PARIS — Shooting began recently on the Charles Aznavour biopic, titled “Monseiur Aznavour,” by Grand Corps Malade (Fabien Marceau) and Medhi Idir, co-directors of several feature films since 2017. The project was known to Aznavour, who had given his approval to his son-in-law, producer Jean-Rachid Kallouche, married to Katia Aznavour.
The inspired Tahar Rahim plays Charles Aznavour. Rahim had already played an Armenian as Nazareth Manoogian, hero of the film “The Cut” (2014), directed by Fatih Akin.
Shooting “Monsieur Aznavour” is taking place in Normandy, as well as a suburb of Paris and Paris itself. One of the sequences takes place at the Armenian church on Jean Goujon Street, for the sad evocation of the funeral of Knarig (October 1, 1966), Charles’s mother. That same evening, the singer and songwriter of Paris au mois d’août, released that same year, was back on the road again for his world tour.
(I was at the funeral on Jean Goujon Street with my father, who had performed with Knar as part of the Armenian theater. I’ll be reliving this scene with emotion, but this time in cinematic fiction.)
The film covers the periods of the international giant of French chanson, from 1950 to 2014. It stars Hovnatan Avédikian (Micha Aznavourian), Marie-Julie Baup (Edith Piaf), Bastien Bouillon, Lionel Cecilio, Nariné Grigoryan (Knar, Charles’s mother) and Tigran Mekhitarian.
The film will be released in autumn 2024 to mark the 100th birthday of Aznavour, born on May 22, 1924 as Shahnour Vaghinag Aznavourian.
