The titular clan comprises mum Gigi (Karin Viard), dad Rodolphe (Francois Damiens), teenage Paula (Louane Emera) and her younger brother Quentin (Luca Gelberg). They're all deaf except for Paula, and she often finds herself in the role of translator for the rest of her family.
When Paula discovers a considerable talent for singing and her teacher attempts to secure her a position at a prestigious Parisian music academy, the wry teenager's sense of obligation to her family comes to a head.
I spoke to Lartigau in Paris late last year on the eve of the film's French release - it went on to become a holiday box office hit in France, and now Kiwi audiences have the chance to savour the film's unique delights.
"The starting point was a young scriptwriter who was inspired by her father's assistant who was the only hearing person in a family of deaf people," Lartigau told me. "At the same time she was taking singing lessons and so she decided to mix both music and deaf people. After she wrote a first version, I took the script myself and rewrote it over six months with another co-writer who came to join me at the end. We felt in the beginning the story of the family wasn't developed. But I wanted to have the point of view of the parents as much as the young girl. Not only must she leave the house, but she has a gift to which her parents don't have access."
How comfortable was Lartigau (who also directed the hit 2010 thriller The Big Picture) with presenting the perspective of deaf people?
"I was comfortable with it because I'm interested in differences, and we have a tendency to put differences in categories, to put them in little boxes, it's reassuring and then you can define them. When you come a little nearer, a little closer, to a different community, you realise they're just like you and me, they have the same worries, the same fears and the same joys. Also like in New Zealand for example, you have this language, which is English, and you also have another language, sign language, and even though you live in the same country, the two communities very rarely seem to meet. It was the intention to make a bridge or a connection between the two communities."
A scene from the film The Belier Family.
"My cousin was deaf and we spent our childhood together so I saw the difficulties she had to express herself with others, to communicate. And at the time, she had a hearing aid, it was 30 or 40 years ago so it was not precise, it was uncomfortable, it was bothersome so she removed it constantly. And as children we played together and we had a lot of fun, we got into fights, and as we grew up we noticed that finally you move away from this natural communication you have as a child. And it's a pity to break this connection, this link."
Viard and Damiens are both popular actors in France, and give amazing, often hilarious performances here. Did Lartigau ever consider casting deaf actors in the roles?
"No, because each time that I work on a script, I always have actors in mind. So Karin and Francois immediately came to mind. We worked with a teacher who was a deaf person and we worked enormously, they worked for six weeks before knowing the sign language, so it was very laborious difficult work, on a daily basis for four hours a day. I wanted the sign language to be perfect out of respect for the deaf community and also for the actors to be freed from the signs themselves and being able to work on their movement, but they had to know the signs by heart. And they also had to know the other actors' signs as well. There's a certain music in sign language. The rhythm is very precise, and it was complicated between the sign language and the translation during the writing, it was very difficult to find this balance. "
Find it he did - in addition to being a breezy, spirited film in its own right, The Belier Family presents a non-stereotypical view of the hearing-impaired that is refreshing in cinema. When we met, Lartigau had just finished touring the film through France during which he hosted several screenings for deaf communities.
"The reactions were surprising. For 98 per cent of the people, they said, 'Thank you for this window on to our world, to show that we're just like you. We're usually shown stigmatised.' And for the two remaining per cent, they said it was too bad the actors were not deaf."
The film features a star-making performance from the radiant Emera, who expresses a casual charm in her acting debut and shines with the intensity of a thousand suns during her show-stopping singing scenes. Lartigau discovered her via the French version of a reality TV staple.
"I watched a show you might know, called The Voice. I had seen 80 young girls before who were selected for casting, and the most surprising one, the one that corresponded best to me had the worst voice unfortunately. At first I thought, 'Okay, we're gonna use a voiceover for the singing, we're gonna cheat,' because the actress was really great. And quickly I realised that as a director I needed to have the emotion of her voice directly. Just by chance, a friend told me to take a look at The Voice. And that night I watched without really believing in it. I saw Louane and I fell for her. "
The role earned Emera a nomination for "Most Promising Actress" at this year's Cesars, the French equivalent of the Oscars. They should totally make that a category at the Oscars.
In addition to this evening's opening night screening, The Belier Family plays several times throughout the Alliance Francaise French Film Festival at Rialto Newmarket and Berkeley Cinemas Takapuna.
• Will you be attending the French Film Festival? What movies are you excited to see?
