Producer Patrick Sobelman & Gaumont Exec Ariane Toscan du Plantier To Head Up France’s César Academy
Producer Patrick Sobelman and Ariane Toscan du Plantier, director of Cinema Distribution France and International at film and TV company Gaumont, have been voted in as president and vice-president of France’s César Academy.
Their mandate begins on July 16 for two years. Sobelman was previously vice-president of the César Academy alongside outgoing president Véronique Cayla.
The president and vice-president, the members of the executive Academy Office, who assist them in their work, as well as the heads of the 22 professionals chapters were voted on by the 176 members of the general assembly of the Association for the Promotion of Cinema, the umbrella body overseeing Cesar Academy. The general assembly members are in turn voted in by the some 4,700 members of the academy.
Since 2020, the Apc has stipulated gender parity across the César Academy’s Presidency, Academy Office and different chapter representatives, following accusations of lack of gender equality within its ranks...
Their mandate begins on July 16 for two years. Sobelman was previously vice-president of the César Academy alongside outgoing president Véronique Cayla.
The president and vice-president, the members of the executive Academy Office, who assist them in their work, as well as the heads of the 22 professionals chapters were voted on by the 176 members of the general assembly of the Association for the Promotion of Cinema, the umbrella body overseeing Cesar Academy. The general assembly members are in turn voted in by the some 4,700 members of the academy.
Since 2020, the Apc has stipulated gender parity across the César Academy’s Presidency, Academy Office and different chapter representatives, following accusations of lack of gender equality within its ranks...
- 5/3/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof is finally making his way back to the Cannes Film Festival following the controversy surrounding his Un Certain Regard 2023 jury appointment.
Rasoulof was invited to serve on the jury last year but was unable to attend due to Iran’s travel embargo on him. The “There Is No Evil” filmmaker was banned from leaving Iran after being arrested in July 2022 for posting statements criticizing government-sanctioned violence against protesters. Rasoulof was later temporarily released in February 2023 due to ongoing health concerns. He was later pardoned and sentenced to one year of penal servitude and a two-year ban from leaving Iran on the charge of “propaganda against the regime.”
Now, Rasoulof is debuting his latest feature “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” in competition at the festival. While the plot remains under wraps, there is no word on whether Rasoulof will attend the festival. Variety first reported the news.
Rasoulof was invited to serve on the jury last year but was unable to attend due to Iran’s travel embargo on him. The “There Is No Evil” filmmaker was banned from leaving Iran after being arrested in July 2022 for posting statements criticizing government-sanctioned violence against protesters. Rasoulof was later temporarily released in February 2023 due to ongoing health concerns. He was later pardoned and sentenced to one year of penal servitude and a two-year ban from leaving Iran on the charge of “propaganda against the regime.”
Now, Rasoulof is debuting his latest feature “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” in competition at the festival. While the plot remains under wraps, there is no word on whether Rasoulof will attend the festival. Variety first reported the news.
- 4/22/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
After announcing a whopping number of English-language films in competition, Cannes Film Festival has added some international titles: Michel Hazanavicius’ animated feature “The Most Precious of Cargoes” and Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof’s “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” Variety has learned.
An auteur-driven allegorical feature, “The Most Precious of Cargoes” (first-look still below) is adapted from Jean-Claude Grumberg’s bestselling novel of the same name, set during World War II against the backdrop of the Holocaust. It will be the first animated feature to compete in more than a decade, since Ari Folman’s “Waltz With Bashir” in 2008.
The film is co-produced and represented internationally by Studiocanal, which also has Gilles Lellouche’s “Beating Hearts” in competition. “The Most Precious of Cargoes” is a passion project for Hazanavicius, the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind “The Artist,” who has been developing the project for years. Hazanavicius penned the script with Grumberg and created the drawings,...
An auteur-driven allegorical feature, “The Most Precious of Cargoes” (first-look still below) is adapted from Jean-Claude Grumberg’s bestselling novel of the same name, set during World War II against the backdrop of the Holocaust. It will be the first animated feature to compete in more than a decade, since Ari Folman’s “Waltz With Bashir” in 2008.
The film is co-produced and represented internationally by Studiocanal, which also has Gilles Lellouche’s “Beating Hearts” in competition. “The Most Precious of Cargoes” is a passion project for Hazanavicius, the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind “The Artist,” who has been developing the project for years. Hazanavicius penned the script with Grumberg and created the drawings,...
- 4/22/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The 46th César Awards, France’s top film honors, have been handed out in Paris, with Dominik Moll’s crime thriller The Night of the 12th winning the best picture trophy.
Moll’s The Night of the 12th, which premiered in Cannes last year, scored 10 César noms coming into the awards show, just behind Louis Garrel’s The Innocent, which picked up 11 nominations. Moll also won for best director, and Bouli Lanners earned the best supporting actor trophy for his performance in The Night of the 12th.
Cédric Klapisch’s Rise, about a ballet dancer (Marion Barbeau) who, after an injury, seeks a new future in contemporary dance, was up for 9 Césars, as was Albert Serra’s Pacifiction, a thriller featuring Benoît Magimel as a morally-challenged Haut-Commissaire on an island in French Polynesia.
Valeria Bruni Tedeschi’s dramedy Forever Young, Cedric Jimenez’s terrorism drama November, Eric Gravel’s family...
Moll’s The Night of the 12th, which premiered in Cannes last year, scored 10 César noms coming into the awards show, just behind Louis Garrel’s The Innocent, which picked up 11 nominations. Moll also won for best director, and Bouli Lanners earned the best supporting actor trophy for his performance in The Night of the 12th.
Cédric Klapisch’s Rise, about a ballet dancer (Marion Barbeau) who, after an injury, seeks a new future in contemporary dance, was up for 9 Césars, as was Albert Serra’s Pacifiction, a thriller featuring Benoît Magimel as a morally-challenged Haut-Commissaire on an island in French Polynesia.
Valeria Bruni Tedeschi’s dramedy Forever Young, Cedric Jimenez’s terrorism drama November, Eric Gravel’s family...
- 2/24/2023
- by Scott Roxborough and Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The César Awards are characterized as France’s answer to the Oscars. And just like their awards show cousin halfway across the world, the Césars are embroiled in controversy after failing to nominate any women directors.
This year’s Academy Awards were slammed by advocacy groups after ignoring the likes of Gina Prince-Bythewood (“The Woman King”) and Sarah Polley (“Women Talking”) in favor of an all-male contingent of auteurs. The Césars have followed suit with an all-male group of directing nominees, despite a banner year for French female filmmakers. It’s one that saw directors from Alice Diop (“Saint Omer”) to Claire Denis (“Stars at Noon”) dominating the festival circuit and scoring prizes, only to come up short when the Césars unveiled their contenders on Jan. 25. The omission has sparked a debate about gender equity and sexism in the French film business, as well as social media protests emblazoned with the hashtag #CesarsSoMale,...
This year’s Academy Awards were slammed by advocacy groups after ignoring the likes of Gina Prince-Bythewood (“The Woman King”) and Sarah Polley (“Women Talking”) in favor of an all-male contingent of auteurs. The Césars have followed suit with an all-male group of directing nominees, despite a banner year for French female filmmakers. It’s one that saw directors from Alice Diop (“Saint Omer”) to Claire Denis (“Stars at Noon”) dominating the festival circuit and scoring prizes, only to come up short when the Césars unveiled their contenders on Jan. 25. The omission has sparked a debate about gender equity and sexism in the French film business, as well as social media protests emblazoned with the hashtag #CesarsSoMale,...
- 2/17/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Duo are behind Dominik Moll’s ’The Night of the 12th’
Haut et Court’s Carole Scotta and Barbara Letellier were named best producers of the year at the 16th annual edition of France’s Academy of Film Arts & Sciences’ Daniel Toscan du Plantier Prize held on Monday night (February 14) in Paris.
The duo are notably behind Dominik Moll’s investigative drama The Night Of The 12th, which has been sweeping awards season in France, winning the Best Film Lumiere Award and nominated for 10 César awards.
A swanky gala dinner celebrated the winning pair along with the finalists for the prize,...
Haut et Court’s Carole Scotta and Barbara Letellier were named best producers of the year at the 16th annual edition of France’s Academy of Film Arts & Sciences’ Daniel Toscan du Plantier Prize held on Monday night (February 14) in Paris.
The duo are notably behind Dominik Moll’s investigative drama The Night Of The 12th, which has been sweeping awards season in France, winning the Best Film Lumiere Award and nominated for 10 César awards.
