03/08/2009

Two debut narrative features will represent France in competition at the 62nd Locarno International Film Festival (August 5-15): Sarah Leonor’s Au Voleur [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (“Thief!”) and Laurent Perreau’s L’insurgée (“The Rebel”).

Also vying for the Golden Leopard is Frédéric Mermoud’s French/Swiss title Complices [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Frédéric Mermoud
film profile] (“Accomplices”), which was 72% produced by France via Tabo-Tabo Films, in co-production with France 3 Cinéma and Rhône-Alpes Cinéma, with pre-sales from Canal + and Ciné Cinéma. The film is sold internationally by Pyramide.

Starring Guillaume Depardieu and Florence Loiret-Caille, Au Voleur was produced by Les Films Hatari for €1.51m. This included an advance on receipts from the National Film Centre (CNC), backing from the Ile-de-France and Alsace regions, as well as pre-sales from Canal + and Ciné Cinéma. Shellac will release the film domestically on September 30.

The cast of Perreau’s L’insurgée includes Michel Piccoli, young Belgian actress Pauline Étienne, Éric Caravaca and Marie Kremer. Produced by Galatée Films, the €3.3m film received pre-sales from Canal + and Ciné Cinéma, as well as support from the Brittany region. Films Distribution is managing international sales.

Also in competition are four minority French productions: Eugene Green’s The Portuguese Nun (produced by Lisbon’s O Som e a Fúria and Paris-based Mact Productions); Brazilian director Esmir Filho’s The Famous and the Dead (co-produced and sold internationally by Umedia); Diego Martinez Vignatti’s The Tango Singer (co-produced by France’s Mobilis Productions, in collaboration with Belgium and Argentina); and Xiaolu Guo’s She, A Chinese (produced by the UK, Germany and France via Rosem Films and Fonds Sud).

The Piazza Grande screenings will put the spotlight on Arnaud and Jean-Marie Larrieu’s French/Spanish co-production Les Derniers Jours du Monde [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (“The Last Days of the World”), which boasts a magnificent cast (Mathieu Amalric, Catherine Frot, Karin Viard, Sergi López , Clotilde Hesme and Omahyra Mota); French production The War of the Sons of Light Against the Sons of Darkness by Israel’s Amos Gitai; and Catalan director Marc Recha’s Spanish/French co-production Petit Indi (“Little Indi”), featuring Eduardo Noriega and Sergi López (co-produced by Noodles Production and Arte France Cinéma).

Screening out of competition is Italian filmmaker Pippo Delbono’s La Paura (“The Fear”, co-produced by Le Forum des Images).

Finally, the Filmmakers of the Present competition will show Valérie Donzelli’s La Reine Des Pommes (“The Queen of Apples”, Les Productions Balthazar); Dyana Gaye’s Un Transport En Commun (“A Transport in Common”, produced by Andolfi); and two French/Swiss co-productions: Andrew Kotting’s Ivul (Sciapode) and Richard Dindo’s Mars Dreamers (Les Films d'Ici).

(Translated from French)