06/10/2006

Stephen Frears, Paul Verhoeven, Claude Berri and Abdelatif Kechiche: four big names in European cinema and much awaited French directors featured in Pathé Distribution’s line-up for the end of this year and the first half of 2007.

Run by Olivier Granier, the outfit – currently fifth among French distributors with 12.1m admissions so far this year – starts the last quarter of 2006 in style with The Queen [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andy Harries
interview: Stephen Frears
film profile] by Stephen Frears, which will be released on 100-150 screens on October 18. The Colonel [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Laurent Herbiet, selected in official competition at the RomeFilmFest (October 13-21), produced by Costa Gavras and starring Cécile de France, Olivier Gourmet and Robinson Stévenin, opens shortly afterwards on November 15. The Dutch entry for the 2007 Oscar nominations for Best Foreign Language Film, Paul Verhoeven’s Black Book (see Venice article, September 2), opens on November 29.

There are high aspirations for 2007 as well, for the January 17 release of Jacquou le croquant by Laurent Boutonnat, an adaptation of the adventures of the young rebel in Eugène Le Roy’s novel, starring Gaspard Ulliel, Marie-Josée Croze and Albert Dupontel. February 7 sees directorial debut Odette Toulemonde by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt hit the screens (see interview and news, March 24, 2006), starring Dupontel again, this time alongside Catherine Frot.

March 28 marks the release of Ensemble, c'est tout by Claude Berri, starring Audrey Tautou and Guillaume Canet (see article March 13, 2006), while Pathé Distribution are also planning a March release for Contre-enquête by Franck Mancuso, starring Jean Dujardin and Laurent Lucas.

Meanwhile, a potential Cannes title La graine et le mulet (lit. “The Seed and the Mule”), the new feature by Abdelatif Kechiche (after the hit Games of Love and Chance [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), is slated for release in the first half of 2007.

Pathé have further surprises lined-up: 99 francs by Jan Kounen, starring Jean Dujardin, in the second half of 2007 and the blockbuster Asterix at the Olympic Games in January 2008.

(Translated from French)