RELEASES Belgium
Irina Palm leads European contingent
by Anne Feuillère
18/04/2007 - European films take Belgian screens by storm this week, with eight of the 11 new releases made in Europe.
The contingent is led by three domestic co-productions, two of which are Sam Garbarski’s Irina Palm [trailer, film focus], on release through Paradiso (see Focus), and Rhalid Jawad’s El Ejido, la loi du profit, a French co-production by Latcho Drom sold by Clap Films (also distributor) in association with RTBF and ARTE and backing from the Communauté française.
Winner of Best Documentary at the 2007 Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou (FESPACO), the political documentary El Ejido, the Law of Profit is set in the southern Spanish town of El Ejido, home to 17,000 hectares of greenhouses, and tells of the life of illegal immigrants who work there. It is “the story of a deteriorating environment, living conditions and human relationships,” the director explains.
Another co-production – from France this time – is Vincent Dieutre’s Fragments sur la grâce. In a tale set in the world of Jansenism and its spiritual centre Port-Royal (near Paris), Dieutre films several symbolic places and re-examines precious texts to question the ideas of faith and grace.
The Cinémathèque royale de Belgique release was co-produced by France’s Celluloid Dreams and Belgian outfit Simple Productions with backing from the Communauté française de Belgique.
Three other French titles opening today are: Michel Spinosa’s Anna M. [trailer], whose release was postponed from last week; Cinéart release Le prix à payer [trailer] by Alexandra Leclère; and Le p'tit ciné’s release of Claire Simon’s spectacular On Fire [trailer], which screened at the 2006 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight (see article).
Completing the highly diversified range of European productions out today are: Dag Alveberg’s Norwegian title Svein and the Rat, opening through Jekino, and Victory Films’ release of Cristina Comencini’s Italian title Don’t Tell [trailer], a big hit at the local box office (see news), which screened at the 2005 Venice Film Festival (see article).
(Translated from French)
