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LEON ZURATAS presents PRINCESS OF THE SUN (LA REINE SOLEIL) A French-Belgium-Hungarian coproduction BELOKAN PRODUCTIONS - REZO PRODUCTIONS - FRANCE 3 CINEMA - YC ALIGATOR FILM- R.T.B.F. - CINEMON Kft WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA CINEMATOGRAPHIE, OF THE PROCIREP AND OF THE ANGOA-AGICOA DEVELOPPED WITH THE SUPPORT OF THE MEDIA PROGRAM OF THE
EUROPEAN COMMUNITY and EURIMAGES In association with the SOFICA COFIMAGE 16 and the SOFICA SOFICINEMA With the association of CANAL + and CINECINEMA A script by Gilles ADRIEN - Hadrien SOULEZ-LARIVIÈRE Adaptation and dialogues by Nathalie SUHARD - Laurent BURTIN and Philippe LECLERC Based on the novel by Christian JACQ « LA REINE SOLEIL » Editions Julliard Main character
design by Neil ROSS Music by Didier LOCKWOOD Producer Philippe ALESSANDRI Line producer Olivier ZURATAS Coproducers Jean-Michel REY - Philippe LIÉGEOIS Eric Van BEUREN - Arlette ZYLBERBERG Executive producer Léon ZURATAS A film by Philippe LECLERC © 2006- Belokan Productions - Rezo Productions - France 3 Cinema - YC Aligator Film - R.T.B.F. Cinemon Kft - All rights reserved
S Y N O P S I S
N othing could ever prepare the young Akhesa to reign over the people of
Egypt.

With the help of a young stranger called Tut, the young princess sets on a bold search for
her exiled mother, Nefertiti. Yet she is blissfully unaware that she is embarking on a long
journey that will lead her through the corridors of power and to ultimately succeed her father
Akhenaten on the throne of Egypt.

Pursued by the enemies of the Pharaoh, the two teenagers confront a thousand dangers, cheat
death on a torrid trek across the desert and survive capture by the fearsome Zannanza.

On a journey littered with all kinds of tests and ordeals, Akhesa and Tutankhamun rush
headlong in total innocence towards a unique destiny that will unite them for ever.
M A I N C H A R A C T E R S

AKHESA

A khesa, the heroine of the story, is a fourteen years old princess. Abandoned by her family, her only companion
and friend is her cat with whom she talks as if it were human. Beautiful, head strong and carefree, nothing
makes us believe that Pharaoh’s younger daughter will one day reign over the people of Egypt.

When she flees with Tut to find her mother, she has absolutely no idea that this epic journey would ultimately lead her
straight to the throne of Egypt to succeed her father, the Pharaoh Akhenaten.
T U TA N K H A M U N

A happy go lucky young prince, he loathes the traditions he has due to his royal descendency. When he begrudgingly
asks for Akhesa’s hand in marriage, this insolent and sometimes tactless young boy does not know that, for her,
he will overcome his fears, confront a myriad of dangers and become her faithful courageous companion on a journey
riddled with ambushes and traps.

It is on this steep and arduous path that leads from childhood to adulthood that the young prince will fall deeply in love
with her and end up reigning with her under the name of Tutankhamun.
A K H E N AT E N H e is Akhesa’s father. Pharaoh of Lower and Upper
Egypt, worshipper of the God Aten, and lover of
the mystic and of peace, he refuses to use arms to defend his
kingdom. History will define him as the “Heretic Pharaoh”. His
enemies fear his magical powers.
Of royal ancestry, he has a certain feminine look to his facial
features and to his body which is reflected in the appearance of
the statues that there are of him.

NEFERTITI S he is Akhesa’s mother. Opposed to the political

decisions of her husband, she decides to live in exile.
Even though she has been called “the most beautiful woman
ever”, she has turned blind and leads a reclusive life on the Island
of Elephantine.
GULMEKIZ P rovidential owner of a boat on the Nile, his path
always seems to cross Akhesa’s and he always ends up
helping her out, despite his own reservations. Despite the trials
and tribulations of their relationship, they do end up liking each
other.

ZANNANZA A n intelligent and charismatic mercenary, and working in

cahoots with the Priests Of Amen-Re, he participates
in no small way to the dethroning of the sovereign Akhenaten.
His only interests are the riches and the wealth he will obtain.
Despite his loathsome initial objective, he also knows how to
establish relationships with our two heroes for his own gain.
Blessed with a real sense of humour, this character, who has been
given the name of an actual son of the Hittite King, has been
invented for the purposes of the film.
P R O D U C E R ’ S
C hristian Jacq’s novels are an open invitation to
a world of mysteries, adventures and exciting
discoveries about Egypt. Despite him being today’s French
best-selling living novelist in the world, there has never
been a film based on his books, bringing his formidable
intrigues to screen. This is why we are very proud of being
the first to bring his amazing tales of Ancient Egypt to life.
Well, to cartoon-life...
The work of Philippe Leclerc, inspired by the greatest
French animation directors, such as Paul Grimault and
René Laloux, has always been a work of high quality ;
everything in it, be it the images, the construction of the
film, the colors, contributes to amazing journeys. From his
award-winning animated series (Les Animaux du Bois de
Quatres Sous) to his first feature (The Rain Children), he’s
always mastered the power of enchantment and the sense
of action and comedy.
The story of Princess of the Sun is definitely one that will
thrill children across the world. The two future rulers of
N O T E
Egypt will travel throughout their great country, in a felucca
on the Nile, across the desert, and in the abandoned temples
of the valley of the Kings, and eventually in the magical
pyramids. As they discover these breath-taking sites, they
will witness one of the turning point in the history of Egypt
: the return to the polytheist religion.
The film, created by an award-winning team, is an action
and comedy animated film which is, as far as possible,
respectful of the History. Costumes and backgrounds’
designs are especially faithful to the originals.
Featuring Tut and Ankhesa, two young heroes on their
own, the film gives little boys and girls entry to the story,
while their parents will be interested by the historical
background of the film.
At the end of this journey, young Tut will become the
most renowned Pharaoh of all, Tutankhamun. But more
important in his eyes, he will get Akhesa’s love. This is what
Princess of the sun will be : a universal and extraordinary
tale of growing-up and finding love.
B I O G R A P H I E S
CHRISTIAN JACQ, NOVELIST
C hristian Jacq, born in Paris in 1947, was thirteen years old when he read a book that was to change the
course of his life: The History of Ancient Egyptian Civilization. This reading inspired him to start his first
novel. In the following five years, he wrote eight novels, beginning a literary career that has resulted in
over fifty books.
With a doctorate in Egyptian Studies from the Sorbonne, Christian Jacq established his academic reputation
in numerous scholarly articles. But as he likes to say, his success came the day when « the universe of the
novelist and of the egyptologist came together ».
His first successful novel was Champollion the Egyptian, published in 1987. He is now the only French writer among
the top 15 World Best-sellers. Princess of the sun (La Reine Soleil) is based on his eponymous novel, which was sold in
more than 30 countries.
He and his wife have also founded and now head the Ramses Institute, which is dedicated to creating a photographic
description of Egypt for the preservation of endangered archaeological sites.

