30/08/2016 - There is a strong French presence across the entire official selection at Venice, including Planetarium, Never Ever and Heal the Living

Besides the six French productions and co-productions duking it out in competition (read the article), the Official Selection of the 73rd Venice Film Festival (31 August-10 September 2016) includes 15 features with French involvement (six majority productions and nine minority ones), in addition to four other titles being sold by Paris-based sales agents.

Planetarium [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Rebecca Zlotowski
film profile], the third feature by Rebecca Zlotowski, following two films that were screened at Cannes (Belle Epine [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] in the 2010 Critics’ Week and Grand Central [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Rebecca Zlotowski
film profile] in Un Certain Regard in 2013), will be unveiled out of competition. Standing out among the cast are US star actress Natalie Portman, Lily Rose Depp, Emmanuel Salinger, Amira Casar, Pierre Salvadori and Louis Garrel. Written by the director together with Robin Campillo, the story depicts the misadventures of Kate and Laura Barlow, two young American mediums who find themselves in Paris in the late 1930s; they are then hired by a famous film producer who is fascinated by their special gift. Produced by Frédéric Jouve for Les Films Velvet, Planetarium had a budget of €8 million, including co-productions by France 3 Cinéma and Belgian outfit Les Films du Fleuve, pre-purchases by Canal+ and Ciné+, an advance on receipts from the CNC and support from the Ile-de-France region. The French theatrical release will be helmed by Ad Vitam on 16 November, while the international sales are managed by Kinology.

Another out-of-competition screening is that of Never Ever [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Victória Guerra
film profile] by Benoît Jacquot. The 23^rd feature by the filmmaker (who was in competition at Cannes with The School of Flesh in 1998, twice at Berlin, in 2012 and 2015 with Farewell My Queen [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Benoît Jacquot
film profile] and Diary of a Chambermaid [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], and four times at Venice, in 1997, 1999, 2006 and 2014 with Seventh Heaven, No Scandal, The Untouchable [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] and 3 Hearts [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Benoît Jacquot
film profile]) boasts a cast comprising Mathieu Amalric, Julia Roy and Jeanne Balibar, and is a loose adaptation (by Julia Roy) of the novel The Body Artist by US author Don DeLillo. The story revolves around Laura and Rey, who live in a house by the sea. He is a filmmaker, while she stages performances. Rey dies (accident or suicide?), leaving her alone in the house. But soon enough, she is no longer alone, because there is someone there... Produced by Paolo Branco for Alfama Films Production (which will release the movie in France on 28 November and is in charge of the international sales), Never Ever had a budget of €1.9 million, including a co-production by Portuguese firm Leopardo Filmes and a pre-purchase by Ciné+. 

Standing out in the competitive Orizzonti section is Heal the Living [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Katell Quillévéré
film profile], the third feature by Katell Quillévéré, following Love Like Poison [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (2010 Directors’ Fortnight) and Suzanne [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Katell Quillévéré
film profile] (Cannes Critics’ Week in 2013). An adaptation by the director and Gilles Taurand of Maylis de Kerangal’s novel Réparer les vivants, it tells the story of a heart transplant and stars Anne Dorval, Emmanuelle Seigner, Tahar Rahim, Kool Shen, Bouli Lanners, Monia Chokri, Alice Taglioni, Karim Leklou, Alice de Lencquesaing, Finnegan Oldfield, Gabin Verdet, Théo Cholbi and Dominique Blanc. Produced by Justin Taurand for Les Films du Bélier and David Thion for Les Films Pelléas, Heal the Living had a budget of €6.53 million, including co-productions by France 2 Cinéma, Mars Films (which will distribute the film in France from 2 November), Jouror, CN5 Productions, US outfit Ezekiel Film Production, and Belgium’s Frakas Productions, RTBF and Proximus. Having been pre-purchased by Canal+ and Ciné+, the film also received backing from the Ile-de-France and Upper Normandy regions. The international sales are helmed by Films Distribution.

Also of note out of competition are the minority French co-productions Monte [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Amir Naderi (co-produced by Ciné-Sud Promotion with Italy and the United States) and The Young Pope by Paolo Sorrentino (a series co-produced by Haut et Court TV with Italy and Spain), as well as the documentary Safari [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Austrian director Ulrich Seidl, which is being sold by Coproduction Office.

Also featuring on the Orizzonti programme are the documentary Bitter Money [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by China’s Wang Bing (produced by Paris-based companies Gladys Glover, House on Fire and Yisha Production with Hong Kong – sales by Pyramide) and four minority French co-productions: São Jorge [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Marco Martins
film profile] by Marco Martins (co-produced by Les Films de l'Après-Midi with Portugal and sold by Celluloid Dreams), Malaria [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Parviz Shahbazi (co-produced with Iran and sold by DreamLab Films) and the documentaries Liberami [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Federica Di Giacomo (co-produced by Opera Films with Italy) and Dawson City: Frozen Time [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Bill Morrison (co-produced by Arte - La Lucarne with the USA). In the same section, Doc & Film International is selling Home [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fien Troch
film profile] by Belgian filmmaker Fien Troch, Stray Dogs is selling the Canadian film Maudite Poutine by Karl Lemieux and Alpha Violet is selling the Japanese title Traces of Sin (Gukoroku) by Kei Ishikawa.

Among the titles in post-production selected for Final Cut in Venice, we should highlight Félicité by Alain Gomis (read the article – produced by France via Andolfi, with Senegal and Belgium), Ghost Hunting by Raed Andoni (Palestine/France/Switzerland), Poisonous Roses [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Fawzi Saleh (Egypt/France/Qatar) and The Wound [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by John Trengove (South Africa/Germany/the Netherlands/France).

Lastly, the Venezia Classici section, dedicated to restored movies, includes a very modern film: the documentary Le Concours [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Claire Simon (produced by Andolfi, co-produced by Mouvement and sold by Wide House), who filmed the selection process for the entry competition at famous Paris-based film school La Fémis.

(Translated from French)