EXCLUSIVE: Goodfellas has lifted the lid on French plastic artist and documentarian Philippe Parreno’s first fiction feature Riverrun, starring the buzzy trio of Charlotte Gainsbourg, Zoe Saldaña and Vicky Krieps, as it boards sales ahead of the EFM.
Gainsbourg stars as Lucy, a musician who is slowly losing control over her body and voice. Her psychiatrist, Dr Cruz (Saldaña) sends her to a clinic in Spain where she meets Tony, played by Krieps.
What begins as a treatment slowly becomes a journey towards an unexpected understanding of herself. Spanish actress Angela Molina (Live Flesh) rounds out the cast as a nurse at the clinic in the cast.
The film marks a return to the indie film world for Saldaña, who is currently in cinemas in James Cameron’s blockbuster Avatar: Fire and Ash, having enjoyed a buzzy 2024-25 awards season run as co-star of Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Pérez.
Cannes Best Actress winner Gainsbourg (Antichrist), who was seen most recently in Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme, has collaborated with Parreno a number of times, leading her voice to his art installations.
Krieps is coming off a high-profile 2025 which saw the Phantom Thread and Corsage star hit the big screen in five films including Jim Jarmusch’s Father Mother Sister Brother and Cannes Un Certain Regard title Love Me Tender, for which she was nominated for best actress at the European Film Awards.
Parreno’s documentary feature work includes Zidane, A 21st Century Portrait, co-directed with Douglas Gordon, capturing the soccer star with 17 synchronized cameras as he played in a Spanish La Liga match between Real Madrid and Villarreal. The film premiered Out of Competition in Cannes, traveled the festival circuit and was nominated for a César.
Shot under the radar last year, Riverrun is the latest feature production from Riley Keough and Gina Gammell’s production company Felix Culpa Films after Manodrome and Cannes Golden Camera winner War Pony.
They are joined by Anna Lena Films, which produced Zidane, A 21st Century Portrait, as well as MDAC Productions, L.E.A.F. Films and Witness Cinema.
The Smashing Machine cinematographer Maceo Bishop lensed the film, while Oscar-winning Sound of Metal sound designer and composer Nicolas Becker is also on board, working alongside Madonna music video collaborator Lex Dromgoole.
