07/11/2008

The 9th “L’Autre cinéma” - Arras International Film Festival (November 7-16) kicks off today and its special guest is John Boorman. The UK director – whose entire works will be presented in the Pas de Calais city – will hold a masterclass on Friday, November 14. He has also announced his latest project, which will be co-produced with France: an animated adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, to be piloted by French company Action Synthèse.

The festival – whose reputation is growing – will screen European films unreleased in France. There will be a particular focus on titles from countries with produced few films and features that explore social issues.

The line-up includes three Polish films: Saviour Square [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Joanna and Krzysztof Krauze (crowned Best Film at last year’s Polish Film Awards); Dorota Kedzierzawska’s Time to Die (which won Best Actress at the 2008 Polish Eagle Awards for Danuta Szaflarska’s performance); and Tomasz Wiszniewski’s All Will Be Well (2008 National Best Actor Award for Robert Wieckiewicz).

Greece is represented by Thanos Anastopoulos’ Correction (shortlisted for the 2008 European Film Awards); Hungary by Gabor Rohonyi’s Konyec [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (Audience Award at the 2007 Hungarian Film Week); and the Czech Republic by Jiri Vejdelek’s Vaclav (Best Actor for Ivan Trojan at the Finale Film Festival in April).

Bulgaria puts in an appearance with Lyudmil Todorov’s Seamstresses, Bosnia-Herzegovina with Srdan Vuletic’s It's Hard to Be Nice, Croatia with Dejan Acimovic’s I Have to Sleep My Angel [+see also:
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film profile] and Serbia with Stefan Arsenijevic’s Love and Other Crimes [+see also:
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film profile] (unveiled in the Panorama section at the latest Berlinale).

Western European titles include Swiss-Italian director Fulvio Bernasconi’s Out of Bounds (Best Actor for Michele Venitucci at last year’s Locarno Film Festival); The Best of Me [+see also:
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film profile] by Spain’s Roser Aguilar (2007 Leopard for Best Actress for Marian Álvares); Hand of the Headless Man [+see also:
film review
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film profile] by Belgium’s Guillaume and Stéphane Malandrin and UK director Jan Dunn’s Ruby Blue. The line-up also includes two German films: Sylke Enders’ Kroko and Emily Atef’s The Stranger In Me [+see also:
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film profile] (in this year’s Cannes Critics’ Week).

Among the avant-premières are Italian director Paolo Sorrentino’s Il Divo [+see also:
film review
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interview: Nicola Giuliano
interview: Paolo Sorrentino
interview: Philippe Desandre
film profile] (“The Deity”), Three Monkeys [+see also:
film review
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interview: Zeynep Ozbatur
film profile] by Turkey’s Nuri Bilge Ceylan and UK director Steve McQueen’s Hunger [+see also:
film review
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interview: Laura Hastings-Smith Rob…
interview: Steve McQueen
film profile], which all scooped prizes at Cannes.

Also showing are Italian film Quiet Chaos [+see also:
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interview: Antonello Grimaldi
interview: Domenico Procacci
film profile] by Antonello Grimaldi, UK director Saul Dibb’s The Duchess [+see also:
film review
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film profile], Moscow, Belgium [+see also:
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film profile] by Belgium’s Christophe van Rompaey (see interview) and 9 mm by fellow Belgian Taylan Barman.

French films include François Dupeyron’s With a Little Help From Myself [+see also:
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film profile], Antoine de Maximy’s Hollywood, I’m Sleeping Over Tonight [+see also:
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film profile], Louise-Michel [+see also:
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interview: Benoît Delépine and Gustav…
interview: Benoît Jaubert
film profile] by Benoît Delépine and Gustave Kervern, Fred Cavayé’s Anything for Her [+see also:
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film profile], Philippe Haim’s Secret Defense [+see also:
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film profile], Jean-Xavier de Lestrade’s Welcome Home [+see also:
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film profile] and Karin Albou’s Le Chant des mariées [+see also:
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film profile] (“The Brides’ Song”).

(Translated from French)