‘Romantic comedy but with two heroines’: Berenger Crieff reveals Anouk’s stories on France TV Slash

France TV Slash publishes Anuki stories online this Tuesday. Adapted from the novel “iLove” by Marion Michau, the film follows the sentimental failures of a lonely woman in her search for love.

When a photo of a handsome brunette magically appears on her phone, Anuki’s shopaholic gene takes control of her personality. With the help of her best friend Poca, she discovers that a handsome stranger lives in Barcelona. They follow the direction that fate seems to be leading them and leave for a weekend under the Spanish sun.

Between Prince Charming appearing on her cell phone, chance meetings in Barcelona, ​​and a recent suitor from Paris who keeps sending Anuki very toxic messages, she’ll have to make the right choices to end her stories this time. ok

Halfway between a romantic comedy and a buddy movie, Anouk’s Stories is a romantic comedy unlike any other. If, of course, we find all the clichés that we like in the genre, the film also approaches the adventures of this eccentric heroine in a modern and original way. It’s refreshing and funny.

Accompanied by the sparkling and sunny Berenger Krief, Anouk’s stories speak clearly of love, but also of friendship. Moreover, his duet with Noémie Chicheportiche is a real success. Funny and endearing, their characters take us on a crazy adventure to find love for Anouk.

Meeting at the La Rochelle Literature Festival in September 2022, Berenger Crieff, the hero of the film, entrusted the microphone to Allocine for this romantic comedy, which should delight fans of the genre, but not only!

Alocine: How did you get involved in the project “Stories of Anuk”?

Berenger Crieff : I met Marion Michau through his books, which I have read all of them. Then Jacques Kluger (the director and screenwriter of the film editor’s note) offered me a series project and co-wrote it. We started talking about authors and I immediately thought of Marion Michau. We worked on this project for several months with Jacques and Marion. It matched well between them. That’s how they came up with the idea of ​​adapting this book and how they thought of me as the character of Anuuk.

What role exactly did Marion Michau play in the film?

He completely adapted the story. We know that from a book to a movie, there are a lot of changes that need to be made to make it viable. On the set, if necessary, he corrected certain scenes.

Why is the title of the film different from Marion Michaud’s work?

I don’t know why we changed the name, but “I Love You” didn’t say much about the movie. “News of Anuk” is more telling. We see more clearly what we intend to see.

Did the modernity of the script and the approach to romance seduce you?

I’ve always been a romantic comedy fan. Today I find it interesting to convey messages other than perfection. In Anook’s stories we are closer to Bridget Jones. It’s a romantic comedy, but with two main characters. I love the theme, the format. I love it very much (laughs).

If Anuki is looking for Prince Charming, the friendship she shares with Poca almost steals the show in your character’s initial quest. Did you already know each other with Noemi Chicheportice?

Anuki and Poka are a bit of the best friend duo we all dream of. Among them, they cover all the problems that we may have and that we may face about love, marriage or even motherhood.

I met Noemi Chicheportiche at the court proceedings. It happened immediately, I can’t even explain it. Our first day of shooting was in Barcelona and we didn’t know each other very well. It was a bit of a movie within a movie as we found ourselves on an adventure very quickly. We laughed a lot. We can’t dream of a better way for lovers to stay close for a long time. There was a kind of truth. There are times when we’re not really playing, times when we actually died laughing.

Going to Spain to find the man in the photos on her phone, could she be a stalker?

Yes (laughs). There is little Amelie Poulin in Anouk. She goes to Barcelona with her best friend to find a boy she’s only seen in pictures. He really investigates. And to meet him is to jump into the void, because it is a confrontation with reality.

Ultimately, this journey is more of an initiative quest in which Anouk finds himself. Isn’t that ultimately the message of this film?

absolutely ! Anuk does not know who he really is. He learns this throughout the film. This is the kind of girl you meet a lot. He’s the kind of person they say”I don’t understand why no one has it But he just doesn’t know that he is really great. He does not know himself.

It’s a romantic comedy, but it’s also a portrait of a generation of love. What does this movie ultimately say about our romantic relationships?

I did some coaching last summer. A kind of master class on love. Over time, past stories, failures, the feeling that I would always live the same life, I was left with the impression that I was useless in a relationship and did not create love. My coach was an amazing girl. For an hour a day we discussed topics that gave me hope.

I’m a big believer in meeting someone with whom it matches and with whom it will be easy. As in true friendship, even if it is difficult at times. I know how to do it in friendship, so I should be able to do it in love, but I have to base it on my own feelings. What do I like about interacting with others? Do I like it or not? Do I want it to be passion? Pretty moderate actually. My friends, I meet them and I don’t think they became my friends for 15 years. In the end, this is the magic of the work. And it gave me faith again.

I realized that I was not going to miss the match of my life and that it would happen eventually. I didn’t have to be on dating apps all the time to hire someone. I realized that I wanted to live a love story as a friendship based on something powerful beyond my control. I found myself. That’s all the movie is about.

Syndrome E, Dragon’s Breath and Anuk Stories, this is definitely a big year for you. Do you have other projects?

I’m currently filming Nouveau Départ, a comedy by Philippe Lefebvre with Karin Viard. Very funny with strong messages.

Interview at the La Rochelle Festival of Fiction in September 2022.