Jacquot, Gomis, Meier and Mendoza set sights on Berlin Golden Bear

by Fabien Lemercier

10/01/2012 - Three majority productions, a 50/50 co-production with Switzerland and two minority co-productions: with six of the 14 films selected so far in competition at the 62nd Berlinale (February 9-19, 2012), France claims the lion’s share.

A regular at major festivals (in competition at Cannes in 1998 and at Venice in 1997, 1999 and 2006), Benoît Jacquot (pictured) will make his competition debut at Berlin (where he had only appeared in the Panorama in 1996) with his twentieth feature: Farewell, My Queen (see news). Starring Léa Seydoux, Diane Kruger, Xavier Beauvois, Virginie Ledoyen and Noémie Lvovsky, this French/Spanish co-production is sold by Elle Driver.

As Cineuropa had foreseen (see news),Alain Gomis will also make his debut in the race for the Golden Bear with French/Senegalese co-production Aujourd’hui (“Today”), sold by Wide Management.

Another majority French production will vie for honours: Philippine director Brillante Mendoza’s Captive (see news), which stars Isabelle Huppert and is sold by Films Distribution.

Also in competition is Ursula Meier’s L’enfant D’en Haut (“The Child From Above”), co-produced 50/50 by France and Switzerland through Archipel 35 and Vega Films. The film, whose cast also includes Léa Seydoux, is sold by Memento.

Finally, France will also be represented in competition by two minority co-productions: Just The Wind by Hungary’s Benedek Fliegauf (see news - co-produced by Paprika Films) and Tabu by Portugal’s Miguel Gomes (see news - co-produced by Shellac Sud). Both titles received foreign language film funding from the National Film and Moving Image Centre (CNC).

For the sake of curiosity, it should be noted that French screenwriter Gilles Taurand collaborated on the screenplays of two films in competition: Farewell, My Queen and L’enfant D’en Haut.

(Translated from French)