In Burgundy the 7th art has been invited for a long time!
The 7th art and Burgundy have long had close ties. For almost a century, all or part of the films that count among the great classics of cinema have been shot in these settings. Thus, in the 1930s, Julien Duvivier came to direct his adaptation of Poil de Carotte in the places where its author, Jules Renard, grew up, in Chitry-les-Mines and Lormes (as well as in Chalon-sur-Saône). In the 1960s, many scenes from the saga Angélique, Marquise des anges were filmed at the châteaux of Tanlay, Marigny-le-Cahouët and Fontenay Abbey. Le Capitan by André Hunnebelle with Jean Marais and Bourvil was filmed in the old Avallon. Nevers received Alain Resnais for Hiroshima mon amour, Eric Rohmer with Conte d'hiver, and Louis Malle for Les Amants while the latter chose Saint-Honoré-les-Bains for Le Souffle au cœur. The ducal city also hosted the filming of Bobby Deerfield by the American Sidney Pollack (who also filmed in Magny-Cours), while Bazoche hosted La Révolution française reviewed by Robert Enrico. We can also mention (among others) Mon oncle Benjamin by Édouard Molinaro, with Jacques Brel: the adaptation of the novel by Claude Tillier from Clamecy was filmed in Avallon, Vézelay, Pierre-Perthuis and at the château of Chastellux-sur-Cure. Jean-Jacques Annaud's Coup de tête (with Patrick Dewaere) was set in the streets of Auxerre in 1976, and traced the life of a small soccer club very much inspired by the AJA. As for Bertrand Blier's unforgettable Les Valseuses, it was partly shot in the Côte-d'Or, at Pont d'Ouche, at the Baugey lock and in Beaune. There was also the masterpiece Cyrano de Bergerac by Jean-Paul Rappeneau; Gérard Depardieu and his partners took over the old Dijon and the Abbaye de Fontenay. Later, for Lucie Aubrac, Claude Berry set his cameras in Tournus and Cuisery while Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche worked on the film Le Chocolat by the Swede Lasse Hallström in Flavigny-sur-Ozerain. Comme une image by Agnès Jaoui, (with Jean-Pierre Bacri) passed through Vault-de-Lugny and L'Isle-sur-Serein in the Yonne, and Saint-Aubin des Chaumes in the Nièvre. Finally, in 2006, Laurent Tirard's Molière (with Romain Duris and Fabrice Luchini) and Matthew Vaughn's Stardust (with Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer) settled - like many others before them! - in Noyers-sur-Serein.
In the footsteps of "La Grande Vadrouille"..
A source of inspiration for film-makers, Noyers was also the setting for several scenes in La Grande Vadrouille in 1966. This film is the pride of Burgundy, as most of the sets were shot here. Louis de Funès and Bourvil left their mark in this beautiful village, near the Maison de l'Étoile and the Maison de l'Écrit which, for the duration of the film, became the Hôtel du Globe, where the 2 legendary actors engaged in the mythical chair scene. Before and after a tour of the Vézelay countryside. Indeed, it was in and around Vézelay that the night scenes were filmed, and it was in these settings that the two stars walked for a long time, De Funès on Bourvil's shoulders! Then it's on to the Nièvre region, Pouques-Lormes and Anthien to be precise. Then the Côte-d'Or, with a stopover in Meursault and another anthology at the Hospices de Beaune. Some 60 years on, this film, one of the most popular in cinema history, is a real tourist attraction for the region. A walk in the footsteps of Gérard Oury's comedy is promoted by the Avallonnais tourist office, and guided tours are offered in Meursault to discover the town's heritage as seen in the film.
Today's cinema also goes through that!
Far from running out of steam, Burgundy remains a powerful inspiration for today's filmmakers. After Le Mystère de la Chambre jaune and Le Parfum de la Dame en noir, in which he chose the Nièvre, Bruno Podalydès shot scenes from Comme un avion (with Agnès Jaoui and Sandrine Kiberlain) in Puisaye, Charny, in 2015. Claude Lelouch directed 3 of his latest films in Beaune, Roman de gare, Chacun sa vie, and La Vertu des impondérables in 2019. Earlier, Cédric Klapisch released Ce qui nous lie, a film about the transmission of a vineyard set entirely on the Côte de Beaune. Winner of the 2020 Césars, Jusqu'à la garde starring Léa Drucker was set in Demigny, Saône-et-Loire. In the same year, Lucas Belvaux's Des hommes (with Gérard Depardieu and Catherine Frot) settled in Château-Chinon, where a Chinese production, Léo Zhang's Fox Hunt with Tony Leung, was also shot. Scheduled for release in 2021, the film was shot at the Château de Prye stables. In fact, China loves Burgundy scenery. As proof, in 2019, crews from Beijing settled in Auxerre, where a major series and a blockbuster were shot. In 2023, Géraldine Nakache and Grégory Gadebois came to shoot Ronan Tronchot's Paternel, released in spring 2024. Further north, in Sens, a strong policy of encouraging film shoots has also been put in place. And they're succeeding. In 2020 alone, Laure Calamy came here to shoot Être en mouvement, and Jean-Jacques Annaud was preparing part of Notre-Dame brûle , to be released in 2022, on the cathedral grounds and forecourt. Indeed, it was the building in Sençon that the director chose to portray the Parisian monument. Since then, filming has continued in the Senon region. An effective local policy that echoes that of the entire region, which is working to develop the film industry in the area. A website has been set up for professionals(www.filmbourgognefranchecomte.com) , while a support fund has been set up for producers wishing to set up their cameras here. To make things easier, a "Bureau d'accueil des tournages en région Bourgogne-Franche-Comté" has even been set up, with headquarters in Avallon. The aim is to make Burgundy one of the world's leading film locations!