A swanky gala dinner celebrated the winning pair along with the finalists for the prize,...
- 2/14/2023
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
Carole Scotta and Barbara Letellier, the French producers of Dominik Moll’s thriller “The Night of the 12th,” won the Toscan du Plantier Award at a Paris ceremony hosted by the Cesar Academie.
The pair, who produced the movie at Haut et Court (“The Class”), were voted on by 1,641 people, including artists and crew members who were previously nominated at the Cesar Awards, along with the governing body members of the Cesar Academie.
On stage with Letellier, Scotta praised Moll’s vision for the “The Night of the 12th” and said the film was “driven by the power of the collective effort. “That’s what we see with this group of cops working tirelessly to solve a case,” she continued.
“The Night of the 12th” is vying for 10 Cesar awards. The brooding topical procedural, which also opened as part of Cannes’ Premiere section, stars Bastien Bouillon and Bouli Lanners as...
The pair, who produced the movie at Haut et Court (“The Class”), were voted on by 1,641 people, including artists and crew members who were previously nominated at the Cesar Awards, along with the governing body members of the Cesar Academie.
On stage with Letellier, Scotta praised Moll’s vision for the “The Night of the 12th” and said the film was “driven by the power of the collective effort. “That’s what we see with this group of cops working tirelessly to solve a case,” she continued.
“The Night of the 12th” is vying for 10 Cesar awards. The brooding topical procedural, which also opened as part of Cannes’ Premiere section, stars Bastien Bouillon and Bouli Lanners as...
- 2/14/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
David Fincher is set to receive the Honorary Cesar Award, France’s highest film prize, during a ceremony which will take place Feb. 24 in Paris.
“Fincher is one of these rare filmmakers whose entire filmography has become cult over the years,” said the Cesar Academie in a release.
The French organization described Fincher as being a “visionary,” and said his movies were “hypnotic, intellectual and a source of inspiration for so many artists.”
“He shocked us with ‘Seven,’ kept us on the edge with ‘The Game,’ and struck us again with ‘Fight Club.’ With ‘Zodiac,’ ‘The Social Network,’ ‘Gone Girl,’ which is his biggest film success so far, or with ‘Mank’ (his Oscar-nominated Netflix drama about the screenwriter of ‘Citizen Kane’), he breaks the usual codes and garners raving international reviews,” said the Cesar Academie.
The Honorary Cesar Award, which pays tribute to artists and filmmakers’ career achievements, has previously...
“Fincher is one of these rare filmmakers whose entire filmography has become cult over the years,” said the Cesar Academie in a release.
The French organization described Fincher as being a “visionary,” and said his movies were “hypnotic, intellectual and a source of inspiration for so many artists.”
“He shocked us with ‘Seven,’ kept us on the edge with ‘The Game,’ and struck us again with ‘Fight Club.’ With ‘Zodiac,’ ‘The Social Network,’ ‘Gone Girl,’ which is his biggest film success so far, or with ‘Mank’ (his Oscar-nominated Netflix drama about the screenwriter of ‘Citizen Kane’), he breaks the usual codes and garners raving international reviews,” said the Cesar Academie.
The Honorary Cesar Award, which pays tribute to artists and filmmakers’ career achievements, has previously...
- 12/16/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
French-Italian actress Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi has denounced media reports revealing that actor Sofiane Bennacer is under investigation following allegations of rape and violence, saying he is the victim of a “media lynching”.
Bennacer starred in Bruni-Tedeschi’s Cannes 2022 Palme d’Or contender Forever Young, a semi-autobiographical drama inspired by her experiences as a student at the Les Amandiers theatre school in Nanterre in the 1980s.
French media reported earlier this week that Bennacer had been placed under judicial control in October.
The measure prevents him from entering the Paris region as well as contacting accusers and witnesses in the affair. Bruni-Tedeschi has been named as one of the witnesses.
The news broke just days after Bennacer was announced on November 16 as being among the 32 young actors selected for the 2023 edition of France’s César Academy Revelations talent showcase.
The body announced on Tuesday it had removed him from the list following...
Bennacer starred in Bruni-Tedeschi’s Cannes 2022 Palme d’Or contender Forever Young, a semi-autobiographical drama inspired by her experiences as a student at the Les Amandiers theatre school in Nanterre in the 1980s.
French media reported earlier this week that Bennacer had been placed under judicial control in October.
The measure prevents him from entering the Paris region as well as contacting accusers and witnesses in the affair. Bruni-Tedeschi has been named as one of the witnesses.
The news broke just days after Bennacer was announced on November 16 as being among the 32 young actors selected for the 2023 edition of France’s César Academy Revelations talent showcase.
The body announced on Tuesday it had removed him from the list following...
- 11/25/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Dark Star Pictures has come on board to release Patricia Mazuy’s “Saturn Bowling” (“Bowling Saturne”) in the U.S.
The deal, brokered by Paris-based sales agent Totem Films, marks the first U.S. deal for a film by Mazuy, despite the filmmaker having received a retrospective at the Lincoln Center in 2019.
The pic is written by Yves Thomas and Mazuy. It is produced by Patrick Sobelman. The cast includes Arieh Worthalter, Achille Reggiani, Y Lan Lucas and Leila Muse.
“Bowling Saturne” follows police officer Guillaume, who inherits his family’s bowling business following his father’s death. He decides to give it to his troubled half-brother, Armand, but Guillaume is later distracted from his work in investigating a series of murders by his sibling’s unusual management of the business along with a team of hunters and an environmental activist.
Describing the film, Mazuy said: “The adventure of the...
The deal, brokered by Paris-based sales agent Totem Films, marks the first U.S. deal for a film by Mazuy, despite the filmmaker having received a retrospective at the Lincoln Center in 2019.
The pic is written by Yves Thomas and Mazuy. It is produced by Patrick Sobelman. The cast includes Arieh Worthalter, Achille Reggiani, Y Lan Lucas and Leila Muse.
“Bowling Saturne” follows police officer Guillaume, who inherits his family’s bowling business following his father’s death. He decides to give it to his troubled half-brother, Armand, but Guillaume is later distracted from his work in investigating a series of murders by his sibling’s unusual management of the business along with a team of hunters and an environmental activist.
Describing the film, Mazuy said: “The adventure of the...
- 10/24/2022
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
Set in Algiers in 1516, the film is being described as Algeria’s first costume drama.
Screen can exclusively reveal the first trailer for The Last Queen, the debut fiction feature of filmmakers Adila Bendimerad and Damien Ounouri.
The Algerian film has its world premiere in Giornate degli Autori (formerly Venice Days) tomorrow (Sunday 4).
It is produced by Bendimerad for her Algerian outfit Taj Intaj, alongside Patrick Sobelman for Belgium’s Agat Films. The Party Film Sales is selling the title.
Written by Bendimerad and Ounouri, The Last Queen is set in 1516 when a pirate frees Algiers from Spanish tyranny, but...
Screen can exclusively reveal the first trailer for The Last Queen, the debut fiction feature of filmmakers Adila Bendimerad and Damien Ounouri.
The Algerian film has its world premiere in Giornate degli Autori (formerly Venice Days) tomorrow (Sunday 4).
It is produced by Bendimerad for her Algerian outfit Taj Intaj, alongside Patrick Sobelman for Belgium’s Agat Films. The Party Film Sales is selling the title.
Written by Bendimerad and Ounouri, The Last Queen is set in 1516 when a pirate frees Algiers from Spanish tyranny, but...
- 9/3/2022
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Oscar-winning director Michel Hazanavicius (“The Artist”) has unveiled his first-ever animation film project at the Annecy Intl. Animation Film Festival.
Entitled “The Most Precious of Cargos,” it is an adaptation of the eponymous best-selling book by acclaimed French playwright and children’s books author Jean-Claude Grumberg, who is co-writing the film with Hazanavicius.
Told in the form of a classic fairy tale in 2D animation, it is set during World War II, and tells the story of a poor woodcutter and his wife who live deep in the Polish forest. To the woman’s despair, the couple have no children.
One day, while foraging for food, she sees a bundle fall out of what she believes to be a cargo train crossing the forest. Inside is a baby girl who was thrown from the train by her Jewish father – whose wife no longer has enough milk to feed both his...
Entitled “The Most Precious of Cargos,” it is an adaptation of the eponymous best-selling book by acclaimed French playwright and children’s books author Jean-Claude Grumberg, who is co-writing the film with Hazanavicius.
