vision” is set in Nara Prefecture, part of the Kansai region of Japan. Kawase originally hails from the locale. Marianne Slot’s Slot Machine is producing the project, as is Kawase’s Kumie Inc.
Binoche and Kawase met earlier this year at the Cannes Film Festival. Binoche was starring in Claire Denis’ “Let the Sunshine In,” a portrait of a divorced artist looking for love. Kawase was presenting “Radiance,” which traces the relationship between a writer for the visually impaired and an older photographer who is going blind.
“The moment I met her, I knew I wanted to work with her,” Kawase recalled. “From that decision all of the pieces fit together into a perfect puzzle. It was only three months from the day I met Juliette to the start of the shoot today.”
According to Binoche, the feeling was mutual. “I always loved the sense of space in Naomi’s films and the inner search of her characters,” she said. “What I’m living now in Yoshino is a dream come true; I wanted to see small villages, mountains, and a sense of traditions which is quite different from the conventions we live under.”
Binoche is currently starring as a choreographer in “Polina,” Valérie Müller and Angelin Preljocaj’s film about a young ballet dancer (Anastasia Shevtsova) who discovers a passion for modern dance. “Let the Sunshine In” will open in France October 11, but no U.S. release has been announced yet. Denis took home the SACD Award for the film at Cannes this year.
Kawase is also a Cannes winner. “Radiance” won the Ecumenical Jury Prize this year. Previously, the director won the fest’s Golden Coach Award in 2009, the Grand Jury Prize for “The Mourning Forest” in 2007, and the Caméra d’Or for “Suzaku” in 1997. Kawase served as the president of both the Cinefondation section and Short Film Jury at Cannes 2016. She has also helmed films like “Sweet Bean” and “Still the Water.”
