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FESTIVALS France

Montpellier at heart of Mediterranean film

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This evening, Alejandro Amenábar’s Spanish blockbuster Agora [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
will open the 31st Montpellier Mediterranean Film Festival (October 23-November 1), which will offer a broad panorama of current production.

Among the 12 titles in competition are Bulgarian director Kamen Kalev’s Eastern Plays [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kamen Kalev
film profile
]
(LUX Prize 2009 competition); Venice contender White Space [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Italy’s Francesca Comencini (see review); Greek director Yorgos LanthimosDogtooth [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Yorgos Lanthimos
film profile
]
(winner of Un Certain Regard at Cannes); fellow Greek filmmaker Panos H. KoutrasA Woman’s Way [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
(unveiled in the Panorama section at the latest Berlinale); Return to Hansala [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by Spain’s Chus Gutiérrez (selected for the European Film Awards 2009); Serbian/Albanian co-production Honeymoons [+see also:
Interview with Goran Paskaljevic, dire…
film profile
]
 by Goran Paskaljevic (see video interview); In the Land of Wonders by Croatia’s Sorak Dejan; Igor Sterk’s Slovenian/German co-production 9:06 [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
; and Asli Özge’s Turkish/German/Dutch film Men on the Bridge [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Asli Özge
film profile
]
.

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The rich selection of avant-premieres includes In the Beginning [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by France’s Xavier Giannoli (see review) and Vincere [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Cannes 2009 Marco Bellocc…
interview: Filippo Timi - actor
film profile
]
by Italy’s Marco Bellocchio, both shown in competition at this year’s Cannes Festival; La Pivellina [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Austrian-Italian duo Rainer Frimmel and Tizza Covi (winner of the Europa Cinemas Label Award on the Croisette); Spanish director Marc Recha’s Little Indi [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
; collective Romanian film Tales From the Golden Age [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
; François Favrat’s La Sainte Victoire (see news); Claude Berri and François Dupeyron’s Treasure [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
; and Merzak Allouache’s Harragas [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
(see video interview).

The Panorama section will screen 19 features, including four Italian: Cosmonaut [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Susanna Nicchiarelli (see interview), Marco Risi’s Fortapàsc [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, Arce Andrès Ataualpa’s Moths, and Giuseppe Piccioni’s Giulia Doesn’t Date At Night [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
.

Also on the line-up are Portuguese director Ivo M. Ferreira’s April Showers, Christos Georgiou’s Cypriot/German/Greek film Small Crime [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, Vinko Bresan’s Croatian title Will Not Stop There, Filippos Tsitos’ Greek/German production Plato’s Academy [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Constantin Moriatis
interview: Filippos Tsitos
interview: Filippos Tsitos
film profile
]
(three awards at Locarno), and three Spanish titles: Ventura Pons’ Strangers [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, Helena Taberna’s The Good News and Borja Cobeaga’s offbeat comedy The Friend Zone [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Borja Cobeaga
film profile
]
.

The Montpellier festival is also hosting the Focus "Spain: New Fantasy Cinema", with special guest Álex de la Iglesia; a Screenplay Day led by Olivier Lorelle; a retrospective dedicated to Italian filmmaker Elio Petri; a tribute to young French director Emmanuel Mouret; and a close-up on the Turkish cinema revival.

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(Translated from French)

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