Dany Boon and Audrey Fleurot are setting sail for See The Sea, Emmanuel Poulain-Arnaud’s family comedy-drama adapted from hit Mexican film Ya Veremos, and Snd will kick off sales in Cannes.
Actor-director Boon, known for box office hits Welcome To The Sticks and Driving Madeleine, and Fleurot play a divorced couple forced to put aside their differences on an oceanside trip when their son begins to go blind.
Currently shooting in southwestern France, the film is the latest in what has been a boom in local language remakes that will take centre stage at the Cannes market. Pedro Pablo Ibarra...
Actor-director Boon, known for box office hits Welcome To The Sticks and Driving Madeleine, and Fleurot play a divorced couple forced to put aside their differences on an oceanside trip when their son begins to go blind.
Currently shooting in southwestern France, the film is the latest in what has been a boom in local language remakes that will take centre stage at the Cannes market. Pedro Pablo Ibarra...
- 5/3/2024
- ScreenDaily
Actress Toni Collette discussed her journey from a working-class neighborhood in northwest Sydney to Hollywood star in a masterclass at the Doha Film Institute’s Qumra talent and project development event on Friday.
The Oscar-nominated Muriel’s Wedding, Little Miss Sunshine, Knives Out and Unbelievable acting star is among six top cinema professionals attending Qumra, alongside directors Leos Carax, Claire Denis, Atom Egoyan and Jim Sheridan as well as sound editor and designer Martin Hernández.
Colette said she had been drawn to performance from an early age, firstly through musical theatre and tap dance.
“My father said I came out of the womb with jazz hands towards the light,” she joked.
Looking back on her early career, Collette recalled how she had dropped out of Australia’s National Institute of Dramatic Art Nida after being offered the part of Sonya in a 1992 stage production of Uncle Vanya by Neil Armfield.
This...
The Oscar-nominated Muriel’s Wedding, Little Miss Sunshine, Knives Out and Unbelievable acting star is among six top cinema professionals attending Qumra, alongside directors Leos Carax, Claire Denis, Atom Egoyan and Jim Sheridan as well as sound editor and designer Martin Hernández.
Colette said she had been drawn to performance from an early age, firstly through musical theatre and tap dance.
“My father said I came out of the womb with jazz hands towards the light,” she joked.
Looking back on her early career, Collette recalled how she had dropped out of Australia’s National Institute of Dramatic Art Nida after being offered the part of Sonya in a 1992 stage production of Uncle Vanya by Neil Armfield.
This...
- 3/1/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
UK sales outfit HanWay Films has taken worldwide rights to Catherine Hardwicke’s A French Pursuit, a re-imagining of France’s box office hit Antoinette Dans Les Cévennes, and starring Toni Colette.
The comedy is due to start shooting late spring, and marks the third creative alliance between Collette, Hardwicke and producer Christopher Simon. Simon will produce via New Sparta Productions alongside Collette with her outfit Vocab Films.
The trio previously worked together on Miss You Already and most recently on Mafia Mamma, while Hardwicke’s further directorial credits include Twilight and Thirteen.
The film is about a British art...
The comedy is due to start shooting late spring, and marks the third creative alliance between Collette, Hardwicke and producer Christopher Simon. Simon will produce via New Sparta Productions alongside Collette with her outfit Vocab Films.
The trio previously worked together on Miss You Already and most recently on Mafia Mamma, while Hardwicke’s further directorial credits include Twilight and Thirteen.
The film is about a British art...
- 2/5/2024
- ScreenDaily
HanWay Films has boarded sales on Catherine Hardwicke’s upcoming comedy drama A French Pursuit starring Toni Collette, ahead of the EFM.
The movie, which is due to start shooting later this spring, is described as “a reimagining” of Caroline Vignal’s 2020 French hit My Donkey, My Lover & I (Antoinette Dans Les Cévennes), starring Laura Calamy.
A French Pursuit marks the third creative collaboration between Oscar nominee and Emmy Award winning actress Toni Collette, Hardwicke and producer Christopher Simon.
In the new version, Collette plays unconventional and lively British art teacher Zoe who falls head over heels for fellow rebel spirit, Jean-Louis.
Their plans for a romantic getaway are dashed when he has to join his family on a donkey trek in the remote and picturesque region of the Cévennes in the south of France, leaving Zoe heartbroken.
Zoe is encouraged by her mother to seize the opportunity for...
The movie, which is due to start shooting later this spring, is described as “a reimagining” of Caroline Vignal’s 2020 French hit My Donkey, My Lover & I (Antoinette Dans Les Cévennes), starring Laura Calamy.
A French Pursuit marks the third creative collaboration between Oscar nominee and Emmy Award winning actress Toni Collette, Hardwicke and producer Christopher Simon.
In the new version, Collette plays unconventional and lively British art teacher Zoe who falls head over heels for fellow rebel spirit, Jean-Louis.
Their plans for a romantic getaway are dashed when he has to join his family on a donkey trek in the remote and picturesque region of the Cévennes in the south of France, leaving Zoe heartbroken.
Zoe is encouraged by her mother to seize the opportunity for...
- 2/5/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Toni Collette is set to star in “A French Pursuit,” a comedy based on the French box office hit “Antoinette Dans Les Cévennes,” from “Twilight” filmmaker Catherine Hardwicke. HanWay Films is selling worldwide distribution rights and will be taking the project to the European Film Market in Berlin.
