Five contenders for Delluc

by Fabien Lemercier

13/11/2006 - Five features are in competition for the prestigious Louis Delluc Prize, which will be awarded by a jury of critics presided over by Gilles Jacob, who will select the Best French Film of 2006 on December 18.

The contenders include two films selected in official competition at Cannes this year: Jury Grand Prize winner Flanders [trailer] by Bruno Dumont (3B Productions, see article and interview with the director); The Singer [trailer] by Xavier Giannoli (Rectangle Productions and EuropaCorp, see article and interview with Gérard Depardieu); and, last but not least, Back Home [trailer] by Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche, (Sarrazink and Les Films du Losange, see article and interview with director), screened in the Cannes Un Certain Regard sidebar.

Other films in the running include Otar Iosseliani’s Gardens in Autumn [trailer] – also a Films du Losange production, which was screened at the recent RomeFilmFest (see article) – and the recently released Lady Chatterley [trailer] by Pascale Ferrand (see news).

Five titles will battle it out for the Louis Delluc Prize for Best Debut Film, three of which were Venice Film Festival titles: Gela Babluani’s 13 (Tzameti) [trailer, film focus] (2005 Lion of the Future for Best First Feature and Grand Prize at the 2006 Sundance Festival, Les Films de la Strada, see Focus); The Passenger [trailer] by Eric Caravaca (Diaphana, see article); and Premonition [trailer] by Jean-Pierre Darroussin (Agat Films & Cie, see article).

The other titles are [trailer] by Gabriel Le Bomin (Dragoonie Films and Productions Paul Lederman), released last Wednesday, and Christian Volckman’s futuristic animated film Renaissance [trailer, film focus] (Onyx Films, see Focus).

Former winners of the prize – created in 1937 and named after director-critic-writer Louis Delluc – include such great French filmmakers as Jean Renoir, Claude Sautet, Clouzot, Bresson, Truffaut, Pialat. More recent winners have been Patrice Chéreau, Nicolas Philibert, Noémie Lvovsky, Lucas Belvaux and Arnaud Desplechin.

Last year, the prize went to Philippe Garrel’s Regular Lovers [trailer], while Cold Showers [trailer] by Anthony Cordier took the Delluc for Best Debut Film.

(Translated from French)