''Origine contrôlée'' (US title: ''Made in France'') is a 2001

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

starring

Ronit Elkabetz Ronit Elkabetz ( he, רונית אלקבץ; 27 November 1964 – 19 April 2016) was an Israeli actress, screenwriter and film director. She worked in both Israeli and French cinema. She won three Ophir Awards and received a total of seven nomin ...

. It is also the debut French-language picture to star Elkabetz, famous for

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

-language roles in her native

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. Elkabetz acquired French fluency after moving to France in 1997. The film was written and directed by

Ahmed Bouchaala Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet. Etymology The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...

and

Zakia Tahri Zakia Tahri, also known as Zakia Bouchaâla (born 1963) is a French-based filmmaker and actress of Moroccan descent. Life Zakia Tahiri was born in Lille. She acted in the French war film ''Fort Saganne'' (1984), and played the heroine in Farida ...

. It was awarded the Le Roger Award for Best French Feature by the Avignon & New York Film Festival.

Plot synopsis

A bourgeois white man (Ligardes) finds himself the victim of mistaken identity when he dresses up in drag yet is mistaken by authorities for a criminal Algerian transsexual. During his overnight stay in jail he meets two strangers, a

beur ''Beur'' (or alternatively, ''Rebeu'') is a colloquial term, sometimes considered pejorative, in French to designate European-born people whose parents or grandparents are immigrants from the Maghreb. The equivalent term for a female beur is a ...

, Youssef (Kelif) and Sophia (Elkabetz), a woman seeking a sex-change operation. The eclectic trio embark on a hedonistic tour through Paris and the surrounding countryside, amidst the frivolities, and problems such as the immigration authorities and the police presence.

Casting

Elkabetz was cast in the starring role after directors Bouchaala and Tahri attended the closing night of her one-woman show in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

playing

Martha Graham Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American modern dancer and choreographer. Her style, the Graham technique, reshaped American dance and is still taught worldwide. Graham danced and taught for over seventy years. She wa ...

.Ronit Elkabetz - Director
Trans fax. Retrieved on 5 July 2010

Cast

as Sonia *Atmen Kalif as Youssef *

Isabelle Sadoyan Isabelle Sadoyan (12 May 1928 – 10 July 2017) was a French-Armenian actress. She was the wife of actor Jean Bouise. Her filmography includes films by Jeanne Moreau, Claude Chabrol, Claude Lelouch, Luc Besson, Jean-Luc Godard, Henri Verneuil, ...

as Aunt *Patrick Ligardes as Patrick *El Kebir as Lamine *Alexia Stresi as Marie *

Françoise Lépine Françoise Lépine is a French actress. Theatre Filmography References External links * * French film actresses Living people 20th-century French actresses 21st-century French actresses Year of birth missing (living people) P ...

as The Inspector *

Joseph Malerba Joseph Malerba (born 5 October 1962) is a French actor known for his role as police detective Walter Morlighem in the French TV series ''Braquo ''Braquo'' is a French crime drama television series created by Olivier Marchal. It was produce ...

as Human resources director *Jean-Luc Porraz as The Lawyer

References

External links

*
Trailer
2001 films Films set in France 2000s French-language films Films about race and ethnicity 2001 comedy-drama films 2001 comedy films 2001 drama films French comedy-drama films 2000s French films {{2000s-comedy-drama-film-stub