THE EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY OF THE FAKIR
Directed by: Ken Scott
Written by: Romain Puértolas & Luc Bossi
Produced by: Aditi Anand, Luc Bossi, Gulzar Inder Chahal, Samir Gupta, Saurabh Gupta, Grégoire Lassalle, Genevieve Lemal, Jaime Mateus-Tique,
Starring: Dhanush, Erin Moriarty, Bérénice Bejo, Barkhad Abdi, Gérard Jugnot
Theatrical Release Date: June 21, 2019
US Distributor: Cradle Walk Pictures
Rating: PG-13
Run Time: 92 minutes
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SYNOPSIS
After his mother’s death, a young fakir from the streets of Mumbai, AJATASHATRU or ‘AJA’ (“Dhanush”), leaves India for France to track down the father he never knew. From the moment he arrives in Paris, nothing goes as planned. Aja falls in love with a young American woman (“Erin Moriarty”) having an existential crisis, wakes up in a truck full of Somalian Refugees (“Barkhad Abdi”) headed for England, is held hostage in a bureaucratic war, sorts out the love life of a Movie Star (“Berenice Bejo”), gets shot at by a hitman in a Roman palace, travels by private jet, merchant ship and hot-air balloon, and becomes a rich man for the span of a few hours. As Aja finds himself helplessly shipped from Folkestone to Barcelona, and from Rome to Tripoli, what was initially supposed to be a simple visit to Paris to discover his father’s identity turns into a veritable odyssey.
ABOUT THE BOOK & AUTHOR
Romain Puértolas (born 1975) is a French author. He is most noted for the bestselling French novel The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir Who Got Trapped in an Ikea Wardrobe, which has been translated into English and has become an international bestseller sold in over 30 other countries with 37 Language translations. The novel sold over 100,000 copies in France by August 2014 and topped French bestseller lists.
In this wildly comedic romp around Europe, a fakir—and professional con artist—from rural India arrives in Paris with one goal: to visit IKEA. But his plan goes horribly awry when he climbs inside a wardrobe at the iconic Swedish retailer— the first in a series of missteps that will send him on a whirlwind tour across the continent. As his journey progresses, the fakir finds unlikely friends in even unlikelier places. To his surprise, the stirrings of compassion well up in his heart, even as his adventures lead to meditations on the perils of immigration and the universal desire for a better life.
Propelled by laughter, love, and, ultimately, redemption, The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir Who Got Trapped in an Ikea Wardrobe is a work of manic energy and biting social commentary, and a charmingly exuberant debut from an exciting new literary voice.
It is the story of this ‘Fakir’ who falls in love and turns away from his life of deception that has seduced more than 500,000 readers in France and reached best-seller status in many countries, including Germany and Sweden, IKEA’s home country. It was published by Alfred A. Knopf in the US.
CAST & CREW
Dhanush / Aja : Dhanush is an Indian film super star actor, director, producer, writer, lyricist, and playback singer best known for his work in Tamil cinema. Dhanush's first film was Thulluvadho Ilamai, a 2002 coming-of- age film directed by his father, Kasthuri Raja. Over the next ten years, Dhanush has starred in over 25 films. Dhanush won the Best Actor award at the 58th National Film Awards for his performance in Aadukalam (2010). In 2011, Dhanush received international attention with his popular song "Why this Kolaveri Di" which became the first Indian video song to cross 100 million views on YouTube. On 18th November 2004, Dhanush married Aishwarya, the daughter of South Indian Films legend Rajnikanth. Dhanush produces films under his production company, Wunderbar Films. He has won 3 National Film Awards and 7 Filmfare Awards.
Erin Moriarty / Marie: Erin Moriarty is an American actress. Among her first notable roles were in the center of a love triangle with Nick Robinson and Gabriel Basso in The Kings of Summer, in The Watch as Vince Vaughn's daughter and in Red Widow. She had a recurring role on season 1 of True Detective as Audrey Hart, the problem child of Woody Harrelson's character and in season 1, of Jessica Jones, Moriarty played the critical role of a college student with a difficult life. She appeared
in Blood Father, a 2016 film starring Mel Gibson. Her role as Gibson's daughter in Blood Father received praise from critics such as Manohla Dargis of The New York Times, Alonso Duralde of The Wrap and Owen Gleiberman of Variety. In September 2014, Erin Moriarty was named one of the best actors under twenty years of age by IndieWire. In her role as Claire McCune in Captain Fantastic in 2016 - nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
Bérénice Bejo / Actress: Bérénice Bejo is a French Argentine actress who played Christiana in the 2001 film A Knight's Tale and Peppy Miller in the 2011 film The Artist. Her performance in The Artist received critical acclaim, the César Award for Best Actress and several award nominations: the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role, the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture award, BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She won Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival in 2013 for her performance in The Past. She dubbed the role of Mérida in the French dub of the Disney/Pixar film Brave. In 2012, she was announced as the host of the opening and closing ceremonies at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and in June 2012, Bejo was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The same month, she received the Prix Romy Schneider.
Barkhad Abdi / Somalian Refugee: Barkhad Abdi is a Somali-American actor and director. He made his debut in the 2013 film Captain Phillips, for which he received various film award nominations, including the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture, and BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, the latter of which he won.
Gérard Jugnot / Parisian Taxi Driver and Trickster: Gérard Jugnot is a French actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer. Jugnot was one of the founders of the comedy troupe Le Splendid in the 1970s, along with, among others, his high- school friends Christian Clavier, Thierry Lhermitte, and Michel Blanc. Jugnot gained international fame for his lead role in Les Choristes in which he played
Clément Mathieu. The last movie he directed was C'est beau la vie quand on y pense (2017). Jugnot is the father of comedian Arthur Jugnot, born in 1980 to Jugnot and wardrobe designer Cécile Magnan. He was made Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur in 2004.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Ken Scott is a Canadian screenwriter, actor, director, and comedian. He is best known as a member of the comedy group Les Bizarroïdes with Martin Petit, Stéphane E. Roy and Guy Lévesque, and as screenwriter of the films Seducing Doctor Lewis, Guide de la petite vengeance, and Starbuck, as well as television series Le Plateau.
• Sticky Fingers (2009), director
• Starbuck (2011), director
• The Grand Seduction (2013), screenplay writer
• Delivery Man (2013), director
• Unfinished Business (2015), director
• Doctor Sleep (TBA), director
Scott won the Audience Award at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival for Seducing Doctor Lewis. He has been nominated for the Quebec film industry's Prix Jutra and the National Genie Awards four times each; at both ceremonies, Scott and Petit won the 2012 awards for Best Original Screenplay for Starbuck.