May 13, 2026 6:43am PT

Vixens, Backer of ‘Paper Tiger’ and ‘Full Phil,’ Launches Ambitious Slate With Films From Kim Chapiron, Nima Nourizadeh, Jessy Moussallem, Eva Vik and Yann Demange (EXCLUSIVE)

Elsa Keslassy

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Elsa Keslassy

International Correspondent

@elsakeslassy

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Larissa Sirah Herden

Vixens, the Paris-based production banner founded by Gary Farkas, Clément Lepoutre and Olivier Muller, is heading into the Cannes market with its most ambitious slate to date, spanning French and English-language thrillers, first features, genre films and auteur-driven projects.

Part of a wider group that also includes Phantasm, the commercials and music video powerhouse, and Phenomena, a photography agency launched three years ago, Vixens has been spearheading production, brand financing, private financing and, most recently, executive production for foreign films shooting in France.

Farkas, Lepoutre and Muller have built a community of up-and-coming talent around Phantasm, which produces roughly 40 to 50 commercial and music video projects a year, including campaigns for Hermès, a Prada campaign, an Olivia Rodrigo music video directed by Petra Collins at the Château de Versailles and a recent Weeknd music video directed by Gaspar Noé.

At the Cannes Film Festival, the company is behind Quentin Dupieux’s “Full Phil,” starring Kristen Stewart and Woody Harrelson, and James Gray’s “Paper Tiger,” starring Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver — and helped complete the financing for both films. “Most producers do one thing — they’re either producers or executive producers,” Farkas told Variety in an interview with Lepoutre and Muller on the eve of Cannes. “Within Vixens, we have four distinct activities, plus all the synergies with Phantasm and the rest of the group.”

Vixens’ production activity began a decade ago with the micro-budget U.S.-shot film “Sam Was Here.” Since then, the company has scaled up significantly, recently co-producing Claire Denis’ “The Fence” with Olivier Delbosc’s banner Curiosa, as well as “D’un monde à l’autre,” a documentary directed by Jérémie Renier and co-produced with Hugo Sélignac’s Chi-Fou-Mi, which Pan Européenne will release in France on June 10.

Now, Vixens is entering a new phase with a six-project slate that Farkas says reflects its hybrid identity: three French-language films, two English-language films and one Arabic-language film; three first features and three projects from established directors; and shoots split between France and international locations.

Underscoring the synergies within Vixens, the company is reteaming with Lebanese director Jessy Moussallem, who has been working with Phantasm for nearly a decade, first on music videos and then commercials. Vixens is producing Moussallem’s anticipated feature debut, “Faux Bijoux,” following her short by the same name, which world premiered at Sundance and played at the Clermont-Ferrand Festival.

“Faux Bijoux” is an Arabic-language film co-written by Jihad Hojeily (“Capernaum”). The story follows a Lebanese family after the Beirut port explosion as its members attempt to preserve appearances through lies, facades and small schemes.

Muller said Moussallem had wanted to make her feature debut for a while. In order to help finance it, Vixens self-funded her short film, which was shot in Lebanon and turned out to be a critical hit. “That helped position the feature with financiers,” Muller said. Le Pacte has boarded the project for distribution in France, and Charades is handling international sales. Vixens is producing with Belgium’s Frakas. The film is expected to start shooting in Lebanon in late September, depending on the situation on the ground.

On the French side, the company is working with Kim Chapiron, another prolific and successful music video filmmaker, on his next film, with Chi-Fou-Mi. The untitled project is described as “a nervy, exhilarating thriller set in the clandestine world of beauty.” The film follows a young woman who descends into the world of illegal injections, amid questions of power, dependency and the transformation of bodies.

Lepoutre said Chapiron’s project is inspired by real cases in France involving young women who set themse

Vixens, Backer of 'Paper Tiger' and 'Full Phil,' Launches Ambitious Slate With Films From Kim Chapiron, Nima Nourizadeh, Jessy Moussallem, Eva Vik and Yann Demange (EXCLUSIVE)