I Love Peru: Raphaël Quenard astonishes as director
Raphaël Quenard’s journey is something of a miracle, one hardly seen in cinema. His meteoric rise catapulted him among some of the most popular actors in French cinema, and he has played more than thirty roles over the last five years. Today, in Cannes Classics, he brings us his colorful documentary, I Love Peru, co-directed with his partner in crime Hugo David.
I Love Peru, or an actor’s headlong rush to success. Going through a difficult time, Raphaël Quenard decides to abandon everyone around him and, struck by a disturbing vison, he escapes to Peru. In this spiritual journey, he is accompanied by his friend Hugo David.
Interviewed last month by Vanity Fair, Raphaël Quenard had this to say about the project:
“We shot using a camera. The film took 38 weeks of editing. It’s pretty underground and gets to the heart of who we both are. It combines many different forms.”
The Quenard-David duo has already won distinction for a short film, L’Acteur ou la surprenante vertu de l’incompréhension. As amusing as it is confusing, this film captures Raphaël behind the scenes during filming of Chien de la casse (Junkyard Dog) by Jean-Baptiste Durand, a film that won him the César award for Breakthrough Performance. In front of Hugo David’s camera lens, the actor displays his sense of cheekiness as much as he pokes fun at himself, creating a docufiction that is extremely unique.
The actor, who celebrated his 34th birthday yesterday, returns to Cannes after a packed year in 2024. Raphaël Quenard joined the cast for the opening film, Le Deuxième Acte (The Second Act) by Quentin Dupieux, at the Cinéma de la Plage with Silex and the City, and in Competition with Gilles Lellouche for L’Amour Ouf (Beating Hearts).
In 2025, although he focused on the release of his first novel, Clamser à Tataouine, Raphaël Quenard will soon return to the big screen in Anthony Marciano’s Le Rêve américain (The American Dream) based on the story of basketball agents Bouna Ndiaye and Jérémy Medjana.