Told in the form of a classic fairy tale in 2D animation, it is set during World War II, and tells the story of a poor woodcutter and his wife who live deep in the Polish forest. To the woman’s despair, the couple have no children.
One day, while foraging for food, she sees a bundle fall out of what she believes to be a cargo train crossing the forest. Inside is a baby girl who was thrown from the train by her Jewish father – whose wife no longer has enough milk to feed both his...
- 6/18/2022
- by Lise Pedersen
- Variety Film + TV
Totem Films has boarded “Bowling Saturne,” the latest film from celebrated French director Patricia Mazuy.
The pic, which is now in post-production, is produced by Patrick Sobelman. The cast includes Arieh Worthalter, Achille Reggiani, Y Lan Lucas and Leila Muse.
“Bowling Saturne” follows police officer Guillaume, who inherits his family’s bowling business following his father’s death. He decides to give it to his troubled half-brother, Armand, but Guillaume is later distracted from his work in investigating a series of murders by his sibling’s unusual management of the business along with a team of hunters and an environmental activist.
Mazuy has a reputation for a singular directorial vision that she has developed over three decades across a filmography of narrative features and documentaries. In 2019, the Lincoln Center organized a retrospective of the versatile French filmmaker’s work.
“Bowling Saturne” is Mazuy’s fifth film. The director’s “Peaux...
The pic, which is now in post-production, is produced by Patrick Sobelman. The cast includes Arieh Worthalter, Achille Reggiani, Y Lan Lucas and Leila Muse.
“Bowling Saturne” follows police officer Guillaume, who inherits his family’s bowling business following his father’s death. He decides to give it to his troubled half-brother, Armand, but Guillaume is later distracted from his work in investigating a series of murders by his sibling’s unusual management of the business along with a team of hunters and an environmental activist.
Mazuy has a reputation for a singular directorial vision that she has developed over three decades across a filmography of narrative features and documentaries. In 2019, the Lincoln Center organized a retrospective of the versatile French filmmaker’s work.
“Bowling Saturne” is Mazuy’s fifth film. The director’s “Peaux...
- 7/9/2021
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
Ugo Bienvenu (aka Ugo), the popular French illustrator and comics author of “Préférence système,” is partnering up with veteran producer Valerie Schermann on his animated feature debut “Arco.”
An ambitious science-fiction film, “Arco” is being co-developed and co-produced by Remembers, the outfit launched by Bienvenu and Félix de Givry, and Schermann at Akaba. The project was previously presented by the Cartoon Movie forum and has already sparked interest from several distributors.
Bienvenu, who grew up in Guatemala, Tchad, Paris and Mexico, graduated from the Gobelins school, studied at CalArts, and has so far created five graphic novels targeting young adults, notably “Paiement accepté,” and “Préférence.”
He also previously co-wrote and co-directed the mini-series “Antman,” as well as several shorts, including the animated title “Maman” (with Kevin Manach) which competed at Annecy in 2013. Aside from his career in comics and films, Bienvenu is also creating exclusive content, including commercials for the Paris Opera,...
An ambitious science-fiction film, “Arco” is being co-developed and co-produced by Remembers, the outfit launched by Bienvenu and Félix de Givry, and Schermann at Akaba. The project was previously presented by the Cartoon Movie forum and has already sparked interest from several distributors.
Bienvenu, who grew up in Guatemala, Tchad, Paris and Mexico, graduated from the Gobelins school, studied at CalArts, and has so far created five graphic novels targeting young adults, notably “Paiement accepté,” and “Préférence.”
He also previously co-wrote and co-directed the mini-series “Antman,” as well as several shorts, including the animated title “Maman” (with Kevin Manach) which competed at Annecy in 2013. Aside from his career in comics and films, Bienvenu is also creating exclusive content, including commercials for the Paris Opera,...
- 6/19/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Juliette Schrameck, the former managing director of MK2 Films (“Portrait of a Lady on Fire”), will be joining the well-established French production company Agat Films starting Sept. 1.
Schrameck, who stepped down from MK2 Films in April after a 10-year tenure, will be partner and producer at Agat Films.
While at MK2 Films, Schrameck co-produced many prestige projects from renowned auteurs, notably Pawel Pawlikowski ‘s Oscar-nominated “Cold War,” as well as films by Jia Zhang Ke and Joachim Trier. During Schrameck’s run, the company also had five films in competition at Cannes two years in a row in 2018 and 2019, including Celine Sciamma’s “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” and Mati Diop’s “Atlantics.”
At Agat Films, Schrameck will be aiming to tap into her deep knowledge of world cinema, relationships with auteurs and knowledge of the international market to give Agat Films a more global footprint. She will be...
Schrameck, who stepped down from MK2 Films in April after a 10-year tenure, will be partner and producer at Agat Films.
While at MK2 Films, Schrameck co-produced many prestige projects from renowned auteurs, notably Pawel Pawlikowski ‘s Oscar-nominated “Cold War,” as well as films by Jia Zhang Ke and Joachim Trier. During Schrameck’s run, the company also had five films in competition at Cannes two years in a row in 2018 and 2019, including Celine Sciamma’s “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” and Mati Diop’s “Atlantics.”
At Agat Films, Schrameck will be aiming to tap into her deep knowledge of world cinema, relationships with auteurs and knowledge of the international market to give Agat Films a more global footprint. She will be...
- 7/1/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Claire Denis, Virginie Despentes snubs have triggered a new debate over how the French Academy is run.
France’s annual César awards ceremony is one of the most prestigious and glamorous nights of the year for the French film industry. But the 1,700 guests may well be dusting off their gowns and tuxes with a sense of trepidation for this year’s event on February 28.
The red carpet arrivals at the Salle Pleyel in central Paris are set to be a rowdy affair with women’s rights activists planning to picket the ceremony in protest against the fact that controversial director...
France’s annual César awards ceremony is one of the most prestigious and glamorous nights of the year for the French film industry. But the 1,700 guests may well be dusting off their gowns and tuxes with a sense of trepidation for this year’s event on February 28.
The red carpet arrivals at the Salle Pleyel in central Paris are set to be a rowdy affair with women’s rights activists planning to picket the ceremony in protest against the fact that controversial director...
- 2/6/2020
- by 1100388¦Melanie Goodfellow¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
A GoGoGo Films and Agat Films production sold by mk2 Films, Patrick and Hugo Sobelman’s documentary will enjoy its world premiere in the Berlinale Special line-up. The first feature film directed by seasoned French producer Patrick Sobelman, but also by his son Hugo Sobelman, the documentary Golda Maria will be showcased to fantastic effect, given that it’s set to be unveiled in the Berlinale Special section of the 70th Berlin International Film Festival (running 20 February – 1 March).Back in 1994, Patrick Sobelman recorded his grandmother’s life story. Over two decades later, with his son Hugo, they have given form to Golda’s story in a loving portrait which not only unveils family secrets but is also the testimony of a brave and...
Jacob Junior Nayinggul and Simon Baker in ‘High Ground.’
Stephen Johnson’s Aussie Western High Ground will have its world premiere in the Berlinale Special screenings section of the Berlin International Film Festival.
Inspired by true events and scripted by Chris Anastassiades, the 1930s-set action thriller stars Simon Baker, Callan Mulvey, Jack Thompson, Aaron Pedersen and newcomer Jacob Junior Nayinggul.
Baker plays Travis, a bounty hunter and former soldier who enlists the help of Gutjuk (Nayinggul) a young Aboriginal orphan, to track down the most dangerous outlaw in the Territory – his uncle. During the manhunt a secret is revealed which ultimately pits them against each other.
Thompson is Moran, the head of the police outpost, with Mulvey as Ambrose, a police officer who fought with Travis in World War One, and Petersen as a lethal black tracker from Queensland.
The cast also includes Caren Pistorious as Claire, the mission manager and teacher,...
Stephen Johnson’s Aussie Western High Ground will have its world premiere in the Berlinale Special screenings section of the Berlin International Film Festival.
Inspired by true events and scripted by Chris Anastassiades, the 1930s-set action thriller stars Simon Baker, Callan Mulvey, Jack Thompson, Aaron Pedersen and newcomer Jacob Junior Nayinggul.
Baker plays Travis, a bounty hunter and former soldier who enlists the help of Gutjuk (Nayinggul) a young Aboriginal orphan, to track down the most dangerous outlaw in the Territory – his uncle. During the manhunt a secret is revealed which ultimately pits them against each other.
