The screenwriter and director tandem, Éric Toledano (Paris, 1971) and Olivier Nakache (Surenes, France. 1973), had already left their mark in the field of short films, particularly when their second work, Les petits souliers (1999), won the Prix du Public at the Paris Film Festival. They later directed the feature films Je préfère qu’on reste amis (Let’s Be Friends, 2005), Nos jours heureux (Those Happy Days, 2006) and Tellement proches (So Happy Together, 2009). They closed the San Sebastian Festival, screening out of competition, with Intouchables (Untouchable, 2011), which went on to enjoy enormous international success and, three years later, with Samba (2014). In 2017 they competed for the Golden Shell with Le sens de la fête (C’est la vie). Hors normes (The Specials) closed the last Cannes Festival.