Wide Management - Blog & News

CANNES 2010

2010-05-11T07:32:00.000-07:00

MARKET SCREENINGS

GIGOLA
HD & 35 mm - 2010 – France – 102 min - Color – Drama
Directed by Laure CHARPENTIER
Original language: French
Cast: Lou Doillon, Eduardo Noriega, Marie Kremer, Rossy de Palma, Ana Padrao, Arly Jover, Virginie Pradal with the participation of Marisa Berenson, Marisa Paredes & Thierry Lhermitte

Synopsis: “GIGOLA” is the story of George, a charismatic and adventurous young woman, born from an old, catholic family, who, in her teens, falls in love with a female teacher named Sybil. Devastated by her lover’s eventual suicide, some years later, George embarks on an exciting and reckless journey to the depths of Pigalle’s nightlife, circa 1960. After an encounter with a very wealthy, still attractive, but older woman, Odette, who offers her money and gifts in return for sexual favours, George becomes Gigola, a kind of gigolo for women only.

Based on the controversial Best Seller novel “Gigola” by Laure Charpentier. The book was first printed in 1972 but immediately retrieved by the censorship. 30 years after “Gigola” became one of the most fascinating character of the 60’s nightlife in Pigalle.

Produced by Denise Petitdidier (MARIE AMELIE PRODUCTION)

SCREENING TIMES :
Saturday 15th at 10 am in PALAIS E
Monday 17th at 4 pm in PALAIS E
Wednesday 19th at 5.30 pm in PALAIS B

SEVERN, THE VOICE OF OUR CHILDREN
(Severn, la voix de nos enfants)
HD, 35 mm & JPEG 2000 – 2010 – France – 120 min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Jean-Paul JAUD
Original languages: French, English, Japanese

Synopsis: “I am here to speak for all generations to come…
... What you do makes me cry at night…
… Please make your actions reflect your words…”
1992: 1st Earth Summit, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. For the first time in human history, a child, Severn, calls out to the whole planet. 18 years later, our actions are still different from our speeches. The Earth is still in the same state and Severn is now expecting a baby. She speaks again, showing that despite the emergency, it is still possible to change the course of things. In this documentary full of hope and emotion, Severn embodies a reference for those people, from Canada to Japan going through France, who act in concrete and positive terms in order to respect biodiversity.
Who will answer Severn’s call?

Produced by Béatrice Jaud (J+B SEQUENCES)

SEVERN, THE VOICE OF OUR CHILDREN is the sequel of THAT SHOULD NOT BE which already cumulated more than 280 000 admissions since nov 2008 & more than 2M € gross receipt in France. 14 571 DVDs already sold !
ALREADY PRESOLD, ALL RIGHTS, IN JAPAN

SCREENING TIMES :
Friday 14th at 6 pm in ARCADES 2
Sunday 16th at 6 pm in ARCADES 2
Tuesday 18th at 2 pm in PALAIS G

JUST BETWEEN US (Neka ostane medju nama)
HD & 35 mm – 2010 – Croatia/Serbia/Slovenia – 89 min – Color – Comedy
Directed by Rajko GRLIC
Original language: Croatian
Cast: Miki Manojlović, Miki Manojlović

Synopsis: romantic and sexual relationships are at the core of the story about five people whose lives are intertwined in provocative and unexpected ways. Nikola (Miki Manojlovic) is a 50-year-old businessman, a hedonist with a taste for younger women, married to Anamarija (Daria Lorenci), a dentist who’s been trying to get pregnant with Nikola for years. They finally succeed just when their marriage is hanging by the thread, mostly due to Nikola’s infidelities.

Produced by Igor A.Nola (MAINFRAME PRODUCTION)
Festival: Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2010 – Official Competition

SCREENING TIMES :
Saturday 15th at 1.30 pm in PALAIS H
Tuesday 18th at 4 pm in PALAIS G

ALL THAT I LOVE (Wszystko co kocham)
HD & 35 mm - 2010 – Poland – 95 min – Color – Drama
Directed by Jacek BORCUCH
Original language: Polish
Cast: Mateusz Kosciukiewicz, Olga Frycz, Jakub Gierszal, Andrzej Chyra

Synopsis: It is a beautiful Spring of 1981 in Poland. In a seaside town, Janek, an 18 year old son of a navy captain, forms a punk-rock band to express the things that matter to him most. His life is all about music and his first great love – Basia, but things are about to change. Massive strikes organized by “Solidarność” sweep through Poland and the Communist party is secretly preparing to impose a martial law. Tension in the country grows. Teenage rebellion becomes dangerous during political turmoil. A clash with a martial law commissar and a death of a loved one will change Janek’s world forever...

Produced by Jan Dworak ( PRASA & FILM LTD )
More than 222 000 admissionsin Poland !

Awards:
Radio Gdańsk Golden Clauquer Award for the film with the longest applause - Polish Film Festival in Gdynia
Golden Kangaroo Award of Australian film distributors - Polish Film Festival in Gdynia
Best Production Design (Elwira Pluta) - Polish Film Festival in Gdynia

Festivals (selection):
Pusan International Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival 2010
Rotterdam International Film Festival 2010
Dublin International Film Festival 2010 - Gala Screening
Istanbul International Film Festival 2010 - Official Competition

SCREENING TIMES :
Monday 17th at 12pm in PALAIS C

JOURNEY’S END (La Belle Visite)
HD & 35 mm – 2010 – Canada – 78 min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Jean-François CAISSY
Original language: French

Synopsis: In the far reaches of the Quebec countryside, between a road and a headland that plunges into the sea, an abandoned motel has been converted into a retirement home. In this former travellers’ retreat, time seems to have ground to a halt. Journey’s End is an elegiac exploration of old age, set in a place at once physical and allegorical.

Produced by Jean-François Caissy (LES FILMS DE L’AUTRE)
Canadian release April the 30 th 2010 !

Awards:
Best promising documentary – Jury Award – LES RENDEZ-VOUS DU CINEMA QUEBECQUOIS
Special jury award - French Film Festival, Vancouver 2010

Festivals:
Berlin International Film Festival - Forum of New Cinema 2010
Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival 2010 - Canadian Spectrum Section
Visions du Réel, Nyon Documentary Film Festival 2010 - Regards Neufs Compétition
RIDM - Official Competition – Montréal – 2010

SCREENING TIMES:
Sunday 16th at 4pm in PALAIS G

FROM BEGINNING TO END (Do Começo ao fim)
HD & 35 mm – 2010 – Brazil – 94 min – Color – Drama
Directed by Aluizio ABRANCHES
Original language: Portuguese
Cast : Julia Lemmertz, Fábio Assunção, Jean Pierre Noher, João Gabriel Vasconcelos, Rafael Cardoso

Synopsis: An unconditional love story between Francisco and Thomas, half brothers. Set in Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires, the film covers their childhood in a loving family environment and their coming of age, when they realize the true affection that bonds them.

Produced by Fernando Libonati (PEQUENA CENTRAL)

Festivals:
Melbourne Queer Film Festival, Australia 2010
Torino LGTB Film Festival, Italy 2010 - Official Competition
Zagreb Queer Film Festival, Croatia 2010
Taormina Film Festival, Italy 2010

SCREENING TIMES:
Sunday 16th at 2 pm in PALAIS G

TWO IN THE WAVE (Deux de la Vague)
HD – 2010 – France – 92 min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Emmanuel LAURENT
Original language: French
Cast: Isild Le Besco

Synopsis: Two in the Wave is the story of a friendship. Jean-Luc Godard is born in 1930, François Truffaut two years later, and they meet through their love of cinema. They write in the same magazines, Les Cahiers du Cinéma and Arts. When the younger becomes a filmmaker, with The Four Hundred Blows, which triumphs in Cannes in 1959, he helps his elder to switch to film directing, giving him his own script, already called Breathless.

Produced by Emmanuel Laurent (FILMS A TROIS)

Related by worldwide book seller Antoine de Baecque, former chief editor of Les Cahiers du Cinéma, whose biography “GODARD” was published on March 11th 2010 in France, Switzerland, Belgium and Quebec.

Festivals:
Cannes Film Festival 2009 - Cannes Classics
Rotterdam International Film Festival 2010 - Signals Regained Section
Guadalajara International Film Festival 2010
Hong Kong International Film Festival 2010
Visions du Réel - Nyon Documentary Film Festival, Switzerland 2010
City of Lights, City of Angels (Col-Coa), Los Angeles 2010
Sydney Film Festival 2010

SCREENING TIMES :
Saturday 15th at 4 pm in GRAY 3
Wednesday 19th at 11.30 am in PALAIS B

NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH
HD & 35 mm – 2010 – South Africa /France – 81 min – Color – Drama
Directed by John KANI
Original languages: English, Xhosa
Cast: John Kani, Warona Seane, Esmeralda Bihl

Synopsis: What has changed in democratic South Africa for ordinary men, those who resisted and fought in silence against apartheid, without having a political role and without becoming heroes of the ANC? Perhaps not very much. Sipho is a librarian and the brother of a famous ANC leader who had fled to England without ever returning to South Africa. The body of his brother is now coming back to the country and Sipho has to organize the funeral. The event is the opportunity to reflect on his life and the humiliations he always had to endure from his brother, who had been a hero but also a very selfish person.

Produced by MNET, Odélion Films, Jazz Spirit

Awards:
Etalon d’Argent, FESPACO, Burkina Faso
Best Actor Award & Best Direction Award, Zimbabwe International Film Festival
Best African Film - Milan African, Asian and Latin America Film Festival, Italy
Grand Prix - Ecrans Noirs Film Festival, Cameroun

Festivals (selection):
FESPACO, Burkina Faso - Official Competition
Montreal Festival Pan Africa - Official Competition
Festival de Cine Africano de Tarifa, Spain 2010 - Official Competition

SCREENING TIMES :
Sunday 16th at 11.30 am in GRAY 4

OPEN SKY (À ciel ouvert)
HD – 2010 – France – 94 & 52 min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Iñès COMPAN
Original language: Spanish

Synopsis: Puna, Argentina. Kollas natives suddenly find themselves in the center of national and international stakes because of their underground natural resources. Indeed, Standard Silver, a Canadian company, launches an ambitious project of an open-sky silver mine on the abandoned site of Mina Pirquitas, 4,500 m high. This mine is to become one of the most productive one in Latin America, Standard Silver getting the monopole over the underground natural resources disturbing also the fragile balance of the Kollas natives living on poverty. Kollas thus become victims of the globalization with this new mining boom associated to the decreasing metal exchange rate, the latter being essential to the technological development of our modern societies.

Produced by Thomas Schmitt (MOSAÏQUE FILMS) & Inès Compan (LE HAMAC ROUGE)

Festivals:
Cinéma du réel - Festival International de Films Documentaires Paris, 2010
Rencontres Cinémas d’Amérique Latine de Toulouse, France 2010
Premiere at the 32nd International documentary Film “Cinéma du Réel, French Panorama section 2010.

SCREENING TIMES :
Monday 17th at 2pm in PALAIS E

LIKE A DREAM (Comme un rêve)
HD – 2010 – France - 1 x 90 min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Marlène Ionesco
Original languages: French, Russian, English

Synopsis: This documentary focuses on two “prima ballerina” of The Opéra de Paris, Dominique Khalfouni and her son Mathieu Ganio, who was nominated when he was only 20-year-old. His mother followed another path and left the Opera de Paris. She joined the Ballet de Marseille of Roland Petit. This touching documentary goes through Marseille, Paris and St Petersbourg, a story about dance and emotions, thru life, work, memories, regrets and hopes.

Are included many extracts of ballets such as "Roméo and Juliet", "Ivan Le Terrible", "Giselle", "Le Spectre de la Rose" (with Noureev), "Don Quichotte". Some documents present the wonderful partners of Dominique Khalfouni such as Cyril Atanassof, Jean Guizerix or Manuel Legris. It also includes interviews of famous dancers like Baryshnikov, Vassiliev, Pierre Lacotte, Michael Denard or Agnès Letestu.

Produced by Marlène Ionesco (Delange Production)

SCREENING TIMES :
Tuesday 18th at 10 am in PALAIS E

MINE, MY LIFE BEHIND THE SCENES (Mine, de fil en aiguille)
2010– France – 83 min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Valérie MINETTO
Original language: French

Synopsis: A portrait of Mine Barral Vergez who has been making for 40 years costumes for the most famous Parisian cabarets and show stages like Moulin-Rouge, Lido, Comédie-française and Olympia. She has dressed up the most celebrated artistes of our time starting with Juliette Greco and Barbara. A star in the shadow at this particular time of transition since she is passing the business baton on to her successor...

Produced by Milena POYLO (TS Productions), TV Rennes 35, Paris Brest Productions, Forum des images
With the participation of Juliette Gréco, Barbara, Nana Mouskouri, Nicole Croisille.

SCREENING TIMES :
Tuesday 18th at 11.30 am in PALAIS D

BLACK DIAMOND
HD & 35 mm - 2010 – France/ Belgium – 101 min – Color – Animation - Documentary
Directed by Pascale LAMCHE
Original languages: French, English, Gha, Twi

Synopsis: Black Diamond uncovers the mechanisms of the lucrative international trade of hundreds of young African players with their heads full of dreams, ready for tremendous sacrifices to become the new soccer superstar. Those boys are the victims of a genuine traffic in which they are treated as commodities.

Produced by Dominique Tibi (ROCHE PRODUCTIONS), ARTEMIS PRODUCTIONS & FRANCE 2 CINEMA

SCREENING TIMES :
Wednesday 19 th at 4 pm in PALAIS K « Bory »

NANNERL, MOZART’S SISTER (Nannerl, la soeur de Mozart)
HD & 35 mm – 2010 – France - 120 min – Color – Drama
Directed by René FERET
Original language: French
Cast: Marie Féret, Marc Barbé, Delphine Chuillot, David Moreau, Clovis Fouin

Synopsis: Mozart had an older sister called Nannerl. Child prodigy, she was introduced with her brother to all European courts. In the end of a three year family travel, she met in Versailles Louis XV’s son who encouraged her to write music. But Nannerl is a girl and a girl does not have the right to compose...

Produced by René Féret (LES FILMS ALYNE)

SCREENING TIMES :
Wednesday 19th at 4 pm in PALAIS G

IN SELECTION AT CANNES ECRANS JUNIORS :

Thursday 20 th 2 pm in the Studio 13 (23 avenue du Docteur-Picaud, 06 400 Cannes)
Friday 21 st 9.30 am 30 in Le Raimu (avenue de la Borde, 06 150 Cannes La Bocca)

DIFFERENT FROM WHOM? (Diverso da chi ?)
HD & 35 mm - 2010- Italy - 102 min – Color – LGBT Comedy
Directed by Umberto CARTENI
Original language: Italian
Cast: Luca Argentero, Claudia Gerini, Filippo Nigro, Antonio Catania, Francesco Pannofino, Rinaldo Rocco

Synopsis: Piero, an openly homosexual gay rights activist, runs as the more progressive candidate in the mayoral election of Udine, Italy. At the other end stands the bigoted right-wing candidate, who builds physical walls á la Padua around his community to keep foreigners and drug dealers confined to their various neighbourhoods, and his candidate for vice-mayor, pro-family values champion Adele. In an odd twist, Piero temporarily sets his political loyalties and gayness aside and sleeps with the gorgeous Adele, betraying his male partner, Remo in the process…

Produced by Joshua Berman (CATTLEYA)

SCREENING TIMES :
Wednesday 19th at 1.30pm in PALAIS B

THE BELGRADE PHANTOM (Beogradski Fantom)
35 mm – 2009 – Serbia/ Hungary/ Bulgaria – 52 & 82min – Color – Docu-Fiction
Directed by Jovan B. TODOROVIC
Original language: Serbo-Croatian
Cast: Milutin Milosevic, Marko Zivic, Radoslav Milenkovic, Nada Macankovic, Andrej Sepetkovski

Synopsis: Yugoslavia, 1979. While president and dictator Tito is in Cuba on international affairs, a mysterious Phantom captures the attention of Belgrade. Using a stolen white Porsche car he performs daring stunts through the city streets. As rumours of his cat-and-mouse games with the police spread, people start gathering to watch him at night. Over the radio the Phantom publicly challenges the police to try and catch him. Such open opposition is unheard of and more than 10 000 people are in the streets supporting their hero. It is dangerous to eliminate him in front of the public and the police are forced into a chase where he sets the rules. It comes down to the driving, and the stakes are very high.

Produced by Jovan B Todorovic & Bodgan Petkovic (EMOTE PRODUCTIONS), TIVOLI-FILMPRODUCTIONS, CAMERA FX

Festivals (selection):
International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) 2009
DOCNZ Festival, New Zealand 2010 - Official Competition
Visions du Réel - Nyon Documentary Film Festival, Switzerland 2010

SCREENING TIMES :
Thursday 20th at 12 pm in PALAIS C

THE HOUSE OF BRANCHING LOVE (Haarautuvan rakkauden talo)
HD & 35 mm – 2009 – Finland –102 min – Color – Drama
Directed by Mika KAURISMAKI
Original language: Finnish
Cast: Hannu-Pekka Björkman, Elina Knihtilä, Antti Reini, Tommi Eronen,

Synopsis: Family therapist Juhani Helin, 35, and business trainer Paula Helin, 34, decide to divorce in a civilized manner and move to separate addresses after selling their common house. But when Paula invites her one night stand, Marco, to the house and Juhani takes revenge on her by hiring a prostitute, Nina, from his half-brother and a pimp, Wolffi, to play his new girlfriend in order to force Paula to leave the house, the box of Pandora of their marriage flies open and releases the plagues of love and hate.

Based on the novel by Petri Karra
Produced by Mika Kaurismäki (Marianna Films Oy)

Festivals (selection):

Toronto International Film Festival 2009
Goa International Film Festival of India 2009
Hong Kong European Film Festival 2009
Cinequest Film Festival, USA 2010 - Official Competition
Prague International Film Festival FEBIOFEST, Czech Republic 2010
Istanbul International Film Festival, Turkey 2010
Transilvania International Film Festival, Romania 2010

SCREENING TIMES :
Thursday 20th at 10 am in PALAIS C

AVANT- PREMIERE IN CANNES

GARIMPEIRO, THE GOLD FOREST (Orpailleur)
35 mm – 2010 – France – 93 min – Color – Drama
Directed by Marc BARRAT
Original language: French
Cast : Tony Mpoudja, Julien Courbey, Sara Martins

Synopsis: Rod decides to return to Guiana, his native country, accompanied by Gonz, his childhood friend. In Cayenne, they begin an investigation into Rod’s past. A quest that will lead them right into the heart of the virgin forest, into the camps of the illegal gold prospectors…

Produced by Richard Magnien (MAT FILM)
Starring Jimmy JEAN-LOUIS from the TV series HEROES
Best Male Actor Award (Valois of Best Male Actor), Festival du Film Francophone d'Angoulême

National Release June 16th of 2010

With the presence of the film crew : May 18th – 2.30 pm at the MIRAMAR
(35 rue Pasteur, in the Croisette between the Carlton & the Martinez).

LINE-UP

DOMAIN (Domaine)
35 mm – 2009 – France /Austria –110 min – Color – Drama
Directed by Patric CHIHA
Original language: French, English
Cast: Béatrice Dalle, Isaïe Sultan, Alain Libolt

Synopsis: Pierre, a teen of 17, spends all his time with Nadia, a flamboyant mathematician in her forties. Their rapport is friendly, ambiguous, bordering on amorous. The anarchy that reigns in Nadia's life fascinates this young man on the threshold of adulthood. But Nadia is a wounded soul, dependent on alcohol. Little by little, she slips away. Pierre thinks he can help her, bring her back from the brink...

Produced by Charlotte Vincent (Aurora Films), Ebba Sinzinger & Vincent Lucassen (WILDart FILM)-

Festivals (selection) :
Venice Film Festival 2009 - International Critics' Week
Festival “EntreVues” Belfort, France 2009 – Official Competition
Festival Premiers Plan d’Angers, France 2010 - First French feature film competition
San Francisco International Film Festival 2010

UNFAITHFUL (Infidèles)
2010 – France – 94 min – Color – Erotic
Directed by Claude PERES
Original language: English
Cast: Claude Pérès, Marcel Schlutt

Synopsis: Claude Pérès invited Marcel Schlutt to make love with him. They do not know each other. They do not know whether they like each other. They do not know what will happen. They meet in a flat. They are alone. For one night. For more privacy, Claude Pérès will record images and sound. There is no contract, no obligation. They remain free to say and to do whatever they want. They can stop anytime.

Produced by Claude Péres

LEO’S ROOM (El Cuarto de Leo)
HD – 2009 – Uruguay – 95 min – Color – Drama
Directed by Enrique BUCHICHIO
Original language: Spanish
Cast: Martín Rodríguez, Cecilia Cósero, César Troncoso, Arturo Goetz

Synopsis: Leo is a young man struggling with sexual definition and self-accepatance when he runs into Caro, an ex classmate from Primary School whom he was in love with when they were kids. She´s also going through a deep personal crisis of her own. This reunion will have repercussions in both conflicts, without anyone of them really aware of what´s going on in each other´s life.

Produced by Natacha Lopez (LAVORAGINE FILMS)

World Premiere: San Sebastian International Film Festival 2009 - Zabaltegi Competition

Awards:
Special Mention for Best Script - Zinegoak 2010
Special Jury Award at the GLBT Torino Film Festival - 2010

Festivals (selection):
Miami International Film Festival, USA 2010 - Ibero American Competition

Songs by Cocoon, a French folk music band whose last song “Chupee” is internationally acclaimed.

BURROWING (Man tänker sitt)
HD & 35 mm – 2009 – Sweden – 76 min – Color – Drama
Directed by Henrik Hellström, Fredrik Wenzel
Original language: Swedish
Cast: Sebastian Eklund, Jörgen Svensson, Hannes Sandahl

Synopsis: Sebastian lives at home with his mother. He is eleven years old. From an elevated spot in the playground, he surveys his neighbourhood. He can see Jimmy who lives with his parents, even though he’s got a child of his own. He can see Anders, who’s just been given planning permission for a new carport. In a hollow where the surface water blends into the brook, Mischa is looking for fish. He came as a guest worker in the seventies but still hasn’t left. Sebastian sees the asphalt rotting. He sees hollyhocks eating their way into the foundations causing fractures in the concrete slabs laid directly on the ground. Weakening confined root space, lack of water and low nutritional values. A break-up can only come through force.

Produced by Erika Wasserman (FASAD AB)

Festivals (selection):
Festival Premiers Plans d'Angers, France 2010
Swedish Season at the Lincoln Film Center, New York may 2010

MEN ON THE BRIDGE (Köprüdekiler)
HD & 35 mm – 2009 – Germany/Turkey/Netherlands – 87min – Color – Drama
Directed by Aslı ÖZGE
Cast: Fikret Portakal, Murat Tokgöz, Umut İlker, Cemile İlker

Synopsis: A bit of a Don Juan with his styled hair and single earring, FİKRET (17) illegally sells roses in the traffic jam on the Bosphorus bridge that links Asia and Europe. At the same time, he is striving for a regular job in the old downtown of Istanbul. UMUT (28) drives a shared taxi passing the Bosphorus bridge every day. He is searching for a better apartment to rent in order to satisfy his wife, whose desires are beyond his earnings. The traffic policeman Murat (24), who is stationed at the Bosphorus bridge, feels alone amidst the solid lines of cars. Each night at home, he logs on to the Net seeking for dating chances. Unaware of each other, Fikret, Umut and Murat intersect in the rush hour every day with millions of other Istanbulites, coping with the straits of fulfilling their aspirations in the big city. The story is based on the lives of the characters depicting themselves in the original locations.

Produced by ENDORPHINE PRODUCTION, YENI SINEMACILIK, KALIBER FILM, BAYERISCHER RUNDFUNK, ZDF/3SAT, RUSH HOUR FILMS

Awards:
Best Film Award - Ankara International Film Festival 2010
Best Actors Ensemble Award - Ankara International Film Festival 2010
Best Editing Award - Ankara International Film Festival 2010

EAMON
35 mm – 2009 – Ireland – 85 min – Color – Comedy
Directed by Margaret CORKERY
Original language: English
Cast : Robert Donnelly, Amy Kirwan, Darren Healy

Synopsis: ‘Eamon’ is a dark romantic comedy: A family holiday brings to a head the destructive love triangle between Eamon, a little boy with behavioural problems, his selfish mother Grace and his sexually frustrated father Daniel.

Margaret CORKERY is born 1976 in Cork and currently based in Dublin. EAMON is her feature film debut. Her short films include “Killing the Afternoon” (In competition Berlinale 2005) and “Joyride” which won several international awards. Her films tend to combine comedy and suspense.

Produced by Seamus Byrne (ZANITA FILMS)

Awards:
Independent Camera Award - Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2009
Prix d’Honneur du Film irlandais - Paris MK2 Close Up Festival 2009
Nominated for 3 Irish Film & Television Awards 2009: Best Film, Best Script Film, Best Actress in a Lead Role
Special Jury Prize for directing - Cinequest 2010

TEARS OF APRIL (Käsky)
HD & 35 mm – 2009 – Finland/ Germany – 115 min – Color – Drama
Directed by Aku LOUHIMIES
Original language: Finnish
Cast: Pihla Viitala, Samuli Vauramo, Eero Aho

Synopsis: 1918, the Finnish civil war. Red socialists and White bourgeois. Prisoner of the Whites, Red guard troop leader Miina Malin, manages to escape only to be recaptured by jaeger Aaro Harjula. Against the general consensus, he does not wish for her senseless murder but for her to have a fair trail. The meeting of Aaro and Miina binds two strong human stories together and sparks an edgy love theme in the midst of the horrors of the civil war.

Based on the novel by Leena Lander.
Produced by Aleksi Bardy (HELSINKI FILMI)

Main actress Pihla Viitala : 2010 EFP Shooting Star. Main actor Samuli Vauramo : 2009 EFP Shooting Star. Samuli recently played in BUNRAKU directed by Guy Moshe starring Woody Harrelson, Demi Moore and Josh Hartnett.
Selected at the European Film Awards 2009.

Award:
Eurimages Award, Sevilla European Film Festival (Sevilla, Spain) 2009

VIL ROMANCE
35 mm – 2009 – Argentina – 110 min – Color – Drama
Directed by José Celestino CAMPUSANO
Original language: Spanish
Cast: Nehuen Zapata, Oscar Génova, Marisa Pajaro, Javier de la Vega, Olga Perez

Synopsis: Roberto is a gay boy who shares the house with his mother and sister. Roberto spends his days wandering around the house; he is aware all he can offer and demand to his young lover is a fling. Roberto starts a relationship with Raul, a man around 50 who invites him to his place. Once he is there Roberto is sexually taken in a rough way he never knew.

Produced by Enrique Muzio (CINEBRUTO)

Awards:
French Critics Discovery Award - Encounter Latin American Cinema, Toulouse - Discovery Competition, France 2009
Prix Rail d'Oc - Encounter Latin American Cinema, Toulouse - Discovery Competition, France 2009
National Competition Award - Río Negro Film Festival, Argentina 2009

COLLECTIONS

LIKE A DREAM (Comme un rêve)
HD – 2010 – France - 1 x 90 min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Marlène Ionesco
Original language: French, English and Russian

Synopsis: This documentary focuses on two “prima ballerina” of The Opéra de Paris, Dominique Khalfouni and her son Mathieu Ganio, who was nominated when he was only 20-year-old. His mother followed another path and left the Opera de Paris. She joined the Ballet de Marseille of Roland Petit.
This touching documentary goes through Marseille, Paris and St Petersbourg, a story about dance and emotions, thru life, work, memories, regrets and hopes.

Are included many extracts of ballets such as "Roméo and Juliet", "Ivan Le Terrible", "Giselle", "Le Spectre de la Rose" (with Noureev), "Don Quichotte". Some documents present the wonderful partners of Dominique Khalfouni such as Cyril Atanassof, Jean Guizerix or Manuel Legris. It also includes interviews of famous dancers like Baryshnikov, Vassiliev, Pierre Lacotte, Michael Denard or Agnès Letestu.

