{"id":257309,"date":"2026-01-22T04:10:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T04:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/257309\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T04:10:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T04:10:08","slug":"theodore-pellerin-boards-queer-henri-iii-drama-by-the-kings-favor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/257309\/","title":{"rendered":"Th\u00e9odore Pellerin Boards Queer Henri III Drama ‘By the King’s Favor’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tRising star Th\u00e9odore Pellerin<\/a> (\u201cNino,\u201d \u201cBeau Is Afraid,\u201d \u201cBecoming Karl Lagerfeld\u201d) will star opposite F\u00e9lix Kysyl (\u201cMisericordia\u201d) and Filippo Scotti<\/a> (\u201cThe Hand of God\u201d) in the queer-tinged palace intrigue drama \u201cBy the King\u2019s Favor\u201d (\u201c\u00c0 la Faveur du Roi\u201d).<\/p>\n

\n\tSet for production this fall, the historical thriller unfolds within the court of Henry III (Pellerin) \u2014 the 16th-century French king and son of Catherine de\u2019 Medici \u2014 who navigated the Wars of Religion with the support of his all-male courtiers, the so-called \u201cmignons,\u201d long rumored to be his lovers. <\/p>\n

\n\tDirected by R\u00e9mi Giordano and written by Giordano alongside Jeanne Herry (\u201cAll Your Faces,\u201d \u201cIn Safe Hands\u201d), the film centers on a tense love triangle between the king, his chief advisor Odon (Kysyl), and a young milliner, Jean-Baptiste (Scotti), whom Odon brings to court to replace the king\u2019s previous favorite. In doing so, Odon commits a forbidden act: he falls for the newcomer, forcing him to navigate the treacherous line between desire and loyalty. <\/p>\n

\n\tParis-based Yukunkun<\/a> will produce alongside Montreal\u2019s La Bo\u00eete \u00e0 Fanny and Li\u00e8ge\u2019s Tarantula Belgique. Le Pacte<\/a> will handle French distribution and international sales, with VVS Films overseeing the Canadian theatrical release. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAt its core, the story is about politics and relationships,\u201d says Yukunkun\u2019s Nelson Ghrenassia, likening the project to Yorgos Lanthimos\u2019 \u201cThe Favourite\u201d and Karim A\u00efnouz\u2019s \u201cFirebrand.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe focus is on intimacy, character, and destiny. The film is deeply rooted in historical reality, but it highlights the workings of the court \u2014 a king balancing Protestants and Catholics, governing alongside his mother, and managing a kingdom under constant tension.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHenry III was both clever and extravagant \u2014 this ruler who didn\u2019t really want to be king,\u201d Ghrenassia continues. \u201cHe created much of the court etiquette later formalized under Louis XIV and introduced small changes, like eating with a fork. Yet we know surprisingly little about him. He ruled through the men around him: married and devoted to his wife, with no children, he relied on his courtiers to wield power. This isn\u2019t a queer reinterpretation of history, as these dynamics were always there. The film simply brings them to light.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tNamed one of Unifrance\u2019s 10 to Watch for 2026, Montreal-native Th\u00e9odore Pellerin is currently shooting Tom Ford\u2019s \u201cCry to Heaven\u201d alongside Nicholas Hoult, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Hunter Schafer, Colin Firth, and Adele. Later this year, he will join with Stacy Martin and Kysyl for Philippe Lesage\u2019s \u201cI Just Want a Great Love,\u201d produced by Sa\u00efd Ben Sa\u00efd.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rising star Th\u00e9odore Pellerin (\u201cNino,\u201d \u201cBeau Is Afraid,\u201d \u201cBecoming Karl Lagerfeld\u201d) will star opposite F\u00e9lix Kysyl (\u201cMisericordia\u201d) and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":257310,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[128006,93,128008,128007,61,60,128009,270,128010,128011,125970,128012],"class_list":["post-257309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-by-the-kings-favor","tag-entertainment","tag-filippo-scotti","tag-fu00e9lix-kysyl","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-le-pacte","tag-movies","tag-thu00e9odore-pellerin","tag-unifrance-10-to-watch","tag-unifrance-rendez-vous-in-paris","tag-yukunkun"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=257309"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/257309\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/257310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=257309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=257309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=257309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}