12/02/2008

A surprise competition entry at the 58th Berlinale (where it will be unveiled on Thursday), writer Philippe Claudel’s debut feature I’ve Loved You So Long [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (see news) has already brought success at the European Film Market for its seller UGC International.

Starring Kristin Scott Thomas and Elsa Zylberstein, this French/German co-production (UGC YM and Integral Film, with financial backing from Eurimages) has been bought for Spain (Golem), Italy (Mikado), the UK (Lionsgate), Switzerland (JMH) and Benelux (Lumiere). US sales are currently being negotiated.

The film will hit French screens on March 19.

UGC International have also added to their line-up André Téchiné’s next film, set to be produced by their subsidiary SBS Films, headed by Saïd Ben Saïd (who also manages UGC International).

The film’s cast includes Catherine Deneuve and Emilie Dequenne and will begin shooting in May. The feature is inspired by a real-life event that took place in May 2004 when a young mother and mythomaniac claimed she had been attacked on public transport in the Parisian suburbs. She caused a media frenzy before it was discovered that she had fabricated the whole story.

At Berlin, UGC International are also hoping for success with Barbet Schroeder’s Japanese-inspired thriller Inju (see news), starring Benoît Magimel and lensed by Luciano Tovoli. The film - which may be unveiled at Cannes - is produced by SBS and co-produced by La Fabrique de Films.

The line-up also includes Philippe Haïm’s Secret Défense (currently in production), a thriller involving espionage and terrorism, starring Gérard Lanvin, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Simon Abkarian, Vahina Giocante and Rachida Brakni (set for release on October 22) ; and Pascal Bonitzer’s Le grand alibi (“The Great Alibi”), an adaptation of the Agatha Christie novel The Hollow, starring Lambert Wilson, Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, Miou Miou, Pierre Arditi, Matthieu Demy, Anne Consigny and Céline Salette (set for release on April 30).

(Translated from French)