The Marching Band

The film was shot in Lallaing, close to Douai in the north of France. Emmanuel Courcol consulted a fellow director who had already made a documentary about this very subject in the area to find out which marching band to choose. Courcol and his crew visited the Walincourt marching band after a rehearsal and, much like Thibault in the film, shared a few beers with them. They proved very welcoming, and their rehearsal room was precisely what Courcol had in mind, so he selected them as the film’s marching band. They were reportedly a little daunted on the first day of filming, but they soon overcame their shyness.