Written and directed by the award-winning duo Maxime Govary and Romain Choay, whose previous work The Shiny Shrimp showcased their knack for balancing humour with humanity. The premise is simple: four ordinary people wake up one morning to discover that their wildest dream has come true—they’ve each landed a life-changing windfall. Suddenly, they’re flush with cash, tasting the sort of freedom and luxury, they once only fantasised about.
What Govary and Choay do masterfully is peel back the glossy veneer of wealth to expose the chaos that lurks beneath. What if your fantasy comes true at the exact moment your life isn’t ready for it? What if your relationships, your self-image, and even your grip on reality isn’t strong enough to handle the load? By the time the film’s twisted narrative is done, one of the brilliant lines from the film, “For 10 million dollars, I would throw you from a train” starts to feel less like a dark joke, and more like a chillingly plausible confession.
The film’s structure is an anthology of four interweaving stories, each orbiting around a newfound fortune. The brilliance lies in how these separate plotlines collide—sometimes literally—to underscore the unpredictability of life. One of the characters lines “I’ll have two Marlboros and a lottery ticket” turns into twists and turns that had the Irresistible team watching it in stiches. Lucky Winners tiptoes that fine line between humour and horror, showing us how easily morals can curdle when money is at stake.
Screening in the French Film Festival 2025
Directed by Romain Choay and Maxime Govare
Writers Romain Choay and Maxime Govare
Produced by Renaud Chélélékian, Vivien Aslanian, Maël Karrit, Romain Le Gran and Marco Pacchioni
Music by Lionel Limiñana and David Menke
Cinematography by Patrick Ghiringhelli
Costume and Wardrobe Department Olivia Gaudo and Clarissa Saraiva
Starring Raphaël Personnaz as Maurice Ravel, Doria Tillier as Misia, Jeanne Balibar as Ida Rubinstein and Emmanuelle Devos as Marguerite Long
At the heart of these stories is an ensemble cast that elevates Lucky Winners with Audrey Lamy (The Kitchen Brigade, AF FFF22) bringing her trademark blend of comedic timing and subtle vulnerability to her role as a wife and mother struggling to make ends meet and resentful of a husband who seems to not have the same anxieties around money. The nail-biting scenes with Lamy and the family, whilst only one of four vignettes, feel like a full-length feature on their own.
Anouk Grinberg (Bonnard, Pierre & Marthe, AF FFF24) portrays a character who appears to be the group’s moral compass, though even she isn’t immune to the seductive power of money. Watching her navigate the ethical quicksand that comes with a surprise windfall is one of the film’s most riveting arcs. Pauline Clément (Maria into Life, AF FFF23) rounds out the trio of female leads, exuding a magnetic presence that can pivot from laugh-out-loud comedy to heart-wrenching drama in the blink of an eye. Their combined performances amplify the old adage that money changes everything—and rarely for the better.
Those familiar with Govary and Choay’s work will recognize their flair for witty, irreverent dialogue that manages to be both outrageous and grounded in emotional truth. Lines like “Have you ever been to Tijuana?” burst forth as if from the darkest corners of a stand-up comedy routine—yet they’re delivered with such earnestness that you can’t help but laugh and squirm at the same time. This dynamic duo has a gift for amplifying the everyday absurdities of human behaviour.
Lucky Winners reminds us that one person’s windfall can easily become another person’s downfall, whether through envy, betrayal, or simple cosmic irony. Yet, for all its darkness, the film never loses its sense of fun. Govary and Choay use physical comedy and razor-sharp banter to keep the energy crackling, even when the characters’ lives seem to be spiralling out of control. The film doesn’t pretend to have easy solutions, but it revels in exploring the messy, complicated nature of human desire.
It’s a wild, unpredictable ride that’s as entertaining as it is thought-provoking. Whether you’re the type to buy a lottery ticket every week or the sort who rolls your eyes at the notion of easy money, this film will leave you questioning the allure of sudden riches.