Thompson is Moran, the head of the police outpost, with Mulvey as Ambrose, a police officer who fought with Travis in World War One, and Petersen as a lethal black tracker from Queensland.
The cast also includes Caren Pistorious as Claire, the mission manager and teacher,...
- 1/21/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
The section will also showcase the world premiere of Srdan Golubović’s Father
The Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 20-Mar 1) has completed the line-up of its Panorama strand with a further 15 world premieres.
The newly announced titles take the Panorama total to 35, after a first wave of features for the strand were announced last month.
They include the world premiere of Bassam Tariq’s Mogul Mowgli (previously titlted Mughal Mowgli), which stars Riz Ahmed as a UK rapper on the verge of international stardom when a crippling illness strikes him down, and he is forced to move back in with his family.
The Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 20-Mar 1) has completed the line-up of its Panorama strand with a further 15 world premieres.
The newly announced titles take the Panorama total to 35, after a first wave of features for the strand were announced last month.
They include the world premiere of Bassam Tariq’s Mogul Mowgli (previously titlted Mughal Mowgli), which stars Riz Ahmed as a UK rapper on the verge of international stardom when a crippling illness strikes him down, and he is forced to move back in with his family.
- 1/21/2020
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
French sales companies to merge staff, infrastructure and slates.
Jour2Fête, the Paris-based sales and distribution company co-headed by Sarah Chazelle and Etienne Ollagnier, is set to acquire compatriot sales company Doc & Film International, as its CEO Daniela Elstner heads to French cinema agency Unifrance in the role of managing director.
Under the deal, which is in the final stages of completion, Jour2Fête will merge the existing staff, infrastructure, slates and catalogues of both companies into one entity over the coming months.
For the time being, the separate banners of Jour2Fête and Doc & Film will remain in place,...
Jour2Fête, the Paris-based sales and distribution company co-headed by Sarah Chazelle and Etienne Ollagnier, is set to acquire compatriot sales company Doc & Film International, as its CEO Daniela Elstner heads to French cinema agency Unifrance in the role of managing director.
Under the deal, which is in the final stages of completion, Jour2Fête will merge the existing staff, infrastructure, slates and catalogues of both companies into one entity over the coming months.
For the time being, the separate banners of Jour2Fête and Doc & Film will remain in place,...
- 10/11/2019
- by 1100380¦Melanie Goodfellow¦0¦
- ScreenDaily
Respected international sales veteran replaces outgoing Isabelle Giordano.
Sales veteran Daniela Elstner, best known as the head of Paris-based sales company Doc & Film International, has been appointed as the new managing director of French cinema promotional body Unifrance.
She replaces Isabelle Giordano who is leaving at the end of July after six years in the role.
The appointment was overseen by Unifrance president Serge Toubiana who was unanimously re-elected for another two-year term last week.
“I’m overjoyed that Daniela Elstner, a major figure in the export of French cinema, who is recognised throughout the profession for her knowledge...
Sales veteran Daniela Elstner, best known as the head of Paris-based sales company Doc & Film International, has been appointed as the new managing director of French cinema promotional body Unifrance.
She replaces Isabelle Giordano who is leaving at the end of July after six years in the role.
The appointment was overseen by Unifrance president Serge Toubiana who was unanimously re-elected for another two-year term last week.
“I’m overjoyed that Daniela Elstner, a major figure in the export of French cinema, who is recognised throughout the profession for her knowledge...
- 7/8/2019
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Dardenne brothers are co-producing.
Michel Hazanavicius will direct an animated feature based on Jean-Claude Grumberg’s La Plus Precieuse Des Marchandises.
The Artist director will also co-write the script with Grumberg and create the film’s graphic design.
Studiocanal is co-developing the project and will handle all rights including international sales.
They will co-produce alongside Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne’s Les Films du Fleuve. Also producing are Ex Nihilo (Patrick Sobelman and Robert Guédiguian) and Les Compagnons de Cinéma.
Production will start in 2020 for a theatrical release in 2022. The animation will be created by Prima Linéa (Valérie Schermann).
Published this January in France,...
Michel Hazanavicius will direct an animated feature based on Jean-Claude Grumberg’s La Plus Precieuse Des Marchandises.
The Artist director will also co-write the script with Grumberg and create the film’s graphic design.
Studiocanal is co-developing the project and will handle all rights including international sales.
They will co-produce alongside Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne’s Les Films du Fleuve. Also producing are Ex Nihilo (Patrick Sobelman and Robert Guédiguian) and Les Compagnons de Cinéma.
Production will start in 2020 for a theatrical release in 2022. The animation will be created by Prima Linéa (Valérie Schermann).
Published this January in France,...
- 6/7/2019
- by Orlando Parfitt
- ScreenDaily
Oscar-winning director Michel Hazanavicius is set to adapt Jean-Claude Grumberg’s bestselling tale “La plus precious des marchandises” into an animated feature film. The Dardenne brothers are co-producing the film with Studiocanal, which will handle all rights, including international sales.
The tale, set during World War II against the backdrop of the Holocaust, is produced by Patrick Sobelman and Robert Guédiguian at France’s Ex Nihilo, and Florence Gastaud, Riad Sattouf and Hazanavicius at Les Compagnons de Cinéma. Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne are co-producing via their banner Les Films du Fleuve. Valérie Schermann’s company, Prima Linéa, whose track record includes the award-winning “The Red Turtle,” will be handling the animation.
The story intertwines the fates of a Jewish family, including newborn twins, who are arrested in Paris and deported to Auschwitz, and a poor and childless woodcutter couple living in the depths of a Polish forest. While on a train to the death camp,...
The tale, set during World War II against the backdrop of the Holocaust, is produced by Patrick Sobelman and Robert Guédiguian at France’s Ex Nihilo, and Florence Gastaud, Riad Sattouf and Hazanavicius at Les Compagnons de Cinéma. Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne are co-producing via their banner Les Films du Fleuve. Valérie Schermann’s company, Prima Linéa, whose track record includes the award-winning “The Red Turtle,” will be handling the animation.
The story intertwines the fates of a Jewish family, including newborn twins, who are arrested in Paris and deported to Auschwitz, and a poor and childless woodcutter couple living in the depths of a Polish forest. While on a train to the death camp,...
- 6/6/2019
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Early 2019 slate also includes Sundance selection ‘Midnight Traveler’.
Doc & Film International will kick-off sales on Belgian filmmaker Lucas Belvaux’s upcoming Algerian War legacy drama Des Hommes, co-starring Gérard Depardieu and Catherine Frot, at the Unifrance Rendez-vous with French Cinema in Paris next week (Jan 17-21).
Based on the eponymous novel of Laurent Mauvignier, Depardieu co-stars as the tortured, alcoholic figure of Feu-de-Bois, a brutish troublemaker haunted by a tough childhood and the horrors he saw as a young French soldier in Algeria during the country’s 1954-62 independence war.
The story unfolds some 40 years later in remote Burgundy region...
Doc & Film International will kick-off sales on Belgian filmmaker Lucas Belvaux’s upcoming Algerian War legacy drama Des Hommes, co-starring Gérard Depardieu and Catherine Frot, at the Unifrance Rendez-vous with French Cinema in Paris next week (Jan 17-21).
Based on the eponymous novel of Laurent Mauvignier, Depardieu co-stars as the tortured, alcoholic figure of Feu-de-Bois, a brutish troublemaker haunted by a tough childhood and the horrors he saw as a young French soldier in Algeria during the country’s 1954-62 independence war.
The story unfolds some 40 years later in remote Burgundy region...
- 1/10/2019
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Early 2019 slate also includes Sundance selection ‘Midnight Traveler’.
Doc & Film International will kick-off sales on Belgian filmmaker Lucas Belvaux’s upcoming Algerian War legacy drama Des Hommes, co-starring Gérard Depardieu and Catherine Frot, at the Unifrance Rendez-vous with French Cinema in Paris next week (Jan 17-21).
Based on the eponymous novel of Laurent Mauvignier, Depardieu co-stars as the tortured, alcoholic figure of Feu-de-Bois, a brutish troublemaker haunted by a tough childhood and the horrors he saw as a young French soldier in Algeria during the country’s 1954-62 independence war.
The story unfolds some 40 years later in remote Burgundy region...
