César Winner Sarah Kaminsky Starts Directing Las Vegas Thérapie in Nevada and Utah
César winner Sarah Kaminsky has moved behind the camera for “Las Vegas Thérapie”, her feature directing debut, a €13 million French comedy-thriller shooting across Nevada and Utah, according to Variety.
The production puts a French marriage story in the American desert. Shooting is under way.
The film is led by Laure Calamy, Jérôme Commandeur, Jérémie Renier and Noémie O’Farrell. Calamy plays Isabelle and Commandeur plays Philippe, a couple whose marriage is running out of steam. Renier plays Jack, a Frenchman reinvented as a Las Vegas wedding planner, with O’Farrell as Mauricette, his Quebecois associate.
It reunites Kaminsky with Calamy, who headlined “How to Make a Killing”, the English-language title for “Un ours dans le Jura”. Kaminsky won a César, France’s national film award, for co-writing that film. She shared the Original Screenplay prize with Franck Dubosc, as reported by Le Parisien and listed by the Académie du Cinéma.
Kaminsky is also producing “Las Vegas Thérapie” with Leo Maidenberg and Aurélie Grossmann through Declaration Studio and Victor Hadida’s Davis Films. David Wulf is co-producing through Salt Lake City-based Redline Entertainment, providing production support on the American side. Sébastien Delloye, of Belgium’s Entre Chien et Loup, is co-producing, making the film a French-led co-production with Belgian participation.
The shoot is organised across Las Vegas, southern Utah, Kanab, Heber and the Salt Flats. France Télévisions, Canal+ and Amazon have boarded the film as backers, a common structure in France where broadcasters and platforms support theatrical films before release. AlloCiné lists “Las Vegas Thérapie” as a 2026 film.
Kaminsky co-wrote the screenplay with Niko Tackian. Her earlier writing credits include Dany Boon’s “RAID Dingue” and “La Ch’tite famille” and Fred Cavayé’s “Farewell, Mr. Haffmann”. Those were broad commercial comedies and a wartime drama, so the new film keeps her close to comedy while adding a thriller thread.
For audiences, the appeal is straightforward. Familiar French stars, a wedding town built on quick vows, and a writer turning director after an awards win.
