Thank you Olympic Games: Pigskin, by Philippe Katerine, has found an international distributor

Nearly 20 years after its French release, this strange film will be shown at festivals abroad via Films Boutique.

In 2017, Philippe Katerine had caused a sensation among Americans thanks to a performance of his title “Mustache” at Jimmy Fallon's during his Late Show. But that was nothing compared to the increase in his popularity rating since his participation in the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games. Stark naked and blue, in the skin of Dionysus, the singer of “I adore” surprised audiences around the world with his offbeat interpretation, and since then, his songs have continued to climb on iTunes, Spotify and other music download sites.

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A hype which will also have consequences on his acting career: Variety reveals that following the success of this Olympic video, his film Pig skin has just acquired an international distributor. Almost 20 years after its initial release!

On April 20, 2005, Philippe Katerine released this first experimental feature film in France under the banner of Films Hatari. Pig skinit is a succession of sketches inspired by his own life, which he shared the bill with Helena Noguerra, Dominique A and Thierry Jousse – well before Katerine won the César for best supporting actor for The Big Bath. The distribution rights to the film have just been acquired by Movies Shopa company based in Lyon and Berlin, which plans to show it to an international audience at the fall festivals.

“As a big fan of Philippe Katerine's art and music, I have always considered Pig skin as a unique and incredible film, which did not receive the reception it deserved, comment with Variety Jean-Christophe Simon, head of the distribution company. He took a DIY approach to this project, and that makes it unique, both really funny and entertaining, while being a powerful documentary about the fantasies of this artist, but also about his childhood and about death.”

Michael Klein, who supported its French release in 2005, recalls that the project was born from a request he had made to Katerine two years earlier, when he teamed up with Arte to produce her short film. 1 km walk, “a patchwork of images to recreate childhood memories”he explains. The success of this short “allowed Philippe to go behind the camera for the first time with this feature, he continues. Like with his guitar when he composes songs, he had the idea of ​​composing sequences, and he asked me if I could find him a new camera. That's how it was born Pig skin. It is an almost improvised film, the self-portrait of a very playful artist, a work that carries in its heart his best friend: the child that Philippe was.”

Films Boutique has not announced a French re-release of Pig skin (for now?), but with the Toronto and Venice festivals coming soon, we should soon hear about it again…

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