Produced by Marlène Ionesco (DELANGE PRODUCTIONS)

Also available: the Marlene Ionesco “Ballet Collection” including:
VIEWS ON A PRINCIPAL DANCER - With Agnès Letestu, Etoile of the Paris Opera Ballet – 55 min (SD)
OTHELLO’S DREAM - With Agnès Letestu, Etoile of the Paris Opera Ballet, and Larrio Ekson – 21 min (SD)
FLIGHT OF EAGLE SPIRIT - With Larrio Ekson – 63 min (SD)

GAY & LESBIAN TITLES COLLECTION
HD & 35 mm – Dramas and Documentaries

The collection includes :
Different from whom? (Diverso da chi ?) by Umberto Carteni, Unfaithful (Infidèles) by Claude PERES, From beginning to end (Do Começo ao fim) by Aluizio ABRANCHES, Vil Romance by José Celestino CAMPUSANO, El Cuarto de Leo (Leo’s Room) by Enrique BUCHICHIO, Soundless Wind Chime by Kit HUNG, Give Me Your Hand (Donne-Moi La Main) by Pascal-Alex Vincent, I Dreamt Under The Water (J’ai Rêvé Sous L’Eau) by HORMOZ, Transvestites Also Cry (Les Travestis Pleurent Aussi) by Sebastiano d’Ayala Valva, Shelter (Riparo) by Marco Simon PUCCIONI, Dakan by Mohamed CAMARA, The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros (Ang Pagdadalaga Ni Maximo Oliveros) by Aureaus SOLITO, Looking for Cheyenne (Oublier Cheyenne) by Valérie MINETTO.

Most of the titles have been selected at acclaimed film festivals such as: Philadelphia International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (USA), The New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Film Festival (USA), London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (UK), Amsterdam International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival "Pink Film Days" (The Netherlands), Barcelona International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (Spain), Milan International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (Italy), Vancouver Queer Film Festival (Canada)...

EROTIC TITLES & CLASSICS
HD & 35 mm - From the 60’s to 2009 – Dramas
More than 37 feature film, art house, high quality, from the 60’s to today. A full erotic classic collection including recent festival favorite’s film and classic masterpieces.

The collection includes :
AlbaKiara by Stefano SALVATI, Ah! The Libido (Ah! La Libido) by Michèle ROSIER, Robber Girls by Carla LIA MONTI, Blind Spot by Ad BOL, Cold Blood (Sang Froid), Maladolescenza (Puppy Love), Gradiva (C’est Gradiva qui vous appelle) by Alain Robbe-Grillet, Honey Baby by Mika Kaurismaki, Melancoly Baby with Jane Birkin, Vivante by Sandrine Ray, Wild Camp with Isild Lebesco, Honey Suckle by Claude Faraldo, A Song of Innocence (La Ravisseuse) by Antoine SANTANA, Snow White by Samir, Clemence (Clémence) by Franck Buchter and many more…

And the newly HD restored “Jean-Francois Davy Collection”, which includes more than 15 features from the 70’s.
As Exhibition, Exhibition 2, Q, Exhibition 79, Le Desir, Q, The Hell Of Prostitution, Get On The line Like Everyone Else, Mechanical Banana, Trick Socks,The Pornocrasts, and Melancoly Baby by Clarissse Gabus

MORE THAN 25 HOURS OF PROGRAMME
HD MATERIAL AVAILABLE FOR SEVERAL FILMS

CLASSIC FILMS
HD & Digital material restored

Synopsis: An impressive variety of movies from internationally acclaimed directors and actors. HD material available for several titles. More than 300 feature films, art house, classics, from the 20’s to today. A full classic film collection including eternal festival favorite’s masterpieces with Original stills & Promotional material.

Actors:
Jean Gabin Marlene Dietricht Arletty Louis De Funes Jean Marais Jeanne Moreau Anna Karina Bernadette Laffont Serge Reggiani Bernard Blier Martine Carol Fernandel Michel Simon And Many More…

Directors:
Alain Resnais Jean-Luc Godard Jean Renoir Henri-Georges Clouzot Abel Gance Max Ohpuls Jean Rouch Francois Reichenbach Claude Lellouch Sembene Ousemane Gerard Pires Alberto Cavalcanti Marcel Cravenne Marc Allegret And Many More…

FIRST FILM COLLECTION :
L’amour existe (Maurice Pialat) - Le Chant du Styrène (Alain Resnais) - Charlotte et son Jules (Jean-Luc Godard) - Le Coup du Berger (Jacques Rivette) - Histoire d’eau (François Truffaut & Jean-Luc Godard) - Le Laboratoire de l’angoisse (Patrice Leconte) - Les Surmenés (Jacques Doniol- Valcroze) - Tous Les Garçons s’appellent Patrick (Jean-Luc Godard) - 24 Heures de la vie d’un clown (Jean-Pierre Melville)

CLASSIC COLLECTION :
Vivre sa vie (Godard) - L’eau à la bouche (Doniol-Valcroze) - Manon (Clouzot) - Martin Roumagnac (Lacombe) - Une partie de campagne (Renoir) - Tournage à la campagne (Renoir) - Direction d’acteur (Renoir)

JEAN RENOIR COLLECTION :
Catherine - On purge bébé - La Chienne - Une Partie de Campagne - Tire-au-flanc – Tournage à la campagne

ALAIN RESNAIS COLLECTION :
Le Chant du Styrène - Toute la mémoire du monde - Gauguin Paul - Guernica - Van Gogh

JEAN ROUCH COLLECTION :
Petit à petit – Jaguar – Un cœur gros comme ça - La Pyramide humaine – Moi, un Noir – La Goumbé des jeunes noceurs – Tambours d’avant – La Chasse au lion à l’arc – Un lion nommé l’Américain – Mammy Waters – Les Maîtres fous

RENÉ FÉRET COLLECTION
HD & 35 mm
Nannerl, Mozart’s sister (Nannerl, la soeur de Mozart), Comme une étoile dans la nuit, But Once Mom Had Gone... (Il a suffit que Maman s’en aille), L’enfant du pays, Rue du retrait, Les frères Gravet, La place d’un autre (with Elsa Zylberstein) Promenades d’été, Baptême, Mystère Alexina, Fernand, La communion solennelle, Histoire de Paul.

Produced by : Fabienne Camara (Les FILMS ALYNE)

Festival:
Comme une étoile dans la nuit, Focus on World Cinema, Official Selection, Montreal 2008

MIKA KAURISMAKI COLLECTION
HD & 35 mm

The House of Branching Love, comedy, 2010
Three Wise Men (Kolme viisasta miestä), drama, 2009
Sonic Mirror, documentary, 2007
Brasileirinho, documentary, 2005
Honey Baby, drama, 2005
Moro No Brasil, documentary, 2003
Highway Society, drama, 1996
Condition Red (Jatkuva hälytystila), action/drama, 1996
Tigrero: A Film That Was Never Made (starring Samuel Fuller & Jim Jarmusch) drama, 1994
The Last Border (Viimeisellä rajalla), action- SF, 1993
Zombie and the Ghost Train (Zombie ja Kummitusjuna) dramatic comedy, 1991
Amazon, action-adventure, 1990
Paper Star (Paperitähti), drama, 1989
Cha Cha Cha, comedy, 1989
Helsinki Naples All Night Long, comedy/thriller, 1987
Rosso, drama, 1985
The Clan Tale of the Frogs (Klaani), drama- action, 1984
The Worthless (Arvottomat), drama-comedy, 1982
Jackpot 2, drama-action, 1982
The Liar (Valehtelija), drama-action, 1981

HD MASTERS AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST FILM

WINDOW ON THE WORLD

LA VIDA LOCA: HD & 35 mm - 2009 – France/Spain/Mexico – 90 min – Color – Documentary
CARA A LA MUERTE (MARKED FOR DEATH): HD - 2010 – France/Spain/Mexico – 52 min –

Directed by Christian POVEDA
Original language: Spanish

Synopsis: In Central America, they are called Maras, these groups of youngsters who have modeled themselves on the Los Angeles youth gangs. They are extremely violent and are propagating terror in El Salvador and elsewhere. This is a study, through photography and the personal stories of these gang members, of a violent phenomenon that has been imported from the USA.

Produced by Carole Solive (La Femme Endormie), Luis Bellaba (Aquelarre), Emilio Maillé and Gustavo Angel (El Caiman)

NOISE AND FURY (14-18, Le Bruit et la Fureur)
2009 – France/ Belgium – 100 & 2 x 52 min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Jean-François DELASSUS
Original language: French - Voice over by Alexandre Astier

Synopsis: Not everything has been told about World War One. This documentary tries to explain the inexplicable: how tens of millions of men could have suffered the unbelievable toughness of life in trenches during 4 years, season after season, day after day, night after night? How could they have accepted the idea of a sure death or injury while they could not even tell the exact reason why they were fighting?
What you are about to see can seem crazy: WW1 was maintained by a general consent.

It is a documentary based on rare archives for the first time colorized, restored and sonorized as never before.

Produced by PROGRAM 33, ECPAD, IOTA PRODUCTIONS, RTBF
Broadcasted on prime time on France 2 with a 6 million top rated audience, 3rd best audience in Prime Time for a documentary.
Also available in English version

IN PRODUCTION
APPROVED FOR ADOPTION
HD & 35mm – 2011 – France/ Belgium – 80 min – Color – in Production - Animation film
Directed by JUNG and Laurent BOILEAU
Original language: French

Synopsis: European on the heads side, Asian on the tails side. Cartoonist. 42 years old according to his civil status, Jung prefers to place his birth at the age of 5, when a policeman found him wandering alone on the streets of Seoul. He is one of those 200 000 adopted Koreans spread around the world. Jung decided to return, for the first time, in South Korea, in order to breath the air of his home country, tread the land of his ancestors, and maybe find traces of his biological mother. This trip of reconciliation with his roots and with himself – shot as a documentary — leads our character to recall – in animation – the child he once was and the winding path that made him grow up, until the encounter with his wife, an adopted Korean herself. This travel in time – the present of the trip and the memory of the past – will push him little by little towards a peaceful cohabitation between his inner diversities.

Produced by Mosaïque Films (FR) and Artemis Production (BE)
Ready in March 2010

BERLIN EFM 2010

2010-02-12T04:11:00.000-08:00

Save the dates!

WIDE is proud to announce screenings of 11 titles of its catalogue at EFM:

GIGOLA Pre-Sales - HD & 35 mm - 2010 – France – 100 min - Color – Drama – in Post-Production
Directed by Laure CHARPENTIER
Cast: Lou Doillon (Gigola), Eduardo Noriega (Tony), Rossy de Palma, Thierry Lhermitte, Marisa Paredes, Marisa Berenson, Arly Jover & Ana Padrao

Synopsis: “GIGOLA” is the story of George, a charismatic and adventurous young woman, born from an old, catholic family, who, in her teens, falls in love with a female teacher named Sybil. Devastated by her lover’s eventual suicide, some years later, George embarks on an exciting and reckless journey to the depths of Pigalle’s nightlife, circa 1960. After an encounter with a very wealthy, still attractive, but older woman, Odette, who offers her money and gifts in return for sexual favours, George becomes Gigola, a kind of gigolo for women only.

SCREENINGS in Berlin of the 60 mn rough cut version, non mixed, non color corrected, no definitive music and no special effects:
February the 13th at 2.50 pm CinemaxX 19
February the 16th at 4.15 pm CinemaxX 19

ALL THAT I LOVE (Wszystko co kocham)
HD & 35 mm - 2010 – Poland – 95 min – Color – Drama
Directed by Jacek BORCUCH
Cast: Mateusz Kosciukiewicz, Olga Frycz, Jakub Gierszal, Andrzej Chyra

Synopsis: It is a beautiful Spring of 1981 in Poland. In a seaside town, Janek, an 18 year old son of a navy captain, forms a punk-rock band to express the things that matter to him most. His life is all about music and his first great love – Basia, but things are about to change. Massive strikes organized by “Solidarność” sweep through Poland and the Communist party is secretly preparing to impose a martial law. Tension in the country grows. Teenage rebellion becomes dangerous during political turmoil. A clash with a martial law commissar and a death of a loved one will change Janek’s world forever...

Selected at the SUNDANCE Film Festival - World Cinema Dramatic Competition, Utah (USA), 2010
Selected at the Rotterdam Film Festival - Spectrum Section (Netherlands), 2010
More than 43 500 admissions during the first WE in its domestic market!

SCREENINGS in Berlin :
February the 11 th at 3.00 pm CinemaxX 13
February the 13 th at 6.00 pm CinemaxX 11

FROM BEGINNING TO END (Do Começo ao fim)
HD & 35 mm – 2010 – Brazil – 94 min – Color – Drama
Directed by Aluizio ABRANCHES

Synopsis: An unconditional love story between Francisco and Thomas, half brothers. Set in Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires, the film covers their childhood in a loving family environment and their coming of age, when they realize the true affection that bonds them.

SCREENINGS in Berlin :
February the 14th at 9.30 am CinemaxX 16
February the 15th at 2.30 pm CinemaxX 13

MINE, MY LIFE BEHIND THE SCENES (Mine, de fil en aiguille)
2010– France – 83 min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Valérie MINETTO

Synopsis: A portrait of Mine Barral Vergez who has been making for 40 years costumes for the most famous Parisian cabarets and show stages like Moulin-Rouge, Lido, Comédie-française and Olympia. She has dressed up the most celebrated artistes of our time starting with Juliette Greco and Barbara.
A star in the shadow at this particular time of transition since she is passing the business baton on to her successor...

With the participation of Juliette Gréco, Barbara, Nana Mouskouri, Nicole Croisille

SCREENINGS in Berlin :
February the 13th at 11.30 am CinemaxX 19
February the 15th at 01.00 pm CinemaxX 19

TWO IN THE WAVE (Deux de la Vague)
HD – 2010– France – 90 min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Emmanuel LAURENT

Synopsis: Two in the Wave is the story of a friendship. Jean-Luc Godard is born in 1930, François Truffaut two years later, and they meet through their love of cinema. They write in the same magazines, Les Cahiers du Cinéma and Arts. When the younger becomes a filmmaker, with The Four Hundred Blows, which triumphs in Cannes in 1959, he helps his elder to switch to film directing, giving him his own script, already called Breathless.

Selected at the Rotterdam Film Festival 2010 - Signals Regained section, Netherlands
SCREENINGS in Berlin :
February the 14th at 3.00 pm CinemaxX 19
February the 16th at 5.20 pm CinemaxX 19

OPEN SKY (À ciel ouvert)
HD – 2010 – France – 94 & 52 min - Color - Documentary
Directed by Iñès COMPAN

Synopsis: Puna, Argentina. Kollas natives suddenly find themselves in the center of national and international stakes because of their underground natural resources. Indeed, Standard Silver, a Canadian company, launches an ambitious project of an open-sky silver mine on the abandoned site of Mina Pirquitas, 4,500 m high. This mine is to become one of the most productive one in Latin America, Standard Silver getting the monopole over the underground natural resources disturbing also the fragile balance of the Kollas natives living on poverty. Kollas thus become victims of the globalization with this new mining boom associated to the decreasing metal exchange rate, the latter being essential to the technological development of our modern societies.

Premiere at the 32nd International documentary Film “Cinéma du Réel” in Paris, French Panorama section 2010.

SCREENINGS in Berlin :
February the 12th at 01.00 pm CinemaxX 18
February the 15th at 11.30 pm CinemaxX 18

GARIMPEIRO, THE GOLD FOREST
35 mm – 2010 – France – 93 min – Color – Drama
Directed by Marc BARRAT

Synopsis: Rod decides to return to Guiana, his native country, accompanied by Gonz, his childhood friend. In Cayenne, they begin an investigation into Rod’s past. A quest that will lead them right into the heart of the virgin forest, into the camps of the illegal gold prospectors…

Starring Jimmy JEAN-LOUIS from the TV series HEROES.

SCREENINGS in Berlin :
February the 11th at 11.00 am CinemaxX 13
February the 14h at 02.15 pm CinemaxX 11

THE HOUSE OF BRANCHING LOVE (Haarautuvan rakkauden talo)
HD & 35 mm – 2009 – Finland –102 min – Color – Drama
Directed by Mika KAURISMAKI

Synopsis: Family therapist Juhani Helin, 35, and business trainer Paula Helin, 34, decide to divorce in a civilized manner and move to separate addresses after selling their common house. But when Paula invites her one night stand, Marco, to the house and Juhani takes revenge on her by hiring a prostitute, Nina, from his half-brother and a pimp, Wolffi, to play his new girlfriend in order to force Paula to leave the house, the box of Pandora of their marriage flies open and releases the plagues of love and hate.

World Premiere: Toronto International Film Festival 2009, Contemporary World Cinema Section
N°1 in Finland the last week-end of September, better than PUBLIC ENEMIES by Michael Mann.
Already more than 145 000 admissions!

SCREENINGS in Berlin :
February the 12th at 3.00 pm CinemaxX 13
February the 15th at 9.00 pm CinemaxX 13

MEN ON THE BRIDGE (Köprüdekiler)
35 mm & HD – 2009 – Germany/Turkey/Netherlands – 87 min – Color – Drama
Directed by Aslı ÖZGE

Synopsis: A bit of a Don Juan with his styled hair and single earring, FİKRET (17) illegally sells roses in the traffic jam on the Bosphorus bridge that links Asia and Europe. At the same time, he is striving for a regular job in the old downtown of Istanbul. UMUT (28) drives a shared taxi passing the Bosphorus bridge every day. He is searching for a better apartment to rent in order to satisfy his wife, whose desires are beyond his earnings. The traffic policeman Murat (24), who is stationed at the Bosphorus bridge, feels alone amidst the solid lines of cars. Each night at home, he logs on to the internet seeking for dating chances. Unaware of each other, Fikret, Umut and Murat intersect in the rush hour every day with millions of other Istanbulites, coping with the straits of fulfilling their aspirations in the big city. The story is based on the lives of the characters depicting themselves in the original locations.

North American Premiere at Toronto International Film Festival 2009, Contemporary World Cinema Section
Selected in the “Young Turkish cinema” section at the Festival Premiers Plans in Angers, France 2010
Golden Tulip Award for Best Film - Istanbul Film Festival, Turkey 2009
Golden Boll Award for Best Film - Adana Film Festival, Turkey 2009
Asia Pacific Screen Awards 2009 - Official Entrie from Turkish Submitting Organisation
Festivals:
Golden Wings Distribution Award, 15th London Turkish Film Festival, London (UK) 2009
39th Rotterdam International Film Festival – “Made in Rotterdam” section, The Netherlands - 2010

SCREENING in Berlin :
February the 12th at 9.00 am CinemaxX 13

THE BELGRADE PHANTOM (Beogradski Fantom)
35 mm - 2009 – Serbia/ Hungary/ Bulgaria – 52 & 82min – Color – Docu-Fiction
Directed by Jovan B. TODOROVIC

Synopsis: Yugoslavia, 1979. While president and dictator Tito is in Cuba on international affairs, a mysterious Phantom captures the attention of Belgrade. Using a stolen white Porsche car he performs daring stunts through the city streets. As rumours of his cat-and-mouse games with the police spread, people start gathering to watch him at night. Over the radio the Phantom publicly challenges the police to try and catch him. Such open opposition is unheard of and more than 10 000 people are in the streets supporting their hero. It is dangerous to eliminate him in front of the public and the police are forced into a chase where he sets the rules. It comes down to the driving, and the stakes are very high.

Blockbuster in its national country with more than 42 000 admissions already: The “Serbian Mesrine”.
In OFFICIAL SELECTION IN THE PANORAMA SECTION at IDFA.

SCREENINGS in Berlin :
February the 14 th at 5.15 pm CinemaxX 13
February the 17th at 11.00 pm CinemaxX 13

DOMAINE
35 mm – 2009 – France /Austria –110 min – Color – Drama
Directed by Patric CHIHA

Synopsis: Pierre, a teen of 17, spends all his time with Nadia, a flamboyant mathematician in her forties.
Their rapport is friendly, ambiguous, bordering on amorous. The anarchy that reigns in Nadia's life fascinates this young man on the threshold of adulthood. But Nadia is a wounded soul, dependent on alcohol. Little by little, she slips away. Pierre thinks he can help her, bring her back from the brink...

World Premiere at 66th Venice Film Festival 2009, Italy, International Critics' Week
In competition at the Festival “EntreVues” Belfort International Film Festival, France 2009
In competition at the Festival Premiers Plan d’Angers, First French feature film competition, France 2010

SCREENING in Berlin :
February the 15th at 7.00 pm CinemaxX 11

HIGHLIGHTS

LEO’S ROOM (El Cuarto de Leo)
HD – 2009 – Uruguay – 95 min – Color – Drama
Directed by Enrique BUCHICHIO

Synopsis: Leo is a young man struggling with sexual definition and self-accepatance when he runs into Caro, an ex classmate from Primary School whom he was in love with when they were kids. She´s also going through a deep personal crisis of her own. This reunion will have repercussions in both conflicts, without anyone of them really aware of what´s going on in each other´s life.

World Premiere: Donostia - San Sebastian International Film Festival 2009 - Zabaltegi Competition

EAMON
35 mm – 2009 – Ireland – 85 min – Color – Comedy
Directed by Margaret CORKERY

Synopsis: ‘Eamon’ is a dark romantic comedy: A family holiday brings to a head the destructive love triangle between Eamon, a little boy with behavioural problems, his selfish mother Grace and his sexually frustrated father Daniel.

Awards:
Independent Camera Award, Karlovy Vary Film Festival 2009, Czech Republic
“Prix d’honneur” of the best Irish Film at the MK2 close-up film Festival

Festivals:
Independent Camera Award at Karlovy Vary Film Festival 2009

Toronto International Film Festival 2009 , Discovery Section
Selected at the 50th Thessaloniki International Film Festival 2009, Independence Days Section 2009

TEARS OF APRIL (Käsky)
35 mm & HD – 2009 – Finland/ Germany – 115 min – Color – Drama
Directed by Aku LOUHIMIES
Cast: Pihla Viitala, Samuli Vauramo, Eero Aho

Synopsis: 1918, the Finnish civil war. Red socialists and White bourgeois. Prisoner of the Whites, Red guard troop leader Miina Malin, manages to escape only to be recaptured by jaeger Aaro Harjula. Against the general consensus, he does not wish for her senseless murder but for her to have a fair trail. The meeting of Aaro and Miina binds two strong human stories together and sparks an edgy love theme in the midst of the horrors of the civil war.

Main actress Pihla Viitala: 2010 EFP Shooting Star.
Main actor Samuli Vauramo: 2009 EFP Shooting Star.
Samuli recently played in BUNRAKU directed by Guy Moshe starring Woody Harrelson, Demi Moore and Josh Hartnett.
Selected for European Film Awards 2009.

Award:
Eurimages Award, Sevilla European Film Festival (Sevilla, Spain) 2009

WRONG SIDE OF THE BUS
2010 – South Africa – 52 & 56 min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Rod FREEDMAN

Synopsis: Professor Sidney Bloch left South Africa for Israel, newly graduated in medicine. Returning 40 years later from Melbourne to attend a university reunion, he travels with his son, Aaron, to explore what it was like growing up in a racist regime. Sid also hopes to resolve his own unfinished business.

Festival:
Minneapolis Jewish Film Festival, USA, 2010

NOISE AND FURY (14-18, Le Bruit et la Fureur)
2009 – France/ Belgium – 100 & 2 x 52’ min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Jean-François DELASSUS

Synopsis: Not everything has been told about World War One. This documentary tries to explain the inexplicable: how tens of millions of men could have suffered the unbelievable toughness of life in trenches during 4 years, season after season, day after day, night after night? How could they have accepted the idea of a sure death or injury while they could not even tell the exact reason why they were fighting?
What you are about to see can seem crazy: WW1 was maintained by a general consent.
14-18, the Great War is a documentary based on rare archives for the first time colorized, restored and sonorized as never before.

Broadcasted on prime time on France 2 with a 6 million top rated audience, 3rd best audience in Prime Time for a documentary.

Festivals :
North-American Premiere in the 36th Telluride Film Festival, USA 2009
São Paulo International Film Festival

VIL ROMANCE
35 mm & DIGITAL – 2009 – Argentina – 110 min – Color – Drama
Directed by José Celestino CAMPUSANO

Synopsis: Roberto is a gay boy who shares the house with his mother and sister. Roberto spends his days wandering around the house; he is aware all he can offer and demand to his young lover is a fling. Roberto starts a relationship with Raul, a man around 50 who invites him to his place. Once he is there Roberto is sexually taken in a rough way he never knew.

Discovery Award from the French Critic in Latin America cinema meetings, Toulouse (France) 2009

Festival:
Mar del Plata International Film Festival , Argentina, Official Competition

WALLACE LINE (Die Liebe der Kinder)
35 mm - 2009 –Germany – 90 min – Color – Drama
Directed by Franz MULLER

Synopsis: Two single parents meet in an Internet chat room and soon decide to move in together. They don’t have a whole lot in common, but the very fact that they are so different gives the relationship its liberated, “adult“ quality.

LANDSCAPE NO. 2 (Pokrajina Št.2)
35 mm – Slovenia/ Serbia – 90 min – Color – Drama- Thriller
Directed by Vinko MÖDERNDORFER

Synopsis: The burglars Sergej and Polde steal a valuable painting Landscape No.2. By coincidence Sergej also takes a mysterious document dating back to the end of the World War II. Instructor is ordered to recover the stolen painting and the document, which triggers a diabolic mechanism of the past.

Awards:
Festival of Slovenian Film, Slovenia: Best Film Award - Best Director Award - Best Supporting Actress Award (Maja Martina Merljak) - Best Cinematography Award - Best Production Design Award - Best Music Certificate of Outstanding Achievement for Best Screenplay - Brooklyn International Film Festival, USA

Festivals:
Venice Days / Giornate Degli Autori, Italy
Palm Springs International Film Festival, USA, 2010
OSCAR ACADEMY AWARDS 2010 - SLOVENIAN CANDIDATE FOR BEST FOREIGN FILM AWARD

COLLECTIONS

CLASSIC FILMS
HD & Digital material remastered

Synopsis: An impressive variety of movies from internationally acclaimed directors and actors. HD material available for several titles. More than 300 feature films, art house, classics, from the 20’s to today. A full classic film collection including eternal festival favorite’s masterpieces with Original stills & Promotional material.

