La Cage aux Folles ([la kaʒ o fɔl], lit. 'The Fairies' cage' or 'The Queens' cage', also released as Birds of a Feather) is a 1978 comedy film directed and co-written by Édouard Molinaro, based on Jean Poiret's 1973 play. It stars Ugo Tognazzi and Michel Serrault as a gay couple operating a drag nightclub on the French Riviera, Rémi Laurent as the former's son, and Michel Galabru and Carmen Scarpitta as the ultraconservative parents of the son’s fiancée. The French-language picture was a French-Italian co-production by United Artists. The film was released in Italy on 20 October 1978 and in France on 25 October.