The Hedgehog
Release Date: August 19, 2011 (NY, LA)
Studio: NeoClassics Films
Director: Mona Achache
Screenwriter: Mona Achache
Starring: Josiane Balasko, Garance Le Guillermic, Togo Igawa
Genre: Comedy, Drama

Summary: Inspired by the New York Times best-seller “The Elegance of the Hedgehog” by Muriel Barbery, “The Hedgehog” is the timely story of Paloma, a young girl bent on “ending it all” before she becomes an adult. Chronicling the hypocrisy she sees in her parents and others with her father’s High-8 camera, Paloma (Garance Le Guillermic) begins to learn about life from the grumpy building “concierge,” Renée Michel (“French Twist’s” Josiane Balasko). When Paloma’s camera reveals an extensive secret library in Renée’s back room, and that the usually gruff matron reads Tolstoy to her cat, Paloma begins to understand that there are allies to be found beneath the prickliest of exteriors. As the unlikely friendship deepens, Paloma’s own coming of age becomes a much less pessimistic prospect.