The film, due to start shooting in late spring, will mark the third creative alliance between Collette, Hardwicke and Christopher Simon, who produces via New Sparta Productions alongside Collette with her Vocab Films production shingle. The three previously worked together on “Miss You Already” and, most recently, “Mafia Mamma.”
“A French Pursuit” is described as a heartwarming and whimsical tale about a free-spirited woman pursuing love, only to go on a surprising journey of self-discovery. Collette will play Zoe Turner, an unconventional and lively British art teacher who is head over heels for fellow rebel spirit Jean-Louis. But when their plans for a romantic getaway are dashed,...
The film, due to start shooting in late spring, will mark the third creative alliance between Collette, Hardwicke and Christopher Simon, who produces via New Sparta Productions alongside Collette with her Vocab Films production shingle. The three previously worked together on “Miss You Already” and, most recently, “Mafia Mamma.”
“A French Pursuit” is described as a heartwarming and whimsical tale about a free-spirited woman pursuing love, only to go on a surprising journey of self-discovery. Collette will play Zoe Turner, an unconventional and lively British art teacher who is head over heels for fellow rebel spirit Jean-Louis. But when their plans for a romantic getaway are dashed,...
- 2/5/2024
- by Alex Ritman
- Variety Film + TV
A record 54 market premieres will be hosted at the Rendez-Vous showcase held by the French film promotion org Unifrance in Paris which will kick off Jan. 16 with the world premiere of Pascal Bonitzer’s “Auction.”
The biggest film market dedicated exclusively to French movies, the Rendez-Vous in Paris will welcome 420 buyers from 50 countries and 47 sales companies. As many as 1,000 professionals have registered for the week-long event. Since Unifrance has now merged with TV France International, the event will also gather 100 TV buyers from 27 countries.
“After returning last year with a post-pandemic edition, we’re back to normal with over 400 buyers — and we even have new buyers from Quebec and Africa, along with about 15 Latin American distributors,” said Gilles Renouard, Unifrance’s co-managing director.
More than 80 completed movies will screen at the Rendez-Vous, 54 of which have never been shown at an international festival or market. Renouard says the large roster of...
The biggest film market dedicated exclusively to French movies, the Rendez-Vous in Paris will welcome 420 buyers from 50 countries and 47 sales companies. As many as 1,000 professionals have registered for the week-long event. Since Unifrance has now merged with TV France International, the event will also gather 100 TV buyers from 27 countries.
“After returning last year with a post-pandemic edition, we’re back to normal with over 400 buyers — and we even have new buyers from Quebec and Africa, along with about 15 Latin American distributors,” said Gilles Renouard, Unifrance’s co-managing director.
More than 80 completed movies will screen at the Rendez-Vous, 54 of which have never been shown at an international festival or market. Renouard says the large roster of...
- 1/9/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Greenwich Entertainment has picked up U.S. distribution rights to the French comedy Two Tickets to Greece (aka Les Cyclades), starring César Award winner Laure Calamy (Call My Agent!), Olivia Côte and Academy Award nominee Kristin Scott Thomas (The English Patient). It’ll be released in theaters on July 14.
The film is set to open against Searchlight Pictures’ Sundance comedy Theater Camp, IFC Films’ Lakota Nation vs. United States, Roadside Attractions’ sports doc Black Ice, Kino Lorber’s horror comedy Final Cut from filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius, Vertical’s rom-com The Modelizer, Crunchyroll’s Psycho-Pass Providence and MM2 Entertainment’s thriller Shadows.
Written and directed by Marc Fitoussi, who worked with Calamy on Call My Agent!, Two Tickets to Greece tells the story of Blandine (Côte), who is recently divorced and helplessly watching her only son leave home when her former best friend Magalie...
The film is set to open against Searchlight Pictures’ Sundance comedy Theater Camp, IFC Films’ Lakota Nation vs. United States, Roadside Attractions’ sports doc Black Ice, Kino Lorber’s horror comedy Final Cut from filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius, Vertical’s rom-com The Modelizer, Crunchyroll’s Psycho-Pass Providence and MM2 Entertainment’s thriller Shadows.
Written and directed by Marc Fitoussi, who worked with Calamy on Call My Agent!, Two Tickets to Greece tells the story of Blandine (Côte), who is recently divorced and helplessly watching her only son leave home when her former best friend Magalie...
- 6/12/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
David Thion, the French producer of Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or winning “Anatomy of a Fall,” is reteaming with Guillaume Senez for “Une part manquante,” a Tokyo-set drama which Be For Films is representing in international markets.
“Une part manquante” will also reunite Senez with popular French actor Romain Duris, who starred in his 2018 film “Our Struggles” and earned a Cesar nomination for it. Brussels-based Be For Films had sold Senez’s feature debut “Keeper” and “Our Struggles” in most major territories and presented at a flurry of international festivals.
Duris will play Jay, who hasn’t seen his daughter for nine years since getting separated from his Japanese wife. As a foreigner residing in Japan, Jay was denied custody of his daughter. Hoping to find her somewhere in the city, he abandons his career as a renown chef and becomes a taxi driver. After all these years searching in vain,...
“Une part manquante” will also reunite Senez with popular French actor Romain Duris, who starred in his 2018 film “Our Struggles” and earned a Cesar nomination for it. Brussels-based Be For Films had sold Senez’s feature debut “Keeper” and “Our Struggles” in most major territories and presented at a flurry of international festivals.
