01/07/2008

The 36th edition of the La Rochelle International Film Festival (June 27-July 7) is this year putting the spotlight on burgeoning Belgian francophone films in its Discoveries section, screening 22 titles.

Accompanied by their directors, films on the line-up include Joachim Lafosse’s Private Lessons [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jacques-Henri Bronckart
interview: Joachim Lafosse
film profile]; Bouli Lanners’ Eldorado [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (see interview); Olivier Smolders’ Voyage autour de ma chambre (“Journey Around My Bedroom”); and Rumba [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Charles Gillibert
interview: Dominique Abel and Fiona Go…
film profile] by Dominique Abel, Fiona Gordon and Bruno Romy.

The Tributes section gives pride of place to European filmmakers, including the UK’s Mike Leigh and his latest work Happy-Go-Lucky [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (which will be released in French theatres on August 27 by MK2, under the title Be Happy); iconoclastic German director Werner Herzog; documentary filmmaker Raymond Depardon; Lebanese-French director Danielle Arbid; and the Stévenin family (Jean-François, Sagamore, Robinson, Salomé and Pierre).

The programme of events (retrospectives, film shorts, videos, a homage to the Finnish Cinémathèque showing six Finnish titles and a special section on Quebec) includes the presentation of several European films in the Here and Elsewhere section as well.

The line-up also includes four films fresh from the recent Cannes Film Festival: the award-winning Gomorrah [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Domenico Procacci
interview: Jean Labadie
interview: Matteo Garrone
film profile] by Italian director Matteo Garrone (set to be released in France on August 13 by Le Pacte); the highly aesthetic Frontier of Dawn [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by France’s Philippe Garrel (to be released on October 8); the moving Versailles [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Geraldine Michelot
interview: Pierre Schoeller
film profile] by fellow French director Pierre Schoeller (set to be released on August 13 by Les Films du Losange); and the fascinating Four Nights With Anna [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Poland’s Jerzy Skolimowski (set to be released on November 5).

Further European titles include Correction by Greece’s Thanos Anastopoulos, Wolfsbergen by Dutch director Nanouk Leopold, I Am From Titov Veles [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Teona Strugar Mitevska
film profile] by Macedonia’s Teona Mitveska and Autumn Ball [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Estonia’s Veiko Ounpuu.

(Translated from French)