ACTORS :
JEAN GABIN MARLENE DIETRICHT ARLETTY LOUIS DE FUNES JEAN MARAIS JEANNE MOREAU ANNA KARINA BERNADETTE LAFFONT SERGE REGGIANI BERNARD BLIER MARTINE CAROL FERNANDEL MICHEL SIMON and many more…

DIRECTORS :
ALAIN RESNAIS JEAN-LUC GODARD JEAN RENOIR HENRI-GEORGES CLOUZOT ABEL GANCE MAX OHPULS JEAN ROUCH FRANCOIS REICHENBACH CLAUDE LELLOUCH SEMBENE OUSEMANE GERARD PIRES ALBERTO CAVALCANTI MARCEL CRAVENNE MARC ALLEGRET and many more…

FIRST FILM COLLECTION :
L’amour existe by Maurice PIALAT
Le chant de Styrène by Alain RESNAIS
Charlotte et son Jules by Jean-Luc GODARD
Le coup du Berger by Jacques RIVETTE
Histoire d’eau by François TRUFFAUT & Jean-Luc GODARD
Le Laboratoire de l’angoisse by Patrice LECONTE
Les surmenés by Jacques DONIOL- VALCROZE
Tous les garçons s’appellent Patrick by Jean-Luc GODARD
24 heures de la vie d’un clown by Jean-Pierre MELVILLE

JEAN RENOIR COLLECTION :
Catherine - On purge bébé - La Chienne - Une Partie de Campagne - Tire-au-flanc – Tournage à la campagne

ALAIN RESNAIS COLLECTION :
Le Chant du Styrène - Toute la mémoire du monde - Gauguin Paul - Guernica - Van Gogh

JEAN ROUCH COLLECTION :
Petit à petit – Jaguar – Un cœur gros comme ça - La Pyramide humaine – Moi, un Noir

LOLA MONTES by MAX OPHULS
The First Original Version - HD Remastered
Official Selection Cannes Classics 2008

ALAIN RESNAIS COLLECTION
By the director of “Les Herbes folles” / “Wild Grass”, released in France in november 2009, the collection includes 5 documentary short films from 1948 to 1957 :

Le Chant du Styrène
1957 – France – 14 min – Color- Documentary

Toute la mémoire du monde - Music by Maurice JARRE
1956 – France – 21 min – Black & White - Documentary

Gauguin Paul - Music by Darius MILHAUD
1949 – France – 12min – Black & White -- Documentary

Guernica Voice Over by Maria CASARES, Jacques PRUVOST
1949 – France – 13 min – Black & White - Documentary

Van Gogh
1948 – France – 18 min – Black & White - Documentary

MIKA KAURISMAKI COLLECTION
HD & 35 mm

The House of Branching Love
Three Wise Men (Kolme viisasta miestä)
Sonic Mirror
Brasileirinho
Honey Baby
Moro No Brasil
Highway Society
Condition Red (Jatkuva hälytystila)
Tigrero: A Film That Was Never Made (Tigrero - Elokuva, joka ei valmistunut)
The Last Border (Viimeisellä rajalla)
Zombie and the Ghost Train (Zombie ja Kummitusjuna)
Amazon
Paper Star (Paperitähti)
Cha Cha Cha
Helsinki Naples All Night Long
Rosso
The Clan Tale of the Frogs (Klaani)
The Worthless (Arvottomat)
Jackpot 2
The Liar (Valehtelija)…

GAY & LESBIAN TITLES COLLECTION
HD / 35 mm – Fictions and Documentaries

The collection includes :
From Beginning to End (Do Começo ao Fim) by Aluizio ABRANCHES, Vil Romance by José Celestino CAMPUSANO, El Cuarto de Leo (Leo’s Room) by Enrique BUCHICHIO, Soundless Wind Chime by Kit HUNG, Give Me Your Hand (Donne-Moi La Main) by Pascal-Alex Vincent,
I Dreamt Under The Water (J’ai Rêvé Sous L’Eau) by HORMOZ, Transvestites Also Cry (Les Travestis Pleurent Aussi) by Sebastiano d’Ayala Valva, Shelter (Riparo) by Marco Simon PUCCIONI, Dakan by Mohamed CAMARA, The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros (Ang Pagdadalaga Ni Maximo Oliveros ) by Aureaus SOLITO, Looking for Cheyenne (Oublier Cheyenne) by Valérie MINETTO.

Most of the titles have been selected at acclaimed film festivals such as: Philadelphia International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (USA), The New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Film Festival (USA), London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (UK), Amsterdam International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival "Pink Film Days" (The Netherlands), Barcelona International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival (Spain), Milan International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (Italy), Vancouver Queer Film Festival (Canada)...

EROTIC TITLES & CLASSICS
From the 60’s to 2010 – Fictions
More than 37 feature film, art house, high quality, from the 60’s to today. A full erotic classic collection including recent festival favorite’s film and classic masterpieces.

The collection includes :
AlbaKiara by Stefano SALVATI, Ah! The Libido (Ah! La Libido) by Michèle ROSIER, Robber Girls by Carla LIA MONTI, Blind Spot by Ad BOL, Cold Blood (Sang Froid), Maladolescenza (Puppy Love), Gradiva (C’est Gradiva qui vous appelle) by Alain Robbe-Grillet, Honey Baby by Mika Kaurismaki, Melancoly Baby with Jane Birkin, Vivante by Sandrine Ray, Wild Camp with Isild Lebesco, Honey Suckle by Claude Faraldo, A Song of Innocence (La Ravisseuse) by Antoine SANTANA, Snow White by Samir, Clemence (Clémence) by Franck Buchter and many more…

And the newly HD restored “Jean-Francois Davy Collection”, which includes more than 15 features from the 70’s.
As Exhibition, Exhibition 2, Q, Exhibition 79, Desire, Q, The Hell Of Prostitution, Get On The line Like Everyone Else, Mechanical Banana, Trick Socks, The Pornocrats, and Melancoly Baby by Clarissse Gabus

IN PRODUCTION
APPROVED FOR ADOPTION
HD & 35mm –2011 – France/ Belgium – 80 min – Color – Animation film - in Production
Directed by JUNG and Laurent BOILEAU

Synopsis: European on the heads side, Asian on the tails side. Cartoonist. 42 years old according to his civil status, Jung prefers to place his birth at the age of 5, when a policeman found him wandering alone on the streets of Seoul. He is one of those 200 000 adopted Koreans spread around the world. Jung decided to return, for the first time, in South Korea, in order to breath the air of his home country, tread the land of his ancestors, and maybe find traces of his biological mother. This trip of reconciliation with his roots and with himself – shot as a documentary — leads our character to recall – in animation – the child he once was and the winding path that made him grow up, until the encounter with his wife, an adopted Korean herself. This travel in time – the present of the trip and the memory of the past – will push him little by little towards a peaceful cohabitation between his inner diversities.

Theatrical Distributor in Benelux: Cinéart
Official Trailer: http://approved-for-adoption.blogspot.com
Shooting August 2010, Teaser available
Official selection: 2010 Cartoon Movie - Co-production Forum
NEW STORY BOARD AVAILABLE IN BERLIN

IN POST-PRODUCTION
SEVERN’S CHILDREN (Les Enfants de Severn)
35 mm - JPEG 2000/HD – 2010 – France – 100 min – Color – Documentary – In editing
Directed by Jean-Paul JAUD

Synopsis: Severn’s Children is the continuation of the 2008 documentary That should not be.by Jean-Paul Jaud.
In 2009, the experiment of Barjac (south of France) told in the documentary “That should not be”, about the collective catering changed into organic food restaurant, was definitely engaged but even in this place, like everywhere on planet, the officials and the inhabitants are now facing new realities, new difficulties and finding solutions together: organic cultivable grounds withdrawn by land, chemical and seed-bearer speculation, polluting maintenance products and cosmetics, pollution with close nuclear power, proliferation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs)… Through analyzes by world famous European scientists, we will establish this report but will especially insist on the solutions and the dynamic found by citizens already on their march in France, Canada and Japan, “to change the world”. A scientific analysis and citizens proposals could solve a world problem.

Severn’s Children is the sequel to That Should Not Be. In 1992, Severn Cullis Suzuki, aged 12, was already denouncing the destruction of the environment at the Rio Earth Summit. 16 years later, she is expecting her first child and her speech has a stronger echo than ever in our minds. On the three most industrialized and polluting territories in the world, North America, Europe and Asia, inhabitants and citizens try to find local solutions to a global challenge...

Severn’s Children is the sequel to That Should Not Be which already cumulated more than 276 920 admissions & more than 2 millions euros gross receipt in France (oct 2009).

2009 TORONTO LINE-UP

2009-09-11T02:00:00.000-07:00

Save the dates !

WIDE is proud to announce screenings of 3 titles of our catalogue at Toronto International Film Festival (10-19 September 2009).

THE HOUSE OF BRANCHING LOVE - 102min (Finland) 2009
Contemporary World Cinema Programme -- WORLD PREMIERE

Friday September 11, 08:00 PM, SCOTIABANK THEATRE 4 (Public)
Saturday September 12, 04:15 PM, VARSITY 1 (Press & Industry)
Sunday September 13, 03:00 PM, AMC 3 (Public)
Thursday September 17, 03:15 PM, VARSITY 6 (Press & Industry)
Saturday September 19, 09:30 AM, VARSITY 6 (Public)

Directed by: Mika Kaurismäki
Synopsis: Family therapist Juhani Helin, 35, and business trainer Paula Helin, 34, decide to divorce in a civilized manner and move to separate addresses after selling their common house. But when Paula invites her one night stand, Marco, to the house and Juhani takes revenge on her by hiring a prostitute, Nina, from his half-brother and a pimp, Wolffi, to play his new girlfriend in order to force Paula to leave the house, the box of pandora of their marriage flies open and releases the plagues of love and hate.
Cast: Hannu-Pekka Bjіrkman, Elina Knihtilä, Antti Reini

More information about the film & trailer available on WIDE Management's website.

EAMON - 85min (Ireland) 2009
Discovery Programme

Sunday September 13rd, 03:45 PM, SCOTIABANK THEATRE 4 (Public)
Monday September 14th, 02:00 PM, VARSITY 3 (Press & Industry)
Tuesday September 15th, 09:15 PM, AMC 4 (Public)
Friday September 18th, 09:00 AM, CUMBERLAND 1 (Public)

Directed by: Margaret Corkery
Synopsis: A family holiday brings to a head the destructive love triangle between Eamon, a little boy with behavioral problems, his selfish mother Grace and his sexually frustrated father Daniel.
Cast: Robert Donnelly, Amy Kirwan, Darren Healy
International Premiere: Karlovy Vary International Film Festival - Forum of Independents Official Competition 2009
Awards: Independent Camera Award - Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2009

More information about the film & trailer available on WIDE Management's website

MEN ON THE BRIDGE - 87min (Germany/Turkey/Netherlands) 2009
Contemporary World Cinema Programme

Monday September 14th, 12:15 PM, VARSITY 1 (Press & Industry)
Tuesday September 15th, 08:15 PM, VARSITY 1 (Public)
Wednesday September 16th, 07:30 PM, VARSITY 4 (Public)
Friday September 18th, 10:45 AM, SCOTIABANK THEATRE 4 (Public)

Directed by: Asli Özge
Synopsis: The stories of three men working at the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul are told by the original characters, in this mosaic depicting real persons exposing their lives and aspirations.
Cast: Fikret Portakal, Murat Tokgöz, Umut Ilker, Cemile Ilker
International Premiere: Locarno Film Festival - Filmmakers of the Present Competition, Switzerland 2009
Awards: Golden Tulip Award for Best Film - Istanbul Film Festival, Turkey 2009
Golden Boll Award for Best Film - Adana Film Festival, Turkey 2009

More information about the film & trailer available on WIDE Management's website.

2009 CANNES LINE-UP

2009-04-29T02:36:00.000-07:00

CANNES 2009
62nd International Film Festival & Market
May 13th – 24th 2009

MARKET SCREENINGS

WALLACE LINE (Die Liebe der Kinder)
35 mm – 2009 – Germany – 90 min – Color – Drama
Directed by Franz MULLER
Original language: German
Cast: Marie-Lou Sellem, Alex Brendemühl, Katharina Derr, Tim Hoffmann

Synopsis: Two single parents meet in an Internet chat room and soon decide to move in together. They don’t have a whole lot in common, but the very fact that they are so different gives the relationship its liberated, “adult“ quality.

Produced by Harry Floter (2 PILOTS)

Screening:
Tuesday 19th at 10:00 am in PALAIS G

ALABAKIARA
35 mm – Italy – 93 min – Color – Erotic
Directed by Stefano SALVATI
Original language: Italian
Cast: Raz Degan, Davide Rossi, Laura Gigante, Kelly Potts, Alessandro Haber

Synopsis: Chiara is seventeen, she has a baby face, appears to be the girl next door and her mother believes she is a good daughter…. but she isn’t! “Drug –friendly” and keen practitioner of so-called “gangster nights”, Chiara doesn’t love school but really loves disco and free love (better say free sex!). All that is her everyday routine, while the real transgression in her life is… true love! Despite her attitude, she deeply loves her DJ boyfriend, Nico, who owns an erotic website. When Chiara discovers by accident 200 kilos of cocaine hidden in her basement, she thinks it’s the chance to make big money. But it might also be a way to get killed…

Songs by Vasco Rossi, the biggest Italian rockstar.
Produced by MIKADO FILM, RAI CINEMA, PIXELDNA

Screenings:
Tuesday 19th at 1:30 pm in PALAIS D
Wednesday 20th at 5:30 pm in PALAIS F

DIRTY MONEY, THE INTRUDER (Dirty Money, l’infiltré)
HD – 2009 – Switzerland/ Canada/ France – 107 min & 2 x 52 min – Color – Thriller/ Action
Directed by Dominique OTHENIN-GIRAD
Original language: French
Cast : Antoine Basler, Carlos Leal, Andréa Ferréol, Jean-François Stévenin, Uygar Tamer

Synopsis: Dirty Money is a dark thriller about a Swiss police officer who is infiltrating an international operation of money laundering. More than tens of millions of euros between France and Switzerland are at stake.

Produced by André MARTIN (BOHEMIAN FILMS)

Screening:
Tuesday 19th at 11:30 am in PALAIS D

AH! THE LIBIDO (Ah! La Libido)
HD / 35mm – 2009 – France – 80 min – Color – Drama
Directed by Michèle ROSIER
Original language: French
Cast: Claude Degliame, Audrey Dana, Sarah Grappin, Anna Mihalcea

Synopsis: This is a week of surprising adventures for Paula, Betty, Charlotte, Sandy, women of different ages, who work at the French daily Liberation and relish lunching together at the cafeteria. Betty, the gutsiest one, talks the others into making a date with a toy-boy (or one-shot boy). And on Sunday, the quartet will meet to compare notes. The Libido is not so much about sex, but a portrait of four high-spirited and distinctly different Parisian working women.

Produced by GO-FILMS

Screening:
Saturday 16th at 11:30 am in PALAIS H

BURROWING (Man tänker sitt)
HD / 35 mm – 2009 – Sweden – 76 min – Color – Drama
Directed by Henrik Hellström, Fredrik Wenzel
Original language: Swedish
Cast: Sebastian Eklund, Jörgen Svensson, Hannes Sandahl

Synopsis: Sebastian lives at home with his mother. He is eleven years old. From an elevated spot in the playground, he surveys his neighbourhood. He can see Jimmy who lives with his parents, even though he’s got a child of his own. He can see Anders, who’s just been given planning permission for a new carport. In a hollow where the surface water blends into the brook, Mischa is looking for fish. He came as a guest worker in the seventies but still hasn’t left. Sebastian sees the asphalt rotting. He sees hollyhocks eating their way into the foundations causing fractures in the concrete slabs laid directly on the ground. Weakening confined root space, lack of water and low nutritional values. A break-up can only come through force.

Produced by Produced by Erika Wasserman (Fasad AB).

Screenings:
Sunday 17th at 2:00 pm in PALAIS C
Tuesday 19th at 4:00 pm in PALAIS G

SOUNDLESS WIND CHIME DIGITAL / 35 mm – 2009 – Switzerland/ China – 100 min – Color – Drama
Directed by Kit HUNG
Original languages: Swiss German, English, Mandarin and Cantonese
Cast : Lu Yulai, Bernhard Bulling, Gilles Tschudi

Synopsis: Soundless Wind Chime is the poetic journey of Ricky, searching for the lost soul and the past of his deceased Swiss lover – Pascal. The film shows a battle of love, lust, reality, memory and illusions and the grief everybody bears every day.

Produced by Keep In Touch Company, Das Kollektiv für audiovisuelle Werke GmbH

Screenings:
Sunday 17th at 4:00 pm in PALAIS C
Wednesday 20th at 4:00 pm in PALAIS G

I DREAMT UNDER THE WATER (J’ai rêvé sous l’eau) HD / 35 mm – 2009 – France – 73min – Color – Drama
Directed by HORMOZ
Original language: French
Cast: Hubert Benhamdine, Caroline Ducey, Christine Boisson, HPG

Synopsis: 20-years-old Antonin is secretly in love with Alex his best friend. After Alex's brutal death, Antonin succumbs to an overwhelming sexuality that leads him into prostitution. One day, he meets Juliette. It is love at first sight, but a drug issue starts to interfere between them. After some happy weeks, the young woman decides to run away. Close to despair, Antonin finally finds comfort in the arms of Baptiste, one of his former clients, while Juliette remains in his heart.

Produced by Sebastien Burnet (Triskel Film), Loïc Magneron (WIDE Management), TLA entertainment

Screening:
Monday 18th at 4:00 pm in PALAIS E

GIVE ME YOUR HAND (Donne-moi la main)
35 mm – 2009 – France/Germany – 76min – Color
Directed by Pascal-Alex Vincent
Original language: French

Synopsis: Twin brothers Antoine and Quentin, eighteen years old, leave their house in the North of France and hit the road to go to Spain for the funeral of their mother, whom they barely knew. When the most reserved one reveals his homosexuality, their relationship changes.

Produced by Local Films, Adam Production, Busse & Halberschmidt Filmproduktion

Screening:
Monday 18th at 12:00 am in PALAIS C

TEARS OF APRIL (Käsky)
35 mm – 2009 – Finland/ Germany/ Greece – 115 min – Color – Drama
Directed by Aku LOUHIMIES
Original language: Finnish
Cast: Pihla Viitala, Samuli Vauramo, Eero Aho

Synopsis: 1918, the Finnish civil war. Red socialists and White bourgeois. Prisoner of the Whites, Red guard troop leader Miina Malin, manages to escape only to be recaptured by jaeger Aaro Harjula. Against the general consensus, he does not wish for her senseless murder but for her to have a fair trail. The meeting of Aaro and Miina binds two strong human stories together and sparks an edgy love theme in the midst of the horrors of the civil war.

Produced by Aleksi Bardy (HELSINKI FILMI)

Screening:
Saturday 16th at 1:30 pm in PALAIS H

GARIMPEIRO, THE GOLD FOREST 35 mm – 2009 – France – 93 min – Color – Drama
Directed by Marc BARRAT
Original language: French
Cast : Tony Mpoudja, Julien Courbey, Sara Martins

Synopsis: Rod decides to return to Guiana, his native country, accompanied by Gonz, his childhood friend. In Cayenne, they begin an investigation into Rod’s past. A quest that will lead them right into the heart of the virgin forest, into the camps of the illegal gold prospectors…

Produced by MAT FILM

Screenings:
Thursday 21st at 10:00 am in PALAIS G
Thursday 21st at 3:30 pm PALAIS H

ROBBER GIRLS (Räuberinnen)
HD / 35 mm – 2009 – Switzerland/ Luxemburg – 80 min – Color – Erotic comedy
Directed by Carla LIA MONTI
Original languages: German, Swiss-German, Luxemburg
Cast : Nina Bühlmann, Alexandra Prusa, Myriam Muller, Mathis Künzler, Nils Althaus

Synopsis: Set some time in the undeterminable past: Emily is sent to work and live in his excellency's castle. She manages to escape into the woods, where she meets some lively hookers. Together they become «Robber Girls» taking a stand and fighting the patriarchy.

Produced by DSCHOINT VENTSCHR FILMPRODUKTION, PAUL THILTGES DISTRIBUTIONS

Screenings:
Sunday 17th at 11:30 am in PALAIS D
Monday 18th at 2:00 pm in PALAIS E

THE REBEL, LOUISE MICHEL (La Rebelle, Louise Michel)
HD – 2009 – France – 90 min – Color – Historical drama
Directed by Sólveig ANSPACH
Original language: French

Cast: Sylvie Testud, Nathalie Boutefeu, Coralie André

Synopsis: Louise Michel is a French revolted woman from Paris Commune. Convicted for having fought the troups of Bismark, Louise is sent like thousands of revolutionary men to faraway Noumea, New Caledonia. Teacher, friend of famous Victor Hugo, Louise will there happen to be an incredible show woman, an exemplary resistant admired by all men. Not only does she cheer up all her prison mates but also she makes friends with the island inhabitants called the Kanaks. She teaches them French, learn about their customs, their identity and stands on their side while they rise up against colonial authority, always refusing injustice and discriminations. She will end her detention by teaching in a school gathering in the same classroom Kanak children with others. In Paris as in Noumea, the story of Louise is the story of a rebel.

Produced by FRANCE 2 & JEM PRODUCTIONS

Screening:
Wednesday 20th at 11:30 am in PALAIS F

UNFAILING
Digital – 2009 – France – 90 min – Color – Thriller
Directed by Davy SIHALI
Original language: French
Cast: Frank Truong, Emilie de la Perriere, Pier Gaudin

Synopsis: A secret criminal organization, headed by Mr. Takamura, arranges a tournament in order to find the perfect killer. Ten young people who have nothing to lose, accept the rules and run in this revenge. To spice up the game, Silex, the right arm of Takamura, winner of the last 5 years, was introduced anonymously in the group.
Between emerging friendships, rivalries and spirit of chivalry, the participants manage the tests. The eliminations are increasing and the losses are heavy. The tournament goes far to the point of no return.

Produced by Loïc Magneron (Wide Management)

Screening / Last Cut:
Wednesday 20th at 1: 30 pm in PALAIS B

14-18 THE NOISE AND THE FURY (14-18, Le Bruit et la Fureur)
DIGITAL – 2009 – France/ Belgium – 100 / 2x52min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Jean-François DELASSUS
Original language: French

Synopsis: Not everything has been told about World War One. This documentary tries to explain te inexplicable: how tens of millions of men could have suffered the unbelievable toughness of life in trenches during 4 years, season after season, day after day, night after night? How could they have accepted the idea of a sure death or injury while they could not even tell the exact reason why they were fighting?
What you are about to see can seem crazy: WW1 was maintained by a general consent.
14 – 18, the Great War is a documentary based on rare archives for the first time colorized, restored and sonorized as never before. It has the 3rd best audience (5,9 millions) for a Prime-Time documentary broadcasted on France 2 since 2006
Produced by PROGRAM 33, ECPAD, IOTA PRODUCTIONS, RTBF

Screening:
Saturday 16th at 3:30 pm in PALAIS B
THAT SHOULD NOT BE (Nos Enfants Nous Accuseront)
HD / 35 mm – 112/ 2x52min – 2009 – France – Color – Documentary
Directed by Jean-Paul JAUD
Original languages: French and English

Synopsis:
In Europe every year 100,000 children die of diseases caused by the environment.
In Europe 70% of cancers are linked to the environment: 30% to pollution and 40% to food.
In Europe cases of cancer in children have been increasing by 1.1% yearly for 30 years.
In France the number of cancers in males has increased by 93% in 25 years.
In a little French community at the foot of the Cévennes Mountains, the mayor has decided to take a stance by making the school canteen organic. Here as everywhere, people are confronted with the anxiety of the dangers of industrial and agro-chemical pollution. It’s the start of a fight against a process that could become irreversible, a fight to stop our children accusing us in the future.

Produced by J + B SEQUENCES (Jean-Paul Jaud & Béatrice Jaud)

Screening:
Saturday 16th at 10:00 am in PALAIS E

HIGHLIGHTS

GIGOLA Pre-Sales
2010 – France – Color – Erotic – In Production
Directed by Laure CHARPENTIER
Original language: French
Cast:Lou Doillon, Eduardo Noriega, Marisa Paredes, Marisa Berenson (Credits are not contractual)

Synopsis: “GIGOLA” is the story of George, a charismatic and adventurous young woman, born from an old, catholic family, who, in her teens, falls in love with a female teacher named Sybil. Devastated by her lover’s eventual suicide, some years later, George embarks on an exciting and reckless journey to the depths of Pigalle’s nightlife, circa 1960. After an encounter with a very wealthy, still attractive, but older woman, Odette, who offers her money and gifts in return for sexual favours, George becomes Gigola, a kind of gigolo for women only.

Based on the controversial Best Seller novel “Gigola” by Laure Charpentier. The book was first printed in 1972 but immediately retrieved by the censorship. 30 years after “Gigola” became one of the most fascinating character of the 60’s nightlife in Pigalle.

Produced by :
Denise Petitdidier (MARIE AMELIE PRODUCTION)

LA VIDA LOCA
HD / 35 mm – 2008 – France/Spain/Mexico – 90 min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Christian POVEDA
Original language: Spanish

Synopsis: In Central America, they are called Maras, these groups of youngsters who have modeled themselves on the Los Angeles youth gangs. They are extremely violent and are propagating terror in El Salvador and elsewhere. This is a study, through photography and the personal stories of these gang members, of a violent phenomenon that has been imported from the USA.

Produced by Carole Solive (La Femme Endormie), Luis Bellaba (Aquelarre), Emilio Maillé and Gustavo Angel (El Caiman)

FRANCAISE 35 mm – 2008 – France/Morocco – 84 min – Color
Directed by Souad EL BOUHATI
Original languages: French, Arabic
Cast: Hafsia Herzi, Farida Khelfa, Maher Kamoun, Alexandra Martinez, Amal Ayouch

Synopsis: Sofia, born in France of Maghrebian parents, spends a happy childhood in the countryside. Her father missing his country, she ends up in a farm in Morocco. She is only ten years old. She swears she’ll pass her degree in order to return to France at the age of eighteen. But life always arranges to disrupt our plans ...

Produced by Jacques Kirsner (JEM Productions)

COMME UNE ETOILE DANS LA NUIT
HD / 35 mm – 2008 – France – 90 min – Color -Drama
Directed by René FERET
Original language: French
Cast: Salomé Stévenin, Nicolas Giraud, Jean-François Stévenin, Maryline Canto

Synopsis: When Anne and Marc decide to have a child, Marc discovers he has Hodgkin disease. Fighting to preserve their love from fear, death and sadness, they will both live a senseless joy…

Produced by Fabienne Camara (Les FILMS ALYNE)

STRAIGHT TO THE HEART (En plein coeur) HD / 35 mm – 2009 – Canada – 105 min – Color – Romance -Drama
Directed by Stéphane GEHAMI
Original language: French
Cast: Julie Deslauriers, Pierre Rivard, Bénédicte Décary, Patrice Godin

Synopsis: Benoît, a 32 year old teenager, talented car stealer who falls in love compulsively, roams from girl to girl. Jimi, a little man of 13, supports his depressive mother earning money teaming up with Benoît. From stolen Jeep to stolen Jeep, with their fists, with their guts and with their hearts, those two are launched into a story which will turn around Benoît’s life.

Produced by Stéphane Géhami (PRODUCTIONS FILM PLEIN COEUR)

FIRAAQ A mesmerizing social tale
35 mm – 2008 – India – 101 min – Color – Drama
Directed by Nandita DAS
Original languages: English, Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati
Cast: Naseruddin Shah, Paresh Rawal, Raghuveer Yadav, Deepti Naval, Sanjay Suri

Synopsis: "Firaaq" is an Urdu word that means both separation and quest.
The story is set over a 24-hour period, one month after a carnage that took place in Gujarat, India in 2002. Firaaq is a work of fiction, based on a thousand true stories. It traces the emotional journeys of ordinary people - some who were victims, some perpetrators and some who chose to watch silently. It is an ensemble film that follows multiple narratives that are at times interconnected and at times discrete. What unites them is their spatial and emotional context.

Produced by PERCEPT PICTURES COMPANY

THREE WISE MEN (Kolme viisasta miestä)
HD / 35 mm – 2008 – Finland – 95 min – Color – Drama
Directed by Mika KAURISMAKI
Original language: Finnish
Cast: Kari Heiskanen, Pertti Sveholm, Timo Torikka

Synopsis: Matti (51), a police inspector, Erkki (51), photographer and Rauno (51), actor, are childhood friends, who haven't seen each other for a long time. They meet coincidentally in a Christmas Eve in Helsinki and spend the night together in a karaoke bar. Between drinking and singing they tell about the joys and sorrows of their lives, revealing some painfull experiences and taking even their friendship apart. The events take a dramatic turn, when a mysterious woman enters the bar.