Duris will play Jay, who hasn’t seen his daughter for nine years since getting separated from his Japanese wife. As a foreigner residing in Japan, Jay was denied custody of his daughter. Hoping to find her somewhere in the city, he abandons his career as a renown chef and becomes a taxi driver. After all these years searching in vain,...
- 5/30/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Playtime has boarded “Monsieur Aznavour,” the prestige biopic of legendary French-Armenian Charles Aznavour starring Tahar Rahim. Budgeted at €26 million, the film will start principal photography on May 30. Pathé has scooped French rights and will give it a wide release in theaters.
Surely one of the hottest packages to hit this year’s Cannes market, the film will chart Aznavour’s sprawling life journey, from his poor childhood to his rise to fame, from his triumphs to his failures, from Paris to New York. Aznavour was devoted to his art until the very end, singing his songs in ten languages, on every stage, in every city, desperately searching for perfection. He sold more than 180 million records around the world.
Rahim, who’s rolling off Marvel’s “Madame Web” and Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon,” is highly committed to the part and has been preparing it for months. He will be in Cannes...
Surely one of the hottest packages to hit this year’s Cannes market, the film will chart Aznavour’s sprawling life journey, from his poor childhood to his rise to fame, from his triumphs to his failures, from Paris to New York. Aznavour was devoted to his art until the very end, singing his songs in ten languages, on every stage, in every city, desperately searching for perfection. He sold more than 180 million records around the world.
Rahim, who’s rolling off Marvel’s “Madame Web” and Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon,” is highly committed to the part and has been preparing it for months. He will be in Cannes...
- 5/17/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Don’t expect Warner Bros. Discovery’s French original programming team to follow Netflix and Amazon Prime Video’s trail and chase teen audiences.
Vera Peltekian, VP and head of streaming original production for the banner, says the standalone service’s bow in France “is on the roadmap” with a raft of “bold and director-driven Max originals targeting adult audiences in line with what the HBO brand is known for.”
Peltekian, who previously worked 15 years at Canal + and played a major role in the pay TV group’s critically acclaimed series such as “The Returned,” “Spiral” and “Savages,” revealed that Warner Bros. Discovery’s first French original will be “The Mythomaniac of the Bataclan,” a four-part series inspired by the true story of a woman who conned her way into a victims’ association and quickly became one of its pillars.
Now shooting on location in Paris, “The Mythomaniac of...
Vera Peltekian, VP and head of streaming original production for the banner, says the standalone service’s bow in France “is on the roadmap” with a raft of “bold and director-driven Max originals targeting adult audiences in line with what the HBO brand is known for.”
Peltekian, who previously worked 15 years at Canal + and played a major role in the pay TV group’s critically acclaimed series such as “The Returned,” “Spiral” and “Savages,” revealed that Warner Bros. Discovery’s first French original will be “The Mythomaniac of the Bataclan,” a four-part series inspired by the true story of a woman who conned her way into a victims’ association and quickly became one of its pillars.
Now shooting on location in Paris, “The Mythomaniac of...
- 4/5/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Paris-based banner Loco Films will be hitting the European Film Market with mix of French and international movies, including the Berlinale Panorama title “Property,” as well as “Grand Expectations” and “Like An Actress.”
“Property,” which marks the sophomore outing of Brazilian helmer Daniel Bandeira, is a survival thriller lensed Pedro Sotero, the cinematographer of Kleber Mendonça Filho’s “Bacurau” and “Aquarius.” The sole Brazilian movie competing at the Berlin Film Festival, “Territory” follows Teresa, who flees her family estate in an armored car after rebelling workers start occupying it. She’s trapped, but refuses to negotiate, prompting a collision between two universes.
Laurent Danielou at Loco Films pointed Bandeira was part of the collective Recife alongside Mendonça Filho with whom he teamed on his first short film “Little Cotton Girl.” “Property” is produced by Simio Filmes and Vilarejo Filmes whose credits include other politically minded films such as “Aquarius.”
“‘Property...
“Property,” which marks the sophomore outing of Brazilian helmer Daniel Bandeira, is a survival thriller lensed Pedro Sotero, the cinematographer of Kleber Mendonça Filho’s “Bacurau” and “Aquarius.” The sole Brazilian movie competing at the Berlin Film Festival, “Territory” follows Teresa, who flees her family estate in an armored car after rebelling workers start occupying it. She’s trapped, but refuses to negotiate, prompting a collision between two universes.
Laurent Danielou at Loco Films pointed Bandeira was part of the collective Recife alongside Mendonça Filho with whom he teamed on his first short film “Little Cotton Girl.” “Property” is produced by Simio Filmes and Vilarejo Filmes whose credits include other politically minded films such as “Aquarius.”
“‘Property...
- 2/9/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Julie (Laure Calamy) is on the move. From the moment her alarm clock disturbs her sleeping breath, she’s in constant state of harried, frantic motion—making breakfast, tinkering with the boiler, dropping her kids off at an elderly neighbor’s house while it’s still dark out, running to catch a train, changing into her hotel maid uniform, smoothing sheets, hosing excrement from the walls, and battling her way back home to do it all over again, all too soon.
“Full Time,” written and directed by Eric Gravel, depicts the never-ending sprint that is Julie’s life as a struggling single mom, rendering this social-realist drama as a gritty, heart-pounding thriller, with breathless, naturalistic handheld cinematography by Victor Seguin and an adrenaline-pounding electronic score by Irène Drésel.
