THE EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY OF THE FAKIR

A film by Marjane Satrapi
Written by : Romain Puértolas
BASED ON THE INTERNATIONAL BEST-SELLER BY ROMAIN PUÉRTOLAS
TRANSLATED INTO 37 LANGUAGES
Published in 50 countries - A best-seller in Germany, in Sweden and in Spain!
Adventurous and cinematic, the first novel of newcomer Romain Puértolas delivers a serious lesson
in a light-hearted wrapper that was ideally suited for a big-screen adaptation.
STRONG REVIEWS
‘This summer's must-read novel’ - The Telegraph, UK
’A novel full of heart and conscience that never takes itself too seriously.’ - The Guardian, UK
‘(An) entertaining and original style.’ -
StarTribune, USA
‘It’s funny, occasionally hilarious. It combines farce worthy of Laurel and Hardy with socio-political satire that may
remind readers of Voltaire’s “Candide”.’ - The Washington Times, USA
Genre: COMEDY – ADVENTURE TALE - IN PRE-PRODUCTION -
Language: English
Budget: 11M EUR
Shoot: June – August 2016 in Paris, Rome, India (Jodhpur) and Morocco (Casablanca)
Delivery: Summer 2017
Director : Marjane Satrapi – Persepolis (animation) Jury Prize Cannes 2008, Academy Award nomination Best Animated
Feature Film, Césars for Best First Film and Best Adaptation; Chicken With Plums, with Mathieu Amalric, Best Narrative Film, Abu
Dhabi, Best Foreign Film, São Paulo ; The Voices, with Ryan Reynolds, Audience Award and Jury Prize, Gerardmer
As an author : Persepolis, translated into forty languages, named one of the “100 Best Books of the Decade” by The Times ;
Embroideries, Chicken with Plums.
Cinematographer : Maxime Alexandre – Warrior’s Gate (2015), The Ninth Life Of Louis Drax (2015), The Voices (2014),
Mirrors (2012), Marock (2006).
Production designer : Udo Kramer – Point Break (2015), The Voices (2014), The Physician (2013), Into The White (2012),
Chicken With Plums (2011).
Writers : Romain Puértolas – author of the novel ; Luc Bossi –The Prey (2011) ; Mood Indigo (2013) ;
Jon Goldman – Writer/director of shorts Diplomacy (20 international awards) ; Market Hours (The Weinstein Company).
Aja, a poor but talented magician from a village in India, is sent on a mysterious mission by
his sick mother to visit the Eiffel Tower.
A disaster with an eccentric taxi driver leaves him stranded outside Paris at IKEA, where he
falls head over heels for Marie, a lovely Franco-American who befriends him. But his hopes
for love are dashed when he gets stuck in a wardrobe and shipped across Europe!
On the run from bandits and border police, he meets a colorful cast of characters as he
hops across the globe escaping danger.
Can his clever imagination and briefcase of magic tricks get him back to Paris to find Marie
and solve the mystery of his mother’s secret mission?
THE VOICES
CHICKEN WITH PLUMS
PERSEPOLIS
2014
2011
2011
Gerardmer Audience Award
and Jury Prize
Venice nomination for Golden Lion
Abu Dhabi Award for Best Film
Cannes Jury Prize winner
2 César Awards and 4 nominations
Oscar nomination for Best Animation
Golden Gobes nomination for Best Foreign Film
2 BAFTA nominations
Int’l B.O. : $22,8 M
Dhanush (Bollywood and Tamil cinema star)
Uma Thurman (Kill Bill 1 and 2, Prime)
Barkhad Abdi (Eye in the Sky, Captain Phillips)
Laurent Lafitte (Paul Verhoeven’s Elle, Albert
Dupontel’s Au Revoir La Haut, Daddy Or Mommy))
Alexandra Daddario (Baywatch, True Detective, San Andreas)
Gemma Arterton
(Their Finest Hour and a half, The History Of Love, Orpheline )
Abel Jafri (Timbuktu)
Seema Biswas (The Queen Bandit, Midnight’s Children)
The Extraordinary Journey Of The Fakir is a fable about a storyteller who challenges poverty and fate with magic,
illusions and tall tales. Through the power of words - a mysterious riddle given to him by his mother - he
becomes a traveler, leaving his country for Europe. He finds love along the way, but also men with stories far
more tragic than his.
Evoking the real Kathputli in New Delhi where every inhabitant is a magician or a puppeteer, Marjane Satrapi
aims to create with this film a world of wonder, but also one rooted in reality. Herself an Iranian-born artist
whose work is known today all around the world, her story will acknowledge the despair of those forced to leave
their home country due to famine or war, and the hope of those who leave to pursue their dreams...
Fueled by fantasy and the power of love, the film will offer a funny and poignant ride which will help us realize
that we need only open our eyes to understand both the struggles and the magic of our world. Inspired by such
illustrious predecessors as Wes Anderson’s Grand Budapest Hotel, Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris, Roberto
Benigni’s Life Is Beautiful, Terry Gilliam’s Adventures of Baron Munchausen and Ken Loach’s heartwarming
dramas, Marjane Satrapi will aim to celebrate life in a film that will be the synthesis of her work as an artist.