Two Directors Who Know Their Subject Well: Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano
Both filmmakers experienced youth camps firsthand as children, supervisors, and directors of camps themselves before they ever embarked on making a film on the subject. These camps were also the setting of their first short –film, and the theme as been expanded for this vibrant feature-length production. To describe such a peculiar universe, they first drew portraits of characters they encountered in camps; then, they wrote the story around these characters, trying not to fall into clichés. When asked whether or not it was complicated having two directors for one project, they immediately answered that when you’re working with 70 children, “complicated” doesn’t even begin to describe the process! Crew members (actors, children, technicians…) have recounted that the two directors were not the only ones cracking jokes, however: the ambiance on the set was reportedly very laid-back and comical.
Nakache and Toledano wanted to recreate the same atmosphere in the movie theatre, and the success of this film in France is proof of their wish fulfilled.

Jean Paul Rouve
Fond of the comedy genre, Jean-Paul Rouve started his career with the theatre troupe “Les Robins des Bois” (“The Robins of the Wood”). The team starred in a comedy show on French cable TV before doing sketches for a major television series on France’s Canal + called “Nulle Part Ailleurs” (“Nowhere Else”).
Rouve made a highly acclaimed first appearance in film with the dark Karnaval. He then returned to comedy, playing in Astérix et Obélix: mission Cléopâtre (Astérix et Obélix: Cleopatra’s Mission), Tanguy and Mais qui a tué Pamela Rose? (Who Killed Pamela Rose?). Yet when he won the César ( France’s Oscar) for Most Promising Actor, it was for a dramatic role rather than a comedy, in Monsieur Batignolle . His performances in Podium and Un long dimanche de fiançailles (A Very Long Engagement), his reunion with the “Robin des Bois” in the bawdy RRRrrr!!!, and a hilarious performance in Un petit jeu sans consequence (An Inconsequential Little Game) made 2004 a banner year for him. He then played with Gérard Depardieu in Je préfère qu’on reste amis (I’d Prefer If We Stayed Friends) (2005) before playing two different paternal figures in concurrently released films, Le Temps des porte-plumes (A Year in My Life/ The Time of the Pen-Holder) and the Academy Award nominated La vie en rose, as the father of Edith Piaf.