Doc & Film International will kick-off sales on Belgian filmmaker Lucas Belvaux’s upcoming Algerian War legacy drama Des Hommes, co-starring Gérard Depardieu and Catherine Frot, at the Unifrance Rendez-vous with French Cinema in Paris next week (Jan 17-21).
Based on the eponymous novel of Laurent Mauvignier, Depardieu co-stars as the tortured, alcoholic figure of Feu-de-Bois, a brutish troublemaker haunted by a tough childhood and the horrors he saw as a young French soldier in Algeria during the country’s 1954-62 independence war.
The story unfolds some 40 years later in remote Burgundy region...
- 1/10/2019
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Taj Mahal
Director: Nicolas Saada // Writer: Nicolas Saada
Snagging a Cesar Award nomination for Best Debut in 2010 for Espion(s), director Nicolas Saada has assembled an intriguing international cast for his sophomore feature, the thriller Taj Mahal. Stacy Martin of Nymphomaniac, Italy’s Alba Rohrwacher, British actress Gina McKee from Desplechin’s Jimmy P., and Louis-Do de Lencquesaing from Hansen-Love’s Father of My Children populate this India set thriller revolving around the November 2008 attacks in Mumbai. Formerly a critic, Saada’s film deals with an 18 year old girl trapped in the eponymous hotel, separated from her family when a terrorist attack rages outside. Meanwhile, inside the hotel, the situation is also dire.
Cast: Stacy Martin, Louis-Do de Lencquesaing, Gina McKee, Alba Rohrwacher
Producers: Agat Films & Cie/Ex Nihilo’s Patrick Sobelman (Of Snails and Men), France 3 Cinema.
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available.
Release Date: With the buzz surrounding Saada’s sophomore film,...
Director: Nicolas Saada // Writer: Nicolas Saada
Snagging a Cesar Award nomination for Best Debut in 2010 for Espion(s), director Nicolas Saada has assembled an intriguing international cast for his sophomore feature, the thriller Taj Mahal. Stacy Martin of Nymphomaniac, Italy’s Alba Rohrwacher, British actress Gina McKee from Desplechin’s Jimmy P., and Louis-Do de Lencquesaing from Hansen-Love’s Father of My Children populate this India set thriller revolving around the November 2008 attacks in Mumbai. Formerly a critic, Saada’s film deals with an 18 year old girl trapped in the eponymous hotel, separated from her family when a terrorist attack rages outside. Meanwhile, inside the hotel, the situation is also dire.
Cast: Stacy Martin, Louis-Do de Lencquesaing, Gina McKee, Alba Rohrwacher
Producers: Agat Films & Cie/Ex Nihilo’s Patrick Sobelman (Of Snails and Men), France 3 Cinema.
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available.
Release Date: With the buzz surrounding Saada’s sophomore film,...
- 1/8/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
His Wife
Director: Michel Spinosa
Writers: Agnes de Sacy, Michel Spinosa
Producer: Patrick Sobelman
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Yvan Attal, Charlotte Gainsbourg
English speaking audiences perhaps know French director Michel Spinosa better for his screenwriting credits, which include two films directed by Gilles Bourdos, the rather awkward Afterwards (2008), and the celebrated Renoir (2012). However, Spinosa has a trio of his own directorial efforts under his belt, including the excellent 2007 psychological thriller/character study, Anna M., which features a stupendous performance from Isabelle Carre. We’re thrilled to see him back with his return to the director’s seat and starring real life couple Attal and Gainsbourg.
Gist: Gracie, a young Tamil woman living near Madras, has been having behavioural disorders since the day she was married. The memory of her French friend Catherine, who died in unresolved circumstances, seems to be haunting her. Catherine’s grieving ex-husband, Joseph, decides...
Director: Michel Spinosa
Writers: Agnes de Sacy, Michel Spinosa
Producer: Patrick Sobelman
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Yvan Attal, Charlotte Gainsbourg
English speaking audiences perhaps know French director Michel Spinosa better for his screenwriting credits, which include two films directed by Gilles Bourdos, the rather awkward Afterwards (2008), and the celebrated Renoir (2012). However, Spinosa has a trio of his own directorial efforts under his belt, including the excellent 2007 psychological thriller/character study, Anna M., which features a stupendous performance from Isabelle Carre. We’re thrilled to see him back with his return to the director’s seat and starring real life couple Attal and Gainsbourg.
Gist: Gracie, a young Tamil woman living near Madras, has been having behavioural disorders since the day she was married. The memory of her French friend Catherine, who died in unresolved circumstances, seems to be haunting her. Catherine’s grieving ex-husband, Joseph, decides...
- 2/19/2014
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Not My Type (Pas son Genre)
Director: Lucas Belvaux
Writer: Lucas Belvaux
Producer: Agat Films’ Patrick Sobelman
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Emilie Dequenne, Loic Corbery, Anne Coesens
Belvaux is, unfortunately, one of those exciting director’s that isn’t often discussed in the Us, though he’s directed an enjoyable trilogy of films starring Catherine Frot (a great actress that doesn’t receive the attention she deserves in the English speaking realm) and a 2009 thriller, Rapt. While his last film, 2012′s 38 Hours (also known as One Night) was a bit dry, (though some last minute cast changes with Charlotte Gainsbourg dropping out may have upset proceedings) we’re looking forward to his latest offering based on the Philippe Vilain novel.
Gist: Clement, a young Parisian philosophy professor, is transferred to Arras for a year. Far from Paris and its nightlife, he doesn’t know what to do with his free time.
Director: Lucas Belvaux
Writer: Lucas Belvaux
Producer: Agat Films’ Patrick Sobelman
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Emilie Dequenne, Loic Corbery, Anne Coesens
Belvaux is, unfortunately, one of those exciting director’s that isn’t often discussed in the Us, though he’s directed an enjoyable trilogy of films starring Catherine Frot (a great actress that doesn’t receive the attention she deserves in the English speaking realm) and a 2009 thriller, Rapt. While his last film, 2012′s 38 Hours (also known as One Night) was a bit dry, (though some last minute cast changes with Charlotte Gainsbourg dropping out may have upset proceedings) we’re looking forward to his latest offering based on the Philippe Vilain novel.
Gist: Clement, a young Parisian philosophy professor, is transferred to Arras for a year. Far from Paris and its nightlife, he doesn’t know what to do with his free time.
- 2/5/2014
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
No surprises at the 35th Cesars, as A Prophet cleaned up in all major categories it was nominated in: Best Film, Best Director (Audiard), Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography (Stephane Fontaine), Best Editing (Juliette Welfling), Best Art Direction (Michel Barthelemy) and last but not least, one of my top 5 performance of the year, Niels Arestrup won for Best Supporting... - No surprises at the 35th Césars, as A Prophet cleaned up in all major categories it was nominated in: Best Film, Best Director (Audiard), Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography (Stephane Fontaine), Best Editing (Juliette Welfling), Best Art Direction (Michel Barthelemy) and last but not least, one of my top 5 performance of the year, Niels Arestrup won for Best Supporting -- he of course won best supporting in The Beat that My Heart Skipped. The revelation of the year Tahar Rahim won a pair of awards...
- 2/28/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
Tahar Rahim in A Prophet (Roger Arpajou / Sony Pictures Classics) The Cesar winners will be announced on Feb. 27. Meilleur Film / Best Film A L’Origine / In The Beginning, Edouard Weil and Pierre-Ange Le Pogam; directed by Xavier Giannoli Le Concert / The Concert, Alain Attal; directed by Radu Mihaileanu Les Herbes Folles / Wild Grass, Jean-Louis Livi; directed by Alain Resnais La JOURNÉE De La Jupe / Skirt Day, Bénédicte Lesage and Ariel Askénazi; directed by Jean-Paul Lilienfeld Rapt, Patrick Sobelman, Diana Elbaum et Sébastien Delloye; directed by Lucas Belvaux * Un PROPHÈTE / A Prophet, Pascal Caucheteux, Grégoire Sorlat et Marco Cherqui; directed by Jacques Audiard Welcome, Christophe Rossignon; directed [...]...
- 2/28/2010
- by Steve Montgomery
- Alt Film Guide
Paris – French Academy members got serious on Friday with two politically charged dramas heading the major categories for the 35th annual Cesar Awards that will see Jacques Audiard's "A Prophet" go head to head with Philippe Lioret's "Welcome." The nominees were announced Friday at a press conference in Paris.
While no one can foresee the winners, "A Prophet" looks bound to triumph with Jacques Audiard's prison drama nominated for 13 awards including best film, best director and a best actor and most promising male newcomer nod for the film's breakout star Tahar Rahim.