Produced by Mika Kaurismäki (Marianna Films Oy)

BLINDSPOT Erotic / Psychological thriller
HD – 2009 – Netherlands – 80 min – Color/ B&W – Drama
Directed by Ad BOL
Original languages: Dutch, German, English
Cast: Jango Edwards, Micky Hoogendijl, Johnny Melville, Hugo Metsers, Maike Moeller

Synopsis: A young woman, Anya, dons a blindfold to dance mysteriously in her private atelier. It is rhythmic but also tragic, melancholic and gripping. Suddenly, Anya awakes screaming. Her husband tries to comfort her: yet another nightmare... He begs her to see a specialist but she just shrugs off the idea. Anya enters a warehouse under the watchful eye of a distinguished middle-aged man. In his hand a Colt revolver. Upstairs in the studio Anya preens herself in some sexy underwear. A knock at the door startles her. She opens and the man barges in, holding the gun to her head…

Produced by Eager Films B.V., Maximum Films

ANOTHER MAN (Un autre homme)
35 mm – 2008 – Suisse – 89 min – Black & White – Drama
Directed by Lionel BAIER
Original language: Suisse
Cast: Robin Harsch, Natacha Koutchoumov, Elodie Weber, Bulle Ogier

Synopsis: François and his girlfriend have settled in the country. Although he is not a journalist, he contributes to a small local weekly, describing the life of the region’s inhabitants and the films shown at the valley’s only movie theatre. Since he is no film critic, he doesn’t know what to make of the films he’s supposed to write about. So he ends up copying word for word the reviews in “Travelling”, a highly specialized cinema review. Very quickly, movies become his passion, and he sets off for Lausanne to view the press screenings. Here he meets Rosa, a critic for a benchmark-setting daily. A kinky relationship develops between the two of them, leading François to discover the inner workings of desire: desire of a woman and of a critic.
Until the day his cheating is discovered...

Produced by Robert Boner (SAGA Production)

LOLA MONTES HD REMASTERED & 35 mm – 1955/2008 – France – 105 min – Color – Drama/Historical Directed by Max OPHULS
Original language: French
Based on the book by Cecil St. Laurent
Cast: Martine Carol, Peter Ustinov, Anton Walbrook

Synopsis: Reduced to a state the total degeneration, Lola Montès, under the big top of a gigantic circus, is forced to reinact her dramatic past. The life story of a 19th century courtesan told via flashbacks while being exhibited in a stylised circus somewhere in America. Lola Montes pantomimes her own image, caught between being a caged animal and a femme fatale, she travels around the world creating a caricature of her decline until the tragic conclusion during a show : a leap into the void...

Produced by Les Films du Jeudi

LEA (a Soliloquy) DIGITAL – 2009 – USA – 87 min – Color – Drama
Directed by Jacques ZANETTI
Original language: English
Cast: Diahnne Abbott, Drena De Niro, Carson Grant, Marcus Naylor

Synopsis: Struggling with her inner past demons and prisoner of her adolescent memories, Leah roams New York City seeking peace and reconciliation for herself, her daughter and her life relationships; and gains a renewed strength through reevaluations of her traumatic childhood.

Produced by Diahnne Copeland, Adam Lipsius, Jacques Zanetti

THE JOURNEY, THE GREEK AMERICAN DREAM HD – 2009 – Greece/ United States – 87min – Colour /B&W – Documentary
Directed by Maria Iliou
Historian: Alexander Kitroeff
Original language: English

Synopsis: While conducting research on a feature film "A Friendship in Smyrna," filmmaker Maria Iliou discovered a wealth of previously unseen archival photographic and film footage from over fifty public and private collections which tell the fascinating history of Greek immigrants to the United States. Along with historian Alexander Kitroeff and several scholars and guests, she brings these stories and photographs to life in order to explore and document a very special story from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

Produced by PROTEUS

SONGS OF LIVES (Eletek éneke) DIGITAL – 2009 – Hungary – 100 min/ 9 x 25/35 min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Bereczki CSABA
Original language: Hungarian

Synopsis: This documentary is about real music, real performers, real stories, though the dramatic composition of the storyline may give viewers the impression of being drawn into the world of a dream-like ballade. We take a journey through the lives of some of the older musicians in funeral bands, for whom music is not only their profession, but it's their own identity: it belongs to their hands, their heart, or their throat.

Produced by Tamás TOLMÁR

SOUTH COAST DIGITAL – 2009 – UK – 85 / 60 min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Will JEWELL
Original language: English
Featuring: Norman Cook, Beardyman, Buzz, Monkey Sons, Evil Ed and many more!

Synopsis: Think hip hop’s just about MTV videos, gangsta posing and bling? Think again – this ain’t East Coast, this ain’t West Coast.. this is South Coast! This character documentary charts how hip hop has found a quintessentially English voice in the most unlikely of locations – the south coast seaside towns.
South Coast seeks answers to questions such as why 30 years after hip hop arrived there’s no global UK artists? Why teenagers ignore home grown hip hop in favour of violent tales from 15000 miles away? and can you really rap about guns and bling when you’re on the dole in Eastbourne?

Produced by FRACTURED FILMS LTD

MEGUNICA DIGITAL – 2009 – Italy – 80/52 min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Lorenzo FONDA
Original languages: Spanish, Italian

Synopsis: The film is about mural artist Blu at work. It follows him at work in MExico, GUatemala, NIcaragua, Costarica and Argentina, hence the acronym "Megunica". The creative development of an artist is what makes him unique and different from the others. The idea of the film was to see how his art would react to the inputs that these places offer him.

Produced by MERCURIO CINEMATOGRAFICA

SAM PECKINPAH (Sam Peckinpah, un portrait) DIGITAL – 2008 – France/Italy – 78 min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Michelangelo DALTO & Umberto BERLENGHINI
Original languages: English, French

Synopsis: Director Sam Peckinpah (1925-1984) is one of the most famous, passionate and inspiring American western movie icons. Filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino, John Woo or Oliver Stone were influenced by “the Peckinpah’s touch” made out of violence and sense of the epic in master pieces like Major Dundee, Straw Dogs, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia and of course The Wild Bunch.

Produced by LES FILMS DU TAMARIN, EOS COMM, FILMOBLIC

BIBLIOBURRO, THE DONKEY LIBRARY DIGITAL – 2009 – France/ Colombia/ Belgium – (90 min in progress) 52 min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Carlos RENDON ZIPAGAUTA
Original language: Spanish

Synopsis: Each week-end, Luis Humberto Soriano, a teacher living in the remote hamlet of La Gloria in the north of Colombia, brings, with the help of his two donkeys « ALPHA » and « BET », the written word and knowledge to communes as secluded as Nueva Granada. With the kids - who ever their parents are peasants or members of
FARC, paramilitaries, drug cartels - Luis gives lectures and private tutoring, organizes puppet shows and board game sessions…

Produced by Grenade Productions (France) in coproduction with Imaginaria Films (Colombia) & Iota Production (Belgium)

STATES OF MIND (Gli Stati della mente) HDV – 2009 – Germany / Italy – 77 / 52 min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Elisa MISHTO
Original language: Italian

Synopsis: A nurse and three mental patients take turns playing the lead roles in four stories told over four seasons. Their world within the rooms and hallways of the psychiatric clinic is at once brutally honest, tragic, and poetic. Moving through summer, autumn, winter, and spring, we are presented with the stories of four individuals moving through crisis, waiting, normalization, and adjustment. Elements of their previous lives and of their current daily adventures are told with the lightness of a fairy tale or the playfulness of a game, but without omitting the harshest and most melancholic aspects of their existence.

Produced by ANACONDINO FILM

HER NAME IS SABINE (Elle s’appelle Sabine)
35 mm – 2008 – France – 85 min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Sandrine BONNAIRE
Original language: French
Cast: Sabine Bonnaire

Synopsis: A sensitive portrait of Sabine Bonnaire, a 38-year-old autistic woman, filmed by her closest sister. The film tells her story through personal footage filmed by the actress over a period of 25 years, and her life today in a suitable facility. After a tragic five-year stay in a psychiatric hospital, Sabine found a new lease on life-even if these capacities remain altered-in a home in the Charente region. The film exposes the penury of specialized institutions and the dramatic consequences they can lead to.

Produced by Thomas Schmitt (Mosaique Films)

BALLERINA DIGITAL – France – 77 min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Bertrand NORMAND
Original language: Russian

Synopsis: Ballerina. Fascinating, enthralling, shrouded in mystery. Hers is a rare art. Her craft as demanding as an athlete. Her dancing life as brief as a butterfly. All to a vision of fragile beauty. A vision of what it is to be a woman. And Russia, land of absolutes, of the cult of beauty, of immensities and of nostalgia where that feminine ideal is celebrated and held dear. Russia is par excellence the land of the Ballerina. This film follows the destinies of five female dancers of the Kirov Ballet in Saint-Petersburg. Their lives weave together to tell the story of the Russian Ballerina of our time, from her beginnings as a child in dance school to the peak of her glory on the world stages. In this intimate gaze at the lives, the courage, the disappointments and triumphs of these women, this film unveils the vitality and uniqueness of the Russian Ballerina today. We come to understand her lasting allure as we begin the 21st century. Ballerina, as old as Russian history, as new as today.

Produced by Frédéric Podetti (Adesif Productions), Yann Brolli (Les Films du Tamarin)

MUSIC : FEATURES & DOCUMENTARIES

REDEMPTION SONG
HD – 2009 – France – 90 min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Markus HANSEN, Jean-Marie BOULET
Original languages: English, Vietnamese

Synopsis: In March 1967, Billy Bang was conscripted to fight in Vietnam, an experience that left him emotionally desolate and profoundly confused about his American identity. Upon his return, he tried to forget his nightmares through alcohol, drugs and music. Forty years later, he decides that the only way he will be able to repair his emotions and find some closure to his trauma, is to return to Vietnam, this time with his violin. This film is about the desire to overcome and transcend the trauma of war through music and art.

Produced by Loïc Magneron (WIDE Management)

MUSIC: MUSICAL DOCUMENTARIES

A gathering of documentaries about worldwide music including:

SOUTH COAST seeks answers to questions such as why 30 years after hip hop arrived there’s no global UK artists? Why teenagers ignore home grown hip hop in favour of violent tales from 15000 miles away? and can you really rap about guns and bling when you’re on the dole in Eastbourne?
by Will JEWEL Digital - UK – 85 / 60 min

SONG OF LIVES is about real music, real performers, real stories, though the dramatic composition of the storyline may give viewers the impression of being drawn into the world of a dream-like ballade. We take a journey through the lives of some of the older musicians in funeral bands, for whom music is not only their profession, but it's their own identity: it belongs to their hands, their heart, or their throat.
by Bereczki CSABA - Digital - 2009 – Hungary – 100 min or 9 x 25/35 min

IMMATERIAL TREASURE talks about an African American violinist in Vietnam, when musical encounters and creation overcome nationalism, traditions, borders and sorrows. A violin road movie.
by Markus HANSEN, Jean-Marie BOULET - HD - 2009 – France – 52 min

SONIC MIRROR tells how music is for most people a marvelous experience and part of their life whether or not they play an instrument themselves. They understand music and rhythm as a fundamental communication tool of mankind. A surprising and emotional dive into the world of rhythm - an extraordinary trip to discover the magic relationship between Life and Rhythm. Drum legend Billy Cobham takes us from the bandstands of the Western world to the primal music of African origin with kids in a Brazilian community and on to the completely secluded world of musical experiences of autists.
by Mika KAURISMAKI - 2007 – Switzerland/Finland/Germany – 79 min

BRASILEIRINHO is about Choro, the first genuinely Brazilian urban music. Back in the late 19th century in Rio de Janeiro, Brazilian musicians started to blend European melodies, Afro - Brazilian rhythms and the melancholic interpretation of the Brazilian Indians' music to create Choro. Choro is credited as being the first musical expression of Brazil's melting pot and had a prominent place in the development of Brazil's cultural identity. Choro remained a major popular music style until the 1920s, leading directly into Samba and later to Bossa Nova. After a slight decline in popularity, Choro music has made a remarkable comeback over the past few decades.
by Mika KAURISMAKI - 2005 – Switzerland/Finland/Brazil – 52 min

RETURN TO GOREE is a road-movie telling of African singer Youssou N’Dour’s epic journey following the trail left by the blacks slaves and the jazz music they invented. Youssou N’Dour’s challenge is to bring back to Africa a jazz repertoire and to sing those tunes in Gorée, the island that today symbolizes the slave trade and stands to commemorates its victims. Guided in his travel by pianist Moncef Genoud, N’Dour travels across the United States and Europe. Accompanied by some of the world’s most exceptional musicians, they meet people and well known figures, and create, through concerts, encounters and debates, music which transcends cultural division.
by Pierre-Yves BORGEAUD - 2007 – Switzerland/Luxembourg – 112 min

THE ORCHESTRA OF PIAZZA VITTORIO A film account of the creation of the famous Piazza Vittorio Orchestra, L'Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio combines music, interviews, a sense of solidarity and the human comedy. Created at the instigation of Mario Tronco, a film score composer and pianist with the Piccola Orchestra Avion Travel and the collective Apollo 11, this musical group has its roots in a working-class district of Rome where the Italians are «an ethnic minority». Shot over a five-year period, from the birth of the orchestra to its recent successes, this documentary brings together thirty street and professional musicians of various nationalities (some of them illegals), five cameramen, and three sound engineers. The film highlights and echoes aspects of contemporary Italy, representatative of a varied sociological and cultural mix. The result is an extraordinary alliance of sounds, harmony and life stories.
by Agostino FERRENTE - 2006 – Italy – 93 min

HIP HOP REVOLUTION looks at the integration of hip-hop culture with state of emergency politics in the 1980’s, and it’s role as a tool in revolution in post-apartheid South Africa. The film is fast-paced, vibrant, with cutting-edge visual montages. Given, the culture of repression in South Africa at the time, the hip-hop sub-culture was a form of ventilation to youth on the Cape Flats and elsewhere in the country. Hip-hop also politically informed many young people in South Africa. Hip-hop Revolution, also reflects the voice of contemporary South African hip-hop.
by Weeam WILLIAMS - 2006 – South Africa – 48 min

WRITERS Paris 1983, they are between 14 and 18 years old, and they write their name on the city walls. Inspired by he New York phenomenon, they don’t just copy existing forms, but have created their own style, imposed their own signatures and inspired a whole generation. They communicate through the letters of their name. They are called “Writers”
by Marc - Aurèle VECCHIONE - WITH VOICE OVER BY VINCENT CASSEL - 2004 – France – 90 min

COLLECTIONS:

Erotic Titles Collection From the 60’s to 2009 – Dramas
More than 37 feature film, art house, high quality, from the 60’s to today. A full erotic classic collection including recent festival favorite’s film and classic masterpieces.

The collection includes :
Ah! The Libido (Ah! La Libido) by Michèle ROSIER, Robber Girls by Carla LIA MONTI, AlbaKiara by Stefano SALVATI, Blind Spot by Ad BOL, Cold Blood (Sang Froid), Maladolescenza (Puppy Love), Gradiva (C’est Gradiva qui vous appelle) by Alain Robbe-Grillet, Honey Baby by Mika Kaurismaki, Melancoly Baby with Jane Birkin, Vivante by Sandrine Ray, Wild Camp with Isilde Lebesco, Honey Suckle by Claude Faraldo, Serieux Comme Le Plaisir by Robert BENAYOUN, Le Diable au Coeur by Bernard QUEYSANNE, The Secret (Le secret) Directed by Virginie WAGON, Alive ! (Vivante) by Antoine SANTANA, A Song of Innocence (La Ravisseuse) by Antoine SANTANA, Snow White by Samir, Clemence (Clémence) by Franck Buchter and many more…
And the newly HD restored “Jean-Francois Davy Collection”, which includes more than 15 features from the 70’s.
As Exhibition, Exhibition 2, Q, Exhibition 79, Le Desir, Q, The Hell Of Prostitution, Get On The line Like Everyone Else, Mechanical Banana, Trick Socks,The Pornocrasts, and Melancoly Baby by Clarissse Gabus

MORE THAN 2590 HOURS OF PROGRAMME
HD MATERIAL AVAILABLE FOR SEVERAL FILM

Mika Kaurismaki Collection HD & 35 mm
Mika Kaurismäki’s first film The Liar (1980) was an overnight sensation, when first shown in Finland; it marked the beginning of the cinema of the Kaurismäki brothers and started a new era in the Finnish cinema. After the high school Mika Kaurismäki used to work as a painter of houses and apartments in a small town of Kuusankoski in the Southeastern part of Finland. In the autumn of 1976, when the winter was coming and the annual high season for painting houses was over, he thought of doing something else in life. Mika Kaurismaki studied cinema in Munich, Germany, (Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen) 1977-1981 and made his diplom film The Liar in 1980 in Finland. His younger brother Aki Kaurismäki, then a student of journalism, played the main role and also co-wrote the screenplay. After the success of The Liar, Mika Kaurismäki decided to stay in Finland and together with his brother and some friends he founded the production company Villealfa Filmproductions.
During the active Villealfa years, Mika co-founded the legendary Midnight Sun Film Festival (1986) and the distribution company Senso Films (1987) and the Andorra cinemas in Helsinki. The 90’s meant a gradual disappearance of the Villealfa spirit and both Mika and Aki started to produce their films through their own production companies. In 1994 Mika returned to the Brazilian jungle with Samuel Fuller and Jim Jarmusch and made the feature length documentary Tigrero – a film that was never made. The film was awarded the International Critics’ Award at the Berlin Film Festival in 1994. In the course of the 90’s Mika established his base and second home in Rio de Janeiro and started to concentrate more in international co-productions. In 1996 in Philadelphia he directed the no-budget thriller Condition Red with James Russo, Cynda Williams and Paul Calderon. His biggest production so far is the comedy LA without a map (1998), with David Tennant, July Delpy, Vincent Gallo, Johnny Depp, James Le Gros, Anouk Aimee, Joe Dallesandro.
In 2003 he directed Honey Baby, a road movie between Germany and Russia, starring Henry Thomas, Irina Björklund and Helmut Berger. Brasileirinho, a film about Brazilian choro music, premiered at the Berlinale 2005 and Sonic Mirror.
Three Wise Men (Kolme viisasta miestä), Sonic Mirror, Brasileirinho, Honey Baby, Moro No Brasil, Highway Society, Condition Red (Jatkuva hälytystila), Tigrero: A Film That Was Never Made (Tigrero - Elokuva, joka ei valmistunut), The Last Border (Viimeisellä rajalla), Zombie and the Ghost Train (Zombie ja Kummitusjuna), Amazon, Paper Star (Paperitähti), Cha Cha Cha, Helsinki Naples All Night Long, Rosso, The Clan Tale of the Frogs (Klaani), The Worthless (Arvottomat), Jackpot 2, The Liar (Valehtelija)…

MORE THAN 30 HOURS OF PROGRAMS.
HD masters available for the first films

Renét Ferét Collection HD & 35 mm
After studies in Lille, he took classes at the Actor school of the TNS of Strasbourg. Script, writer, producer, director, TV director, actor, and teacher, René Feret has been involved in more than 40 features films and documentaries from 1975 to nowadays. Some of his film has been selected in competition for major festivals worldwide, such as La Communion Solennelle (Official selection in Cannes FF in 1977) and Mystere Alexina (Un certain regard in Cannes 1985).
Directed by : Comme une etoile dans la nuit, But Once Mom Had Gone... (Il a suffit que Maman s’en aille), L’enfant du pays, Rue du retrait, Les frères Gravet, La place d’un autre, Promenades d’été, Baptême, Mystère Alexina, Fernand, La communion solenelle, Histoire de Paul

Comme une étoile dans la nuit – Montreal 2008 : Focus on World Cinema – Official Selection
MORE THAN 27 HOURS OF PROGRAMS.

Asian Cinema Collection
DIGITAL 2008 – France – Documentary
Produced by Yann Brolli (Les Films du Tamarin) and Hubert Niogret (Filmoblic)
A remarkable collection of documentaries about the Asian Cinema including:

CHINESE CINEMA, YESTERDAY AND TODAY, a documentary film by Hubert Niogret, 59', 2008
There are few film industries in the world today so dependent upon the fortunes and vicissitudes of political power, and its sometimes incomprehensible policy reversals.
The best way to understand the history of the People’s Republic during the past two decades is to study its movies.

THE NINE LEAVES OF KOREAN CINEMA, a documentary film by Hubert Niogret, 61', 2008
The Korean cinema, North and South, though weighed down since birth by propaganda theories on the one side and tempted for a time by Hollywood machinery on the other, has succeeded in expressing the identity of one and the same people, however contradictory or conflicting the currents of thought which run through it.

THAI CINEMA, YESTERDAY AND TODAY, a film by Hubert Niogret, 55', 2008
After 1970’s emergence of new film directors more and more in osmosis with Thai reality, Thai cinema developed throughout commercial direction -due to precise genre film- and also throughout classic frescos by Chatreechalerm Yukol and more innovative films by a new generation of filmmakers that mostly appears during the end of the 90’s under director-producer Nonzee Nimibur’s influence.

INDIAN CINEMAS, a film by Hubert Niogret, 3 X 55', 2008
A look into 3 Indian cinemas: Bengali cinema, Hindi cinema and Southern India cinema.

CINEXOTIC, a documentary film by Benoît Garel, 53', 2008
A dive into oriental and asian cinema produced in India, China, à Hong-Kong, Turkey and Egypt, first for 1960’s immigrants settled in France and afterwards for every French cinema-goer. The lattest audience being aware and greedy of this cinema thanks to the medias, films critics and DVD industry.

INDIAN CINEMAS, 3 documentary films by Hubert Niogret:
DIGITAL2008 – France – 3 x 55 min – Color – Documentary
Produced by Yann Broli (LES FILMS DU TAMARIN)

Synopsis:
1 Bengali cinema
Bengali cinema was not the earliest regional film-industry to develop in India. Most of their films deal with questions related to their cultural identity and are shot in the Bengali language. At times, however, like their elders before them, they will opt for the use of Hindi in their large-scale productions, hoping to reach a wider audience. The bulk of the rest of Bengali cinema comprises auteur films with a social realist slant, and comedies.
2 Hindi cinema
Too often identified by Westerners with Bollywood, the Hindi cinema is much broader than that name would imply. The commercial and industrial foundations of the modern Hindi cinema were laid at the end of the forties and the beginning at the fifties, largely revolving around widely loved stars. A new generation of film-makers has recently appeared.
3 Southern India cinema
In the Northeast and the South, cinema has a more artisanal character, in contrast with the heavy industry of Mumbai. In the South, with different languages, state structures, political functioning, notions as to the goals of film-making prevail in societies governed by democratically elected communists and where authorities are determined to promote progress through education. The Tamils, on the other hand, have carried on the Hindi tradition of entertainment films, and Madras is the second largest production centre after Mumbai. In these predominantly poor, rural areas, the industry developped later than the Hindi cinema.

LINE UP 2009

2009-01-15T02:57:00.000-08:00

HIGHLIGHTS

GIGOLA Pre-Sales
2009 – France –– Color – Erotic – In Production
Directed by Laure CHARPENTIER

Original language: French

Cast: Vahina Gocante, Philippe Torreton, Marisa Paredes, Marisa Berenson, Amira Casar, Anne Parillaud

Synopsis: “GIGOLA” is the story of George, a charismatic and adventurous young woman, born from an old, catholic family, who, in her teens, falls in love with a female teacher named Sybil. Devastated by her lover’s eventual suicide, some years later, George embarks on an exciting and reckless journey to the depths of Pigalle’s nightlife, circa 1960. After an encounter with a very wealthy, still attractive, but older woman, Odette, who offers her money and gifts in return for sexual favours, George becomes Gigola, a kind of gigolo for women only.

Based on the controversial Best Seller novel “Gigola” by Laure Charpentier. The book was first printed in 1972 but immediately retrieved by the censorship. 30 years after “Gigola” became one of the most fascinating character of the 60’s nightlife in Pigalle.

Produced by :
Denise Petitdidier (MARIE AMELIE PRODUCTION) - FR
NIKOVANTASTIC FILM - DE

AH! THE LIBIDO
HD / 35 mm 2009 – France – 80 min – Color – Drama
Directed by Michèle ROSIER

Original language: French

Cast: Claude Degliame, Audrey Dana, Sarah Grappin, Anna Mihalcea

Synopsis: This is a week of surprising adventures for Paula, Betty, Charlotte, Sandy, women of different ages, who work at the French daily Liberation and relish lunching together at the cafeteria. Betty, the gutsiest one, talks the others into making a date with a toy-boy (or one-shot boy). And on Sunday, the quartet will meet to compare notes. The Libido is not so much about sex, but a portrait of four high-spirited and distinctly different Parisian working women.

Produced by GO-FILMS

GIVE ME YOUR HAND (DONNE-MOI LA MAIN)
2009 – France/Germany – 76min – Color
Directed by Pascal-Alex Vincent

Original language: French

Synopsis: Twin brothers Antoine and Quentin, eighteen years old, leave their house in the North of France and hit the road to go to Spain for the funeral of their mother, whom they barely knew. When the most reserved one reveals his homosexuality, their relationship changes.

Produced by Local Films, Adam Production, Busse & Halberschmidt Filmproduktion

Festivals:
Torino Film Festival 2008 - Official Competition, Italy
Gay & Lesbian Film Festival of Paris 2008, France

ROBBER GIRLS (RÄUBERINNEN)
HD/ 35 mm - 2009 – Switzerland/ Luxemburg – 80 min – Color – Erotic comedy - In Post Production
Directed by Carla LIA MONTI

Original languages: German, Swiss-German, Luxemburg

Cast : Nina Bühlmann, Alexandra Prusa, Myriam Muller, Mathis Künzler, Nils Althaus, Hanspeter Ull

Synopsis: Set some time in the undeterminable past: Emily is sent to work and live in his excellency's castle. She manages to escape into the woods, where she meets some lively hookers. Together they become «Robber Girls» taking a stand and fighting the patriarchy.

Produced by DSCHOINT VENTSCHR FILMPRODUKTION, PAUL THILTGES DISTRIBUTIONS

BLIND SPOT
HD - 2009 – Netherlands – 80 min – Color/ B&W – Drama
Directed by Ad BOL

Original languages: Dutch, German, English

Cast: Jango Edwards, Micky Hoogendijl, Johnny Melville, Hugo Metsers, Maike Moeller

Synopsis: A young woman, Anya, dons a blindfold to dance mysteriously in her private atelier. It is rhythmic but also tragic, melancholic and gripping. Suddenly, Anya awakes screaming. Her husband tries to comfort her: yet another nightmare... He begs her to see a specialist but she just shrugs off the idea. Anya enters a warehouse under the watchful eye of a distinguished middle-aged man. In his hand a Colt revolver. Upstairs in the studio Anya preens herself in some sexy underwear. A knock at the door startles her. She opens and the man barges in, holding the gun to her head…

Produced by Eager Films B.V., Maximum Films

THREE WISE MEN (KOLME VIISASTA MIESTÄ)
HD / 35 mm - 2008 – Finland – 95 min – Color – Drama
Directed by Mika KAURISMAKI

Original language: Finnish

Cast: Kari Heiskanen, Pertti Sveholm, Timo Torikka

Synopsis: Matti (51), a police inspector, Erkki (51), photographer and Rauno (51), actor, are childhood friends, who haven't seen each other for a long time. They meet coincidentally in a Christmas Eve in Helsinki and spend the night together in a karaoke bar. Between drinking and singing they tell about the joys and sorrows of their lives, revealing some painfull experiences and taking even their friendship apart. The events take a dramatic turn, when a mysterious woman enters the bar.

Produced by Mika Kaurismäki (Marianna Films Oy)

Festivals:
Toronto International Film Festival 2008, Canada
Pusan International Film Festival 2008, South Korea
Valladolid International Film Festival 2008, Official Competition, Spain
Festival on Wheels, Ankara Festival of European Films 2008, Official Competition, Turkey

Upcoming Festival:
Goteborg International Film Festival 2009, Sweden

World Premiere in Toronto Contemporary World Cinema Programme Section

FIRAAQ A mesmerizing social tale
2008 – India – 101 min - Color – Drama
Directed by Nandita DAS

Original languages: English, Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati

Cast: Naseruddin Shah, Paresh Rawal, Raghuveer Yadav, Deepti Naval, Sanjay Suri

Synopsis: Aarti is a housewife silently haunted by the sight of Muslim women begging for sanctuary in her house, that she ignored. Her only hope for salvation comes when she takes in an orphaned Muslim boy as a servant, pretending to her family he is Hindu. Khan Saheb (Naseeruddin Shah) is a great Muslim musician who lives in a Hindu suburb, refusing to comprehend the fractured world around him. Muneera has hidden with husband during the riots but returns to find her home gutted and trust in her neighbours destroyed. Middle class Sameer, married to a Hindu wife, is torn between fleeing town or staying and being recognised as a Muslim.

