Lea Seydoux Joins French Thriller “Party of Fools”

Lea Seydoux at the photocall for
Lea Seydoux at the photocall for "Oh Mercy! (Roubaix, une Lumiere)" during the 72nd annual Cannes Film in 2019. Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

The French star of Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch is set to star in Party of Fools, a period-drama thriller directed by Arnaud des Pallières.

The film is female-driven and produced by Philippe Rousselet and Jonathan Blumental, two of France’s biggest producers.

Party of Fools is expected to start filming at the end of 2020 or early 2021 and it’s written by Arnaud des Pallières and Christelle Berthevas. The film is based on true historical events and characters and it’s set during the Paris Carnival in 1893. It takes place at the Pitié Salpétrière mental institution for women, a place where politicians have fancy balls and artists and socialites gather together for festivities.

Seydoux will play Fanni, one of 150 patients who has been chosen from the 4,500 to be part of the ball due to good behavior and looks. But, Fanni’s mission is to find her mother amongst the crowd and escape.