There’s something radical about turning a very bad week in the life of a single mom into an action thriller, and...
“Full Time,” written and directed by Eric Gravel, depicts the never-ending sprint that is Julie’s life as a struggling single mom, rendering this social-realist drama as a gritty, heart-pounding thriller, with breathless, naturalistic handheld cinematography by Victor Seguin and an adrenaline-pounding electronic score by Irène Drésel.
There’s something radical about turning a very bad week in the life of a single mom into an action thriller, and...
- 2/2/2023
- by Katie Walsh
- The Wrap
Music Box Films has acquired U.S. rights to “Full Time,” Eric Gravel’s visceral social thriller which is one of the five finalists for France’s official submission to the 95th Academy Awards.
Represented in international markets by Be For Films, “Full Time” world premiered at last year’s Venice festival in the Horizons sections and won a pair of awards for Laure Calamy (“Call My Agent!”) and Gravel. The critically acclaimed film went on to made its U.S. debut at New Directors/New Films.
Music Box Films will release “Full Time” in cinemas and on home entertainment platforms in 2023.
Calamy, one of France’s top actors, stars as a single mother who goes to great lengths to raise her two children in the suburbs while holding down a demanding job as head chambermaid in a Parisian luxury hotel. When she finally gets a job interview for another...
Represented in international markets by Be For Films, “Full Time” world premiered at last year’s Venice festival in the Horizons sections and won a pair of awards for Laure Calamy (“Call My Agent!”) and Gravel. The critically acclaimed film went on to made its U.S. debut at New Directors/New Films.
Music Box Films will release “Full Time” in cinemas and on home entertainment platforms in 2023.
Calamy, one of France’s top actors, stars as a single mother who goes to great lengths to raise her two children in the suburbs while holding down a demanding job as head chambermaid in a Parisian luxury hotel. When she finally gets a job interview for another...
- 9/21/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Best-known for her role as Noemie in the hit French series “Call My Agent!,” Laure Calamy has emerged in recent years as one of France’s biggest stars and most versatile actors. After a busy career in theater and many notable supporting roles, she finally got a shot at leading roles, and kudos have followed, for Caroline Vignal’s romantic comedy “My Donkey, My Lover and I,” which was part of Cannes’ Official Selection and earned her a Cesar award, and Eric Gravel’s social drama “A Plein Temps,” for which she won best actress at Venice in the Horizons section.
Calamy is now on a roll and she’s shown that she can play anything. Case in point: Over this summer, she was at Locarno to present Blandine Lenoir’s period drama “Angry Annie,” in which she plays a working mother who joins the Movement for the Liberation of...
Calamy is now on a roll and she’s shown that she can play anything. Case in point: Over this summer, she was at Locarno to present Blandine Lenoir’s period drama “Angry Annie,” in which she plays a working mother who joins the Movement for the Liberation of...
- 9/4/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Sébastian Marnier’s psychological thriller Origin of Evil, starring Call My Agent! actress Laure Calamy as a factory worker who discovers the father she never knew is a wealthy businessman, opens Venice’s Horizons Extra sidebar on Thursday.
Embarrassed by her humble background when she meets her father and stepmother and sister in their luxury Mediterranean mansion, Calamy’s character pretends she is an entrepreneur on the verge of success. But nothing is as it seems and the lies begin to pile up.
Calamy was in Venice last year in Horizons title A Plein Temps for which she won the best actress award for her performance as a single mother trying to get to a job interview during a transport strike. Marnier was previously at Venice with the chilling drama School’s Out, starring Laurent Lafitte as a teacher in charge of a class of disturbed teenagers who witnessed his predecessor commit suicide.
Embarrassed by her humble background when she meets her father and stepmother and sister in their luxury Mediterranean mansion, Calamy’s character pretends she is an entrepreneur on the verge of success. But nothing is as it seems and the lies begin to pile up.
Calamy was in Venice last year in Horizons title A Plein Temps for which she won the best actress award for her performance as a single mother trying to get to a job interview during a transport strike. Marnier was previously at Venice with the chilling drama School’s Out, starring Laurent Lafitte as a teacher in charge of a class of disturbed teenagers who witnessed his predecessor commit suicide.
- 8/31/2022
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
My Donkey My Lover & I Trailer — Caroline Vignal‘s My Donkey My Lover & I / Antoinette dans les Cévennes (2020) movie trailer has been released by Greenwich Entertainment. The My Donkey My Lover & I trailer stars Laure Calamy, Benjamin Lavernhe, Olivia Côte, Marc Fraize, and Louise Vidal. Crew Caroline Vignal wrote the screenplay [...]
Continue reading: My Donkey, My Lover & I (2020) Movie Trailer: Teacher Laure Calamy takes a Donkey Trip to Meet Her Secret Lover...
Continue reading: My Donkey, My Lover & I (2020) Movie Trailer: Teacher Laure Calamy takes a Donkey Trip to Meet Her Secret Lover...