Produced by PERCEPT PICTURES COMPANY

Festivals:
Telluride Film Festival 2008, USA
Toronto International Film Festival 2008, Canada
Vancouver International Film Festival 2008, Canada
Pusan International Film Festival 2008, Korea
New York South Asian International Film Festival 2008, USA
Kolkata International Film Festival 2008, India
Thessaloniki International Film Festival 2008,Official Competition, Greece
Singapore Asian Pacific Festival of 1st Films 2008, Singapore
Dubai International Film Festival 2008, Official Competition, UAE

Upcoming Festivals:
Tromso International Film Festival 2009, Norway
Palm Springs International Film Festival 2009, USA
European Premiere un London BFI Film Festival - World Cinema Section

Awards:
Everyday life: transcendence or reconciliation award 2008,Thessaloniki, Greece
Best Film, Singapore Asian Pacific Festival of 1st Films 2008, Singapore
Best Screenplay Singapore Asian Pacific Festival of 1st Films 2008, Singapore
Foreign Correspondents Association “Purple Orchid” Award for the Best Film Singapore Asian Pacific Festival
of 1st Films 2008, Singapore
Muhr AsiaAfrica Feature Award, Best Editor Sreekar Prasad ,Dubai International Film Festival 2008, UAE

FRANÇAISE
2008 – France/Morocco – 84 min – Color
Directed by Souad EL BOUHATI

Original language: French, Arabic

Cast: Hafsia Herzi, Farida Khelfa, Maher Kamoun, Alexandra Martinez, Amal Ayouch

Synopsis: Sofia, born in France of Maghrebian parents, spends a happy childhood in the countryside. Her father missing his country, she ends up in a farm in Morocco. She is only ten years old. She swears she’ll pass her degree in order to return to France at the age of eighteen. But life always arranges to disrupt our plans ...

Produced by Jacques Kirsner (JEM Productions)

Awards:
Muhr Arabic Feature Best Actress Award : Hafsia Herzi

Festivals:
Pusan International Film Festival 2008, South Korea
Dubai International Film Festival 2008 , Official Competition, UAE
Rotterdam International Film Festival 2009, The Netherlands

Upcoming Festivals:
Göteborg Film Festival 2009, Sweden
Cinéfranco Toronto French Film Festival 2009, Canada

HAFSIA HERZI Shooting stars of 2009, the annual new talent forum at the Berlinale

2009 Cesar Nominations: Best Film, Best First Film and Best Original Script

COMME UNE ETOILE DANS LA NUIT
2008 – France – 90 min – Color -Drama
Directed by René FERET

Original language: French

Cast: Salomé Stévenin, Nicolas Giraud, Jean-François Stévenin, Maryline Canto

Synopsis: When Anne and Marc decide to have a child, Marc discovers he has Hodgkin disease. Fighting to preserve their love from fear, death and sadness, they will both live a senseless joy…

Produced by Fabienne Camara (Les FILMS ALYNE)

2009 Cesar nominations: Best Film, Best Original Script

STRAIGHT TO THE HEART (EN PLEIN COEUR)
2008 – Canada– 105 min – Color – Romance -Drama
Directed by Stéphane GEHAMI

Original language: French

Cast: Julie Deslauriers, Pierre Rivard, Bénédicte Décary, Patrice Godin

Synopsis: Benoît, a 32 year old teenager, talented car stealer who falls in love compulsively, roams from girl to girl. Jimi, a little man of 13, supports his depressive mother earning money teaming up with Benoît. From stolen Jeep to stolen Jeep, with their fists, with their guts and with their hearts, those two are launched into a story which will turn around Benoît’s life.

Produced by Stéphane Géhami (PRODUCTIONS FILM PLEIN COEUR)

Festival:
World Premiere in Montreal, World Competition, Official Competition, Canada

ANOTHER MAN (UN AUTRE HOMME)
2008 – Suisse – 89 min – Black & White – Drama
Directed by Lionel BAIER

Original language: Suisse

Cast: Robin Harsch, Natacha Koutchoumov, Elodie Weber, Bulle Ogier

Synopsis: François and his girlfriend have settled in the country. Although he is not a journalist, he contributes to a small local weekly, describing the life of the region’s inhabitants and the films shown at the valley’s only movie theatre. Since he is no film critic, he doesn’t know what to make of the films he’s supposed to write about. So he ends up copying word for word the reviews in “Travelling”, a highly specialized cinema review. Very quickly, movies become his passion, and he sets off for Lausanne to view the press screenings. Here he meets Rosa, a critic for a benchmark-setting daily. A kinky relationship develops between the two of them, leading François to discover the inner workings of desire: desire of a woman and of a critic.
Until the day his cheating is discovered...

Produced by Robert Boner (SAGA Production)

Festival:
World Premiere in Locarno Film Festival 2008 ,Official Competition, Switzerland
Pusan International Film Festival 2008, Korea
Warsaw International Film Festival 2008,Official Competition, Poland

LOLA MONTES
HD REMASTERED & 35 mm – 1955/2008 – France – 105 min – Color – Drama/Historical
Directed by Max OPHULS

Original language: French
Based on the book by Cecil St. Laurent

Cast: Martine Carol, Peter Ustinov, Anton Walbrook

Synopsis: Reduced to a state the total degeneration, Lola Montès, under the big top of a gigantic circus, is forced to reinact her dramatic past. The life story of a 19th century courtesan told via flashbacks while being exhibited in a stylised circus somewhere in America. Lola Montes pantomimes her own image, caught between being a caged animal and a femme fatale, she travels around the world creating a caricature of her decline until the tragic conclusion during a show : a leap into the void...

Produced by Les Films du Jeudi

Festivals:
Cannes Film Festival 2008, Opening Film Cannes Classics, Official Screening, France
Chungmuro International Film Festival of Seoul 2008 , Korea
II Cinema Ritrovato Film Festival 2008, Bologna, Italy
Paris Cinéma Film Festival 2008, France
Telluride Film Festival 2008, USA
Seoul Film Festival 2008, Korea
Los Angeles Directors’ Guild, USA
New York Film Festival, USA
ARP-Dijon Film Festival, France
Antalya Film Festival, Turkey
IFFI Goa Film Treasures, India

NOISE AND FURY (14-18, LE BRUIT ET LA FUREUR)
2009 – France/ Belgium – 100 min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Jean-François DELASSUS

Original language: French
Voice over by Alexandre Astier

Synopsis: Not everything has been told about World War One. This documentary tries to explain the inexplicable: how tens of millions of men could have suffered the unbelievable toughness of life in trenches during 4 years, season after season, day after day, night after night? How could they have accepted the idea of a sure death or injury while they could not even tell the exact reason why they were fighting?
What you are about to see can seem crazy: WW1 was maintained by a general consent.

14 – 18, the Great War is a documentary based on rare archives for the first time colorized, restored and sonorized as never before. Broadcasted on prime time with top rated audience.

Produced by PROGRAM 33, ECPAD, IOTA PRODUCTIONS, RTBF

HIDDEN HEART
HD 2008 – Germany – 90min - Documentary
Directed by Cristina Karrer, Werner Schweizer

Original language: English/German

Synopsis: Christian Barnard from Capetown didn't write the great success-story of the first heart transplantation in 1967 alone. Hamilton Naki, a black man, was equally part of the sensational operation. «Hidden Heart» tells the story of two men, glamour, injustice and uprising.

Produced by Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion, Lichtblick, Big World Cinema (RSA)

Festivals:
Solothurn Film Festival 2008, Switzerland
Seville European Film Festival 2008, Eurodoc Competition, Spain

A POLICE ROMANCE (UN ROMAN POLICIER)
HD / 35 mm 2008 – France – 95min – Color – Drama
Directed by Stéphanie DUVIVIER

Original language: French

Cast : Olivier Marchal, Hiam Abbass, Marie-Laure Descoureaux, Abdelhafid Métalsi, Théo Trifard,

Synopsis: In a small police station, Lieutenant Emilie Carange finds herself sexually attracted to Jamil Messaouden, a young rookie officer. When an old Algerian woman reports that she’s seen drug dealers operating in the neighbourhood, they find themselves in over their heads in an investigation. Night after night, Emilie’s desire grows. The drug investigation gets out of hand and so does Emilie …

Produced by Richard Magnien (Mat Films)

Awards:
Rainer Werner Fassbinder Prize - Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival 2008
Festivals:
Ciné Premières Film Festival 2008, The Netherlands
Montréal Festival du Film Français 2008, CINEMANIA, Canada
Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival 2008, International Competition, Germany
Festival Cinéma Méditerranéen in Bruxelles 2008, Belgium

2009 Cesar nominations: Best Film, Best First Film, Best Original Soundtrack, Best Original Script

CHILDREN OF DON QUIXOTE (ACT 1) (LES ENFANTS DE DON QUICHOTTE ACTE 1)
2008 – France – 75min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Ronan DENECE, Augustin LEGRAND, Jean-Baptiste LEGRAND

Original language: French

Synopsis: On October 26th 2006, two citizens, Augustin Legrand and Pascal Oumaklouf decided to federate the homeless people and force the French government to respect their fundamental rights. They set up a true entrenched camp in the heart of Paris, on the Canal St Martin, where a new resistance stood up.
This is the story of their struggle and this film was conceived as a tool, a weapon to extend their fight.

Produced by Jean-Baptiste Legrand (SOCIETE CENTRALE ELECTRIQUE) and co-produced by MNP production (Mathieu Kassovitch)

Festivals:
Cannes International Critics' Week 2008, France
Mar del Plata International Film Festival 2008, Argentina
CPH:DOX, Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival 2008, Denmark

Produced by MNP “Mathieu Kassovitz” with Augustin LEGRAND “13 TZAMETI”

2009 Cesar nominations: Best Film, Best Documentary Film, Best Original Script

HIGHLIGHTS: FEATURE FILMS & DOCUMENTARIES

LANDSCAPE NO. 2 (POKRAJINA ŠT.2)
2008 – Slovenia/ Serbia – 90min – Color – Drama- Thriller
Directed by Vinko Möderndorfer

Original language: Slovenian and Serbian

Cast : Marko Mandić, Slobodan Ćustić, Barbara Cerar, Maja Martina Merljak, Janez Hočevar

Synopsis: The burglars Sergej and Polde steal a valuable painting Landscape No.2. By coincidence Sergej also takes a mysterious document dating back to the end of the World War II. Instructor is ordered to recover the stolen painting and the document, which triggers a diabolic mechanism of the past.

Produced by Forum Ljubljana (Eva Rohrman), Delirium (Biljana Prvanović), RTV Slovenija, VPK (Andrej Kregar)

Awards:
Best Film Award, Festival of Slovenian Film 2008 , Slovenia
Best Director Award, Festival of Slovenian Film 2008, Slovenia
Best Supporting Actress Award (Maja Martina Merljak), Festival of Slovenian Film 2008, Slovenia
Best Cinematography Award, Festival of Slovenian Film 2008, Slovenia
Best Production Design Award, Festival of Slovenian Film 2008, Slovenia
Best Music Award, Festival of Slovenian Film 2008, Slovenia

Festivals:
Warsaw International Film Festival 2008, Official Competition, Poland
FSF - Festival of Slovenian Film 2008, Official Competition, Slovenia

Upcoming Festival:
Adelaide Film Festival 2009, Australia

World Premiere: Venice Days / Giornate Degli Autori 2008, Italy

I DREAMT UNDER THE WATER (J’AI RÊVÉ SOUS L’EAU)
2009 – France – 73min – Color – Drama
Directed by HORMOZ

Original language: French

Cast: Hubert Benhamdine, Caroline Ducey, Christine Boisson, HPG

Synopsis: 20-years-old Antonin is secretly in love with Alex his best friend. After Alex's brutal death, Antonin succumbs to an overwhelming sexuality that leads him into prostitution. One day, he meets Juliette. It is love at first sight, but a drug issue starts to interfere between them. After some happy weeks, the young woman decides to run away. Close to despair, Antonin finally finds comfort in the arms of Baptiste, one of his former clients, while Juliette remains in his heart.

Produced by Sebastien Burnet (Triskel Film), Loïc Magneron (WIDE Management), TLA entertainment

Upcoming Festival:
Goteborg International Film Festival 2009, Official Competition, Sweden

HER NAME IS SABINE (ELLE S’APPELLE SABINE)
2008 – France – 85min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Sandrine BONNAIRE

Original language: French

Cast: Sabine Bonnaire

Synopsis: A sensitive portrait of Sabine Bonnaire, a 38-year-old autistic woman, filmed by her closest sister. The film tells her story through personal footage filmed by the actress over a period of 25 years, and her life today in a suitable facility. After a tragic five-year stay in a psychiatric hospital, Sabine found a new lease on life-even if these capacities remain altered-in a home in the Charente region. The film exposes the penury of specialized institutions and the dramatic consequences they can lead to.

Produced by Thomas Schmitt (Mosaique Films)

Award:
FIPRESCI Award, Cannes Director’s Fortnight 2007
Jury Special Prize, Festival International du Film Francophone of Namur 2007, Belgium
Audience Award, Festival International du Film Francophone of Namur 2007, Belgium
COL COA, City of Light, City of Angels Los Angeles Film Festival 2008, Jury Special Citation, USA

Nominated for Prix Europa : “Best TV documentary of the year 2008”

2009 Cesar nominations : Best Film, Best Documentary

MAI 68, LA BELLE OUVRAGE
1968/2008 – France – 52/117min – Black & White
Directed by Jean - Luc MAGNERON

Original language: French

Synopsis: A rare documentary about the Mai 68 riots in Paris with many testimonies from unknown and well-known witnesses. Shot during the events by Jean - Luc Magneron, this poignant documentary with interviews brings a new light on the events. On April 1998, some excerpts, entitled “It was your May 68”, were broadcasted during french TV show “La Marche du siècle” hosted by Jean-Marie Cavada, at the occasion of the 30th birthday of the events.

Produced by Loïc Magneron (WIDE Management)

Festivals:
Glasgow & Edinburgh French Film Festival 2008, UK
Décade Cinéma et Société 2008, Special Screening, France
Danish Film Institute, Cinematheque 2008, Denmark
Norwegian Film Institute ,Cinematheque 2008 Oslo, Norway
Cinema ZED Leuven 2008, Special Screening, Belgium
Cinéma Les Carmes,2008, France
Film and Art Festival 2008, Two Riversides, Poland
Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival 2008, World Panorama Section, Brazil
"Cinema Verite" Iran International Documentary Film Festival DEFC 2008, Section Our Era, Iran
Torino Film Festival 2008 , Italy

MUSIC : FEATURES & DOCUMENTARIES

BALLERINA
DIGITAL – France – 77 min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Bertrand NORMAND

Original language: Russian

Synopsis: Ballerina. Fascinating, enthralling, shrouded in mystery. Hers is a rare art. Her craft as demanding as an athlete. Her dancing life as brief as a butterfly. All to a vision of fragile beauty. A vision of what it is to be a woman. And Russia, land of absolutes, of the cult of beauty, of immensities and of nostalgia where that feminine ideal is celebrated and held dear. Russia is par excellence the land of the Ballerina. This film follows the destinies of five female dancers of the Kirov Ballet in Saint-Petersburg. Their lives weave together to tell the story of the Russian Ballerina of our time, from her beginnings as a child in dance school to the peak of her glory on the world stages. In this intimate gaze at the lives, the courage, the disappointments and triumphs of these women, this film unveils the vitality and uniqueness of the Russian Ballerina today. We come to understand her lasting allure as we begin the 21st century. Ballerina, as old as Russian history, as new as today.

Produced by Frédéric Podetti (Adesif Productions), Yann Brolli (Les Films du Tamarin)

English Voice Over by Diane Baker
Available version : English, Russian, French

Festivals:
Vancouver International Film Festival 2007, Canada
Palm Springs International Film Festival 2008, USA
Beloit International Film Festival 2008, USA
Spokane International Film Festival 2008, USA
Washington International Film Festival 2008, USA
Warsaw International Film Festival 2008, Poland

2009 Cesar nominations:
Best Film, Best Documentary Film, Best Original Soundtrack

SVETLANA ZAKHAROVA & ULYIANA LOPATKINA
2008 – 2 x 26 min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Laurent Gentot

Synopsis: Two portraits of two great stars, icones of today’s Russian ballet. Svetlana Zakharova is star from the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow and Ulyiana Lopatkina is star from the Marinsky Theater in Saint Petersburg.

Produced by Injam Film

REDEMPTION SONG
HD - 2009 – France – 90 min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Markus HANSEN, Jean-Marie BOULET

Original language: English, Vietnamese

Synopsis: In March 1967, Billy Bang was conscripted to fight in Vietnam, an experience that left him emotionally desolate and profoundly confused about his American identity. Upon his return, he tried to forget his nightmares through alcohol, drugs and music. Forty years later, he decides that the only way he will be able to repair his emotions and find some closure to his trauma, is to return to Vietnam, this time with his violin. This film is about the desire to overcome and transcend the trauma of war through music and art.

Produced by Loïc Magneron (WIDE Management)

ANOTHER LOVE STORY (MARÉ, NOSSA HISTÓRIA DE AMOR)
HD and 35mm - 2008 – Brazil/France/Uruguay – 104min – Color – Drama
Directed by Lucia MURAT

Original language: Portuguese

Cast: Cristina Lago, Vinícius D´Black, Marisa Orth, Jefchander Lucas, Babu Santana

Synopsis: Living in a slum divided between two rival gangs of drug traffickers, Analídia is the daughter of one of the gangs’ leaders and Jonatha is a childhood friend of the other gang leader. Both study in a dance group situated exactly in the middle of the two territories, looking for solace in art. Openly inspired by Romeo and Juliet, the film is a salute to the strong sense of Brazilian music, to the relevance of national contemporary dance, and to the strange mix found today in slums, where violence lives alongside the artistic paths enabled by social projects.

Produced by Lúcia Murat (Taiga Filmes e Video), Laurent Lavolé (Gloria Films), Natacha López (Lavoragine Films)

Awards:
Special Jury Prize for Babu Santana, Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival 2007, Brazil
Behind the Scenes Award, Film Festival Open Doek 2008, Belgium
Best Direction Award, Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival 2008, USA
Woman and film award, San Francisco Latino films Festival 2008

COLLECTIONS

MIKA KAURISMAKI COLLECTION
Mika Kaurismäki’s first film The Liar (1980) was an overnight sensation, when first shown in Finland; it marked the beginning of the cinema of the Kaurismäki brothers and started a new era in the Finnish cinema. After the high school Mika Kaurismäki used to work as a painter of houses and apartments in a small town of Kuusankoski in the Southeastern part of Finland. In the autumn of 1976, when the winter was coming and the annual high season for painting houses was over, he thought of doing something else in life. Mika Kaurismaki studied cinema in Munich, Germany, (Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen) 1977-1981 and made his diplom film The Liar in 1980 in Finland. His younger brother Aki Kaurismäki, then a student of journalism, played the main role and also co-wrote the screenplay. After the success of The Liar, Mika Kaurismäki decided to stay in Finland and together with his brother and some friends he founded the production company Villealfa Filmproductions.

During the active Villealfa years, Mika co-founded the legendary Midnight Sun Film Festival (1986) and the distribution company Senso Films (1987) and the Andorra cinemas in Helsinki. The 90’s meant a gradual disappearance of the Villealfa spirit and both Mika and Aki started to produce their films through their own production companies. In 1994 Mika returned to the Brazilian jungle with Samuel Fuller and Jim Jarmusch and made the feature length documentary Tigrero – a film that was never made. The film was awarded the International Critics’ Award at the Berlin Film Festival in 1994. In the course of the 90’s Mika established his base and second home in Rio de Janeiro and started to concentrate more in international co-productions. In 1996 in Philadelphia he directed the no-budget thriller Condition Red with James Russo, Cynda Williams and Paul Calderon. His biggest production so far is the comedy LA without a map (1998), with David Tennant, July Delpy, Vincent Gallo, Johnny Depp, James Le Gros, Anouk Aimee, Joe Dallesandro.

In 2003 he directed Honey Baby, a road movie between Germany and Russia, starring Henry Thomas, Irina Björklund and Helmut Berger. Brasileirinho, a film about Brazilian choro music, premiered at the Berlinale 2005 and Sonic Mirror.

Three Wise Men (Kolme viisasta miestä), Sonic Mirror, Brasileirinho, Honey Baby, Moro No Brasil, Highway Society, Condition Red (Jatkuva hälytystila), Tigrero: A Film That Was Never Made (Tigrero - Elokuva, joka ei valmistunut), The Last Border (Viimeisellä rajalla), Zombie and the Ghost Train (Zombie ja Kummitusjuna), Amazon, Paper Star (Paperitähti), Cha Cha Cha, Helsinki Naples All Night Long, Rosso, The Clan Tale of the Frogs (Klaani), The Worthless (Arvottomat), Jackpot 2, The Liar (Valehtelija)…

More than 30 hours of programs.
HD masters available for the first films

RENÉT FERÉT COLLECTION
After studies in Lille, he took classes at the Actor school of the TNS of Strasbourg. Script, writer, producer, director, TV director, actor, and teacher, René Feret has been involved in more than 40 features films and documentaries from 1975 to nowadays. Some of his film has been selected in competition for major festivals worldwide, such as La Communion Solennelle (Official selection in Cannes FF in 1977) and Mystere Alexina (Un certain regard in Cannes 1985).

Directed by : Comme une etoile dans la nuit, But Once Mom Had Gone... (Il a suffit que Maman s’en aille), L’enfant du pays, Rue du retrait, Les frères Gravet, La place d’un autre, Promenades d’été, Baptême, Mystère Alexina, Fernand, La communion solenelle, Histoire de Paul

Produced by :
Dakan, Un homme deux femmes, Itinéraire Bis, Sarah, A vendre

More than 27 hours of programs.

HIGHLIGHTS

2009-01-15T02:43:00.000-08:00

GIGOLA Pre-Sales
2009 – France –– Color – Erotic – In Production
Directed by Laure CHARPENTIER

Original language: French

Cast: Vahina Gocante, Philippe Torreton, Marisa Paredes, Marisa Berenson, Amira Casar, Anne Parillaud

Synopsis: “GIGOLA” is the story of George, a charismatic and adventurous young woman, born from an old, catholic family, who, in her teens, falls in love with a female teacher named Sybil. Devastated by her lover’s eventual suicide, some years later, George embarks on an exciting and reckless journey to the depths of Pigalle’s nightlife, circa 1960. After an encounter with a very wealthy, still attractive, but older woman, Odette, who offers her money and gifts in return for sexual favours, George becomes Gigola, a kind of gigolo for women only.

Based on the controversial Best Seller novel “Gigola” by Laure Charpentier. The book was first printed in 1972 but immediately retrieved by the censorship. 30 years after “Gigola” became one of the most fascinating character of the 60’s nightlife in Pigalle.

Produced by :
Denise Petitdidier (MARIE AMELIE PRODUCTION) - FR
NIKOVANTASTIC FILM - DE

AH! THE LIBIDO
HD / 35 mm 2009 – France – 80 min – Color – Drama
Directed by Michèle ROSIER

Original language: French

Cast: Claude Degliame, Audrey Dana, Sarah Grappin, Anna Mihalcea

Synopsis: This is a week of surprising adventures for Paula, Betty, Charlotte, Sandy, women of different ages, who work at the French daily Liberation and relish lunching together at the cafeteria. Betty, the gutsiest one, talks the others into making a date with a toy-boy (or one-shot boy). And on Sunday, the quartet will meet to compare notes. The Libido is not so much about sex, but a portrait of four high-spirited and distinctly different Parisian working women.

Produced by GO-FILMS

GIVE ME YOUR HAND (DONNE-MOI LA MAIN)
2009 – France/Germany – 76min – Color
Directed by Pascal-Alex Vincent

Original language: French

Synopsis: Twin brothers Antoine and Quentin, eighteen years old, leave their house in the North of France and hit the road to go to Spain for the funeral of their mother, whom they barely knew. When the most reserved one reveals his homosexuality, their relationship changes.

Produced by Local Films, Adam Production, Busse & Halberschmidt Filmproduktion

Festivals:
Torino Film Festival 2008 - Official Competition, Italy
Gay & Lesbian Film Festival of Paris 2008, France

ROBBER GIRLS (RÄUBERINNEN)
HD/ 35 mm - 2009 – Switzerland/ Luxemburg – 80 min – Color – Erotic comedy - In Post Production
Directed by Carla LIA MONTI

Original languages: German, Swiss-German, Luxemburg

Cast : Nina Bühlmann, Alexandra Prusa, Myriam Muller, Mathis Künzler, Nils Althaus, Hanspeter Ull

Synopsis: Set some time in the undeterminable past: Emily is sent to work and live in his excellency's castle. She manages to escape into the woods, where she meets some lively hookers. Together they become «Robber Girls» taking a stand and fighting the patriarchy.

Produced by DSCHOINT VENTSCHR FILMPRODUKTION, PAUL THILTGES DISTRIBUTIONS

BLIND SPOT
HD - 2009 – Netherlands – 80 min – Color/ B&W – Drama
Directed by Ad BOL

Original languages: Dutch, German, English

Cast: Jango Edwards, Micky Hoogendijl, Johnny Melville, Hugo Metsers, Maike Moeller

Synopsis: A young woman, Anya, dons a blindfold to dance mysteriously in her private atelier. It is rhythmic but also tragic, melancholic and gripping. Suddenly, Anya awakes screaming. Her husband tries to comfort her: yet another nightmare... He begs her to see a specialist but she just shrugs off the idea. Anya enters a warehouse under the watchful eye of a distinguished middle-aged man. In his hand a Colt revolver. Upstairs in the studio Anya preens herself in some sexy underwear. A knock at the door startles her. She opens and the man barges in, holding the gun to her head…

Produced by Eager Films B.V., Maximum Films

THREE WISE MEN (KOLME VIISASTA MIESTÄ)
HD / 35 mm - 2008 – Finland – 95 min – Color – Drama
Directed by Mika KAURISMAKI

Original language: Finnish

Cast: Kari Heiskanen, Pertti Sveholm, Timo Torikka

Synopsis: Matti (51), a police inspector, Erkki (51), photographer and Rauno (51), actor, are childhood friends, who haven't seen each other for a long time. They meet coincidentally in a Christmas Eve in Helsinki and spend the night together in a karaoke bar. Between drinking and singing they tell about the joys and sorrows of their lives, revealing some painfull experiences and taking even their friendship apart. The events take a dramatic turn, when a mysterious woman enters the bar.

Produced by Mika Kaurismäki (Marianna Films Oy)

Festivals:
Toronto International Film Festival 2008, Canada
Pusan International Film Festival 2008, South Korea
Valladolid International Film Festival 2008, Official Competition, Spain
Festival on Wheels, Ankara Festival of European Films 2008, Official Competition, Turkey

Upcoming Festival:
Goteborg International Film Festival 2009, Sweden

World Premiere in Toronto Contemporary World Cinema Programme Section

FIRAAQ A mesmerizing social tale
2008 – India – 101 min - Color – Drama
Directed by Nandita DAS

Original languages: English, Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati

Cast: Naseruddin Shah, Paresh Rawal, Raghuveer Yadav, Deepti Naval, Sanjay Suri

Synopsis: Aarti is a housewife silently haunted by the sight of Muslim women begging for sanctuary in her house, that she ignored. Her only hope for salvation comes when she takes in an orphaned Muslim boy as a servant, pretending to her family he is Hindu. Khan Saheb (Naseeruddin Shah) is a great Muslim musician who lives in a Hindu suburb, refusing to comprehend the fractured world around him. Muneera has hidden with husband during the riots but returns to find her home gutted and trust in her neighbours destroyed. Middle class Sameer, married to a Hindu wife, is torn between fleeing town or staying and being recognised as a Muslim.

