25/01/2006

A raft of new films in the French cinemas this Wednesday with 16 releases, of which six are European productions and two minority French co-productions (from Sri Lanka and from Russia), which will take on four American features, a Japanese, a Chinese and two animated programmes from Canada and Iran. Among the distinguished titles on the menu are the latest works from French filmmakers Laurent Cantet and Philippe Faucon. The first chose to film in Haïti with Heading South, interpreted by Charlotte Rampling, Karen Young, Louise Portal and Ménothy Cesar who won Best newcomer at the recent Venice Mostra where the film was presented in competition. Produced and distributed by Haut et Court with 93 prints, Heading South [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Laurent Cantet
interview: Robin Campillo
interview: Simon Arnal-Szlovak
film profile] was sold throughout Europe by Celluloïd Dreams and is featured by Cineuropa in this week’s Focus. For his part, Philippe Faucon made, with La trahison [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (The betrayal), a journey through time, to March 1960, at the height of the Algerian war. Produced by Kinok Films in co-production notably with Belgian company Créations du Dragon, the feature has 54 prints put in place by Pyramide. And there is also a change of scene in Bienvenue en Afrique (Welcome to Africa) [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Abdi Gouhad
interview: Abdul Salis
interview: Andreas Gruber
film profile] by Austrian Andreas Gruber distributed on 5 prints by Limelight (read Focus dedicated to film).

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Two British productions are also released this week, with TFM releasing 84 prints of Ladies in Lavender by Charles Dance with Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and the German star Daniel Brühl, while Memento Films distributes 15 prints of the Oscar winning documentary One day in September by Kevin McDonald which revisits the hostage-taking at the Munich Olympics of 1972. Also Les Acacias bring out 20 prints of Familles à vendre (Families for sale) by Pavel Lounguine (co-produced by Arte, CDP and Onyx). And Tadrart Films releases, with 16 prints, La terre abandonnée by Sri-Lankan Vimukthi Jayasundara, Caméra d’or at Cannes 2005 (produced by Unlimited with Arte France Cinéma, Les Films de l’Etranger and international sales company Onoma, in association with the Le Fresnoy school – see critique). Finally, Eurozoom circulates 2 prints of the Franco-Vietnamese documentary Le silence des rizières (The silence of the paddyfields) by Fleur Albert.

(Translated from French)