- 5/29/2022
- by Rollo Tomasi
- Film-Book
"Come on, big boy, move!" Greenwich Entertainment has revealed an official trailer for a French adventure comedy titled My Donkey, My Lover & I, which is one of the most amusing English re-titles I've seen in a while. The original French title is Antoinette dans les Cévennes, and it already opened in France in late 2020. Finally arriving in the US soon this summer. Antoinette, a school teacher, is looking forward to her long planned summer holiday with her married lover Vladimir, the father of one of her pupils. When she learns that Vladimir has to cancel because his wife organized a surprise hiking vacation, Antoinette decides to follow their tracks, accompanied by a protective donkey named Patrick. Sounds like fun, right? Award-winning actress Laure Calamy stars as Antoinette, with a cast featuring Benjamin Lavernhe, Olivia Côte, Marc Fraize, and Louise Vidal. This looks extra kooky and very French, which is...
- 5/29/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
French film exports generated 91.4M euros ($103.6M) in 2021, a 5.5% increase on the previous year’s provisional figures, while admissions were up 8% to 14.8M. Comparatively, French films within France sold 39.2M tickets during the year. The figures were announced during the annual Unifrance Rendez-Vous with French Cinema which is taking place in Paris this week — one of the rare international gatherings in the current landscape that’s being held as a physical event.
Today’s numbers are provisional estimates and will be higher when they are trued up in the fall. For example, when originally announced in January 2021, the 2020 receipts were 86.6M euros, ultimately jumping to 101.7M euros when recalculated in November; a decline of over 60% versus 2019.
Interestingly, China in 2021 overtook Russia to become the leading overseas market for French titles in terms of admissions, partly owing to the fact that its cinemas recovered more quickly from Covid than elsewhere. Over...
Today’s numbers are provisional estimates and will be higher when they are trued up in the fall. For example, when originally announced in January 2021, the 2020 receipts were 86.6M euros, ultimately jumping to 101.7M euros when recalculated in November; a decline of over 60% versus 2019.
Interestingly, China in 2021 overtook Russia to become the leading overseas market for French titles in terms of admissions, partly owing to the fact that its cinemas recovered more quickly from Covid than elsewhere. Over...
- 1/11/2022
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
“Call My Agent!,” the hit French show set at a Parisian talent agency, is set for a number of international adaptations with remakes in the works at top streamers and broadcasters in South Korea, Indonesia, the Middle East, Philippines, Malaysia and Poland.
Co-represented by France Televisions Distribution and Newen Connect’s TF1 Studio, the show was previously adapted in India, Canada and Turkey. A U.K. remake with BAFTA award winner John Morton as head writer and director of the first two episodes will soon launch on Amazon U.K. and Sundance Now in the U.S. In Italy, the remake is being produced by Mediawan-owned Palomar for Sky with German filmmaker Oliver Hirschbiegel on board.
In The Philippines, the show is being adapted by Erik Matti, the critically acclaimed director of “On The Job,” who will serve as director and showrunner. Dondon Monteverde is executive producer. The writing...
Co-represented by France Televisions Distribution and Newen Connect’s TF1 Studio, the show was previously adapted in India, Canada and Turkey. A U.K. remake with BAFTA award winner John Morton as head writer and director of the first two episodes will soon launch on Amazon U.K. and Sundance Now in the U.S. In Italy, the remake is being produced by Mediawan-owned Palomar for Sky with German filmmaker Oliver Hirschbiegel on board.
In The Philippines, the show is being adapted by Erik Matti, the critically acclaimed director of “On The Job,” who will serve as director and showrunner. Dondon Monteverde is executive producer. The writing...
- 1/11/2022
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Race-against-time social drama “Full Time” (À plein temps), which won the best actress prize for “Call My Agent” star Laure Calamy and the best director award for Eric Gravel in the Horizons section of the Venice Film Festival, has scored multiple territory deals for Brussels-based sales company Be For Films.
The territories sold on the French-language film are Benelux (Athena Films), Switzerland (Xenix Filmdistribution), Italy (I Wonder), Spain (Festival Films), Greece (Cinobo), Norway (Arthaus), Canada (Axia Films), Australia/New Zealand (Palace Entertainment), China (Huanxi), Taiwan (Hooray Films), South Korea (Choix Pictures), and Indonesia (Falcon).
Discussions are ongoing with buyers in the U.S., the U.K., Japan, Israel and Poland.
Haut et Court will release the film in France on March 9.
Pamela Leu, the film’s sales agent at Be For Films, said: “After the premiere on the Lido, I was thrilled to discover with emotion so many people could...
The territories sold on the French-language film are Benelux (Athena Films), Switzerland (Xenix Filmdistribution), Italy (I Wonder), Spain (Festival Films), Greece (Cinobo), Norway (Arthaus), Canada (Axia Films), Australia/New Zealand (Palace Entertainment), China (Huanxi), Taiwan (Hooray Films), South Korea (Choix Pictures), and Indonesia (Falcon).
Discussions are ongoing with buyers in the U.S., the U.K., Japan, Israel and Poland.
Haut et Court will release the film in France on March 9.
Pamela Leu, the film’s sales agent at Be For Films, said: “After the premiere on the Lido, I was thrilled to discover with emotion so many people could...
- 10/7/2021
- by Leo Barraclough and Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
UniFrance, the French film promotion org headed by Serge Toubiana and Daniela Elstner, is launching the International French Cinema Fest on Bastille Day at the Cannes Film Festival.
The event aims at shining a light on some of France’s latest productions whose release plans were disrupted due to the pandemic.
