The 59th edition of San Sebastian Festival will close with the world premiere screening of Intouchables (Untouchable), written and directed by Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache. Intouchables will be screened out-of-competition following the Festival closing gala on September 24th.

 Intouchables is a witty comedy on the unexpected friendship arising between two people with nothing in common and very different ways of understanding life: a millionaire left tetraplegic after an accident and the man hired as his carer, an immigrant from the Parisian suburbs recently released from prison. The film will be distributed worldwide by Gaumont and the rights for the USA have been acquired by The Weinstein Company. In Spain the film will be distributed by A Contracorriente Films.

The screenwriter/director duo Eric Toledano (Paris, 1971) and Oliver Nakache (Suresnes, 1973) already made their mark in the short film field, particularly when their second work, Les petits souliers (1999), landed the Audience Award at the Paris Film Festival. Since then, they have helmed the features Je préfère qu'on reste amis (2005), Nos jours heureux (2006) and Tellement proches (2009).

The film stars François Cluzet and Omar Sy, accompanied on the cast by Audrey Fleurot, Joséphine de Meaux and Clotilde Mollet. François Cluzet is currently one of the most popular actors on France's movie scene, having starred in the biggest French comedy hit of the year, Guillaume Canet's Les petits mouchoirs (Little White Lies, 2010). His solid career includes works for Claude Chabrol (Les fantômes du Chapelier / The Hatter's Ghost, 1982, Une affaire de femmes / Story of Women, 1988, L'enfer / Hell, 1994), Claire Denis (Chocolat, 1988), Agnieszka Holland (Olivier, Olivier, 1992), Bertrand Tavernier (Round Midnight, 1986), Olivier Assayas (Fin aôut, début septembre / Late August, Early September, 1998) and Nicole Garcia (L'adversaire / The Adversary, 2002). Omar Sy also worked with Toledado and Nakache on their earlier films, Nos jours heureux and Tellement proches, and on Jean-Pier Jeunet's film Micmacs (2009), among others.

The 59th San Sebastian International Film Festival will open on September 16th with Intruders, the new film from director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo (Intacto, 28 Weeks Later) and one of the most eagerly awaited Spanish movies of the coming season.