Produced by PERCEPT PICTURES COMPANY

Festivals:
Telluride Film Festival 2008, USA
Toronto International Film Festival 2008, Canada
Vancouver International Film Festival 2008, Canada
Pusan International Film Festival 2008, Korea
New York South Asian International Film Festival 2008, USA
Kolkata International Film Festival 2008, India
Thessaloniki International Film Festival 2008,Official Competition, Greece
Singapore Asian Pacific Festival of 1st Films 2008, Singapore
Dubai International Film Festival 2008, Official Competition, UAE

Upcoming Festivals:
Tromso International Film Festival 2009, Norway
Palm Springs International Film Festival 2009, USA
European Premiere un London BFI Film Festival - World Cinema Section

Awards:
Everyday life: transcendence or reconciliation award 2008,Thessaloniki, Greece
Best Film, Singapore Asian Pacific Festival of 1st Films 2008, Singapore
Best Screenplay Singapore Asian Pacific Festival of 1st Films 2008, Singapore
Foreign Correspondents Association “Purple Orchid” Award for the Best Film Singapore Asian Pacific Festival
of 1st Films 2008, Singapore
Muhr AsiaAfrica Feature Award, Best Editor Sreekar Prasad ,Dubai International Film Festival 2008, UAE

FRANÇAISE
2008 – France/Morocco – 84 min – Color
Directed by Souad EL BOUHATI

Original language: French, Arabic

Cast: Hafsia Herzi, Farida Khelfa, Maher Kamoun, Alexandra Martinez, Amal Ayouch

Synopsis: Sofia, born in France of Maghrebian parents, spends a happy childhood in the countryside. Her father missing his country, she ends up in a farm in Morocco. She is only ten years old. She swears she’ll pass her degree in order to return to France at the age of eighteen. But life always arranges to disrupt our plans ...

Produced by Jacques Kirsner (JEM Productions)

Awards:
Muhr Arabic Feature Best Actress Award : Hafsia Herzi

Festivals:
Pusan International Film Festival 2008, South Korea
Dubai International Film Festival 2008 , Official Competition, UAE
Rotterdam International Film Festival 2009, The Netherlands

Upcoming Festivals:
Göteborg Film Festival 2009, Sweden
Cinéfranco Toronto French Film Festival 2009, Canada

HAFSIA HERZI Shooting stars of 2009, the annual new talent forum at the Berlinale

2009 Cesar Nominations: Best Film, Best First Film and Best Original Script

COMME UNE ETOILE DANS LA NUIT
2008 – France – 90 min – Color -Drama
Directed by René FERET

Original language: French

Cast: Salomé Stévenin, Nicolas Giraud, Jean-François Stévenin, Maryline Canto

Synopsis: When Anne and Marc decide to have a child, Marc discovers he has Hodgkin disease. Fighting to preserve their love from fear, death and sadness, they will both live a senseless joy…

Produced by Fabienne Camara (Les FILMS ALYNE)

2009 Cesar nominations: Best Film, Best Original Script

STRAIGHT TO THE HEART (EN PLEIN COEUR)
2008 – Canada– 105 min – Color – Romance -Drama
Directed by Stéphane GEHAMI

Original language: French

Cast: Julie Deslauriers, Pierre Rivard, Bénédicte Décary, Patrice Godin

Synopsis: Benoît, a 32 year old teenager, talented car stealer who falls in love compulsively, roams from girl to girl. Jimi, a little man of 13, supports his depressive mother earning money teaming up with Benoît. From stolen Jeep to stolen Jeep, with their fists, with their guts and with their hearts, those two are launched into a story which will turn around Benoît’s life.

Produced by Stéphane Géhami (PRODUCTIONS FILM PLEIN COEUR)

Festival:
World Premiere in Montreal, World Competition, Official Competition, Canada

ANOTHER MAN (UN AUTRE HOMME)
2008 – Suisse – 89 min – Black & White – Drama
Directed by Lionel BAIER

Original language: Suisse

Cast: Robin Harsch, Natacha Koutchoumov, Elodie Weber, Bulle Ogier

Synopsis: François and his girlfriend have settled in the country. Although he is not a journalist, he contributes to a small local weekly, describing the life of the region’s inhabitants and the films shown at the valley’s only movie theatre. Since he is no film critic, he doesn’t know what to make of the films he’s supposed to write about. So he ends up copying word for word the reviews in “Travelling”, a highly specialized cinema review. Very quickly, movies become his passion, and he sets off for Lausanne to view the press screenings. Here he meets Rosa, a critic for a benchmark-setting daily. A kinky relationship develops between the two of them, leading François to discover the inner workings of desire: desire of a woman and of a critic.
Until the day his cheating is discovered...

Produced by Robert Boner (SAGA Production)

Festival:
World Premiere in Locarno Film Festival 2008 ,Official Competition, Switzerland
Pusan International Film Festival 2008, Korea
Warsaw International Film Festival 2008,Official Competition, Poland

LOLA MONTES
HD REMASTERED & 35 mm – 1955/2008 – France – 105 min – Color – Drama/Historical
Directed by Max OPHULS

Original language: French
Based on the book by Cecil St. Laurent

Cast: Martine Carol, Peter Ustinov, Anton Walbrook

Synopsis: Reduced to a state the total degeneration, Lola Montès, under the big top of a gigantic circus, is forced to reinact her dramatic past. The life story of a 19th century courtesan told via flashbacks while being exhibited in a stylised circus somewhere in America. Lola Montes pantomimes her own image, caught between being a caged animal and a femme fatale, she travels around the world creating a caricature of her decline until the tragic conclusion during a show : a leap into the void...

Produced by Les Films du Jeudi

Festivals:
Cannes Film Festival 2008, Opening Film Cannes Classics, Official Screening, France
Chungmuro International Film Festival of Seoul 2008 , Korea
II Cinema Ritrovato Film Festival 2008, Bologna, Italy
Paris Cinéma Film Festival 2008, France
Telluride Film Festival 2008, USA
Seoul Film Festival 2008, Korea
Los Angeles Directors’ Guild, USA
New York Film Festival, USA
ARP-Dijon Film Festival, France
Antalya Film Festival, Turkey
IFFI Goa Film Treasures, India

NOISE AND FURY (14-18, LE BRUIT ET LA FUREUR)
2009 – France/ Belgium – 100 min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Jean-François DELASSUS

Original language: French
Voice over by Alexandre Astier

Synopsis: Not everything has been told about World War One. This documentary tries to explain the inexplicable: how tens of millions of men could have suffered the unbelievable toughness of life in trenches during 4 years, season after season, day after day, night after night? How could they have accepted the idea of a sure death or injury while they could not even tell the exact reason why they were fighting?
What you are about to see can seem crazy: WW1 was maintained by a general consent.

14 – 18, the Great War is a documentary based on rare archives for the first time colorized, restored and sonorized as never before. Broadcasted on prime time with top rated audience.

Produced by PROGRAM 33, ECPAD, IOTA PRODUCTIONS, RTBF

HIDDEN HEART
HD 2008 – Germany – 90min - Documentary
Directed by Cristina Karrer, Werner Schweizer

Original language: English/German

Synopsis: Christian Barnard from Capetown didn't write the great success-story of the first heart transplantation in 1967 alone. Hamilton Naki, a black man, was equally part of the sensational operation. «Hidden Heart» tells the story of two men, glamour, injustice and uprising.

Produced by Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion, Lichtblick, Big World Cinema (RSA)

Festivals:
Solothurn Film Festival 2008, Switzerland
Seville European Film Festival 2008, Eurodoc Competition, Spain

A POLICE ROMANCE (UN ROMAN POLICIER)
HD / 35 mm 2008 – France – 95min – Color – Drama
Directed by Stéphanie DUVIVIER

Original language: French

Cast : Olivier Marchal, Hiam Abbass, Marie-Laure Descoureaux, Abdelhafid Métalsi, Théo Trifard,

Synopsis: In a small police station, Lieutenant Emilie Carange finds herself sexually attracted to Jamil Messaouden, a young rookie officer. When an old Algerian woman reports that she’s seen drug dealers operating in the neighbourhood, they find themselves in over their heads in an investigation. Night after night, Emilie’s desire grows. The drug investigation gets out of hand and so does Emilie …

Produced by Richard Magnien (Mat Films)

Awards:
Rainer Werner Fassbinder Prize - Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival 2008
Festivals:
Ciné Premières Film Festival 2008, The Netherlands
Montréal Festival du Film Français 2008, CINEMANIA, Canada
Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival 2008, International Competition, Germany
Festival Cinéma Méditerranéen in Bruxelles 2008, Belgium

2009 Cesar nominations: Best Film, Best First Film, Best Original Soundtrack, Best Original Script

CHILDREN OF DON QUIXOTE (ACT 1) (LES ENFANTS DE DON QUICHOTTE ACTE 1)
2008 – France – 75min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Ronan DENECE, Augustin LEGRAND, Jean-Baptiste LEGRAND

Original language: French

Synopsis: On October 26th 2006, two citizens, Augustin Legrand and Pascal Oumaklouf decided to federate the homeless people and force the French government to respect their fundamental rights. They set up a true entrenched camp in the heart of Paris, on the Canal St Martin, where a new resistance stood up.
This is the story of their struggle and this film was conceived as a tool, a weapon to extend their fight.

Produced by Jean-Baptiste Legrand (SOCIETE CENTRALE ELECTRIQUE) and co-produced by MNP production (Mathieu Kassovitch)

Festivals:
Cannes International Critics' Week 2008, France
Mar del Plata International Film Festival 2008, Argentina
CPH:DOX, Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival 2008, Denmark

Produced by MNP “Mathieu Kassovitz” with Augustin LEGRAND “13 TZAMETI”

2009 Cesar nominations: Best Film, Best Documentary Film, Best Original Script

HIGHLIGHTS: FEATURE FILMS & DOCUMENTARIES

LANDSCAPE NO. 2 (POKRAJINA ŠT.2)
2008 – Slovenia/ Serbia – 90min – Color – Drama- Thriller
Directed by Vinko Möderndorfer

Original language: Slovenian and Serbian

Cast : Marko Mandić, Slobodan Ćustić, Barbara Cerar, Maja Martina Merljak, Janez Hočevar

Synopsis: The burglars Sergej and Polde steal a valuable painting Landscape No.2. By coincidence Sergej also takes a mysterious document dating back to the end of the World War II. Instructor is ordered to recover the stolen painting and the document, which triggers a diabolic mechanism of the past.

Produced by Forum Ljubljana (Eva Rohrman), Delirium (Biljana Prvanović), RTV Slovenija, VPK (Andrej Kregar)

Awards:
Best Film Award, Festival of Slovenian Film 2008 , Slovenia
Best Director Award, Festival of Slovenian Film 2008, Slovenia
Best Supporting Actress Award (Maja Martina Merljak), Festival of Slovenian Film 2008, Slovenia
Best Cinematography Award, Festival of Slovenian Film 2008, Slovenia
Best Production Design Award, Festival of Slovenian Film 2008, Slovenia
Best Music Award, Festival of Slovenian Film 2008, Slovenia

Festivals:
Warsaw International Film Festival 2008, Official Competition, Poland
FSF - Festival of Slovenian Film 2008, Official Competition, Slovenia

Upcoming Festival:
Adelaide Film Festival 2009, Australia

World Premiere: Venice Days / Giornate Degli Autori 2008, Italy

I DREAMT UNDER THE WATER (J’AI RÊVÉ SOUS L’EAU)
2009 – France – 73min – Color – Drama
Directed by HORMOZ

Original language: French

Cast: Hubert Benhamdine, Caroline Ducey, Christine Boisson, HPG

Synopsis: 20-years-old Antonin is secretly in love with Alex his best friend. After Alex's brutal death, Antonin succumbs to an overwhelming sexuality that leads him into prostitution. One day, he meets Juliette. It is love at first sight, but a drug issue starts to interfere between them. After some happy weeks, the young woman decides to run away. Close to despair, Antonin finally finds comfort in the arms of Baptiste, one of his former clients, while Juliette remains in his heart.

Produced by Sebastien Burnet (Triskel Film), Loïc Magneron (WIDE Management), TLA entertainment

Upcoming Festival:
Goteborg International Film Festival 2009, Official Competition, Sweden

HER NAME IS SABINE (ELLE S’APPELLE SABINE)
2008 – France – 85min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Sandrine BONNAIRE

Original language: French

Cast: Sabine Bonnaire

Synopsis: A sensitive portrait of Sabine Bonnaire, a 38-year-old autistic woman, filmed by her closest sister. The film tells her story through personal footage filmed by the actress over a period of 25 years, and her life today in a suitable facility. After a tragic five-year stay in a psychiatric hospital, Sabine found a new lease on life-even if these capacities remain altered-in a home in the Charente region. The film exposes the penury of specialized institutions and the dramatic consequences they can lead to.

Produced by Thomas Schmitt (Mosaique Films)

Award:
FIPRESCI Award, Cannes Director’s Fortnight 2007
Jury Special Prize, Festival International du Film Francophone of Namur 2007, Belgium
Audience Award, Festival International du Film Francophone of Namur 2007, Belgium
COL COA, City of Light, City of Angels Los Angeles Film Festival 2008, Jury Special Citation, USA

Nominated for Prix Europa : “Best TV documentary of the year 2008”

2009 Cesar nominations : Best Film, Best Documentary

MAI 68, LA BELLE OUVRAGE
1968/2008 – France – 52/117min – Black & White
Directed by Jean - Luc MAGNERON

Original language: French

Synopsis: A rare documentary about the Mai 68 riots in Paris with many testimonies from unknown and well-known witnesses. Shot during the events by Jean - Luc Magneron, this poignant documentary with interviews brings a new light on the events. On April 1998, some excerpts, entitled “It was your May 68”, were broadcasted during french TV show “La Marche du siècle” hosted by Jean-Marie Cavada, at the occasion of the 30th birthday of the events.

Produced by Loïc Magneron (WIDE Management)

Festivals:
Glasgow & Edinburgh French Film Festival 2008, UK
Décade Cinéma et Société 2008, Special Screening, France
Danish Film Institute, Cinematheque 2008, Denmark
Norwegian Film Institute ,Cinematheque 2008 Oslo, Norway
Cinema ZED Leuven 2008, Special Screening, Belgium
Cinéma Les Carmes,2008, France
Film and Art Festival 2008, Two Riversides, Poland
Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival 2008, World Panorama Section, Brazil
"Cinema Verite" Iran International Documentary Film Festival DEFC 2008, Section Our Era, Iran
Torino Film Festival 2008 , Italy

MUSIC : FEATURES & DOCUMENTARIES

BALLERINA
DIGITAL – France – 77 min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Bertrand NORMAND

Original language: Russian

Synopsis: Ballerina. Fascinating, enthralling, shrouded in mystery. Hers is a rare art. Her craft as demanding as an athlete. Her dancing life as brief as a butterfly. All to a vision of fragile beauty. A vision of what it is to be a woman. And Russia, land of absolutes, of the cult of beauty, of immensities and of nostalgia where that feminine ideal is celebrated and held dear. Russia is par excellence the land of the Ballerina. This film follows the destinies of five female dancers of the Kirov Ballet in Saint-Petersburg. Their lives weave together to tell the story of the Russian Ballerina of our time, from her beginnings as a child in dance school to the peak of her glory on the world stages. In this intimate gaze at the lives, the courage, the disappointments and triumphs of these women, this film unveils the vitality and uniqueness of the Russian Ballerina today. We come to understand her lasting allure as we begin the 21st century. Ballerina, as old as Russian history, as new as today.

Produced by Frédéric Podetti (Adesif Productions), Yann Brolli (Les Films du Tamarin)

English Voice Over by Diane Baker
Available version : English, Russian, French

Festivals:
Vancouver International Film Festival 2007, Canada
Palm Springs International Film Festival 2008, USA
Beloit International Film Festival 2008, USA
Spokane International Film Festival 2008, USA
Washington International Film Festival 2008, USA
Warsaw International Film Festival 2008, Poland

2009 Cesar nominations:
Best Film, Best Documentary Film, Best Original Soundtrack

SVETLANA ZAKHAROVA & ULYIANA LOPATKINA
2008 – 2 x 26 min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Laurent Gentot

Synopsis: Two portraits of two great stars, icones of today’s Russian ballet. Svetlana Zakharova is star from the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow and Ulyiana Lopatkina is star from the Marinsky Theater in Saint Petersburg.

Produced by Injam Film

REDEMPTION SONG
HD - 2009 – France – 90 min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Markus HANSEN, Jean-Marie BOULET

Original language: English, Vietnamese

Synopsis: In March 1967, Billy Bang was conscripted to fight in Vietnam, an experience that left him emotionally desolate and profoundly confused about his American identity. Upon his return, he tried to forget his nightmares through alcohol, drugs and music. Forty years later, he decides that the only way he will be able to repair his emotions and find some closure to his trauma, is to return to Vietnam, this time with his violin. This film is about the desire to overcome and transcend the trauma of war through music and art.

Produced by Loïc Magneron (WIDE Management)

ANOTHER LOVE STORY (MARÉ, NOSSA HISTÓRIA DE AMOR)
HD and 35mm - 2008 – Brazil/France/Uruguay – 104min – Color – Drama
Directed by Lucia MURAT

Original language: Portuguese

Cast: Cristina Lago, Vinícius D´Black, Marisa Orth, Jefchander Lucas, Babu Santana

Synopsis: Living in a slum divided between two rival gangs of drug traffickers, Analídia is the daughter of one of the gangs’ leaders and Jonatha is a childhood friend of the other gang leader. Both study in a dance group situated exactly in the middle of the two territories, looking for solace in art. Openly inspired by Romeo and Juliet, the film is a salute to the strong sense of Brazilian music, to the relevance of national contemporary dance, and to the strange mix found today in slums, where violence lives alongside the artistic paths enabled by social projects.

Produced by Lúcia Murat (Taiga Filmes e Video), Laurent Lavolé (Gloria Films), Natacha López (Lavoragine Films)

Awards:
Special Jury Prize for Babu Santana, Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival 2007, Brazil
Behind the Scenes Award, Film Festival Open Doek 2008, Belgium
Best Direction Award, Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival 2008, USA
Woman and film award, San Francisco Latino films Festival 2008

COLLECTIONS

MIKA KAURISMAKI COLLECTION
Mika Kaurismäki’s first film The Liar (1980) was an overnight sensation, when first shown in Finland; it marked the beginning of the cinema of the Kaurismäki brothers and started a new era in the Finnish cinema. After the high school Mika Kaurismäki used to work as a painter of houses and apartments in a small town of Kuusankoski in the Southeastern part of Finland. In the autumn of 1976, when the winter was coming and the annual high season for painting houses was over, he thought of doing something else in life. Mika Kaurismaki studied cinema in Munich, Germany, (Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen) 1977-1981 and made his diplom film The Liar in 1980 in Finland. His younger brother Aki Kaurismäki, then a student of journalism, played the main role and also co-wrote the screenplay. After the success of The Liar, Mika Kaurismäki decided to stay in Finland and together with his brother and some friends he founded the production company Villealfa Filmproductions.

During the active Villealfa years, Mika co-founded the legendary Midnight Sun Film Festival (1986) and the distribution company Senso Films (1987) and the Andorra cinemas in Helsinki. The 90’s meant a gradual disappearance of the Villealfa spirit and both Mika and Aki started to produce their films through their own production companies. In 1994 Mika returned to the Brazilian jungle with Samuel Fuller and Jim Jarmusch and made the feature length documentary Tigrero – a film that was never made. The film was awarded the International Critics’ Award at the Berlin Film Festival in 1994. In the course of the 90’s Mika established his base and second home in Rio de Janeiro and started to concentrate more in international co-productions. In 1996 in Philadelphia he directed the no-budget thriller Condition Red with James Russo, Cynda Williams and Paul Calderon. His biggest production so far is the comedy LA without a map (1998), with David Tennant, July Delpy, Vincent Gallo, Johnny Depp, James Le Gros, Anouk Aimee, Joe Dallesandro.

In 2003 he directed Honey Baby, a road movie between Germany and Russia, starring Henry Thomas, Irina Björklund and Helmut Berger. Brasileirinho, a film about Brazilian choro music, premiered at the Berlinale 2005 and Sonic Mirror.

Three Wise Men (Kolme viisasta miestä), Sonic Mirror, Brasileirinho, Honey Baby, Moro No Brasil, Highway Society, Condition Red (Jatkuva hälytystila), Tigrero: A Film That Was Never Made (Tigrero - Elokuva, joka ei valmistunut), The Last Border (Viimeisellä rajalla), Zombie and the Ghost Train (Zombie ja Kummitusjuna), Amazon, Paper Star (Paperitähti), Cha Cha Cha, Helsinki Naples All Night Long, Rosso, The Clan Tale of the Frogs (Klaani), The Worthless (Arvottomat), Jackpot 2, The Liar (Valehtelija)…

More than 30 hours of programs.
HD masters available for the first films

RENÉT FERÉT COLLECTION
After studies in Lille, he took classes at the Actor school of the TNS of Strasbourg. Script, writer, producer, director, TV director, actor, and teacher, René Feret has been involved in more than 40 features films and documentaries from 1975 to nowadays. Some of his film has been selected in competition for major festivals worldwide, such as La Communion Solennelle (Official selection in Cannes FF in 1977) and Mystere Alexina (Un certain regard in Cannes 1985).

Directed by : Comme une etoile dans la nuit, But Once Mom Had Gone... (Il a suffit que Maman s’en aille), L’enfant du pays, Rue du retrait, Les frères Gravet, La place d’un autre, Promenades d’été, Baptême, Mystère Alexina, Fernand, La communion solenelle, Histoire de Paul

Produced by :
Dakan, Un homme deux femmes, Itinéraire Bis, Sarah, A vendre

More than 27 hours of programs.

WIDE MANAGEMENT

2009-01-15T02:34:00.000-08:00

HIGHLIGHTS

Gigola Pre-Sales
2009 – France –– Color – Erotic – In Production
Directed by Laure CHARPENTIER

Original language: French

Cast: Vahina Gocante, Philippe Torreton, Marisa Paredes, Marisa Berenson, Amira Casar, Anne Parillaud

Synopsis: “GIGOLA” is the story of George, a charismatic and adventurous young woman, born from an old, catholic family, who, in her teens, falls in love with a female teacher named Sybil. Devastated by her lover’s eventual suicide, some years later, George embarks on an exciting and reckless journey to the depths of Pigalle’s nightlife, circa 1960. After an encounter with a very wealthy, still attractive, but older woman, Odette, who offers her money and gifts in return for sexual favours, George becomes Gigola, a kind of gigolo for women only.

Based on the controversial Best Seller novel “Gigola” by Laure Charpentier. The book was first printed in 1972 but immediately retrieved by the censorship. 30 years after “Gigola” became one of the most fascinating character of the 60’s nightlife in Pigalle.

Produced by :
Denise Petitdidier (MARIE AMELIE PRODUCTION) - FR
NIKOVANTASTIC FILM - DE

Ah! The Libido A French “Sex and the City “
HD / 35 mm 2009 – France – 80 min – Color – Drama
Directed by Michèle ROSIER

Original language: French

Cast: Claude Degliame, Audrey Dana, Sarah Grappin, Anna Mihalcea

Synopsis: This is a week of surprising adventures for Paula, Betty, Charlotte, Sandy, women of different ages, who work at the French daily Liberation and relish lunching together at the cafeteria. Betty, the gutsiest one, talks the others into making a date with a toy-boy (or one-shot boy). And on Sunday, the quartet will meet to compare notes. The Libido is not so much about sex, but a portrait of four high-spirited and distinctly different Parisian working women.

Produced by GO-FILMS

Give Me Your Hand (Donne-moi la main) A sentimental Road Movie
2009 – France/Germany – 76min – Color
Directed by Pascal-Alex Vincent

Original language: French

Synopsis: Twin brothers Antoine and Quentin, eighteen years old, leave their house in the North of France and hit the road to go to Spain for the funeral of their mother, whom they barely knew. When the most reserved one reveals his homosexuality, their relationship changes.

Produced by Local Films, Adam Production, Busse & Halberschmidt Filmproduktion

Festivals:
Torino Film Festival 2008 - Official Competition, Italy
Gay & Lesbian Film Festival of Paris 2008, France

Robber Girls (Räuberinnen) Women without Scruples... And Men without Pants!
HD/ 35 mm - 2009 – Switzerland/ Luxemburg – 80 min – Color – Erotic comedy - In Post Production
Directed by Carla LIA MONTI

Original languages: German, Swiss-German, Luxemburg

Cast : Nina Bühlmann, Alexandra Prusa, Myriam Muller, Mathis Künzler, Nils Althaus, Hanspeter Ull

Synopsis: Set some time in the undeterminable past: Emily is sent to work and live in his excellency's castle. She manages to escape into the woods, where she meets some lively hookers. Together they become «Robber Girls» taking a stand and fighting the patriarchy.

Produced by DSCHOINT VENTSCHR FILMPRODUKTION, PAUL THILTGES DISTRIBUTIONS

Blind Spot Erotic / Psychological thriller
HD - 2009 – Netherlands – 80 min – Color/ B&W – Drama
Directed by Ad BOL

Original languages: Dutch, German, English

Cast: Jango Edwards, Micky Hoogendijl, Johnny Melville, Hugo Metsers, Maike Moeller

Synopsis: A young woman, Anya, dons a blindfold to dance mysteriously in her private atelier. It is rhythmic but also tragic, melancholic and gripping. Suddenly, Anya awakes screaming. Her husband tries to comfort her: yet another nightmare... He begs her to see a specialist but she just shrugs off the idea. Anya enters a warehouse under the watchful eye of a distinguished middle-aged man. In his hand a Colt revolver. Upstairs in the studio Anya preens herself in some sexy underwear. A knock at the door startles her. She opens and the man barges in, holding the gun to her head…

Produced by Eager Films B.V., Maximum Films

Three Wise Men (Kolme viisasta miestä) The new “DOGMA”
HD / 35 mm - 2008 – Finland – 95 min – Color – Drama
Directed by Mika KAURISMAKI

Original language: Finnish

Cast: Kari Heiskanen, Pertti Sveholm, Timo Torikka

Synopsis: Matti (51), a police inspector, Erkki (51), photographer and Rauno (51), actor, are childhood friends, who haven't seen each other for a long time. They meet coincidentally in a Christmas Eve in Helsinki and spend the night together in a karaoke bar. Between drinking and singing they tell about the joys and sorrows of their lives, revealing some painfull experiences and taking even their friendship apart. The events take a dramatic turn, when a mysterious woman enters the bar.

Produced by Mika Kaurismäki (Marianna Films Oy)

Festivals:
Toronto International Film Festival 2008, Canada
Pusan International Film Festival 2008, South Korea
Valladolid International Film Festival 2008, Official Competition, Spain
Festival on Wheels, Ankara Festival of European Films 2008, Official Competition, Turkey

Upcoming Festival:
Goteborg International Film Festival 2009, Sweden

World Premiere in Toronto Contemporary World Cinema Programme Section

Firaaq A mesmerizing social tale
2008 – India – 101 min - Color – Drama
Directed by Nandita DAS

Original languages: English, Hindi, Urdu, Gujarati

Cast: Naseruddin Shah, Paresh Rawal, Raghuveer Yadav, Deepti Naval, Sanjay Suri

Synopsis: Aarti is a housewife silently haunted by the sight of Muslim women begging for sanctuary in her house, that she ignored. Her only hope for salvation comes when she takes in an orphaned Muslim boy as a servant, pretending to her family he is Hindu. Khan Saheb (Naseeruddin Shah) is a great Muslim musician who lives in a Hindu suburb, refusing to comprehend the fractured world around him. Muneera has hidden with husband during the riots but returns to find her home gutted and trust in her neighbours destroyed. Middle class Sameer, married to a Hindu wife, is torn between fleeing town or staying and being recognised as a Muslim.

