Studiocanal unveils a fresh still of Leïla Bekhti from Jeunet’s latest project, Violette
A first-look image features Leïla Bekhti, the Cesar-winning French star best known for Once Upon My Mother, in Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s upcoming film Violette. The shot was released as filming wrapped on location across France this past September. The movie adapts Valérie Perrin’s worldwide bestseller Fresh Water for Flowers (Changer l’eau des fleurs), which has sold over three million copies to date. Slotted as a French-language highlight on Studiocanal’s 2026 slate, Violette also features Matthias Schoenaerts (Rust and Bone), Melvil Poupaud (Jeanne du Barry), Anouk Grinberg (The Innocent), Sergio Castellitto (Conclave), Alban Lenoir (Lost Bullet), and Elodie Batard Gaultier, who appears alongside Bekhti in the released still.
Bekhti’s recent acclaimed performance in Once Upon My Mother sets the stage for her portrayal of Violette Toussaint, a compassionate cemetery caretaker in a small Burgundy town. In the film, she spends her days listening to the stories of quirky cemetery workers and the many visitors who share memories of love, loss, and life. The tranquility is shaken when a local police chief comes to her door with an unusual request. As their bond deepens, Violette must confront buried truths from her past if she hopes to seize a new chance at life—and, perhaps, love.
The screenplay is a Jeunet–Laurant collaboration, with Guillaume Laurant, a longtime contributor to Jeunet’s celebrated works—from Amélie to The City of Lost Children and A Very Long Engagement.
Produced by two Mediawan labels—Palomar’s Carlo Degli Esposti and Nicola Serra, and 24 25 Films’ Thibault Gast and Matthias Weber—Violette brings together seasoned producers behind titles like Piranhas, The Count of Monte Cristo, Black Box, and Kabul.
Studiocanal is handling international sales and will distribute Violette in key markets including France, the United Kingdom, the Benelux region, Germany, Austria, Poland, Australia, and New Zealand.
