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Carine Robinault
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This Wednesday, May 22, 2024, at 6 p.m., Arnaud Toupense, 45 years old, will be at the foot of the stairs Cannes Film Festival.
Suffering from Down syndrome, he is one of the actors in the first film he directed actor Artus” Something extra“, in theaters from May 1, 2024, which is already showing more than 3 million entries. Cinema was for him, dream. “real”as her mother Chantal, originally from A magnifying glass (Eure-et-Loir).
Arnaud Toupense, starring in the film Un p’tit truc en plus, at the Cannes Film Festival
Chantal won’t be in Cannes, cataract surgery be damned. – Age, what’s wrong with you – laughs the one who is approaching 70. But she intends to follow the construction live, on television, from the living room of a small town house in La Loupe, where there is a movie poster alongside the family photos.
The soon-to-be seven-year-old does not hide it, she is proud of her “little face”, as she called her only son Arnaud on several occasions! Just as it seems to be the case with Jacques, his father.
His mother, Chantal: “At 23, this is not the baby we expected”
However, if today it seems that life is smiling on her son, whom she assures that he is “hyper fulfilled, happy for life, a little young man full of joy”, and thus on his parents, it was not always like that.
Without a filter, Chantal admits: “At 23, this is not the baby we expected. » In fact, when Arnaud was born, she faced reality: the suspicion of Down’s syndrome “Firstly because of her appearance. So there were analyses, a karyotype, which confirmed the suspicions. The beginning was difficult. »
An obstacle course for his parents
The journey to follow as well. “We’ve moved around a lot in our lives, and each time, it was still an obstacle course with teachers asking them to try Arnaud in their class. Because he followed the classic curriculum throughout elementary school. »
“We know people who stop eating when we enter a restaurant”
An obstacle course that nevertheless arouses a certain anger.
You know, we’ve experienced stares, people who stop eating when we walk into a restaurant, and a little shoving. It is also amazing that mentalities can evolve through this notoriety on the big screen while this world has always existed.
But the one who started the spiritual path with Arnaud’s father today thanks “life for this exceptional gift. This is incredible wealth. Arnaud gave us a lot and I thank life for giving it to us.”
At the time, he was employed in a fast food restaurant in the Café Joyeux chain
It was only after college that young Arnaud joined a medical educational institute. “As soon as we were able to get him out, we were successful. So he started his professional journey in a fast food restaurant. He was 20 years old,” Chantal continues. Which is associated with eight years of work here before his arrival at the big chain Happy coffee. The principle of which is to employ people with disabilities in an ordinary company.
At the same time, Arnaud is engaged in theater and singing. “He told us he wanted to make films. The last company he played in, whose godfather is François Cluzet, told me that my son has an acting streak. So I put him on the disabled list. »
Arnaud was spotted during the service at Café Joyeux
But after a small role in the film Chamboultout, released in 2019, and an appearance in Please forgive us for the inconvenience, “by the way, the film with Artus, which was a failure”, finally his job as a cafe owner will put Arnaud on the road to success as we know it today.
“He was seen at Café Joyeux on the Champs Elysées. Then I went to the casting with him. Artus received him. They were totally improvised. »Arnaud is fulfilling his mission. He is the one who will have a role.
The shoots are coming. In the Drôme. With ten other people with Down syndrome or autism. This time Arnaud is accompanied by his dad.
He had to shoot with a receiver, but Artus suggested that we do the parrot technique together with him because people with Down syndrome have difficulty speaking. Then Artus spoke the sentence and Arnaud repeated it.
He is a true fan of Dalida, his room is full of posters
In the film, Arnaud, Dalida’s admirer—”but he’s really her admirer, his room is full of her posters, and his forearm tattoo is real”—is in love with Marie and exposes Artus and Clovis Cornillac in a deception. “It’s not a film about disability. But it is a film full of subtleties. He condemns many things. »
Since then, his “little face” has been on promotional dates, appearing on television alongside Yann Barthès and even on the 1pm news. “He does it, he’s very comfortable! »
A familiarity that, “at this moment”, surprises his mother. However, she assures “that she always felt this climate of trust with the entire film crew”. Fame and moments of happiness that Chantal absorbs “greedy”. “All this is positive, we accept it. I also very much welcome the fact that this success is mending parts of us, Jacques and me. We had a handicap test, but in the end, that was also sent to us. »
Change of mentality
In the back of her mind, Chantal Toupense also hopes that this film with three million viewers “will change mentalities.” Help them develop, especially in the countryside. It will serve well! »
A little twitch, already? Arnaud will be a surprise guest Tout Courts Youth Festival have Rémalard-en-Perche, Friday, May 31. And he was also contacted by the cinema of Verneuil-sur-Avre, to be present after the screening of the film, to talk.
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