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VENICE 2016 France

Valérie Müller, Angelin Preljocaj and Jérôme Reybaud set to appear on the Lido

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- Debut features Polina and Four Days in France will have their premieres in Venice Days and Critics’ Week

Valérie Müller, Angelin Preljocaj and Jérôme Reybaud set to appear on the Lido
Polina by Valérie Müller and Angelin Preljocaj

29 feature films, including 13 majority productions and 16 minority productions:  this is the impressive number of French productions billed for the 73rd Venice Film Festival, which kicks off today. Indeed, along with the six French (co-)productions in the running for the Golden Lion 2016 (see article) and the 15 that will be screened in other line-ups of the official selection (see article) are eight films that will be shown in the Venice Days and Critics’ Week parallel sections. 

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Venice Days will feature two French majority productions. Polina, danser sa vie [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Angelin Preljocaj, Valérie …
film profile
]
stands out in particular, the debut feature by Valérie Müller and Angelin Preljocaj starring Anastasia Shevtsova, Juliette Binoche, Aleksei Guskov, Niels Schneider and Jérémie Belingard. Adapted by the directors from the cartoon of the same name by Bastien Vivès, the film plunges us into the world of ballet with the story of the rise of a promising Russian ballerina who, after training intensively, manages to get into a prestigious school that prepares dancers for the Bolshoi. There she meets a French dancer with whom she explores love and a new way of dancing, which changes the course of her life completely. Produced by Didier Creste and Gaëlle Bayssière for Everybody On Deck, Polina was made on a budget of €3.99 million, and was co-produced by France 2 Cinéma and TF1 Studio (which is also handling international sales). The film has been pre-purchased by Canal+ and Ciné+, and has received support from, among others, the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. The film is slated for release in French theatres on 16 November by UGC

Meanwhile, being screened as a special event is documentary Rocco [+see also:
trailer
interview: Thierry Demaizière, Alban T…
film profile
]
by Thierry Demaizière and Alban Teurial, a film that portrays legendary pornstar Rocco Siffredi. A Program 33 and Mars Films production (with the latter releasing the film in France on 30 November), the film was co-produced by Falabracks and is being sold by Wild Bunch.

Three French majority co-productions will also be shown in the Venice Days section: Worldly Girl [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
interview: Marco Danieli
film profile
]
byMarco Danieli (co-produced with Italy by Barbary Films),The Road to Mandalay [+see also:
trailer
interview: Midi Z
film profile
]
by Midi Z (co-produced by House on Fire with Taiwan, Myanmar and Germany and being sold by UDI - Urban Distribution International),and Vangelo [+see also:
trailer
interview: Pippo Delbono
film profile
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by Pippo Delbono (being screened as a special event – co-produced by Arte La Lucarne with Italy, Switzerland and Belgium). Last but not least, Venice Days will also feature a second title being sold by UDI: Hounds of Love by Australian director Ben Young

Moreover, the three finalists for the LUX Prize of the European Parliament will also be screened in Venice Days, and include two French productions: animated film My Life as a Courgette [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Claude Barras
film profile
]
by Claude Barras (premiered at Cannes), and As I Open My Eyes [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Leyla Bouzid
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by Leyla Bouzid (which had its premiere in the Venice Days section last year). 

Turning to Critics’ Week, out of the seven feature films in competition, three are French (co-)productions. Standing out in particular is Four Days in France [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Jérôme Reybaud, which most notably reunites Pascal Cervo, Arthur Igual, Fabienne Babe, Nathalie Richard and Laëtitia Dosch. Written by the director, the film is the story of a man who leaves everything behind to travel across France, wandering across the landscape and into random encounters (sexual and otherwise): four days and nights during which, as he slowly becomes more and more lost, the one he loves tries to track him down using dating App Grindr. Produced by Elisabeth Perez for Chaz Productions, Four Days in France was made on a budget of €1.1 million and was co-produced by TSF and Film Factory. It received an advance on receipts from the CNC, and was supported by the Centre-Val de Loire (Ciclic) region and the Cineventure SOFICA. The film will be released in France by KMBO, and German company M-Appeal is handling international sales.

Also in the running is Drum [+see also:
trailer
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by Iranian filmmaker Keywan Karimi, the executive producer for which was François d'Artemare for Les Films de l'Après-Midi (which also co-produced another film chosen for Venice this year, São Jorge [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Marco Martins
film profile
]
by Portuguese filmmaker Marco Martins, which will be showcased in the Horizons section).

A minority co-production completes France’s line-up: The Last Things [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Irene Dionisio, which was co-produced by Ad Vitam with Italy and Switzerland, and is being sold by Alma Cinema (a new company headed up by Sarah May). 

Also being shown in Critics’ Week is Colombian title The Nobodies by Juan Sebastián Mesa, which is being sold by Parisian company Alpha Violet, and Akher Wahed Fina by Ala Eddine Slim (Tunisia/Qatar/UAE/Lebanon) by Still Moving.

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(Translated from French)

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