Academy voters also gave a hearty reception to Phillipe Lioret's "Welcome" with 10 nods and Xavier Giannoli's "In the Beginning" with 11 nominations.
Radu Mihaileanu's "The Concert" was also music to voters' ears with the tragicomedy about a washed-up former conductor of the Bolshoi orchestra who travels to Paris to make his career comeback scoring six nominations.
While no one can foresee the winners, "A Prophet" looks bound to triumph with Jacques Audiard's prison drama nominated for 13 awards including best film, best director and a best actor and most promising male newcomer nod for the film's breakout star Tahar Rahim.
Academy voters also gave a hearty reception to Phillipe Lioret's "Welcome" with 10 nods and Xavier Giannoli's "In the Beginning" with 11 nominations.
Radu Mihaileanu's "The Concert" was also music to voters' ears with the tragicomedy about a washed-up former conductor of the Bolshoi orchestra who travels to Paris to make his career comeback scoring six nominations.
- 1/22/2010
- by By Rebecca Leffler
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Toronto International Film Festival
TORONTO -- Individual questions of belonging and reconciliation resonate with contentious geopolitical ones in the new film by Amos Gitai, a story that prefers to draw connections obliquely and without rendering direct judgment. Challenging at times but ultimately affecting, it should find viewers receptive at the more rarefied end of the arthouse marketplace.
Juliette Binoche plays Ana, an odd bird whose jarring sense of humor -- weird vocal tics, overly sexual flirtation with her half-brother Uli -- may or may not be a temporary side-effect of grief. Her father is dead, lying in repose within the dilapidated luxury of an Avignon estate that (to judge from a nearly surreal one-off scene) appears to have a village of squatters lurking quietly in the basement.
Gitai dallies in this limbo, placing the recently reunited siblings in some meandering rebonding scenes before the postfuneral revelation: For years, Ana's father knew about the daughter she had in secret and abandoned on a kibbutz. His will requires Ana to go to the Gaza Strip and introduce herself to Dana, now a schoolteacher in an Israeli settlement.
Coincidentally, Uli's police unit has been tasked with disbanding those settlements, and the story's second half, more dramatically driven but still moving at its own pace, follows brother and sister on their separate missions into this emotionally and politically charged territory.
The characters transform when freed from their father's home, Ana becoming an accidental witness to history (Binoche looks more at home here, raw and apprehensively wide-eyed) and Uli a cautious participant in it, trying to avert disaster while doing his duty. The closer we get to the removal of settlers, the more Gitai's pacing choices make sense: extra moments spent along a line of police practicing crowd control here or the slow crawl through a temple full of desperate settlers there convey the gravity of the conflict better than dialogue would, and offer stronger emotional shading to the mother/daughter reunion taking place at the same time. Gitai doesn't reveal just where that relationship is going to go, any more than he predicts the next phase in Israel/Palestine relations; clearly, this moment of interaction is the important thing to witness.
A wryly sexy prologue to the film offers two strangers on a train, each a mixed bag of ethnic and political identities, sharing a cigarette despite a customs official's insulting suggestion that their countrymen wouldn't approve. There's no symbolism here, one replies, right before the Israeli and the Palestinian fall into a torrid embrace. The delivery of the line sounds like a facetious disclaimer on the filmmaker's part, daring viewers to make sense in dramatic terms of relationships that are still being negotiated in the real world.
DISENGAGEMENT
Studio Canal
Agav Films / Agat Films & CIE / Pandora Films / Hamon Hafakot/ R&C Produzioni / Intereurop / ARTE France
Credits:
Director: Amos Gitai
Writers: Amos Gitai, Marie-Jose Sanselme
Producer: Laurent Truchot
Executive Producers: Amos Gitai, Laurent Truchot
Director of photography: Christian Berger
Production designers: Emmanuel de Chauvigny, Tim Pannen, Eli Zion
Music: Simon Stockhausen
Co-producers: Tilde Corsi, Christoph Friedel, Patrick Sobelman, Claudia Steffen
Costume designer: Moira Douguet
Editor: Isabelle Ingold
Cast:
Ana: Juliette Binoche
Uli: Liron Levo
Dana: Dana Ivgy
Running time -- 117 minutes
No MPAA rating...
TORONTO -- Individual questions of belonging and reconciliation resonate with contentious geopolitical ones in the new film by Amos Gitai, a story that prefers to draw connections obliquely and without rendering direct judgment. Challenging at times but ultimately affecting, it should find viewers receptive at the more rarefied end of the arthouse marketplace.
Juliette Binoche plays Ana, an odd bird whose jarring sense of humor -- weird vocal tics, overly sexual flirtation with her half-brother Uli -- may or may not be a temporary side-effect of grief. Her father is dead, lying in repose within the dilapidated luxury of an Avignon estate that (to judge from a nearly surreal one-off scene) appears to have a village of squatters lurking quietly in the basement.
Gitai dallies in this limbo, placing the recently reunited siblings in some meandering rebonding scenes before the postfuneral revelation: For years, Ana's father knew about the daughter she had in secret and abandoned on a kibbutz. His will requires Ana to go to the Gaza Strip and introduce herself to Dana, now a schoolteacher in an Israeli settlement.
Coincidentally, Uli's police unit has been tasked with disbanding those settlements, and the story's second half, more dramatically driven but still moving at its own pace, follows brother and sister on their separate missions into this emotionally and politically charged territory.
The characters transform when freed from their father's home, Ana becoming an accidental witness to history (Binoche looks more at home here, raw and apprehensively wide-eyed) and Uli a cautious participant in it, trying to avert disaster while doing his duty. The closer we get to the removal of settlers, the more Gitai's pacing choices make sense: extra moments spent along a line of police practicing crowd control here or the slow crawl through a temple full of desperate settlers there convey the gravity of the conflict better than dialogue would, and offer stronger emotional shading to the mother/daughter reunion taking place at the same time. Gitai doesn't reveal just where that relationship is going to go, any more than he predicts the next phase in Israel/Palestine relations; clearly, this moment of interaction is the important thing to witness.
A wryly sexy prologue to the film offers two strangers on a train, each a mixed bag of ethnic and political identities, sharing a cigarette despite a customs official's insulting suggestion that their countrymen wouldn't approve. There's no symbolism here, one replies, right before the Israeli and the Palestinian fall into a torrid embrace. The delivery of the line sounds like a facetious disclaimer on the filmmaker's part, daring viewers to make sense in dramatic terms of relationships that are still being negotiated in the real world.
DISENGAGEMENT
Studio Canal
Agav Films / Agat Films & CIE / Pandora Films / Hamon Hafakot/ R&C Produzioni / Intereurop / ARTE France
Credits:
Director: Amos Gitai
Writers: Amos Gitai, Marie-Jose Sanselme
Producer: Laurent Truchot
Executive Producers: Amos Gitai, Laurent Truchot
Director of photography: Christian Berger
Production designers: Emmanuel de Chauvigny, Tim Pannen, Eli Zion
Music: Simon Stockhausen
Co-producers: Tilde Corsi, Christoph Friedel, Patrick Sobelman, Claudia Steffen
Costume designer: Moira Douguet
Editor: Isabelle Ingold
Cast:
Ana: Juliette Binoche
Uli: Liron Levo
Dana: Dana Ivgy
Running time -- 117 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 9/10/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Opened
Friday, Jan 30 (New York)
NEW YORK -- Lucas Belvaux's experimental trilogy proves that the sum is often greater than the parts. Belvaux has made three stand-alone features, which share the same characters and milieu. The tales interweave, so each film elucidates those which came before. To increase the challenge, Belvaux has decided to work in three different genres: "One the Run" is a noirish crime thriller
"An Amazing Couple", a romantic comedy
and "After the Life", a tough drama.
On their own, they're passable movies, but -- with the possible exception of "After the Life" -- they lack definition for an international release. Yet viewed together, they improve one another. Shared situations are clarified and expanded, and characters are given new dimensions that completely change the way we understand them. The work suddenly expands to incorporate the wide-ranging perspectives of a good novel rather than the singular perspective of most films. Consequently, though it's flawed -- the romantic comedy sits uneasily with its harsher partners, for instance -- Belvaux's experiment is a success.
