The European premiere of La fille de Brest / 150 Milligrams will open the 64th edition of the San Sebastian Festival. The fifth feature by French director Emmanuelle Bercot, a contender for the Golden Shell, stars the Danish actress Sidse Babett Knudsen (Borgen) and the French actor Benoît Magimel (La Haine).

La fille de Brest / 150 Milligrams is based on novel “Mediator 150 mg” by Irène Frachon, a doctor who discovered in a Brest hospital the direct relationship between a drug and a number of suspicious deaths. Frachon sets out single-handed on a crusade to reveal the truth.

Emmanuelle Bercot (Paris, 1967), filmmaker, actress and screenwriter, has acted under the orders of directors such as Olivier Assayas and Bertrand Tavernier and landed Best Actress in Cannes last year for Mon roi (My King), by Maïwenn. At for her work at the helm, last year the Cannes Festival opened with her fourth feature film, La Tête haute (Standing Tall), where she also sounds out the French social system. The moviemaker’s third film, Elle s'en va (On My Way), premiered at the Berlinale.

The actress Sidse Babett Knudsen (Copenhagen, 1968), who plays the part of Irène Frachon, has performed under the orders of Susanne Bier, three-time competitor in San Sebastian’s Official Selection. Last year she won the Best Supporting Actress César for her part in L’Hermine (Courted), directed by Christian Vincent, which premiered in Venice. Her part in the series Borgen, about the dilemmas faced by Prime Minister Birgitte Nyborg, has earned her enormous popularity as an actress.

The career of French actor Benoît Magimel includes films helmed by moviemakers including Claude Chabrol, Jean Becker, Michael Haneke, Xavier Beauvois, Andre Téchiné and Mathieu Kassovitz. He won Best Actor in Cannes for La pianiste (The Piano Teacher) and the Best Supporting Actor César for his part in Bercot’s previous film, La Tête haute.

La fille de Brest / 150 Milligrams is a Haut et Court production, and its world distribution corresponds to Wild Bunch. In Spain, where it will be distributed by Caramel, it will be released in December.