Music Maestro A.R. Rahman’s Directorial Debut ‘Le Musk’ to Have World Premiere at Cannes
- The 36-minute film follows heiress and musician Juliet Merdinian, who, 20 years since she was orphaned, seeks out the men who changed her destiny with the memory of their scent.
“Le Musk,” the directorial debut of music maestro A.R. Rahman will have its world premiere at the ongoing Cannes Film Market’s Cannes XR program. The 36-minute film follows “heiress and musician Juliet Merdinian, who, 20 years since she was orphaned, seeks out the men who changed her destiny with one powerful memory — that of their scent,” according to a synopsis of the film, which was shot in Rome.
Described as “cinematic sensory experience incorporating virtual reality, with motion, music and scent integrated into the narrative,” Rahman developed the story from an original idea by his wife Saira. He directed from a screenplay by Gurachi Phoenix, besides composing the score.
The cast includes Nora Arnezeder and Guy Burnet in lead roles, alongside Munirih Grace and Mariam Zohrabyan. “The film was shot on 14 different cameras capturing super-resolution quality video, post-produced in stereoscopic 360 VR workflow at higher resolution and frame rate, and was finished by 10 VFX houses from around the world with close to a petabyte of data,” according to Variety.
“ ‘Le Musk’ has been several years in the making with collaborators worldwide; we’ve aimed to create an unprecedented, subtle sensory cinematic surrealism,” Rahman told Variety. “Creating a feature-length cinema VR experience that pushes boundaries of storytelling and incorporates multiple senses was a guiding force for me. Aroma and music together bring warm memories subjectively for the audience.”
Along with Rahman’s film, Indian actor R. Madhavan’s directorial debut, “Rocketry: The Nambi Effect” is scheduled to have its world premiere at the 75th edition of the prestigious film festival on May 19 as part of the celebration of India as the official country of honor at the Cannes Market this year. Per Deadline, “the film is not part of the festival’s official selection, but kicks off a tradition that the market will continue as it designates countries of honor during future editions.”
Cannes noted in a press release that India’s designation as the official country of honor coincides with the 75th year of its independence as well as the festival’s 75th anniversary – “a momentous milestone for both institutions.”
Meanwhile, the India celebration kicked off on May 18 on Majestic Beach following an introduction from the Marché du Film’s Executive Directors Jérôme Paillard & Guillaume Esmiol and a welcoming address from Anurag Singh Thakur, the Government of India’s Minister of Information & Broadcasting.
As one of the highlights of India’s status as the Country of Honor, a special screening of a restored Indian classic film, directed by Indian auteur Satyajit Ray, has been planned as part of the Festival’s Cannes Classics selection. In addition, world premieres of a selection of Indian films will be held at the Olympia Cinema.