A few days before the filming,
Armand Lanoux won the Prix Goncourt 1963 for his novel "Quand la mer se retire" and
Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio won the Prix Renaudot 1963 for his novel "Le procès-verbal" (which was also shortlisted for the Prix Goncourt and obtained the same number of votes as the winner - in that rare case, the vote of the president of the jury is preponderant).