Thibaut is an internationally renowned conductor who travels the world.  When he learns he was adopted, he discovers the existence of a younger brother, Jimmy, who works in a school cafeteria and plays the trombone in a small marching band. Everything seems to set them apart, except their love of music. Sensing his brother’s exceptional talent, Thibaut decides to remedy the injustice of fate. Jimmy begins to dream of a different life…

Genre:  Drama/Comedy
Running Time:  103 min
Country:  France
Language:  In French with English subtitles
Premiere: Palm Springs
Director: Emmanuel Courcol
Writers: Emmanuel Courcol, Irène Muscari
Producers: Marc Bordure (Agat Films – Ex Nihilo), France 2 Cinéma
Cinematographer: Maxence Lemonnier
Editor: Guerric Catala
Original Score:  Michel Petrossian
Cast:  Benjamin Lavernhe (Thibault), Pierre Lottin (Jimmy Lecocq), Sarah Suco (Sabrina), Jacques Bonnaffé (Gilbert Woszniak), Anne Loiret (Claire),
Martine Courcol-Rozès (Rose), Yvon Martin (Anthony), Isabelle Zanotti (Charlène)
International Sales: Playtime

Thibaut, an internationally renowned orchestra conductor, is diagnosed with leukemia and desperately in need of a bone marrow transplant. His search for a donor leads him to discover, at 37, that he was, in fact, adopted… and actually has a biological brother somewhere in France. Their lives may be worlds apart — Thibaut was raised in a posh Parisian suburb and has a seemingly charmed life, while Jimmy lives in a small working-class town, slings hash in a cafeteria and plays trombone in the local marching band. But blood runs thicker than water and it turns out that, each in his own way, they share a profound connection to music. Actors Benjamin Lavernhe and Pierre Lottin bring them to life with all of their longings, resentments and complexes intact, in Emmanuel Courcol‘s heartfelt ode to the power of music and brotherly love.

“After training as an actor and appearing in a number of feature films, Emmanuel Courcol ventured into screenwriting, collaborating with writer-director Philippe Loiret on Mademoiselle (2001), The Light (COLCOA 2005) and Welcome (COLCOA 2009 Audience Award), for which they were nominated for a César Award for Best Original Screenplay. He cowrote the scripts for François Favrat’s Boomerang (2015 and Kamen Kalev’s Face Down (2015). Courcol made his directorial debut with Ceasefire (COLCOA 2017). His second feature, The Big Hit (COLCOA 2021) was awarded the European Film Award for Best Comedy. The Marching Band, his third feature, premiered in competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and is presented at TAFFF 2024 prior to its release in France“.   …. American French Film Festival in Los Angeles