Gaumont Team with ‘La Famille Belier’ Helmer on French-Korean Romcom ‘#iamhere’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Gaumont has come on board “#iamhere,” a romantic comedy that will be directed by Eric Lartigau (“La Famille Belier”) with Alain Chabat (“Valerian”) and Bae Doona (“Sense8”) attached to star. Screenwriter Thomas Bidegain, whose credits include Jacques Audiard’s “Sisters Brothers,” co-wrote the script with Lartigau.

“#iamhere” will mark Lartigau’s follow up to “La Famille Belier” (pictured), the smash hit French comedy-drama that was France’s top-grossing local film in 2015 and took $80 million worldwide.

“#iamhere” will follow Chabat as Stéphane, a prominent French chef with two kids and an ex-wife who falls in love with a mysterious Korean woman (Doona) whom he meets on Instagram. On a whim, Stéphane decides to visit her in Seoul but when she doesn’t show up at the airport, he sets off to find her and spends the next 10 days searching for her . Filled with adventure, his journey allows him to open up to a new world and rediscover himself.

Cecile Gaget, head of international co-production and distribution at Gaumont, said the movie will shoot on location in France and South Korea during the cherry blossom season. The exec also said Korean partners and co-producers might come on board the project.

Budgeted at $13.5 million, the movie is being produced by Edouard Weil at Rectangle Prods., a leading French film company whose credits include Gaspar Noé’s “Climax” and Olivier Assayas’s “Clean.” Gaumont is co-producing, on top of handling international sales and French distribution rights. Lensing will take place in October and next spring.

“Following ‘La Famille Belier,’ I really wanted to tell a contemporary love story and was eager to work again with Alain Chabat (who also starred in Lartigau’s “I Do”), who came up with the project idea,” said Lartigau.

Related stories

Anurag Kashyap to Remake France's 'La Famille Belier' in India

Film Review: 'La Famille Belier'

'Timbuktu,' 'Sils Maria,' 'Saint Laurent' Vie for French Cesar Glory

Subscribe to Variety Newsletters and Email Alerts!