Everybody Loves Jeanne is the feature film directorial debut of French cinematographer and illustrator Céline Devaux. This dramedy premiered in Semaine de la Critique – a special section of the 75^th Cannes Film Festival dedicated for directors’ first or second features.
In her mid-30s, Jeanne is really determined to change the world. She develops a self-powered sea cleaning machine but during the live streamed launch, Jeanne jumps into the water to stop her invention from sinking to the bottom. After this fiasco, she loses all her investors and has no other option but to sell her mother’s apartment in Lisbon to pay off her debts. But on her way to Portugal, she meets Jean, her former high school classmate played by Laurent Lafitte from Elle, Golden Globe winning drama by Paul Verhoeven. The lead role of Jeanne is played by Blanche Gardin who co-starred Léa Seudoux in Bruno Dumont’s France in 2020.
This story was written by 35-year-old Devaux, a graduate from the National School of Decorative Arts in Paris. Her graduation film, Life and Death of the Great Rasputin, won several awards including the Clermont-Ferrand International Festival and the Angers Premiers Plans Film Festival. Her second short film Sunday Lunch was selected at Cannes official competition in 2015 and won the César for Best Animated Short Film in 2016. You Will Be Fine, her third short film won the Golden Lion in Venice in 2017. Devaux’s previous filmography also includes the screenplay of 2021’s drama Les Olympiades, Paris 13th District by Jacques Audiard she co-wrote with Audiard and Léa Mysius.
The film her animation craftsmanship by integrating a funny animated character into her storyline.  “Little Ghost” – a tiny hairy monster is the voice of Jeanne’s the most hidden thoughts, while dancing, singing, and whispering obscenities into her ear.
Everybody Loves Jeanne though she does not seem to be the biggest fan of herself: this ironic comedy full of dramatic self-reflection is an exploration of middle-age crisis through the lens of humor.