Magnolia Pictures opened "One the Run" on Jan. 30, "An Amazing Couple" on Feb. 6 and "After the Life" on Feb. 13 at New York's Angelika Film Center. A national release is to follow. Novelty value will certainly be a draw with artier audiences, and intriguing reviews will probably help. In New York, the trilogy's enemy will be time, and viewers may be discouraged by the fact that they have to see all three films to get the full picture.
"On the Run" is a crime thriller that introduces the inciting incident of the three stories -- a jailbreak by the leftist revolutionary Bruno (played by Belvaux himself). Once out of the pen, Bruno tracks down his old partner Jeanne (Catherine Frot) with the idea of restarting their leftist cell. But she's now settled and doesn't want to get involved.
Seamy cop Pascal Gilbert Melki) starts to pick up Bruno's trail, but then Bruno saves the cop's wife, Agnes (Dominique Blanc), from a drug overdose. Agnes decides to help him and hides him in a chalet belonging to a friend, Cecile (Ornella Muti). The story hinges on Bruno's revenge on the men who turned him in, and his attempts to persuade Jeanne to help him flee the country.
"On the Run" has some moments of excitement and is certainly uncompromising. Belvaux enjoys sticking within the conventions of the genre, using minimal dialogue, shadowy lighting with very dark blacks, shots of conniving characters through closed windows and so on.
"An Amazing Couple", the romantic comedy, is the weakest of the trio. It stands as something of an interlude, detailing the paranoid obsessions of Cecile and her husband, Alain (Francois Morel). Belvaux replicates the wordy banter of romantic comedies with gusto, but many of the jokes fail to ignite. It's obvious that he's more at home with the trilogy's darker sides.
A scene in which Cecile confronts Agnes and Bruno in her chalet is repeated from the first film. It's interesting to see Cecile -- originally the scene's supporting actor -- now become the focus. It's a textbook demonstration of how a change of camera angle can change the whole meaning of a scene. Technically, it's impressive to watch how Belvaux incorporates the similar dialogue and motion into two different styles of film without jarring.
"After the Life" is the strongest film. This concentrates on Agnes' battle with drug addiction and cop Pascal's attempts to help her. Seen third, the revelation is that while Pascal's still not particularly pleasant, he's more caring than we could perceive from the other parts. We learn that his hotheaded, cruel actions are motivated by the fact that a dealer will withhold morphine from Agnes unless Pascal leads him to the fleeing Bruno. Viewing events through Pascal's eyes changes our appreciation of him.
Belvaux's script is a tour de force of organization. Gratuitous scenes are expected in a work like this to provide continuity, but Belvaux cleverly makes sure that everything has a point.
The Trilogy:
On The Run, An Amazing Couple, After The Life
Produced by Agat Film Et Cie and Entre Chien Et Loup in association with Rhone-Alps Cinema and RTBF
Credits: Screenwriter-director: Lucas Belvaux
Producers: Patrick Sobelman, Diana Elbaum
Director of photography: Pierre Milon
Music: Riccardo Del Fra
Sound: Christian Monheim
Production designer: Frederique Belvaux
Costume designer: Cecile Cotten
Editors: Valerie Loiseleux ("An Amazing Couple"), Ludo Troch ("On the Run"), Danielle Anezin ("After the Life"). Cast: Cecile: Ornella Muti
Alain: Francois Morel
Jeanne: Catherine Frot
Bruno: Lucas Belvaux
Agnes: Dominique Blanc
Pascal: Gilbert Melki
No MPAA rating
Running times -- 117 minutes ("On the Run"), 100 minutes ("An Amazing Couple"), 124 minutes ("After the Life")...
Friday, Jan 30 (New York)
NEW YORK -- Lucas Belvaux's experimental trilogy proves that the sum is often greater than the parts. Belvaux has made three stand-alone features, which share the same characters and milieu. The tales interweave, so each film elucidates those which came before. To increase the challenge, Belvaux has decided to work in three different genres: "One the Run" is a noirish crime thriller
"An Amazing Couple", a romantic comedy
and "After the Life", a tough drama.
On their own, they're passable movies, but -- with the possible exception of "After the Life" -- they lack definition for an international release. Yet viewed together, they improve one another. Shared situations are clarified and expanded, and characters are given new dimensions that completely change the way we understand them. The work suddenly expands to incorporate the wide-ranging perspectives of a good novel rather than the singular perspective of most films. Consequently, though it's flawed -- the romantic comedy sits uneasily with its harsher partners, for instance -- Belvaux's experiment is a success.
Magnolia Pictures opened "One the Run" on Jan. 30, "An Amazing Couple" on Feb. 6 and "After the Life" on Feb. 13 at New York's Angelika Film Center. A national release is to follow. Novelty value will certainly be a draw with artier audiences, and intriguing reviews will probably help. In New York, the trilogy's enemy will be time, and viewers may be discouraged by the fact that they have to see all three films to get the full picture.
"On the Run" is a crime thriller that introduces the inciting incident of the three stories -- a jailbreak by the leftist revolutionary Bruno (played by Belvaux himself). Once out of the pen, Bruno tracks down his old partner Jeanne (Catherine Frot) with the idea of restarting their leftist cell. But she's now settled and doesn't want to get involved.
Seamy cop Pascal Gilbert Melki) starts to pick up Bruno's trail, but then Bruno saves the cop's wife, Agnes (Dominique Blanc), from a drug overdose. Agnes decides to help him and hides him in a chalet belonging to a friend, Cecile (Ornella Muti). The story hinges on Bruno's revenge on the men who turned him in, and his attempts to persuade Jeanne to help him flee the country.
"On the Run" has some moments of excitement and is certainly uncompromising. Belvaux enjoys sticking within the conventions of the genre, using minimal dialogue, shadowy lighting with very dark blacks, shots of conniving characters through closed windows and so on.
"An Amazing Couple", the romantic comedy, is the weakest of the trio. It stands as something of an interlude, detailing the paranoid obsessions of Cecile and her husband, Alain (Francois Morel). Belvaux replicates the wordy banter of romantic comedies with gusto, but many of the jokes fail to ignite. It's obvious that he's more at home with the trilogy's darker sides.
A scene in which Cecile confronts Agnes and Bruno in her chalet is repeated from the first film. It's interesting to see Cecile -- originally the scene's supporting actor -- now become the focus. It's a textbook demonstration of how a change of camera angle can change the whole meaning of a scene. Technically, it's impressive to watch how Belvaux incorporates the similar dialogue and motion into two different styles of film without jarring.
"After the Life" is the strongest film. This concentrates on Agnes' battle with drug addiction and cop Pascal's attempts to help her. Seen third, the revelation is that while Pascal's still not particularly pleasant, he's more caring than we could perceive from the other parts. We learn that his hotheaded, cruel actions are motivated by the fact that a dealer will withhold morphine from Agnes unless Pascal leads him to the fleeing Bruno. Viewing events through Pascal's eyes changes our appreciation of him.
Belvaux's script is a tour de force of organization. Gratuitous scenes are expected in a work like this to provide continuity, but Belvaux cleverly makes sure that everything has a point.
The Trilogy:
On The Run, An Amazing Couple, After The Life
Produced by Agat Film Et Cie and Entre Chien Et Loup in association with Rhone-Alps Cinema and RTBF
Credits: Screenwriter-director: Lucas Belvaux
Producers: Patrick Sobelman, Diana Elbaum
Director of photography: Pierre Milon
Music: Riccardo Del Fra
Sound: Christian Monheim
Production designer: Frederique Belvaux
Costume designer: Cecile Cotten
Editors: Valerie Loiseleux ("An Amazing Couple"), Ludo Troch ("On the Run"), Danielle Anezin ("After the Life"). Cast: Cecile: Ornella Muti
Alain: Francois Morel
Jeanne: Catherine Frot
Bruno: Lucas Belvaux
Agnes: Dominique Blanc
Pascal: Gilbert Melki
No MPAA rating
Running times -- 117 minutes ("On the Run"), 100 minutes ("An Amazing Couple"), 124 minutes ("After the Life")...
Opened
Friday, Jan 30 (New York)
NEW YORK -- Lucas Belvaux's experimental trilogy proves that the sum is often greater than the parts. Belvaux has made three stand-alone features, which share the same characters and milieu. The tales interweave, so each film elucidates those which came before. To increase the challenge, Belvaux has decided to work in three different genres: "One the Run" is a noirish crime thriller
"An Amazing Couple", a romantic comedy
and "After the Life", a tough drama.
