One week after Marco Muller’s stay in Paris, rumours are doing the rounds on the French films to be selected for official competition at the 63rd Venice Film Festival (August 30-September 9).

Three favourites emerge: Petites peurs partagées [trailer] (Private Fears in Public Places) by Alain Resnais, Lady Chatterley [trailer] by Pascale Ferran and L'Intouchable [trailer] by Benoît Jacquot, with A Few Days in September by Santiago Amigorena (see news) rumoured to be presented out of competition. All will be confirmed at a press conference on July 27 in Rome, where this year’s Venice festival programme will be revealed.
Having competed three times at Venice – in 1961 (Golden Lion for Last Year at Marienbad), 1963 (Muriel, or the Time of Return) and again in 1989 (I Want to Go Home) – Resnais also received a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1995 at the festival.

For Petites peurs partagées (see article), his 18th feature, Resnais adapted a play by UK writer Alan Ayckbourn (Smoking/No Smoking) for the second time. Starring Sabine Azéma, André Dussollier, Lambert Wilson, Isabelle Carré, Laura Morante and Pierre Arditi, the film was produced by Soudaine Compagnie in co-production with Italy’s Achab Film (10%) and received an advance on receipts of €350,000 from the CNC, €500,000 from Eurimages and €420,000 from the Ile de France region.

StudioCanal are handling international sales and the film will open on French screens on November 22 (dist. Mars Distribution ).

Lady Chatterley marks the grand return of director Pascale Ferran, 12 years after Coming to Terms with the Dead (Caméra d'or at Cannes 1994) and 10 years after L'âge des possibles (lit. "The Age of Potential", Fipresci Prize at Venice 1996 in the Finestra sulle immagini section).

An adaptation of the second version of DH Lawrence’s "Lady Chatterley’s Lover", this story of a relationship, where the barriers of domination between social classes and sexes come tumbling down, stars Marina Hands, Jean-Louis Coulloc'h and Hippolyte Girardot (see production news).

Produced by Maïa Films, the €2.33m film was co-produced with Belgium’s Saga Film (12%) and UK outfit Zephyr Films (18%), with a pre-sales agreement from CinéCinéma.

Ad Vitam will release Lady Chatterley in France on October 4, with Films Distribution handling international sales.

Already selected twice in competition at the Venice Film Festival (in 1997 with Seventh Heaven and in 1999 with No Scandal), Benoît Jacquot’s 17th feature, L'Intouchable, was filmed partly in India. Starring French actors Isild Le Besco, Marc Barbé, Bérangère Bonvoisin, Pascal Bongard and George Babluani, the film tells the story of a young actress who, on discovering her father is Indian – from an untouchable Hindu class to be exact – sets out to look for him.

Produced by Sangsho, L'Intouchable was made on a €920,000 budget with funding from pre-sales with Ciné Cinéma and an advance on receipts of €290,000 from the CNC. Pyramide will handle the film’s international sales, as well as the film’s release in France on December 6.