Julie Gavras’s Late Bloomers in official selection

by Fabien Lemercier

24/01/2011 - French/UK/Belgian co-production Late Bloomers [trailer], the second feature by Julie Gavras, will have its world premiere at the 61st Berlin Film Festival (February 10-20, 2011) as a gala screening in the Berlinale Special programme in official selection.

Starring Isabella Rossellini, William Hurt, Joanna Lumley and Simon Callow, this romantic comedy (see news) centres on the difficulties of a couple faced with growing old together. Produced by Sylvie Pialat for Les Films du Worso (who also backed the director’s debut feature: Blame It On Fidel! [trailer]), the title was co-produced by UK company The Bureau, Belgium’s BE Films and Gaumont. The latter will release the film in France in May and is handling international sales.

Late Bloomers completes the French contingent at Berlin, joining in official selection Michel Ocelot’s 3D animated film Tales of the Night [trailer, film focus] (the only 100% French title in competition – co-production between Nord-Ouest Films, Studio O and StudioCanal, with the latter handling international sales); and Philippe Le Guay’s Service Entrance [trailer], which will screen out of competition (Vendôme Productions, co-produced by France 2 Cinéma and SND, with the latter managing sales).

Also in competition are three minority French co-productions: Hungarian director Béla Tarr’s The Turin Horse [trailer, film focus] (co-produced by MPM Film – see news); Prize [trailer] by Mexico’s Paula Markovitch (co-produced by Mille et Une Productions, sold by Umedia); and Sleeping Sickness by Germany’s Ulrich Köhler (co-produced by Why Not Productions). Added to these are two co-productions screening out of competition in official selection: Unknown [trailer] by Spain’s Jaume Collet-Serra (co-produced by StudioCanal); and Pina [trailer] by Germany’s Wim Wenders (co-produced by Eurowide Film Production).

(Translated from French)