29/06/2005

Kick-off today at the Palais du Pharo in Marseille for the 16th international documentary market, Sunny side of the doc. Until Saturday, 2000 participants, producers, distributors, broadcasters and directors will discover 450 films and 394 projects in development. Also on the programme are 23 forums and conferences, allowing an opportunity to take stock of the current issues for documentaries, in particular a look at the UK, where a new communication law is set to energise local independent production and European co-production.

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The southern French town will welcome, too, from the 1st to the 6th the International Documentary Festival (FID) which will present 34 films in competition from 18 countries, of which more than half are first features. In the international section, (20 films) heading the bill are Vers Mathilde by Claire Denis alongside European productions notably by Thorsten Trimpop (Germany), Péter Forgáess and Pieter Fleury (Holland), Jean-Claude Rousseau (France), Marine Hugonnier (UK), Hugues Lepaige and Julien Selleron (Belgium).

With the start of the summer season, which has shown a rise in the cinema attendances for documentaries, good news from the USA will put a spring in the step of the participants at Marseille. The French documentary La marche de l'empereur directed by Luc Jacquet registered last weekend the best average in American cinemas. Released on only four screens, the film, which totalled more than 1,8 million admissions in France, was in 28th place in the US box-office US with 137 492 dollars, an average per screen five times superior to that of the leader Batman Begins.

(Translated from French)