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Deux stars Martine Chevallier and Barbara Sukowa, who have both been nominated for best actress awards at the Césars.Photo: Paprika Films-Tarantula-Artemis Production 

Luxembourg producer Donato Rotunno is walking around with a smile on his face after Deux was nominated for several Césars and a Golden Globe and shortlisted for an Academy Award. “It is a nice feeling, to get some recognition,” Rotunno told Delano. “But it doesn’t change anything about the quality of the film. It’s a project I always believed in.” Rotunno’s company, Tarantula, co-produced the film with Paprika Films in France and Artemis Production in Belgium.

The nominations have given Deux a new lease of life and local cinemas in the grand duchy have started to screen the film again. The gripping drama tells the story of two retired women, Nina and Madeleine (Barbara Sukowa and Martine Chevallier), who have been enjoying a secret love affair for decades. The Hollywood Reporter called the film a “smart movie” that gains in complexity as it develops. “It transitions from tender romance into penetrating sorrow before taking on notes of mordant humour and unexpected quasi-thriller elements.”

Sukowa and Chevallier have both been nominated for the best actress award at the Césars, France’s equivalent of the Oscars. Filippo Meneghetti has been nominated for the best director award and Deux is also in the running for the top prize of best film.

It is a polished and handsomely constructed film, a stunning achievement for Meneghetti, making his debut in the hot seat. “The one person I am most happy for is Filippo,” says Rotunno of the award nominations. “They present great opportunities for his career.” The recognition has also given the team at Tarantula some positive energy, and helped further boost Luxembourg’s image after recent scandals, the producer reckons.

Rotunno also suggests that the film’s renewed life comes just at the right time. “We have to take the right path in the crossroads, but I think there is a will to change society, something in the air after Trump.”

As for the film’s chances, Rotunno says the Césars are probably the “most accessible” but that any award at all would simply by the cherry on the cake.

Deux will be screened with English subtitles on Friday 19 and Tuesday 23 February at 7.30pm at Ciné Utopia in Limpertsberg.