Spanning over 30 countries, the International French Cinema Fest is being organized in partnership with distributors and exhibitors around the world who will host 50 premiere screenings of select French movies ahead of their theatrical release in key territories, including the U.S. and the U.K. Other countries involved in the initiative include Argentina, the Baltic States, Belgium, Brazil, Finland, Germany, Greece, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and Turkey.
“This is a unique occasion to (re)invigorate the collective experience of watching movies, on a global scale,” said Elstner, who worked closely with Gilles Renouard, the co-managing director of UniFrance,...
The event aims at shining a light on some of France’s latest productions whose release plans were disrupted due to the pandemic.
Spanning over 30 countries, the International French Cinema Fest is being organized in partnership with distributors and exhibitors around the world who will host 50 premiere screenings of select French movies ahead of their theatrical release in key territories, including the U.S. and the U.K. Other countries involved in the initiative include Argentina, the Baltic States, Belgium, Brazil, Finland, Germany, Greece, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and Turkey.
“This is a unique occasion to (re)invigorate the collective experience of watching movies, on a global scale,” said Elstner, who worked closely with Gilles Renouard, the co-managing director of UniFrance,...
- 7/14/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
This story about Cannes’ 2020 selection first appeared in TheWrap’s special digital Cannes magazine.
Last year, Cannes announced a list of 62 new feature films as its official selection for 2020, a year in which the festival itself didn’t take place. Bearing the prestigious imprimatur of the festival, the movies had a variety of releases. Here are some of the ones with the highest profiles since being singled out by Cannes.
“The French Dispatch” / Searchlight Pictures
Faithful
“DNA,” Maïwenn
Premiered at the Deauville Film Festival in September 2020, released by Netflix in the U.S. in December and in France in May.
“True Mothers,” Naomi Kawase
Screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2020; submitted as Japan’s entry in the Oscars’ Best International Feature Film category.
“Peninsula,” Yeon Sang-Ho
Released theatrically in South Korea in July 2020 and in the U.S. (as Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula) in August.
“Another Round,...
Last year, Cannes announced a list of 62 new feature films as its official selection for 2020, a year in which the festival itself didn’t take place. Bearing the prestigious imprimatur of the festival, the movies had a variety of releases. Here are some of the ones with the highest profiles since being singled out by Cannes.
“The French Dispatch” / Searchlight Pictures
Faithful
“DNA,” Maïwenn
Premiered at the Deauville Film Festival in September 2020, released by Netflix in the U.S. in December and in France in May.
“True Mothers,” Naomi Kawase
Screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2020; submitted as Japan’s entry in the Oscars’ Best International Feature Film category.
“Peninsula,” Yeon Sang-Ho
Released theatrically in South Korea in July 2020 and in the U.S. (as Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula) in August.
“Another Round,...
- 7/6/2021
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
The film will be shooting in June, with a cast also including Laurent Stocker, India Hair and Pascale Arbillot. An Aurora Films and Local Films production sold by Indie Sales. In mid-June will begin in Île-de-France the shoot for Annie Colère, the third feature film by Blandine Lenoir after Zouzou (2014) and Fifty Springtimes (2017). In the cast, the director is working for the third time with Laure Calamy who will be flanked by Zita Hanrot (winner of the 2016 César award for Most Promising Actress for Fatima, and a stand...
Albert Dopontel’s “Bye Bye Morons” (“Adieu Les Cons”) has won the top prizes at France’s Cesar Awards, taking six awards including Best Film, Best Director and Best Supporting Actor.
The black tragicomedy is about a terminally ill woman and a suicidal man on the run who team up in an attempt to locate the child the woman hasn’t seen in almost 30 years. It also won awards for Dupontel’s screenplay and for its cinematography and set design.
The only other film to win more than one award was the documentary “Adolescents,” which won in the Best Documentary and Best Editing categories.
“Bye Bye Morons” went into Friday’s Cesar Awards, France’s version of the Oscars, with 12 nominations, second only to Frederic Niedermeyer’s “Love Affair(s)”. That film won a single award, for supporting actress Emilie Dequenne.
“Two of Us,” France’s entry in this year...
The black tragicomedy is about a terminally ill woman and a suicidal man on the run who team up in an attempt to locate the child the woman hasn’t seen in almost 30 years. It also won awards for Dupontel’s screenplay and for its cinematography and set design.
The only other film to win more than one award was the documentary “Adolescents,” which won in the Best Documentary and Best Editing categories.
“Bye Bye Morons” went into Friday’s Cesar Awards, France’s version of the Oscars, with 12 nominations, second only to Frederic Niedermeyer’s “Love Affair(s)”. That film won a single award, for supporting actress Emilie Dequenne.
“Two of Us,” France’s entry in this year...
- 3/13/2021
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Updated: Albert Dupontel’s dark comedy Adieu Les Cons (Bye Bye Morons) was the big winner at tonight’s César Awards, scooping Best Film along with Director, Supporting Actor, Original Screenplay, Cinematography and Production Design, during a muted in-person ceremony that nevertheless provided some notable moments. Chief among them was when actress Corinne Masiero stripped down to her birthday suit while presenting the award for Costume Design. The show, aired live and unencrypted on Canal Plus (meaning not only subscribers could watch), did not cut away from Masiero’s self-exhibition in support of France’s intermittent arts workers. The incident was met with shock, for sure, and began trending on Twitter, but it didn’t exactly elicit the same whoops and hollers in the limited César audience as did the 1974 Oscars streaker.
