Three directors and L’avocat de la terreur

by Fabien Lemercier

23/04/2007 - Four French films feature on the list of 17 titles selected in the Un Certain Regard sidebar at the 60th Cannes Film Festival (May 16-27). Female directors take pride of place with films by Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, Lola Doillon and Céline Sciamma alongside Barbet Schroeder’s documentary L'avocat de la terreur.

Scripted by two young director-screenwriters, Sciamma and Doillon’s debut features – Les pieuvres [trailer] and Et toi, t’es sur qui ? [trailer] respectively – both deal with the theme of adolescence.

The €2m Les pieuvres (see article) – a majority production by Les Productions Balthazar – was funded by CNC advances on receipts of €470,000, Ile-de-France backing of €383,000 and pre-sales from Canal+. The title is being sold internationally by Films Distribution.

The €1.26m Et toi, t’es sur qui ? (see news) – produced by Ce Qui Me Meut Motion Picture (Bruno Levy and Cédric Klapisch’s company) – was backed by pre-sales from Canal+ and €250,000 from France 2 Cinéma (€100,000 in co-production and €150,000 in pre-sales).

After her directorial debut It’s Easier for a Camel… [trailer] (Louis Delluc Prize for Best Debut Film), presented at Cannes 2003, actress Bruni-Tedeschi is back at the festival this year with Le rêve de la nuit d’avant [trailer] (formerly Actrice, see article), in which she stars alongside Jean-Hugues Anglade, Louis Garrel and Noémie Lvosky.

The €4.25m production from the slate of Fidélité has been pre-sold to Canal+ and was granted CNC advances on receipts of €350,000. International sales are being handled by Wild Bunch, whose line-up also features the fourth French title in the Un Certain Regard sidebar, Schroeder’s L'avocat de la terreur.

The €1.36m documentary from SBS Production also received CNC advances on receipts, while sales negotiations are underway with Canal+ on a film that recounts the life of Jacques Vergès, a lawyer for such terrorists as Magdalena Kopp and Carlos and historical “monsters” like Klaus Barbie.

The Un Certain Regard line-up also features two minority French co-productions: the €5.3m Mio fratello e figlio unico [trailer, film focus] (lit. “My Brother is an Only Child”) by Italian helmer Daniele Luchetti (10% through Babe Films) and Mister Lonely [trailer] by US director Harmony Korine – another 10% co-production, through Love Streams, which included backing of €400,000 from ARTE France Cinéma. International distribution on the title is by Dreamachine.

(Translated from French)