09/04/2014 - Audrey Estrougo has managed to successfully finish a film dealing with the topic of rape. Also released are The Good Life, My Sweet Pepper Land and Heli

“I am convinced that cinema is also a way of denouncing things, which can be used to get things moving.” After coming to fame with Ain’t Scared [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (selected at the Forum of the 2008 Berlinale), Audrey Estrougo tackles the taboo subject of rape in Une histoire banale [+see also:
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film profile], released today in 25 French cinemas by Damned Distribution. Discouraged by the lack of interest shown by TV channels in difficult issues that interest her (“a cinema that wants to share a genuine awareness of the facts with the audience, not just entertain them”), the director decided to see through her third feature film, whatever the cost, shooting it in her flat over a period of three weeks with an €8,000 budget derived from crowdfunding, help from unpaid actors and crew, and the support of service providers (particularly TSF) that lent her the necessary equipment free of charge.

Carried by the performance of Marie Denarnaud in the lead role and by the work of DoP Guillaume Schiffman (nominated for an Oscar in 2011), Une histoire banale revolves around a young, 30-year-old woman with a simple and enjoyable professional life, who is getting ready to move in with her fiancé. But one evening, everything is turned on its head in just a few minutes. It is a mundane story, but one that leaves a trail... “I wanted to film the invisible evil that eats away at and destroys people,” explains Audrey Estrougo. “If rape is a taboo, it’s because it’s an act that is largely based on men’s supremacy over women, and recognising it as a crime (which is not always the case, since it’s an act that is judged as a misdemeanour and not as a serious crime) would be tantamount to calling into question the very founding principles of our society.”

Also hitting screens are three quality titles, revealed at Venice and Cannes: The Good Life [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jean Denizot
film profile] by Jean Denizot (winner of the Europa Cinemas Label at Venice Days 2013 - Chrysalis Films in 26 theatres), the Franco-Kurdish co-production My Sweet Pepper Land [+see also:
film review
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film profile] by Hiner Saleem (revealed at Un Certain Regard in Cannes – read the review - Memento Films Distribution across 74 screens) and Heli [+see also:
film review
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film profile] by Mexico’s Amat Escalante (winner of the Best Director Award at Cannes last year – read the review – co-produced by France, the Netherlands and Germany - Le Pacte in 16 theatres).

Wednesday’s box-office line-up is rounded off by Les yeux jaunes des crocodiles [+see also:
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film profile] by Cécile Telerman (an adaptation of the eponymous bestseller by Katherine Pancol, starring Julie Depardieu and Emmanuelle Béart - Wild Bunch Distribution), Une braise dans la neige by Boris Baum and the documentary Tout est permis by Coline Serreau (Bac Films).

(Translated from French)