"A friend told me that I would have surprised her less if I had done a + coming out +... I put myself naked with this film. On stage, where you can do anything with humor, I "Regularly discusses religions. In everyday life, we don't dare to talk about it, even if I am very attached to secularism," humorist Gad Elmaleh told AFP.

To present his film to the press, he chose the Collège des Bernardins in Paris, where he studied theology.

Often very funny, "Reste un peu", in theaters on Wednesday, is on the edge of introspective documentary and bittersweet comedy.

Gad Elmaleh plays his own role, as do his parents and several religious who accompany him in his catechumenate (Christian journey of conversion) including a priest, a nun but also Rabbi Delphine Horvilleur.

"The spectators can be confused because they will see me where they do not expect me, but I wanted to drop the mask and tell what I have at the bottom of my heart, the existential doubts and a real love for religions, and for Mary in particular", he adds, acknowledging that his questioning about faith coincides with the crisis of fifty.

Rabbi Delphine Horvilleur, June 30, 2021 in Paris Ludovic MARIN AFP / Archives

"I'm often asked why I decided to make such an intimate film. It's already a great subject for a film! We're always looking for the best script... There, I had everything, all the more inspired by facts real and of my life. There are also fictionalized scenes, of course. I would not say what is true or not", adds Gad Elmaleh, who made a spiritual retreat some time ago at the Cistercian abbey of Sénanque (Vaucluse).

"the right to question"

"For a long time, I wanted to talk about religion in a film, the desire to direct with a very small team... The budget of + Reste un peu + is less than a million euros", specifies the actor and director, also co-producer of the musical "Bernadette de Lourdes".

"My film is not a plea for Catholicism or a conversion of any kind. I recount the consequences of my curiosity as a child who was forbidden to enter a church. Prohibiting going to the others, I don't understand...", emphasizes Gad Elmaleh.

French comedian Gad Elmaleh at the Angoulême Film Festival for the presentation of "Reste un peu", August 27, 2022 YOHAN BONNET AFP / Archives

"It's also a very Jewish approach to questioning one's own identity and to using comic springs, gently mocking superstitious parents who are afraid of the Virgin Mary!".

Gad Elmaleh defends "the right to question what has been arbitrarily given to us": "we impose on children a religion, a sexuality... We have the right to grant ourselves the right to think about it", believes he.

"Some people may blame me... I wouldn't be outraged if Jews or Muslims find it weird. I would understand them if they haven't seen the film," says the actor, who project a documentary on Charles de Foucauld, whose canonization he attended in May in Rome by Pope Francis.

© 2022 AFP