24/11/2014 - Among the chosen projects are the upcoming works by György Pálfi, Ivano De Matteo, Aku Louhimies, Gaël Morel, Matthias Luthardt, João Viana and Iram Haq

After having announced its programme (read the article), the Les Arcs European Film Festival (whose sixth edition takes place from 13-20 December 2014) has unveiled the list of the 25 projects that have been selected for the Coproduction Village. Riding high on its impressive ability to draw in European professionals, which grows stronger year after year, the team led by Pierre-Emmanuel Fleurantin (aided by Vanja Kaludjercic) has cooked up an attractive selection that is certainly not lacking in variety and will thus be capable of attracting the interest of the myriad co-producers, distributers, sales agents and other financiers who will be attending the event at the Alpine resort (which will unspool from 13-16 December).

Standing out among the 25 projects (see the complete list below) are such titles as The Voice by Hungary’s György Pálfi (Taxidermia [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Free Fall [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]), My Mother and I by Italian director Ivano De Matteo (who turned heads at Venice with Les équilibristes [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and The Dinner [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ivano De Matteo
film profile]), Spring Again by French filmmaker Gaël Morel (who was present at the Directors’ Fortnight in 2007 with Après lui [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), the Irish project Cycle by Finland’s Aku Louhimies (Frozen Land, 8-Ball [+see also:
trailer
interview: Aku Louhimies
film profile]), What Will People Say by rising Norwegian star Iram Haq (I Am Yours [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]), The Fox by German director Matthias Luthardt (who came to fame at the Directors’ Fortnight in 2006 with Pingpong [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Matthias Luthardt
interview: Sebastian Urzendowsky
film profile]), The Thirtieth Love by Russian filmmaker Angelina Nikonova (who won at Les Arcs in 2011 with Twilight Portrait) and the French production Our Madness by Portugal’s João Viana (who got a Special Mention at the Berlinale Forum in 2013 with The Battle of Tabatô [+see also:
trailer
film profile]). Other countries that will be represented are Belgium, Luxembourg, Iceland, Romania, the United Kingdom and Ireland.

“It’s a fairly balanced selection, just like last year’s one, which is a sign that the Coproduction Village has matured,” the CEO of the Les Arcs Festival, Pierre-Emmanuel Fleurantin, told Cineuropa. “There are a number of filmmakers whose works we expect to be selected at the major international festivals – Pálfi, De Matteo, Fiennes, Haq and Nikonova, for instance. There are also young directors who are yet to be discovered, such as France’s Emmanuel Schapira (winner of the Golden Bear for Best Short Film at Berlin) and Nicolas Engel, or Romanian filmmaker Daniel Sandu. But the selection also includes genre films: horror movies like The Island of the Dolls by Pascal Sid; a crime film set against the backdrop of chemical trafficking, with David Kew’s ESP; animation, with Zombillénium [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Arthur de Pins (a project that looks really tremendous and presents an excellent opportunity as it does not yet have a sales agent); and documentaries that sometimes merge with animation, such as Comrade Stalin (the fascinating story of Jews who avoided the Holocaust by being deported to Siberia).”

In terms of the editorial policy followed by the Coproduction Village selectors, Pierre-Emmanuel Fleurantin stresses that the greatest emphasis is placed on “artistic potential (be it through the director, the project or the production company), market potential (strong feasibility and drawing power), the freshness of the project (presenting as many exclusive projects as possible at Les Arcs) and potential in terms of setting up meetings and generating business”.

Furthermore, ten films (see the list below) will be presented as part of the Work-in-Progress section (which this year received around 100 applications), which Cineuropa will talk about in detail soon with Frédéric Boyer, the Les Arcs Festival’s artistic director.

List of Coproduction Village projects
(title/director/production company/country):

Felix and Vincent by Manuel Schapira - Manufactura (FR)
Hidden Folk by Johnny Kevorkian - Pinball Films (UK)
The Island of the Dolls by Pascal Sid - Daigoro Films (FR)
Our Madness by João Viana - Les Films de l'Après-Midi (FR)
One Step Behind the Seraphim [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Daniel Sandu
film profile] by Daniel Sandu - Parada Film (RO)
Red Dust by Marco Amenta - Eurofilm (IT)
Spring Again by Gaël Morel - TS Productions (FR)
Shake Your Cares Away by Tom Shoval - One Two Films (DE)
The Fox by Matthias Luthardt - 27 Films Production (DE)
The Thirtieth Love by Angelina Nikonova - Voita Aktiva (RU)
What Will People Say by Iram Haq - MerFilm (NO)
System K by Renaud Barret - Flickshift (FR)
Cycle by Aku Louhimies - Samson Films (IE)
The Tree by Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson - Zig Zak Filmworks (IS)
Gutland by Govinda Van Maele - Les Films Fauves (LU)
The Giant of Odessa by Nicolas Engel - Unlimited (FR)
Sea Fever by Neasa Hardiman - Fantastic Films (IE)
My Mother and I by Ivano De Matteo - Rodeo Drive (IT)
Comrade Stalin by Kamila Kubiak and Olivier Patté - Autour de Minuit (FR)
The Voice by György Pálfi - KMH Film (HU)
Trade by David Roddham - Roads Entertainment (IE)
ESP by David Kew - Formosa Films (UK)
Zombillénium [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Arthur de Pins - Maybe Movies (FR)
Coureur [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Kenneth Mercken
film profile] by Kenneth Mercken - (BE)
Grace Jones - The Musical of My Life by Sophie Fiennes - Blinder Films and Amoeba Film (IE/UK)

Work-in-Progress films:

High Sun by Dalibor Matanic (HR - Kinorama)
Family Film [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Olmo Omerzu
film profile] by Olmo Omerzu (CZ - Endorfilm)
Rams by Grimur Hakonarson (IS - Netop Films)
Sparrows [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Atli Óskar Fjalarsson
interview: Rúnar Rúnarsson
film profile] by Runar Runarsson (IS/DK - Nimbus Film)
My Name Is Emily by Simon Fizmaurice (IE - Newgrange Pictures and Kennedy Films)
Magic Mountain by Anca Damian (RO - Arizona Productions)
It's Time by Adrian Sitaru (RO - 4 Proof Film)
Pioneer Heroes by Natalia Kudryashova (RU - CTB Film)
Galloping Mind by Wim Vandekeybus (BE - Savage)
We Are Dead by Tobias Nölle (CH - Hugo Film)

Low Budget Film Forum films:

Notes of Berlin by Mariejosephin Schneider (DFFB - DE)
The Bridge by Sylvain Coisne (La Fémis - FR)
Summer 1993 by Carla Simon Pipo (London Film School - UK)
My Girl by Matei-Alexandru Mocanu (UNATC - RO)
Airlift by Lucas Delangle (La Fémis - FR)
Self Defence by Sebastian Condurache (UNATC - RO)
The White Cell by Allyn Quigley (The National Film School - IE)
Black Wolves by Camille Lugan (La Fémis - FR)

(Translated from French)