PHILIPPE LECLERC, DIRECTOR

P hilippe Leclerc has since very early on been drawn into animation features. Right after finishing school,
he worked as an animator with Paul Grimault on two projects, most noticeably on Le Roi et l’oiseau (The
King and the Mockingbird). He then started directing with several adds. After having been Réné Laloux’s
assistant on several projects, he started his own studio in Montpellier in 1992. Out of the Praxinos studios,
came among others, the animated series Les Animaux du Bois de Quatre Sous, nominated for the British
Awards.
His first animated feature was The Rain Children in 2002
GILLES ADRIEN, SCREENWRITER
H e’s received the César for best Original Screenplay for Delicatessen, directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro.
He was also the screenwriter of The city of lost children (Official Competition, Cannes 1995). He co-wrote the script of
Princess of the sun with Hadrien Soulez Larivière.

DIDI ER LOCKWOOD, COMPOSER

H e was born in Calais and studied classical violin and composition at the Calais Conservatory. However, he became
enamored of rock and roll and quit his studies in 1972 to form a progressive rock group called Magma. Entranced by
the freedom of improvisation, he was spotted at the age of 21 by Stéphane Grappeli, whom he then joined on tour.
Throughout his career, he’s given more than 3000 concerts across the world.
His first contribution to cinema was with Cold Moon, by Patrick Bouchitey (Officiel Competition, Cannes 1991). He
also composed the score of Philippe Leclerc’s first feature, The Rain Children.

NEIL ROSS, MA IN CHARACTER DESIGNER

O f British nationality, he’s been working as an artistic advisor on many films like Antz, Space Jam, Braveheart and Prince
of Egypt.
His work has travelled throughout the world, and he’s been exhibited in many galleries in Great-Britain, Italy, Japan and
South Korea.

BELOKAN PRODUCTIONS
B elokan was created in 1997 to produce length animation pictures by Léon Zuratas and Philippe Alessandri.
Léon Zuratas, head of the company, has produced The Rain Children, Philippe Leclerc’s first feature. Princess of the sun
is their second collaboration.

Previously, as head of United Artists’ french production subsidiary, Léon Zuratas also produced the first Asterix and
Lucky Luke animated pictures and later was the executive producer of Gandahar an animated picture directed by René
Laloux.
This picture was sold to Miramax and released in the UA under the title Light Years.
TUTANKHAMUN, THE WORLD’S BEST KNOWN PHARAOH
Tutankhamun lived over 3,300 years ago during the period known as the New Kingdom.

Soon after the deaths of Akhenaten, Tutankhaten became a Boy King at the age of about nine. He married a slightly older
Ankhesenpaaten, our Princess of the Sun.

Soon their names were changed to Tutankhamun and Ankhesenamun to reflect the return to favour of the Amun hierarchy
and the ousting of the Aten power base.
GENEALOGY

Tutankhamun married Akhesa, who was the daughter of Akenathen and Nefertiti. Scholars still argue as to who
was Tutankamun’s father : some believe that it was Amenhotep III, others that it might have been Akhenaten,
with his mysterious wife Kiya.
Tutankhamun and Akhesa had two children, both still-born, whose mummies were discovered in the burial
chamber.

T U TA N K H A M U N ’ S N A ME
During Tutankhamun’s reign, Akhenaten’s revolution (Atenism) began to be reversed. Akhenaten had attempted to
supplant the existing priesthood and gods with a god who was until then considered minor, Aten.

In year 3 of Tutankhamun’s reign (1331 BC), the ban on the old pantheon of gods and their temples was lifted, the
traditional privileges restored to their priesthoods, and the capital moved back to Thebes. His reign has lasted from 8 to
10 years.

In 1325 BC, he died and his burial arrangements lasted 70 days. His burial chamber was believed to be cursed, especially
after the mysterious death of Lord Carnarvon, who discovered his tomb. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle even named it the
Pharaoh’s curse.

Nowadays, the splendors of Tutankhamun’s tomb are among the most traveled artifacts in the world. They have been
to many countries, attracting millions worldwide. Lately in the U.S., “Tutankhamun and the Pharaoh’s Golden Age”
has gathered more than 2 million visitors in less than a year. Tutankamun’s aura and mystery still continues to defy
centuries.
BRINGING THE CHARACTERS TO LIFE