On their own, they're passable movies, but -- with the possible exception of "After the Life" -- they lack definition for an international release. Yet viewed together, they improve one another. Shared situations are clarified and expanded, and characters are given new dimensions that completely change the way we understand them. The work suddenly expands to incorporate the wide-ranging perspectives of a good novel rather than the singular perspective of most films. Consequently, though it's flawed -- the romantic comedy sits uneasily with its harsher partners, for instance -- Belvaux's experiment is a success.
Magnolia Pictures opened "One the Run" on Jan. 30, "An Amazing Couple" on Feb. 6 and "After the Life" on Feb. 13 at New York's Angelika Film Center. A national release is to follow. Novelty value will certainly be a draw with artier audiences, and intriguing reviews will probably help. In New York, the trilogy's enemy will be time, and viewers may be discouraged by the fact that they have to see all three films to get the full picture.
"On the Run" is a crime thriller that introduces the inciting incident of the three stories -- a jailbreak by the leftist revolutionary Bruno (played by Belvaux himself). Once out of the pen, Bruno tracks down his old partner Jeanne (Catherine Frot) with the idea of restarting their leftist cell. But she's now settled and doesn't want to get involved.
Seamy cop Pascal Gilbert Melki) starts to pick up Bruno's trail, but then Bruno saves the cop's wife, Agnes (Dominique Blanc), from a drug overdose. Agnes decides to help him and hides him in a chalet belonging to a friend, Cecile (Ornella Muti). The story hinges on Bruno's revenge on the men who turned him in, and his attempts to persuade Jeanne to help him flee the country.
"On the Run" has some moments of excitement and is certainly uncompromising. Belvaux enjoys sticking within the conventions of the genre, using minimal dialogue, shadowy lighting with very dark blacks, shots of conniving characters through closed windows and so on.
"An Amazing Couple", the romantic comedy, is the weakest of the trio. It stands as something of an interlude, detailing the paranoid obsessions of Cecile and her husband, Alain (Francois Morel). Belvaux replicates the wordy banter of romantic comedies with gusto, but many of the jokes fail to ignite. It's obvious that he's more at home with the trilogy's darker sides.
A scene in which Cecile confronts Agnes and Bruno in her chalet is repeated from the first film. It's interesting to see Cecile -- originally the scene's supporting actor -- now become the focus. It's a textbook demonstration of how a change of camera angle can change the whole meaning of a scene. Technically, it's impressive to watch how Belvaux incorporates the similar dialogue and motion into two different styles of film without jarring.
"After the Life" is the strongest film. This concentrates on Agnes' battle with drug addiction and cop Pascal's attempts to help her. Seen third, the revelation is that while Pascal's still not particularly pleasant, he's more caring than we could perceive from the other parts. We learn that his hotheaded, cruel actions are motivated by the fact that a dealer will withhold morphine from Agnes unless Pascal leads him to the fleeing Bruno. Viewing events through Pascal's eyes changes our appreciation of him.
Belvaux's script is a tour de force of organization. Gratuitous scenes are expected in a work like this to provide continuity, but Belvaux cleverly makes sure that everything has a point.
The Trilogy:
On The Run, An Amazing Couple, After The Life
Produced by Agat Film Et Cie and Entre Chien Et Loup in association with Rhone-Alps Cinema and RTBF
Credits: Screenwriter-director: Lucas Belvaux
Producers: Patrick Sobelman, Diana Elbaum
Director of photography: Pierre Milon
Music: Riccardo Del Fra
Sound: Christian Monheim
Production designer: Frederique Belvaux
Costume designer: Cecile Cotten
Editors: Valerie Loiseleux ("An Amazing Couple"), Ludo Troch ("On the Run"), Danielle Anezin ("After the Life"). Cast: Cecile: Ornella Muti
Alain: Francois Morel
Jeanne: Catherine Frot
Bruno: Lucas Belvaux
Agnes: Dominique Blanc
Pascal: Gilbert Melki
No MPAA rating
Running times -- 117 minutes ("On the Run"), 100 minutes ("An Amazing Couple"), 124 minutes ("After the Life")...
Friday, Jan 30 (New York)
NEW YORK -- Lucas Belvaux's experimental trilogy proves that the sum is often greater than the parts. Belvaux has made three stand-alone features, which share the same characters and milieu. The tales interweave, so each film elucidates those which came before. To increase the challenge, Belvaux has decided to work in three different genres: "One the Run" is a noirish crime thriller
"An Amazing Couple", a romantic comedy
and "After the Life", a tough drama.
On their own, they're passable movies, but -- with the possible exception of "After the Life" -- they lack definition for an international release. Yet viewed together, they improve one another. Shared situations are clarified and expanded, and characters are given new dimensions that completely change the way we understand them. The work suddenly expands to incorporate the wide-ranging perspectives of a good novel rather than the singular perspective of most films. Consequently, though it's flawed -- the romantic comedy sits uneasily with its harsher partners, for instance -- Belvaux's experiment is a success.
Magnolia Pictures opened "One the Run" on Jan. 30, "An Amazing Couple" on Feb. 6 and "After the Life" on Feb. 13 at New York's Angelika Film Center. A national release is to follow. Novelty value will certainly be a draw with artier audiences, and intriguing reviews will probably help. In New York, the trilogy's enemy will be time, and viewers may be discouraged by the fact that they have to see all three films to get the full picture.
"On the Run" is a crime thriller that introduces the inciting incident of the three stories -- a jailbreak by the leftist revolutionary Bruno (played by Belvaux himself). Once out of the pen, Bruno tracks down his old partner Jeanne (Catherine Frot) with the idea of restarting their leftist cell. But she's now settled and doesn't want to get involved.
Seamy cop Pascal Gilbert Melki) starts to pick up Bruno's trail, but then Bruno saves the cop's wife, Agnes (Dominique Blanc), from a drug overdose. Agnes decides to help him and hides him in a chalet belonging to a friend, Cecile (Ornella Muti). The story hinges on Bruno's revenge on the men who turned him in, and his attempts to persuade Jeanne to help him flee the country.
"On the Run" has some moments of excitement and is certainly uncompromising. Belvaux enjoys sticking within the conventions of the genre, using minimal dialogue, shadowy lighting with very dark blacks, shots of conniving characters through closed windows and so on.
"An Amazing Couple", the romantic comedy, is the weakest of the trio. It stands as something of an interlude, detailing the paranoid obsessions of Cecile and her husband, Alain (Francois Morel). Belvaux replicates the wordy banter of romantic comedies with gusto, but many of the jokes fail to ignite. It's obvious that he's more at home with the trilogy's darker sides.
A scene in which Cecile confronts Agnes and Bruno in her chalet is repeated from the first film. It's interesting to see Cecile -- originally the scene's supporting actor -- now become the focus. It's a textbook demonstration of how a change of camera angle can change the whole meaning of a scene. Technically, it's impressive to watch how Belvaux incorporates the similar dialogue and motion into two different styles of film without jarring.
"After the Life" is the strongest film. This concentrates on Agnes' battle with drug addiction and cop Pascal's attempts to help her. Seen third, the revelation is that while Pascal's still not particularly pleasant, he's more caring than we could perceive from the other parts. We learn that his hotheaded, cruel actions are motivated by the fact that a dealer will withhold morphine from Agnes unless Pascal leads him to the fleeing Bruno. Viewing events through Pascal's eyes changes our appreciation of him.
Belvaux's script is a tour de force of organization. Gratuitous scenes are expected in a work like this to provide continuity, but Belvaux cleverly makes sure that everything has a point.
The Trilogy:
On The Run, An Amazing Couple, After The Life
Produced by Agat Film Et Cie and Entre Chien Et Loup in association with Rhone-Alps Cinema and RTBF
Credits: Screenwriter-director: Lucas Belvaux
Producers: Patrick Sobelman, Diana Elbaum
Director of photography: Pierre Milon
Music: Riccardo Del Fra
Sound: Christian Monheim
Production designer: Frederique Belvaux
Costume designer: Cecile Cotten
Editors: Valerie Loiseleux ("An Amazing Couple"), Ludo Troch ("On the Run"), Danielle Anezin ("After the Life"). Cast: Cecile: Ornella Muti
Alain: Francois Morel
Jeanne: Catherine Frot
Bruno: Lucas Belvaux
Agnes: Dominique Blanc
Pascal: Gilbert Melki
No MPAA rating
Running times -- 117 minutes ("On the Run"), 100 minutes ("An Amazing Couple"), 124 minutes ("After the Life")...
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