22/03/2006

Five new European films, among them two local productions and a Turkish film, arrive on Belgian screens to take on five North American offerings, including the Oscar-wielding, Capote. Against this heavyweight, Alternative Films are placing their bets on the futuristic animated feature, Renaissance [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Aton Soumache
interview: Christian Volckman
film profile] by Christian Volckman, (see Focus) which five days after its release in France has achieved a good average of 979 admissions per screen.

The Cave of the Yellow Dog [+see also:
trailer
film profile], distributed by Cinélibre, continues Byambasuren Davaan’s docu-fiction success following the director’s first feature outing, The Story of the Weeping Camel.

Philippe Blasband’s second feature, The Colour of Words [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (see interview) is a work of fiction inspired by the director’s life, while the other domestic release this week, Ils ne mouraient pas tous mais tous étaient frappés, a documentary from Belgians Sophie Bruneau and Marc-Antoine Roudil recounts the physical suffering of today’s workers through occupational accidents, across all industries and social strata. This ADR Productions/Alter Ego production – supported by the Francophone community in Belgium, the CNC (National Film Centre) and the MEDIA Programme – was released in France on February 8 and was universally eulogised by the critics.

Laïla Marrakchi’s Marok [+see also:
trailer
film profile], a French production distributed by Victory Films, and the Turkish film Karagöz Hacivat by Ezel Akay complete a mixed genre line-up. Also of note is the arrival of Grizzly Man, one of the last documentaries from the great German director Werner Herzog, an American production, distributed by Paradiso Filmed Entertainment.

(Translated from French)