Babluani, Gavras and Salgues at Sundance
The Grand Prize winner of the 2006 Sundance Film Festival with 13 (Tzameti) [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fanny Saadi
interview: Gela Babluani
film profile] (see Focus), Gela Babluani will be back in competition at Park City in 2007.
In the World Cinema section of the US event (January 18-28, 2007), an international showcase for independent cinema, the young Georgian-born French director will present his latest feature The Legacy [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], co-scripted with his father Temur.
Selected at the RomeFilmFest (see article) and starring Sylvie Testud, George Babluani, Stanislas Merhar, Pascal Bongard and Olga Legrand, The Legacy is a €1.35m budget production from Les Films de La Strada.
The film received €400,000 in CNC advances on receipts, as well as co-production funding from Premium Films and Solimane Productions, and is being sold internationally by MK2 Diffusion.
Other titles in the running include Blame it on Fidel [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Julie Gavras, which opened in French cinemas yesterday. Screened in the Extra sidebar at the RomeFilmFest (see article), the debut feature (Les Films du Worso) by the daughter of director Costa Gavras stars acting duo Julie Depardieu and Stefano Accorsi. Gaumont are handling international sales.
Joining the French trio in the Sundance World Cinema section is Rêves de poussière (lit. “Dreams of Dust”) by French helmer Laurent Salgues. Presented in the Venice Days sidebar at this year’s Venice Film Festival (see article), the French(80%)/Canadian (20%) title is a €1.19m (including CNC advances on receipts) majority production by Athénaïse.
Meanwhile, Zoe Cassavetes (daughter of John) will present her directorial debut Broken English in the Independent Feature Film category. Starring Parker Posey, Jeanne Moreau, Gena Rowlands and Melvil Poupaud, the US/Japanese co-production received co-production funding from French production financing specialists Backup Films and is being sold worldwide by Paris outfit Celluloid Dreams.
(Translated from French)
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