Masiero’s intervention was a commentary on the current state of the French industry, whose Covid-impacted workers have...
Masiero’s intervention was a commentary on the current state of the French industry, whose Covid-impacted workers have...
- 3/13/2021
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
46th ceremony unfolded amid growing anger within French film industry over cinema closures.
Albert Dupontel’s Bye Bye Morons topped the awards at a politically-charged 46th Césars ceremony on Friday evening (March 12), marked by growing anger within the French film industry over the ongoing closure of cinemas and other cultural spaces as part of anti-Covid-19 measures.
Bye Bye Morons clinched seven Césars including best film, director, cinematography (Alexis Kavyrchine), best original screenplay (Dupontel), best supporting actor (Nicolas Marié), best production design (Carlos Conti) and the fledgeling César des Lycéens, which is voted on by 1,500 high school students.
Dupontel, who previously...
Albert Dupontel’s Bye Bye Morons topped the awards at a politically-charged 46th Césars ceremony on Friday evening (March 12), marked by growing anger within the French film industry over the ongoing closure of cinemas and other cultural spaces as part of anti-Covid-19 measures.
Bye Bye Morons clinched seven Césars including best film, director, cinematography (Alexis Kavyrchine), best original screenplay (Dupontel), best supporting actor (Nicolas Marié), best production design (Carlos Conti) and the fledgeling César des Lycéens, which is voted on by 1,500 high school students.
Dupontel, who previously...
- 3/13/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
The ceremony will take place on March 12.
Emmanuel Mouret’s love triangle drama Love Affair(s) leads the nominations in France’s César awards this year, followed by Albert Dupontel’s Bye Bye Morons and Summer Of 85.
France’s Academy of Cinema and Arts and Sciences unveiled the nomination list for the 46th edition of the awards on its website on Wednesday morning, ahead of the ceremony scheduled to take place on March 12.
Scroll down for nominations list
Its traditional news conference in Fouquet’s restaurant in Paris was not possible this year as bars and restaurants are currently...
Emmanuel Mouret’s love triangle drama Love Affair(s) leads the nominations in France’s César awards this year, followed by Albert Dupontel’s Bye Bye Morons and Summer Of 85.
France’s Academy of Cinema and Arts and Sciences unveiled the nomination list for the 46th edition of the awards on its website on Wednesday morning, ahead of the ceremony scheduled to take place on March 12.
Scroll down for nominations list
Its traditional news conference in Fouquet’s restaurant in Paris was not possible this year as bars and restaurants are currently...
- 2/10/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
Emmanuel Mouret’s Les Choses Qu’On Dit, Les Choses Qu’On Fait, aka Love Affair(s), leads France’s César Award nominations with a total 13 including each of the top acting categories as well as Best Director and Best Film. The official 2020 Cannes Film Festival selection is followed by Albert Dupontel’s comedy/drama Adieu Les Cons (Bye Bye Morons) and François Ozon’s Eté 85 (Summer Of 85) with 12 each. The latter was released locally last summer and played Toronto in September.
Other titles to make the cut this morning include the Oscar shortlisted Two Of Us (Deux) from Filippo Meneghetti with Best Actress nods for leads Martine Chevallier and Barbara Sukowa as well as Best Original Screenplay and Best Debut Feature.
In the Foreign Film category are Sam Mendes’ 1917, Todd Haynes’ Dark Waters, Thomas Vinterberg’s Another Round (also Oscar shortlisted on Tuesday), Jan Komasa’s La Communion...
Other titles to make the cut this morning include the Oscar shortlisted Two Of Us (Deux) from Filippo Meneghetti with Best Actress nods for leads Martine Chevallier and Barbara Sukowa as well as Best Original Screenplay and Best Debut Feature.
In the Foreign Film category are Sam Mendes’ 1917, Todd Haynes’ Dark Waters, Thomas Vinterberg’s Another Round (also Oscar shortlisted on Tuesday), Jan Komasa’s La Communion...
- 2/10/2021
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
Emmanuel Mouret’s “Love Affairs” is leading the nominations for the Cesar Awards, France’s top film honors. Nominations were announced online on Wednesday.
The film, which was part of Cannes 2020’s official selection, weaves together a series of romantic tales exploring love, friendship and infidelity with an ensemble cast including Camelia Jordana, Niels Schneider, Vincent Macaigne and Julia Piaton. “Love Affairs” earned 13 awards nominations, including for best film, director, as well as nods for Jordana, Schneider, Macaigne and Piaton. The film previously won best film at the Lumieres Awards.
Meanwhile, Albert Dupontel’s “Bye Bye Morons” and Francois Ozon’s “Summer of 85” are each nominated for 12 Cesar Awards, including best film and best director. A dark comedy, “Bye Bye Morons” stars Virginie Efira as a seriously ill woman on a mission to reunite with her long-lost child with the help of a man who’s having a burnout.
The film, which was part of Cannes 2020’s official selection, weaves together a series of romantic tales exploring love, friendship and infidelity with an ensemble cast including Camelia Jordana, Niels Schneider, Vincent Macaigne and Julia Piaton. “Love Affairs” earned 13 awards nominations, including for best film, director, as well as nods for Jordana, Schneider, Macaigne and Piaton. The film previously won best film at the Lumieres Awards.