Produced by PERCEPT PICTURES COMPANY

Festivals:
Telluride Film Festival 2008, USA
Toronto International Film Festival 2008, Canada
Vancouver International Film Festival 2008, Canada
Pusan International Film Festival 2008, Korea
New York South Asian International Film Festival 2008, USA
Kolkata International Film Festival 2008, India
Thessaloniki International Film Festival 2008,Official Competition, Greece
Singapore Asian Pacific Festival of 1st Films 2008, Singapore
Dubai International Film Festival 2008, Official Competition, UAE

Upcoming Festivals:
Tromso International Film Festival 2009, Norway
Palm Springs International Film Festival 2009, USA

European Premiere un London BFI Film Festival - World Cinema Section

Awards:
Everyday life: transcendence or reconciliation award 2008,Thessaloniki, Greece
Best Film, Singapore Asian Pacific Festival of 1st Films 2008, Singapore
Best Screenplay Singapore Asian Pacific Festival of 1st Films 2008, Singapore
Foreign Correspondents Association “Purple Orchid” Award for the Best Film Singapore Asian Pacific Festival
of 1st Films 2008, Singapore
Muhr AsiaAfrica Feature Award, Best Editor Sreekar Prasad ,Dubai International Film Festival 2008, UAE

Française 150k B.O. France – With “The Secret of the grain” actress
2008 – France/Morocco – 84 min – Color
Directed by Souad EL BOUHATI

Original language: French, Arabic

Cast: Hafsia Herzi, Farida Khelfa, Maher Kamoun, Alexandra Martinez, Amal Ayouch

Synopsis: Sofia, born in France of Maghrebian parents, spends a happy childhood in the countryside. Her father missing his country, she ends up in a farm in Morocco. She is only ten years old. She swears she’ll pass her degree in order to return to France at the age of eighteen. But life always arranges to disrupt our plans ...

Produced by Jacques Kirsner (JEM Productions)

Awards:
Muhr Arabic Feature Best Actress Award : Hafsia Herzi

Festivals:
Pusan International Film Festival 2008, South Korea
Dubai International Film Festival 2008 , Official Competition, UAE
Rotterdam International Film Festival 2009, The Netherlands

Upcoming Festivals:
Göteborg Film Festival 2009, Sweden
Cinéfranco Toronto French Film Festival 2009, Canada

HAFSIA HERZI Shooting stars of 2009, the annual new talent forum at the Berlinale

2009 Cesar Nominations: Best Film, Best First Film and Best Original Script

Comme une étoile dans la nuit The emotional tragedy of the year...
2008 – France – 90 min – Color -Drama
Directed by René FERET

Original language: French

Cast: Salomé Stévenin, Nicolas Giraud, Jean-François Stévenin, Maryline Canto

Synopsis: When Anne and Marc decide to have a child, Marc discovers he has Hodgkin disease. Fighting to preserve their love from fear, death and sadness, they will both live a senseless joy…

Produced by Fabienne Camara (Les FILMS ALYNE)

2009 Cesar nominations: Best Film, Best Original Script

Straight To The Heart (En plein coeur) A new sexy road movie
2008 – Canada– 105 min – Color – Romance -Drama
Directed by Stéphane GEHAMI

Original language: French

Cast: Julie Deslauriers, Pierre Rivard, Bénédicte Décary, Patrice Godin

Synopsis: Benoît, a 32 year old teenager, talented car stealer who falls in love compulsively, roams from girl to girl. Jimi, a little man of 13, supports his depressive mother earning money teaming up with Benoît. From stolen Jeep to stolen Jeep, with their fists, with their guts and with their hearts, those two are launched into a story which will turn around Benoît’s life.

Produced by Stéphane Géhami (PRODUCTIONS FILM PLEIN COEUR)

Festival:
World Premiere in Montreal, World Competition, Official Competition, Canada

Another Man (Un autre homme) The last LOCARNO F.F. “buzz”
2008 – Suisse – 89 min – Black & White – Drama
Directed by Lionel BAIER

Original language: Suisse

Cast: Robin Harsch, Natacha Koutchoumov, Elodie Weber, Bulle Ogier

Synopsis: François and his girlfriend have settled in the country. Although he is not a journalist, he contributes to a small local weekly, describing the life of the region’s inhabitants and the films shown at the valley’s only movie theatre. Since he is no film critic, he doesn’t know what to make of the films he’s supposed to write about. So he ends up copying word for word the reviews in “Travelling”, a highly specialized cinema review. Very quickly, movies become his passion, and he sets off for Lausanne to view the press screenings. Here he meets Rosa, a critic for a benchmark-setting daily. A kinky relationship develops between the two of them, leading François to discover the inner workings of desire: desire of a woman and of a critic.
Until the day his cheating is discovered...

Produced by Robert Boner (SAGA Production)

Festival:
World Premiere in Locarno Film Festival 2008 ,Official Competition, Switzerland
Pusan International Film Festival 2008, Korea
Warsaw International Film Festival 2008,Official Competition, Poland

Lola Montes HD REMASTERED
HD REMASTERED & 35 mm – 1955/2008 – France – 105 min – Color – Drama/Historical
Directed by Max OPHULS

Original language: French
Based on the book by Cecil St. Laurent

Cast: Martine Carol, Peter Ustinov, Anton Walbrook

Synopsis: Reduced to a state the total degeneration, Lola Montès, under the big top of a gigantic circus, is forced to reinact her dramatic past. The life story of a 19th century courtesan told via flashbacks while being exhibited in a stylised circus somewhere in America. Lola Montes pantomimes her own image, caught between being a caged animal and a femme fatale, she travels around the world creating a caricature of her decline until the tragic conclusion during a show : a leap into the void...

Produced by Les Films du Jeudi

Festivals:
Cannes Film Festival 2008, Opening Film Cannes Classics, Official Screening, France
Chungmuro International Film Festival of Seoul 2008 , Korea
II Cinema Ritrovato Film Festival 2008, Bologna, Italy
Paris Cinéma Film Festival 2008, France
Telluride Film Festival 2008, USA
Seoul Film Festival 2008, Korea
Los Angeles Directors’ Guild, USA
New York Film Festival, USA
ARP-Dijon Film Festival, France
Antalya Film Festival, Turkey
IFFI Goa Film Treasures, India

The First Original Version - Hd Remastered

Noise and Fury (14-18, Le Bruit et la Fureur) A « unique » masterpiece
2009 – France/ Belgium – 100 min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Jean-François DELASSUS

Original language: French
Voice over by Alexandre Astier

Synopsis: Not everything has been told about World War One. This documentary tries to explain the inexplicable: how tens of millions of men could have suffered the unbelievable toughness of life in trenches during 4 years, season after season, day after day, night after night? How could they have accepted the idea of a sure death or injury while they could not even tell the exact reason why they were fighting?
What you are about to see can seem crazy: WW1 was maintained by a general consent.

14 – 18, the Great War is a documentary based on rare archives for the first time colorized, restored and sonorized as never before. Broadcasted on prime time with top rated audience.

Produced by PROGRAM 33, ECPAD, IOTA PRODUCTIONS, RTBF

Hidden Heart HD
HD 2008 – Germany – 90min - Documentary
Directed by Cristina Karrer, Werner Schweizer

Original language: English/German

Synopsis: Christian Barnard from Capetown didn't write the great success-story of the first heart transplantation in 1967 alone. Hamilton Naki, a black man, was equally part of the sensational operation. «Hidden Heart» tells the story of two men, glamour, injustice and uprising.

Produced by Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion, Lichtblick, Big World Cinema (RSA)

Festivals:
Solothurn Film Festival 2008, Switzerland
Seville European Film Festival 2008, Eurodoc Competition, Spain

A Police Romance (Un Roman Policier)
HD / 35 mm 2008 – France – 95min – Color – Drama
Directed by Stéphanie DUVIVIER

Original language: French

Cast : Olivier Marchal, Hiam Abbass, Marie-Laure Descoureaux, Abdelhafid Métalsi, Théo Trifard,

Synopsis: In a small police station, Lieutenant Emilie Carange finds herself sexually attracted to Jamil Messaouden, a young rookie officer. When an old Algerian woman reports that she’s seen drug dealers operating in the neighbourhood, they find themselves in over their heads in an investigation. Night after night, Emilie’s desire grows. The drug investigation gets out of hand and so does Emilie …

Produced by Richard Magnien (Mat Films)

Awards:
Rainer Werner Fassbinder Prize - Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival 2008

Festivals:
Ciné Premières Film Festival 2008, The Netherlands
Montréal Festival du Film Français 2008, CINEMANIA, Canada
Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival 2008, International Competition, Germany
Festival Cinéma Méditerranéen in Bruxelles 2008, Belgium

2009 Cesar nominations: Best Film, Best First Film, Best Original Soundtrack,
Best Original Script

Children of Don Quixote (act 1) (Les Enfants de Don Quichotte Acte 1)
2008 – France – 75min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Ronan DENECE, Augustin LEGRAND, Jean-Baptiste LEGRAND

Original language: French

Synopsis: On October 26th 2006, two citizens, Augustin Legrand and Pascal Oumaklouf decided to federate the homeless people and force the French government to respect their fundamental rights. They set up a true entrenched camp in the heart of Paris, on the Canal St Martin, where a new resistance stood up.
This is the story of their struggle and this film was conceived as a tool, a weapon to extend their fight.

Produced by Jean-Baptiste Legrand (SOCIETE CENTRALE ELECTRIQUE) and co-produced by MNP production (Mathieu Kassovitch)

Festivals:
Cannes International Critics' Week 2008, France
Mar del Plata International Film Festival 2008, Argentina
CPH:DOX, Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival 2008, Denmark

Produced by MNP “Mathieu Kassovitz” with Augustin LEGRAND “13 TZAMETI”

2009 Cesar nominations: Best Film, Best Documentary Film, Best Original Script

HIGHLIGHTS: FEATURE FILMS & DOCUMENTARIES

Landscape No. 2 (Pokrajina Št.2)
2008 – Slovenia/ Serbia – 90min – Color – Drama- Thriller
Directed by Vinko Möderndorfer

Original language: Slovenian and Serbian

Cast : Marko Mandić, Slobodan Ćustić, Barbara Cerar, Maja Martina Merljak, Janez Hočevar

Synopsis: The burglars Sergej and Polde steal a valuable painting Landscape No.2. By coincidence Sergej also takes a mysterious document dating back to the end of the World War II. Instructor is ordered to recover the stolen painting and the document, which triggers a diabolic mechanism of the past.

Produced by Forum Ljubljana (Eva Rohrman), Delirium (Biljana Prvanović), RTV Slovenija, VPK (Andrej Kregar)

Awards:
Best Film Award, Festival of Slovenian Film 2008 , Slovenia
Best Director Award, Festival of Slovenian Film 2008, Slovenia
Best Supporting Actress Award (Maja Martina Merljak), Festival of Slovenian Film 2008, Slovenia
Best Cinematography Award, Festival of Slovenian Film 2008, Slovenia
Best Production Design Award, Festival of Slovenian Film 2008, Slovenia
Best Music Award, Festival of Slovenian Film 2008, Slovenia

Festivals:
Warsaw International Film Festival 2008, Official Competition, Poland
FSF - Festival of Slovenian Film 2008, Official Competition, Slovenia

Upcoming Festival:
Adelaide Film Festival 2009, Australia

World Premiere: Venice Days / Giornate Degli Autori 2008, Italy

I Dreamt Under The Water (J’ai rêvé sous l’eau) The new “SAVAGE NIGHTS” - HD
2009 – France – 73min – Color – Drama
Directed by HORMOZ

Original language: French

Cast: Hubert Benhamdine, Caroline Ducey, Christine Boisson, HPG

Synopsis: 20-years-old Antonin is secretly in love with Alex his best friend. After Alex's brutal death, Antonin succumbs to an overwhelming sexuality that leads him into prostitution. One day, he meets Juliette. It is love at first sight, but a drug issue starts to interfere between them. After some happy weeks, the young woman decides to run away. Close to despair, Antonin finally finds comfort in the arms of Baptiste, one of his former clients, while Juliette remains in his heart.

Produced by Sebastien Burnet (Triskel Film), Loïc Magneron (WIDE Management), TLA entertainment

Upcoming Festival:
Goteborg International Film Festival 2009, Official Competition, Sweden

Her name is Sabine (Elle s’appelle Sabine)
2008 – France – 85min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Sandrine BONNAIRE

Original language: French

Cast: Sabine Bonnaire

Synopsis: A sensitive portrait of Sabine Bonnaire, a 38-year-old autistic woman, filmed by her closest sister. The film tells her story through personal footage filmed by the actress over a period of 25 years, and her life today in a suitable facility. After a tragic five-year stay in a psychiatric hospital, Sabine found a new lease on life-even if these capacities remain altered-in a home in the Charente region. The film exposes the penury of specialized institutions and the dramatic consequences they can lead to.

Produced by Thomas Schmitt (Mosaique Films)

Award:
FIPRESCI Award, Cannes Director’s Fortnight 2007
Jury Special Prize, Festival International du Film Francophone of Namur 2007, Belgium
Audience Award, Festival International du Film Francophone of Namur 2007, Belgium
COL COA, City of Light, City of Angels Los Angeles Film Festival 2008, Jury Special Citation, USA

Nominated for Prix Europa : “Best TV documentary of the year 2008”

2009 Cesar nominations : Best Film, Best Documentary

Mai 68, la belle ouvrage
1968/2008 – France – 52/117min – Black & White
Directed by Jean - Luc MAGNERON

Original language: French

Synopsis: A rare documentary about the Mai 68 riots in Paris with many testimonies from unknown and well-known witnesses. Shot during the events by Jean - Luc Magneron, this poignant documentary with interviews brings a new light on the events. On April 1998, some excerpts, entitled “It was your May 68”, were broadcasted during french TV show “La Marche du siècle” hosted by Jean-Marie Cavada, at the occasion of the 30th birthday of the events.

Produced by Loïc Magneron (WIDE Management)

Festivals:
Glasgow & Edinburgh French Film Festival 2008, UK
Décade Cinéma et Société 2008, Special Screening, France
Danish Film Institute, Cinematheque 2008, Denmark
Norwegian Film Institute ,Cinematheque 2008 Oslo, Norway
Cinema ZED Leuven 2008, Special Screening, Belgium
Cinéma Les Carmes,2008, France
Film and Art Festival 2008, Two Riversides, Poland
Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival 2008, World Panorama Section, Brazil
"Cinema Verite" Iran International Documentary Film Festival DEFC 2008, Section Our Era, Iran
Torino Film Festival 2008 , Italy

MUSIC : FEATURES & DOCUMENTARIES

Ballerina [1 x 77’] “The new generation of ballet dancers”
DIGITAL – France – 77 min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Bertrand NORMAND

Original language: Russian

Synopsis: Ballerina. Fascinating, enthralling, shrouded in mystery. Hers is a rare art. Her craft as demanding as an athlete. Her dancing life as brief as a butterfly. All to a vision of fragile beauty. A vision of what it is to be a woman. And Russia, land of absolutes, of the cult of beauty, of immensities and of nostalgia where that feminine ideal is celebrated and held dear. Russia is par excellence the land of the Ballerina. This film follows the destinies of five female dancers of the Kirov Ballet in Saint-Petersburg. Their lives weave together to tell the story of the Russian Ballerina of our time, from her beginnings as a child in dance school to the peak of her glory on the world stages. In this intimate gaze at the lives, the courage, the disappointments and triumphs of these women, this film unveils the vitality and uniqueness of the Russian Ballerina today. We come to understand her lasting allure as we begin the 21st century. Ballerina, as old as Russian history, as new as today.

Produced by Frédéric Podetti (Adesif Productions), Yann Brolli (Les Films du Tamarin)

English Voice Over by Diane Baker
Available version : English, Russian, French

Festivals:
Vancouver International Film Festival 2007, Canada
Palm Springs International Film Festival 2008, USA
Beloit International Film Festival 2008, USA
Spokane International Film Festival 2008, USA
Washington International Film Festival 2008, USA
Warsaw International Film Festival 2008, Poland

2009 Cesar nominations:
Best Film, Best Documentary Film, Best Original Soundtrack

Svetlana Zakharova & Ulyiana Lopatkina [2 x 26’]
2008 – 2 x 26 min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Laurent Gentot

Synopsis: Two portraits of two great stars, icones of today’s Russian ballet. Svetlana Zakharova is star from the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow and Ulyiana Lopatkina is star from the Marinsky Theater in Saint Petersburg.

Produced by Injam Film

S.A.
(SPECIAL AGREEMENT/ IDPL)

Redemption Song MUSIC - HD
HD - 2009 – France – 90 min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Markus HANSEN, Jean-Marie BOULET

Original language: English, Vietnamese

Synopsis: In March 1967, Billy Bang was conscripted to fight in Vietnam, an experience that left him emotionally desolate and profoundly confused about his American identity. Upon his return, he tried to forget his nightmares through alcohol, drugs and music. Forty years later, he decides that the only way he will be able to repair his emotions and find some closure to his trauma, is to return to Vietnam, this time with his violin. This film is about the desire to overcome and transcend the trauma of war through music and art.

Produced by Loïc Magneron (WIDE Management)

Another Love Story (Maré, Nossa História de Amor) HD
HD and 35mm - 2008 – Brazil/France/Uruguay – 104min – Color – Drama
Directed by Lucia MURAT

Original language: Portuguese

Cast: Cristina Lago, Vinícius D´Black, Marisa Orth, Jefchander Lucas, Babu Santana

Synopsis: Living in a slum divided between two rival gangs of drug traffickers, Analídia is the daughter of one of the gangs’ leaders and Jonatha is a childhood friend of the other gang leader. Both study in a dance group situated exactly in the middle of the two territories, looking for solace in art. Openly inspired by Romeo and Juliet, the film is a salute to the strong sense of Brazilian music, to the relevance of national contemporary dance, and to the strange mix found today in slums, where violence lives alongside the artistic paths enabled by social projects.

Produced by Lúcia Murat (Taiga Filmes e Video), Laurent Lavolé (Gloria Films), Natacha López (Lavoragine Films)

Awards:
Special Jury Prize for Babu Santana, Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival 2007, Brazil
Behind the Scenes Award, Film Festival Open Doek 2008, Belgium
Best Direction Award, Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival 2008, USA
Woman and film award, San Francisco Latino films Festival 2008

COLLECTIONS

Mika Kaurismaki Collection HD
HD & 35 mm
Mika Kaurismäki’s first film The Liar (1980) was an overnight sensation, when first shown in Finland; it marked the beginning of the cinema of the Kaurismäki brothers and started a new era in the Finnish cinema. After the high school Mika Kaurismäki used to work as a painter of houses and apartments in a small town of Kuusankoski in the Southeastern part of Finland. In the autumn of 1976, when the winter was coming and the annual high season for painting houses was over, he thought of doing something else in life. Mika Kaurismaki studied cinema in Munich, Germany, (Hochschule für Film und Fernsehen) 1977-1981 and made his diplom film The Liar in 1980 in Finland. His younger brother Aki Kaurismäki, then a student of journalism, played the main role and also co-wrote the screenplay. After the success of The Liar, Mika Kaurismäki decided to stay in Finland and together with his brother and some friends he founded the production company Villealfa Filmproductions.

During the active Villealfa years, Mika co-founded the legendary Midnight Sun Film Festival (1986) and the distribution company Senso Films (1987) and the Andorra cinemas in Helsinki. The 90’s meant a gradual disappearance of the Villealfa spirit and both Mika and Aki started to produce their films through their own production companies. In 1994 Mika returned to the Brazilian jungle with Samuel Fuller and Jim Jarmusch and made the feature length documentary Tigrero – a film that was never made. The film was awarded the International Critics’ Award at the Berlin Film Festival in 1994. In the course of the 90’s Mika established his base and second home in Rio de Janeiro and started to concentrate more in international co-productions. In 1996 in Philadelphia he directed the no-budget thriller Condition Red with James Russo, Cynda Williams and Paul Calderon. His biggest production so far is the comedy LA without a map (1998), with David Tennant, July Delpy, Vincent Gallo, Johnny Depp, James Le Gros, Anouk Aimee, Joe Dallesandro.

In 2003 he directed Honey Baby, a road movie between Germany and Russia, starring Henry Thomas, Irina Björklund and Helmut Berger. Brasileirinho, a film about Brazilian choro music, premiered at the Berlinale 2005 and Sonic Mirror.

Three Wise Men (Kolme viisasta miestä), Sonic Mirror, Brasileirinho, Honey Baby, Moro No Brasil, Highway Society, Condition Red (Jatkuva hälytystila), Tigrero: A Film That Was Never Made (Tigrero - Elokuva, joka ei valmistunut), The Last Border (Viimeisellä rajalla), Zombie and the Ghost Train (Zombie ja Kummitusjuna), Amazon, Paper Star (Paperitähti), Cha Cha Cha, Helsinki Naples All Night Long, Rosso, The Clan Tale of the Frogs (Klaani), The Worthless (Arvottomat), Jackpot 2, The Liar (Valehtelija)…

More than 30 hours of programs.

HD masters available for the first films

Renét Ferét Collection HD
HD & 35 mm
After studies in Lille, he took classes at the Actor school of the TNS of Strasbourg. Script, writer, producer, director, TV director, actor, and teacher, René Feret has been involved in more than 40 features films and documentaries from 1975 to nowadays. Some of his film has been selected in competition for major festivals worldwide, such as La Communion Solennelle (Official selection in Cannes FF in 1977) and Mystere Alexina (Un certain regard in Cannes 1985).

Directed by : Comme une etoile dans la nuit, But Once Mom Had Gone... (Il a suffit que Maman s’en aille), L’enfant du pays, Rue du retrait, Les frères Gravet, La place d’un autre, Promenades d’été, Baptême, Mystère Alexina, Fernand, La communion solenelle, Histoire de Paul

Produced by :
Dakan, Un homme deux femmes, Itinéraire Bis, Sarah, A vendre

More than 27 hours of programs.

Line Up CANNES 2008

2008-05-21T08:58:00.000-07:00

INTERNATIONAL CRITIC’S WEEK

Children of Don Quixote (Enfants de Don Quichotte - act 1)

2008 – France – 75min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Ronan DENECE, Augustin LEGRAND & Jean-Baptiste LEGRAND

Synopsis: On the 26th of October 2006, two citizens, Augustin Legrand and Pascal Oumaklouf decided to federate the homeless people and force the French government to respect their fundamental rights. They set up a true entrenched camp in the heart of Paris, on the Canal St Martin, where a new resistance stood up.
This is the story of their struggle and this film was conceived as a tool, a weapon to extend their fight.

Produced by Jean-Baptiste LEGRAND (SOCIETE CENTRALE ELECTRIQUE)
International Critic’s Week – Official Screening:
Monday, 19th May, 8 PM, Espace Miramar – Official Screening

CANNES CLASSICS

Lola Montes

2008 – France – 105min – Color – Drama/Historical
Directed by Max OPHULS
Based on the book by Cecil St. Laurent

Cast: Martine Carol, Peter Ustinov, Anton Walbrook

Synopsis: Reduced to a state the total degeneration, Lola Montès, under the big top of a gigantic circus, is forced to reinact her dramatic past. The life story of a 19th century courtesan told via flashbacks while being exhibited in a stylised circus somewhere in America. Lola Montes pantomimes her own image, caught between being a caged animal and a femme fatale, she travels around the world creating a caricature of her decline until the tragic conclusion during a show : a leap into the void...

Produced by Les Films du Jeudi

OPENING FILM - OFFICIAL SELECTION - CANNES CLASSICS
THE FIRST ORIGINAL VERSION - HD REMASTERED
Cannes Classics – Official Screening:
Saturday, 17th May, 7 PM, 60th Birthday Anniversary Theater (Time TBC) – Official Screening

Market Screenings:
Saturday, 17th, 10:30 PM PALAIS E
Sunday, 18th May, 10:30 PM PALAIS E

PAVILLON DES CINÉMAS DU SUD

Another Love Story (Maré, Nossa História de Amor)

2008 – Brasil – 104min – Color – Drama
Directed by Lucia MURAT

Synopsis: Living in a slum divided between two rival gangs of drug traffickers, Analídia is the daughter of one of the gangs’ leaders and Jonatha is a childhood friend of the other gang leader. Both study in a dance group situated exactly in the middle of the two territories, looking for solace in art. Openly inspired by Romeo and Juliet, the film is a salute to the strong sense of Brazilian music, to the relevance of national contemporary dance, and to the strange mix found today in slums, where violence lives alongside the artistic paths enabled by social projects.

Produced by Lucia Murat (Taiga Filmes e Video)

Awards:
- Special Jury Prize for Babu Santana - Rio International Film Festival
- Behind the Scenes Award – Film Festival Open Doek 2008

Festivals:
- Rio International Film Festival -“Premiere Brasil” Section
- São Paulo International Film Festival, Brasil - Mostra Brasil Perspectiva
- Berlin International Film Festival 2008 – Panorama Section

Pavillon des Cinemas du Sud Selection:

Tuesday May 20th, 11:00, PAVILLON DES CINEMAS DU SUD

Market Screening:
Friday May 16th, 15:30, PALAIS B
Wednesday May 21, 15:30, GRAY 4 (PAVILLON DES CINEMAS DU SUD selection)

El Camino

2008 – Costa Rica – 91min – Color – Drama - HD
Directed by Ishtar YASIN

Synopsis: In Nicaragua, Saslaya, a 12 year old girl, runs away with her brother, Darío, to look for their mother, who immigrated to neighbouring Costa Rica 8 years before. The children travel from Managua to Granada, cross the lake, walk by the volcano, through the jungle; sometimes just following the wind, other times planning their itinerary. In their journey, they encounter different characters and face many challenging situations. That’s how they meet a foreigner who travels with his hand puppet theatre, a boy who sells his products on the streets and undocumented immigrants. At the border, the girl and his brother get lost and so she has to face the hardships by herself. Along their journey, Saslaya and Darío rewrite their destiny...

Produced by Ishtar Yasin (Astarte Producciones), Luis Javier Castro (Gedeon Programmes), Loïc Magneron (Wide Management)

Awards:
- Special Mention Rubén Gámez Prize - Guadalajara International Film Festival - Cine en Construcción 2007
- Signis-Occlac Prize - Guadalajara International Film Festival - Cine en Construcción 2007
- Grand Prize CINERGIA - Audiovisual Support Fund for Central America and the Caribbean
- Special Jury Award - Fribourg Film Festival, 2008
- Oecumenical Jury Award - Fribourg Film Festival 2008
- Special Jury Mention - Guadalajara International Film Festival 2008
- FIPRESCI Award - Guadalajara International Film Festival 2008
- Rail d'or Award - Rencontres Cinéma d'Amérique Latine de Toulouse 2008

Festival :
Berlin 2008 – Forum Section

Pavillon des Cinemas du Sud Selection:
Tuesday May 20th, 18:00, PAVILLON DES CINEMAS DU SUD

Market Screening:
Saturday May 17th, 15:30, RIVIERA 2
Monday May 19th, 13:30, PALAIS B
Thursday May 22nd, 11:30, Palais H (PAVILLON DES CINEMAS DU SUD selection)

ECRANS JUNIOR

Summer Book (Tatil Kitabi)

2008 – Turkey – 90 min – Color – Drama
Directed by Seyfi TEOMAN

Synopsis: Mustafa is a hard-working and ambitious agricultural merchant who is cold and austere towards his family. One day he has a brain hemorrhage on a business trip and goes into a coma after the operation. Güler, who has been suspecting that her husband is having an affair, is now convinced of it. Veysel, their teenage son, wants to leave the military academy and start a civilian life of his own. Ali, their 10 year old son, has to cope both with his bully classmates and the chewing gums he has to sell. Hasan, Mustafa’s brother, chose to live a life in solitude after divorcing his wife and has always been an outsider to the family. But now he finds himself involved in his brother’s family after his brother goes into a coma. Hasan has to solve the mystery about his brother’s mistress and the money lost during his trip.

