Benoît Jacquot

Benoît Jacquot

Benoît Jacquot is a French film director who has had a varied career in European cinema.Born in Paris, he began his career as assistant director of Marguerite Duras films including Nathalie Granger, India Song and also actor in the 1973 short film La Sœur du cadre.He turned to writing and...

's A Single Girl follows a day in the life of a young Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

ian woman named Valérie (played by Virginie Ledoyen

Virginie Ledoyen

Virginie Fernandez , known by her stage name Virginie Ledoyen, is a French actress.-Life and career:She was born in Aubervilliers, Paris, the daughter of Olga, a restaurateur, and Bernard Fernandez, a merchant who sold cleaning products. Her paternal grandfather was Spanish...

) who begins a new job at a four star hotel the same day she reveals to her boyfriend that she is pregnant. The 90 minute film is shot in real time in the random style of the French New Wave

French New Wave

The New Wave was a blanket term coined by critics for a group of French filmmakers of the late 1950s and 1960s, influenced by Italian Neorealism and classical Hollywood cinema. Although never a formally organized movement, the New Wave filmmakers were linked by their self-conscious rejection of...

.

This was the breakthrough role for the 19-year-old Virginie Ledoyen, best known in America for the Danny Boyle

Danny Boyle

Daniel "Danny" Boyle is an English filmmaker and producer. He is best known for his work on films such as Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, 28 Days Later, Sunshine and Trainspotting. For Slumdog Millionaire, Boyle won numerous awards in 2008, including the Academy Award for Best Director...

 film The Beach

The Beach (film)

The Beach is a 2000 adventure drama film directed by Danny Boyle and based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Alex Garland, which was adapted for the film by John Hodge. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio and features Tilda Swinton, Robert Carlyle, Virginie Ledoyen and Guillaume Canet...

, and earned her a César Award

César Award

The César Award is the national film award of France, first given out in 1975. The nominations are selected by the members of the Académie des arts et techniques du cinéma....

 nomination.

Cast

• Virginie Ledoyen
  Virginie Ledoyen
  Virginie Fernandez , known by her stage name Virginie Ledoyen, is a French actress.-Life and career:She was born in Aubervilliers, Paris, the daughter of Olga, a restaurateur, and Bernard Fernandez, a merchant who sold cleaning products. Her paternal grandfather was Spanish...
  
   as Valérie Sergent
• Benoît Magimel
  Benoît Magimel
  Benoît Magimel is a French actor. A prolific actor who was 14 when he appeared in his first film, Magimel has starred in a variety of roles in French cinema....
  
   as Rémi
• Dominique Valadié
  Dominique Valadié
  Dominique Valadié is a French actress. She studied acting at the Conservatoire national supérieur d'art dramatique in Paris. Valadié has been a lecturer at the Conservatoire national supérieur d'art dramatique since 1983....
  
   as Valérie's mother
• Véra Briole as Sabine
• Virginie Emane as Fatiah
• Michel Bompoil as Jean-Marc
• Aladin Reibel as M. Sarre
• Jean-Chrétien Sibertin-Blanc as Patrice
• Guillemette Grobon as Mme Charles
• Toni Cecchinato as Italian man
• Giulia Urso as Italian woman
• Matéo Blanc as Fabien, the child
• Jean-Claude Frissung
• Hervé Gamelin as Jean
• Catherine Guittoneau as Jean's lover
• Thang-Long as Mr. Tranh