Meanwhile, Albert Dupontel’s “Bye Bye Morons” and Francois Ozon’s “Summer of 85” are each nominated for 12 Cesar Awards, including best film and best director. A dark comedy, “Bye Bye Morons” stars Virginie Efira as a seriously ill woman on a mission to reunite with her long-lost child with the help of a man who’s having a burnout.
- 2/10/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Caroline Vignal’s “My Donkey, My Lover and I,” Chloé Mazlo’s “Skies of Lebanon” and Aurel’s “Josep” are among the nine French features that will play in the U.S. as part of the 7th edition of the Young French Cinema Program. Seven shorts have also been selected.
The initiative, which is organized by the French Embassy in the U.S. and the promotion org UniFrance, aims at showcasing films and shorts from rising French filmmakers, which have played at major film festivals, including Cannes, Venice, Rome, NYFF and Annecy. Six out of the nine films were part of Cannes 2020’s Official Selection.
“My Donkey, My Lover and I,” sold by Playtime, was a box office hit in France where it sold more than 700,000 admissions before the shutdown of theaters in October. The comedy follows “Call My Agent!” star Laure Calamy as she embarks on a road trip...
The initiative, which is organized by the French Embassy in the U.S. and the promotion org UniFrance, aims at showcasing films and shorts from rising French filmmakers, which have played at major film festivals, including Cannes, Venice, Rome, NYFF and Annecy. Six out of the nine films were part of Cannes 2020’s Official Selection.
“My Donkey, My Lover and I,” sold by Playtime, was a box office hit in France where it sold more than 700,000 admissions before the shutdown of theaters in October. The comedy follows “Call My Agent!” star Laure Calamy as she embarks on a road trip...
- 1/26/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The actress dazzles up front in Cécile Ducrocq’s first feature film, which is produced by Domino Films and sold by Charades. The first clapperboard slammed in eastern France today on Une femme du monde, the debut feature film by Cécile Ducrocq, a director highly acclaimed for her shorts, most notably Tout le monde dit je t’aime (UniFrance Award in Cannes 2011) and La contre-allée.Laure Calamy is supported in the cast by...
- 11/30/2020
- Cineuropa - The Best of European Cinema
Several major distributors return to UK cinemas this weekend.
France, opening Wednesday, October 21
A dozen new films opened in France this week into a complex reality for the country’s distributors and exhibitors following the introduction of a night-time curfew for Paris and eight other major cities on October 17. It was announced yesterday (Oct 22) that the measure will be extended to more than half the country this Saturday (Oct 24) following a further surge in cases over the past week.
Prior to the announcement, a dozen distributors had taken the plunge to release films on Wednesday against already difficult odds. In the backdrop,...
France, opening Wednesday, October 21
A dozen new films opened in France this week into a complex reality for the country’s distributors and exhibitors following the introduction of a night-time curfew for Paris and eight other major cities on October 17. It was announced yesterday (Oct 22) that the measure will be extended to more than half the country this Saturday (Oct 24) following a further surge in cases over the past week.
Prior to the announcement, a dozen distributors had taken the plunge to release films on Wednesday against already difficult odds. In the backdrop,...
- 10/23/2020
- by Ben Dalton¬Martin Blaney¬Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
The American Film Institute (AFI) has today announced the full lineup of this year’s AFI Fest, including the World Cinema, New Auteurs, and Documentary sections. These titles, including buzzy festival features like “I Carry You with Me,” “Shadow in the Cloud,” “Jumbo,” “Farewell Amor,” “Wander Darkly,” “Tragic Jungle,” “Sound of Metal,” “Wolfwalkers,” “New Order,” and “Hopper/Welles,” join previously announced films, including Julia Hart’s “I’m Your Woman,” which will open the festival, and Errol Morris’ “My Psychedelic Love Story,” which will close it.
This year’s complete AFI Fest program includes 124 titles of which 53 percent are directed by women, 39 percent are directed by Bipoc, and 17 percent are directed by Lbgtq+.
“AFI Fest is committed to supporting diverse perspectives and new voices in cinema and this year is no different,” said Sarah Harris, Director of Programming, AFI Festivals, in an official statement. “While we wish we were able to be together in Hollywood,...
This year’s complete AFI Fest program includes 124 titles of which 53 percent are directed by women, 39 percent are directed by Bipoc, and 17 percent are directed by Lbgtq+.
“AFI Fest is committed to supporting diverse perspectives and new voices in cinema and this year is no different,” said Sarah Harris, Director of Programming, AFI Festivals, in an official statement. “While we wish we were able to be together in Hollywood,...
- 10/6/2020
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
The short answer is strong local films and major state subsidies.
Mourir Peut Attendre, which translates as ‘Dying Can Wait’ is the French title for the James Bond film No Time To Die, and unexpectedly apt.
As in the rest of the world, French exhibitors had high hopes for the new Bond title as the only major US production left on the release calendar for this autumn, as they battle to stay afloat in the face of historically low admissions and a lack of crowd-drawing blockbusters.
The move of the Bond film to April 2021 is a huge blow but unlike...
Mourir Peut Attendre, which translates as ‘Dying Can Wait’ is the French title for the James Bond film No Time To Die, and unexpectedly apt.
As in the rest of the world, French exhibitors had high hopes for the new Bond title as the only major US production left on the release calendar for this autumn, as they battle to stay afloat in the face of historically low admissions and a lack of crowd-drawing blockbusters.
The move of the Bond film to April 2021 is a huge blow but unlike...
- 10/6/2020
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
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