42 French productions and co-productions at Rotterdam

by Fabien Lemercier

23/01/2008 - An extensive showcase of French films will be presented at the 37th edition of the Rotterdam Film Festival, which opens today.

Screening in competition is Michelange Quay’s Eat, For This Is My Body, a film produced by Cinéma Defacto on a budget of €1.42m, including an advance on receipts from the National Centre for Cinematography (CNC). Starring Sylvie Testud and Catherine Samie, this surrealist political tale about the legacy of colonisation is sold internationally by Memento Films.

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Other noteworthy titles in competition include co-productions Cordero de Dios (“Lamb of God”) by Lucía Cedrón (Les Films d’Ici); and El cielo, la tierra y la lluvia (“The Sky, the Earth and the Rain”) by José Luis Torres Leiva (Charivari Films).

Films set to screen in other sections at the festival include Delphine Kreuter’s 57.000 km entre nous (“57,000km Between Us”), Mia Hansen-Love’s All Is Forgiven [trailer, film focus] (see Focus), Céline Sciamma’s Water Lilies [trailer] (see interview), Philippe Ramos’ Captain Ahab [trailer], Cédric Anger’s The Killer, Alain Gomis’ Andalucia, Emmanuel Mouret’s Shall We Kiss? [trailer], Philippe Faucon’s Two Ladies [trailer], Serge Bozon’s France [trailer] and Before I Forget [trailer] by Jacques Nolot.

Oscar nominee Persepolis (see Focus) will also screen, as will Abdellatif Kechiche’s The Secret of the Grain [trailer], Eric Rohmer’s The Romance of Astrea and Celadon [trailer] and the collective animated film Fear(s) of the Dark [trailer].

Documentary screenings include Terror’s Advocate [trailer] by Barbet Schroeder and Paper Cannot Wrap Up Embers by Rithy Panh.

(Translated from French)