Produced by Yamaç Okur, Nadir Öperli (Bulut Film)

Award :
- The Best Turkish Film of the Year Award – 27th International Istanbul Film Festival 2008

Festival:
Berlin 2008 – Forum Section

Ecrans Junior - Official Selection:
Thursday, 22nd May, 9:30 AM Cinéma RAIMU – JURY, INDUSTRY AND PUBLIC SCREENING
Friday, 23rd May, 2 :00 PM Studio 13 – OFFICIAL SCREENING

Market Screenings:
Monday, 19th May, 3:30 PM PALAIS B
Wednesday 21st May, 12 PM PALAIS G

MARKET SCREENINGS

La Vida Loca

2008 – France/Spain/Mexico – 115min – Color – 35mm- HD
Directed by Christian POVEDA

Synopsis: In Central America they are referred to as the maras: modelling themselves on Los Angeles youth gangs, these groups are now spreading terror in El Salvador and further afield. A childhood at once terrifying and hateful but strangely captivating which typifies the disintegration of family life within Salvadorian society and the despair in which they have grown up.
La Vida Loca is what life is realY about over there : youths who suffer; who defy us; who look down on us; who resent and dislike us. Though this vision of evil stirs up our fears and provokes nightmares, I also hope it shall invoke compassion and cause us to question our notion of the world. And so, like cornered dogs, this lost generation responds with pessimism, revolt and death. A total lack of communication!La Vida Loca is a documentary about absolute human solitude

Produced by Carole Solive (La Femme Endormie), Luis Bellaba (Aquelarre), Emilio Maillé & Gustavo Angel (El Caiman)

Market Screenings:
Saturday, 17th May, 9:30 AM PALAIS F
Sunday, 18th May, 5:30 PM PALAIS F
Wednesday, 21st May, 3:30 PM PALAIS D

That Should Not Be - Our Children Will Accuse Us (Nos enfants nous accuseront)

2008 – France – 112min – Color – Documentary - HD
Directed by Jean-Paul Jaud

Synopsis:
In Europe every year 100,000 children die of diseases caused by the environment.
In Europe 70% of cancers are linked to the environment: 30% to pollution and 40% to food.
In Europe cases of cancer in children have been increasing by 1.1% yearly for 30 years.
In France the number of cancers in males has increased by 93% in 25 years.
In a little French community at the foot of the Cévennes Mountains, the mayor has decided to take a stance by making the school canteen organic. Here as everywhere, people are confronted with the anxiety of the dangers of industrial and agro-chemical pollution. It’s the start of a fight against a process that could become irreversible, a fight to stop our children accusing us in the future.

Produced by J + B SEQUENCES (Jean-Paul Jaud & Béatrice Jaud)

Market Screenings:
Monday, 19th May, 6 PM PALAIS K BORY
Wednesday 21st May, 4 PM PALAIS K BORY

Press Screening:
WWF J+B SEQUENCES and WIDE MANAGEMENT
Thursday, 22nd May, 2 PM - Palais K BORY

I Dreamt Under the Water (J’ai rêvé sous l’eau)

2008 – France – 73min – Color – Drama –HD
Directed by HORMOZ

Synopsis: 20-years-old Antonin is secretly in love with Alex his best friend. After Alex's brutal death, Antonin succumbs to an overwhelming sexuality that leads him into prostitution. One day, he meets Juliette. It is love at first sight, but a drug issue starts to interfere between them. After some happy weeks, the young woman decides to run away. Close to despair, Antonin finally finds comfort in the arms of Baptiste, one of his former clients, while Juliette remains in his heart.

Produced by Sebastien Burnet (Triskel Film), Loïc Magneron (WIDE Management)

Market screenings:
Sunday, 18th May, 3:30 PM Palais D
Wednesday 21st May, 1:30 PM PALAIS D

A Police Romance (Un Roman Policier)

2008 – France – 95min – Color – Drama
Directed by Stéphanie DUVIVIER

Synopsis: In a small police station, Lieutenant Emilie Carange finds herself sexually attracted to Jamil Messaouden, a young rookie officer. When an old Algerian woman reports that she’s seen drug dealers operating in the neighbourhood, they find themselves in over their heads in an investigation. Night after night, Emilie’s desire grows. The drug investigation gets out of hand and so does Emilie…

Produced by Richard Magnien (Mat Films)

Market screenings:
Sunday, 18th May, 12 PM PALAIS G
Wednesday, 21st May, 10 AM PALAIS G

Unfailing

2008 – France – 90min – Color – Thriller / In post-production
Directed by Davy SIHALI

Synopsis: A secret criminal organization, headed by Mr. Takamura, arranges a tournament in order to find the perfect killer. Ten young people who have nothing to lose, accept the rules and run in this revenge. To spice up the game, Silex, the right arm of Takamura, winner of the last 5 years, was introduced anonymously in the group.
Between emerging friendships, rivalries and spirit of chivalry, the participants manage the tests. The eliminations are increasing and the losses are heavy. The tournament goes far to the point of no return.

Produced by Loïc Magneron (Wide Management)

Market screening:
Monday, 19th May, 11:30 AM Gray 2
Tuesday, 20th May, 3:30 PM Palais D

Landscape No. 2 (Pokrajina Št.2)

2008 – Slovenia/ Serbia – 90min – Color – Drama- Thriller
Directed by Vinko Möderndorfer

Synopsis: The burglars Sergej and Polde steal a valuable painting Landscape No.2. By coincidence Sergej also takes a mysterious document dating back to the end of the World War II. Instructor is ordered to recover the stolen painting and the document, which triggers a diabolic mechanism of the past.

Produced by Forum Ljubljana (Eva Rohrman), Delirium (Biljana Prvanovic), RTV Slovenija, VPK (Andrej Kregar)

Market screening:
Wednesday 21st May, 12 PM PALAIS C – Sponsored by Slovenian Film Fund
Thursday 22nd May, 3:30 PM PALAIS B

Black

2008 – France – 90 min – Color – Drama
Directed by Pierre LAFFARGUE

Synopsis: Black is a Senegalese bank-robber born and raised in France who’s getting over a disastrous heist in which he lost nearly all of his men. He’s seriously thinking of going straight when his cousin Lamine calls him from Dakar. An easy coup awaits them, a briefcase has just been deposited in the bank where he works, a briefcase full of diamonds.
Black assembles a new gang and boards a flight to Africa, where things are never as simple as they seem, and where he’s never set foot. Everybody wants to get their hands on the diamonds: the corrupt bank manager, an arms dealer suffering from suppurating psoriasis and a gang of mercenaries led by Viktor Ouliakov, on holiday from Chechen.
Arrested, quite literally, in his tracks by Pamela Jones, a disturbingly beautiful Interpol agent, Black will progressively team up with her. Together they go through a magical initiation ritual in the heart of the jungle and Black returns transformed…

Produced by Marco Cherqui & Lauranne Bourrachot

Market screening:
Friday, 16th May, 11:30 AM Palais D
Saturday, 17th May, 12 PM Gray 3

My Time Will Come (Cuando me toque a mi)

2008 – Ecuador – 84min – Color – Drama- HD
Directed by Víctor ARREGI

Synopsis: Love, chance, city and death. All these elements are articulated in thousand ways in the town of Quito, capital of Ecuador, in order to precipitate destinies of multiple characters. Arturo Fernandez, medical examiner, his mother, his brother, his assistant, a taxi driver… God gives birth to them and Quito gathers them. Only death make them equal.

Produced by Paúl Venegas

Award:
- Best Actor Award for Manuel Calisto Sanchez – Festival de Biarritz, Cinémas et Cultures d'Amérique Latine, France

Market screening:
Saturday, 17th May, 6 PM Palais G

Redemption Song
2008 – France – 90 min – Color – Documentary - HD
Directed by Markus HANSEN, Jean-Marie BOULET

Synopsis: In March 1967, Billy Bang was conscripted to fight in Vietnam, an experience that left him emotionally desolate and profoundly confused about his American identity. Upon his return, he tried to forget his nightmares through alcohol, drugs and music. Forty years later, he decides that the only way he will be able to repair his emotions and find some closure to his trauma, is to return to Vietnam, this time with his violin. This film is about the desire to overcome and transcend the trauma of war through music and art.

Produced by Loïc Magneron (WIDE Management)

Market screenings:
Monday 19th, 9:30 AM PALAIS F
Tuesday, 20th, 1:30 PM PALAIS D

Recycle (Ea' Adat Khalk)

2008 – Jordan/Germany/Netherlands – 90min – Color – Documentary - HD
Directed by Mahmoud Al Massad

Synopsis: What makes a terrorist? In Zarqa, Jordan’s second largest city with close to 1,000,000 people, it is a much-debated question. Zarqa was the birthplace of Abu Musab al Zarqawi, the leader of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia before being killed by American forces in 2006. Many in town knew al Zarqawi, and Zarqa continues to be a source of new recruits to jihad. With inspired cinematography and remarkable access, Jordanian/Palestinian filmmaker Mahmoud al Massad charts the daily life of an Islamic man in one of Zarqa’s poorest neighborhoods, revealing the rhythms of Jordanian life against the backdrop of the ‘war on terrorism’ that reaches into the living rooms of many Muslim families.

Produced by Irit Neidhardt (MEC FILM), Mahmoud al Massad (iSee Film Productions), Paul Augustijn, Omar Massad (Jo Image)

Awards:
- Cinema in Motion Award – San Sebastian International Film Festival Work in Progress 2007
- Best Cinematography Award – Sundance Film Festival 2008

Festivals:
- Sundance Film Festival 2008 – North American Premiere – “World Cinema Competition: Documentary Section”
- International Film Festival Rotterdam 2008 – European Premiere – “Time and Tide” Section

Market screening:
Tuesday, 20th May, 12 PM PALAIS C

Falling From Earth (Wa-Ala el Ard el Sama’a)

2008 – Lebanon / France –63 min – Color – Drama
Directed by Chadi ZENEDDINE

Synopsis: Does it really mean that we have lost our sense of reality when everything sounds like constant explosions? Youssef, a wise fool, lives in the remains of a building collecting photographs of happy people. Behind each photograph lie millions of implosions of a city wounded by time.
Chapter after chapter, they are all still waiting for…Beirut

Produced by Samuel Chauvin (Promenades Films), Neon Productions et Chadi Zeneddine (ARTWIST Production)

Festivals:
- Dubai International Film Festival, United Arab Emirates 2007 - "Muhr Awards" Competition
- International Film Festival Rotterdam 2007 - "Sturm und Drang" Section
- New York ND/NF / New Directors New Films Festival 2008

Market screening:
Saturday, 17th May, 12 PM Palais G – Sponsored by MedScreen

Khalass

2008 – France/Lebanon/Belgium – 100 min – Color – Drama
Directed by Borhane ALAOUIÉ

Synopsis: Present Day Beirut, in the midst of chaotic reconstruction. Ahmed and Robby became friends during the war, sharing similiar dreams, Ahmed's: poetry and theater, Robby's: cinema. Both dreamed of a better world. Like many others, they fought for that dream. But they came out of the war with a bitter feeling of betrayal and disappointment. Ahmed works as a columnist for a local newspaper. Robby tries to make ends meet by directing vague video documentaries about the environment, but nobody is interested in them.

Produced by Jacques Le Glou (JLA), Martine Levy-Lambrechts (Alexis Films), Borhane Alaouié

Awards:
- Best Screenplay Award - Dubai International Film Festival 2007
- Best Editor Award - Dubai International Film Festival 2007

Market screening:
Friday, 16th May, 9:30 AM Palais F – Supported by MedScreen

Her Name is Sabine (Elle s’appelle Sabine)

2007 – France – 85min – Color – Documentary
Directed by Sandrine BONNAIRE

Synopsis: A sensitive portrait of Sabine Bonnaire, a 38-year-old autistic woman, filmed by her closest sister. The film tells her story through personal footage filmed by the actress over a period of 25 years, and her life today in a suitable facility. After a tragic five-year stay in a psychiatric hospital, Sabine found a new lease on life-even if these capacities remain altered-in a home in the Charente region. The film exposes the penury of specialized institutions and the dramatic consequences they can lead to.

Produced by Thomas Schmitt (Mosaique Films)

Awards :
- FIPRESCI Award – Cannes Director’s Fortnight 2007
- Jury Special Prize - Festival International du Film Francophone de Namur, Belgium 2007
- Audience Award - Festival International du Film Francophone de Namur, Belgium 2007
- Special Citation by the Jury to Sandrine Bonnaire for her sensitive and touching portrait of her sister’s struggle with autism - COL COA - City of Light - City of Angels Los Angeles Film Festival 2008
- Audience 3rd most Popular Film - COL COA - City of Light - City of Angels Los Angeles Film Festival 2008

Festivals:
- Cannes International Film Festival 2007 - Directors’ Fortnight

Market screening:
Tuesday, 20th May, 11:30 Palais H

WIDE will present in Cannes 2008, the newly acquired collections including: The Kaurismäki’s “The Beginning” Collection, The Erotic Titles Collection with brand new titles such as Cold Blood with Laura Smet and Benjamin Biolay, Viva by Anna Biller and Puppy Love a classic from 1977 and several restored classics (e.g. J.-L. Godard “Vivre sa vie”), and many more…

SPECIAL - FOCUS ON PRESALES:

Gigola

In production - 2008 – France –– Color – Erotic Drama
Directed by Volker Schlöndorff

Cast: Asia Argento, Philippe Torreton, Marisa Paredes, Ute Lemper, Marisa Berenson

Synopsis: “GIGOLA” is the story of GEORGE, a charismatic and adventurous young woman, born from an old, catholic family, who, in her teens, falls in love with a female teacher named SYBIL. Devastated by her lover’s eventual suicide, some years later, GEORGE embarks on an exciting and reckless journey to the depths of Pigalle’s nightlife, circa 1960. After an encounter with a very wealthy, still attractive, but older woman, ODETTE, who offers her money and gifts in return for sexual favours, GEORGE becomes GIGOLA, a kind of gigolo for women only.

Produced by Denise Petitdidier (MARIE AMELIE PRODUCTION)

Wide is proud to announce :

2008-01-30T02:50:00.000-08:00

2008 Sundance Film Festival : World Cinema Cinematography Award For the film RECYCLE by Mahmoud AL MASSAD visit

Line Up Berlin 2008 – EFM

2008-01-23T03:13:00.000-08:00

In House Production & Coproduction :

- El Camino

Directed by Ishtar YASIN - Produced by Ishtar Yasin (Astarte Producciones), Luis Javier Castro (Gedeon Programmes), Loïc Magneron (Wide Management)

Synopsis: In Nicaragua, Saslaya, a 12 year old girl, runs away with her brother, Darío, to look for their mother, who immigrated to neighbouring Costa Rica 8 years before. The children travel from Managua to Granada, cross the lake, walk by the volcano, through the jungle; sometimes just following the wind, other times planning their itinerary. In their journey, they encounter different characters and face many challenging situations. That’s how they meet a foreigner who travels with his hand puppet theatre, a boy who sells his products on the streets and undocumented immigrants. At the border, the girl and his brother get lost and so she has to face the hardships by herself. Along their journey, Saslaya and Darío rewrite their destiny...

- Redemption Song

Directed by Markus HANSEN, Jean-Marie BOULET - Produced by Loïc Magneron (WIDE Management)

Synopsis: In March 1967, Billy Bang was conscripted to fight in Vietnam, an experience that left him emotionally desolate and profoundly confused about his American identity. Upon his return, he tried to forget his nightmares through alcohol, drugs and music. Forty years later, he decides that the only way he will be able to repair his emotions and find some closure to his trauma, is to return to Vietnam, this time with his violin. This film is about the desire to overcome and transcend the trauma of war through music and art.

- I dreamt under the water (J’ai rêvé sous l’eau)

Directed by HORMOZ - Produced by Sebastien Burnet (Triskel Film), Loïc Magneron (WIDE Management)

Synopsis: 20-years-old Antonin is secretly in love with Alex his best friend. After Alex's brutal death, Antonin succumbs to an overwhelming sexuality that leads him into prostitution. One day, he meets Juliette. It is love at first sight, but a drug issue starts to interfere between them. After some happy weeks, the young woman decides to run away. Close to despair, Antonin finally finds comfort in the arms of Baptiste, one of his former clients, while Juliette remains in his heart.

- Unfailing

Directed by Davy SIHALI - Produced by Loïc Magneron (Wide Management)

Synopsis: A secret criminal organization creates a competition which has for goal to find the perfect killer.

- Mai 68, la belle ouvrage

Directed by Jean - Luc MAGNERON - Produced by Loïc Magneron (WIDE Management)

Synopsis: A rare documentary about the Mai 68 riots in Paris with many testimonies from unknown and well-known witnesses. Shot during the events by Jean - Luc Magneron, this poignant documentary with interviews brings a new light on the events. On April 1998, some excerpts, entitled “It was your May 68”, were broadcasted during french TV show “La Marche du siècle” hosted by Jean-Marie Cavada, at the occasion of the 30th birthday of the events.

Upcoming Titles:

- Another Love Story (Maré, Nossa História de Amor)

Directed by Lucia MURAT - Produced by Lucia Murat (Taiga Filmes e Video)

Synopsis: Living in a slum divided between two rival gangs of drug traffickers, Analídia is the daughter of one of the gangs’ leaders and Jonatha is a childhood friend of the other gang leader. Both study in a dance group situated exactly in the middle of the two territories, looking for solace in art. Openly inspired by Romeo and Juliet, the film is a salute to the strong sense of Brazilian music, to the relevance of national contemporary dance, and to the strange mix found today in slums, where violence lives alongside the artistic paths enabled by social projects.

- Recycle (Ea' Adat Khalk)

Directed by Mahmoud Al Massad - Produced by Irit Neidhardt (MEC FILM), Mahmoud al Massad (iSee Film Productions), Paul Augustijn, Omar Massad (Jo Image)

Synopsis: What makes a terrorist? In Zarqa, Jordan’s second largest city with close to 1,000,000 people, it is a much-debated question. Zarqa was the birthplace of Abu Musab al Zarqawi, the leader of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia before being killed by American forces in 2006. Many in town knew al Zarqawi, and Zarqa continues to be a source of new recruits to jihad. With inspired cinematography and remarkable access, Jordanian/Palestinian filmmaker Mahmoud al Massad charts the daily life of an Islamic man in one of Zarqa’s poorest neighborhoods, revealing the rhythms of Jordanian life against the backdrop of the ‘war on terrorism’ that reaches into the living rooms of many Muslim families.

- Victoire, Terminus, Kinshasa

Directed by Renaud Barret, Florent de la Tullaye - Produced by Emilie Blézat (SCIAPODE), Belle Kinoise.

Synopsis: Summer 2006 in Kinshasa. Martini, Jeannette, Hélène and Rosette spar everyday with Coach Judex in the old stadium Tata Rafael, where in 1974 Muhammad Ali knocked out George Foreman in the most legendary match in the history of boxing. At dawn, thousands of people from the ghetto come to train here and political parties rally. In parallel to the fight for the Presidency of Congo (DRC), Judex struggles to organise a woman’s boxing tournament with little money… Kinshasa sings, Kinshasa starves and Judex’s girls manage to survive, with no illusion still full of hope. A film about women in a country where men have become crazy. A film overflowing with energy, life and humour in a place where death and misery roam.

- Summer Book (Tatil Kitabi)

Directed by Seyfi TEOMAN - Produced by Yamaç Okur, Nadir Öperli (Bulut Film)

Synopsis: Mustafa is a hard-working and ambitious agricultural merchant who is cold and austere towards his family. One day he has a brain hemorrhage on a business trip and goes into a coma after the operation. Güler, who has been suspecting that her husband is having an affair, is now convinced of it. Veysel, their teenage son, wants to leave the military academy and start a civilian life of his own. Ali, their 10 year old son, has to cope both with his bully classmates and the chewing gums he has to sell. Hasan, Mustafa’s brother, chose to live a life in solitude after divorcing his wife and has always been an outsider to the family. But now he finds himself involved in his brother’s family after his brother goes into a coma. Hasan has to solve the mystery about his brother’s mistress and the money lost during his trip.

- Falling From Earth (Wa-Ala el Ard el Sama’a)

Directed by Chadi ZENEDDINE - Produced by Samuel Chauvin (Promenades Films), Neon Productions et Chadi Zeneddine (ARTWIST Production)

Synopsis: Does it really mean that we have lost our sense of reality when everything sounds like constant explosions?
Youssef, a wise fool, lives in the remains of a building collecting photographs of happy people. Behind each photograph lie millions of implosions of a city wounded by time.
Chapter after chapter, they are all still waiting for…Beirut.

- A Police Romance (Un Roman Policier)

Directed by Stéphanie DUVIVIER - Produced by Richard Magnien (Mat Films)

Synopsis: In a small police station, Lieutenant Emilie Carange finds herself sexually attracted to Jamil Messaouden, a young rookie officer. When an old Algerian woman reports that she’s seen drug dealers operating in the neighbourhood, they find themselves in over their heads in an investigation. Night after night, Emilie’s desire grows. The drug investigation gets out of hand and so does Emilie …

- Distant Tremors (Les Tremblements Lointains)

Directed by Manuel POUTTE - Produced by Boris Van Gils (Dolce Vita Films) , Michaël Goldberg (Formosa Productions)

Synopsis: When misfortune comes along so often it can only be because one is bewitched ! To break this evil spell, the young Senegalese Bandiougou, drags Marie, Boris and Jean Favret, the three lost westerners, into the deepest Africa and inside their profoundest wounds, there they shall confront their most abstruse inner demons.

- The Rage (La Rabbia)

Directed by Louis NERO - Produced by Louis Nero (Altrofilm)

Synopsis: A young director 25/30 years old, lives with a girl. Active part of the Intellectual society, he represents perfectly the union between fear and determination, that changes deeply his way of understanding the world that surrounds him. His only aim is to leave a footstep of his presence in this world directing a film. Daily vent seems to be the bar meeting with two writers friends, perfect place where to dream about their future…

- We were Exodus (Nous étions l’« Exodus » )

Directed by Jean-Michel Vecchiet - Produced by Marie Mouchel-Blaisot and Richard Magnien (MAT Films)

Synopsis: “1947: The Summer of the Exodus” is truly the missing link between two important moments of the 20th Century: the Shoah and the creation of the state of Israel. In July 1947, 4,551 passengers, all survivors from the Shoah, boarded a boat called “Exodus 47” in Sète that left secretly for Palestine. Intercepted by the British Navy, the passengers were transferred to three English boats, which, after nine days of a difficult journey, returned to Provence at Port-de-Bouc. On that morning of July 29th, 1947, no one could have imagined the trial of strength between the English and the French governments that would ultimately lead to the most spectacular historical moment in the creation of the Jewish nation. So, what did a little port in the South of France have to do with this great historical moment?

- Hidden Heart

Directed by Cristina Karrer, Werner Schweizer - Produced by Dschoint Ventschr Filmproduktion, Lichtblick, Big World Cinema (RSA)

Synopsis: Christian Barnard from Capetown didn't write the great success-story of the first heart transplantation in 1967 alone. Hamilton Naki, a black man, was equally part of the sensational operation. «Hidden Heart» tells the story of two men, glamour, injustice and uprising.

- La Vida Loca

Directed by Christian POVEDA - Produced by Carole Solive (La Femme Endormie)

Synopsis: In Centra America, they are called Maras, these groups of youngsters who have modeled themselves on the Los Angeles youth gangs. They are extremely violent and are propagating terror in El Salvador and elsewhere. This is a study, through photography and the personal stories of these gang members, of a violent phenomenon that has been imported from the USA.

Highlights:

- Her name is Sabine (Elle s’appelle Sabine)

Directed by Sandrine BONNAIRE - Produced by Thomas Schmitt (Mosaique Films)

Synopsis: A sensitive portrait of Sabine Bonnaire, a 38-year-old autistic woman, filmed by her closest sister. The film tells her story through personal footage filmed by the actress over a period of 25 years, and her life today in a suitable facility. After a tragic five-year stay in a psychiatric hospital, Sabine found a new lease on life-even if these capacities remain altered-in a home in the Charente region. The film exposes the penury of specialized institutions and the dramatic consequences they can lead to.

- Counterparts (Gegenüber)

Directed by Jan BONNY - Produced by Bettina Brokemper (Heimat Films)

Synopsis: Police officer Georg is very popular amongst his colleagues for always being calm and cool-headed. His partner Michael, also admires him for his apparently harmonic marriage with Anne. When a promotion is announced to Georg, he begins to lose control over the carefully maintained façade of his "intact" family. During christmas season the conflicts, that have been dominating the couple's life for years, start to surface. Georgs attempt to always suit everybody. Their children that helplessly look away – while the traces of domestic violence can no longer be hidden. Under the Christmas tree tragedy unfolds - "It aint no drama, Anne!“ – Well, yes, it is.

- Captain Ahab (Capitaine Achab)

Directed by Philippe RAMOS - Produced by Florence Borelly (Sésame Films)

Synopsis: 1840. Who could imagine this young boy reading the Bible in a hunting hut, lost in the middle of the wood, would become, one day, captain of a whaling ship? Nobody. Nevertheless, Ahab grows and seizes the oceans. He becomes a frightening captain, and meets a dazzling white whale… Moby Dick.

- Nuage

Directed by Sébastien BETBEDER - Produced by Sylvie Pialat (Les Films du Worso)

Synopsis: In a village called L’Orée du Bois, Clara and her father, a photographer with failing eyes, await the return of Clara’s mother, Marianne, who has mysteriously disappeared. In the sky, above them, a cloud passes. In a nearby city, the world disappears in front of Simon’s eyes. In an instant it reappears, but he’s lost his memory. Clara comes across a car accident in a field from which Simon emerges unsteadily. They fall in love. The characters come together, as a dense cloud descends on L’Orée du bois, separating beings and things.

- Red Ants (Les Fourmis Rouges)

Directed by Stephan Carpiaux - Produced by Stéphan Carpiaux (Hémisphères Films), Jean-Luc Van Damme (Banana Films), Véronique Rofé (Librisfilms)

Synopsis: 16-year-old Alex lives with her father Frank in an isolated village of the Ardennes forest. Obligated to support him after the tragic death of her mother, Alex finds herself growing to fast for her age. While Frank tries to escape the apathy in which he lives since the death of his wife, Alex revives, unwillingly, his father’s pain, plunging them both in an ambiguous world, where the frontier between tenderness and desire becomes fragile. The unexpected meeting with Hector, a 22 year old orphan whose aunt makes sure he remains immature, will lead the young woman to open her eyes on the relationship she has with her father. Together, Alex and Hector will have to shake the weight of the past and finally live for her own sake.

- Sonic Mirror

Directed by Mika KAURISMAKI - Produced by Marco Forster (Marco Forster Productions), Mika Kaurismaki (Marianna Films Oy), Uwe Dresch (Uwe Dresch Films Ltd), Rose-Marie Schneider (Doc Productions GmbH)

Synopsis: For most people music is a marvelous experience and part of their life whether or not they play an instrument themselves. They understand music and rhythm as a fundamental communication tool of mankind.
Mika Kaurismäki`s new film SONIC MIRROR is a surprising and emotional dive into the world of rhythm - an extraordinary trip to discover the magic relationship between Life and Rhythm. Drum legend Billy Cobham takes us from the bandstands of the Western world to the primal music of African origin with kids in a Brazilian community and on to the completely secluded world of musical experiences of autists. These different worlds are yet connected in a mystical and secret way. The relation between the collective and the individual consciousness becomes obvious when, in a fantastic final, the symbiosis is achieved. Music is emotion. Music is communication. Music is identity. Music as a true universal language to express hope, love, ambition and joy. SONIC MIRROR is a film full of vibrancy and compassion, authentic and hypnotic from the first to the very last moment.

- Faro – Goddess of the Waters (Faro, la Reine des eaux)

Directed by Salif TRAORÉ - Produced by Philippe Quinsac (P.A.V. Communication, France), Bärbel Mauch (Bärbel Mauch Films, Germany)

Synopsis: Zanga, a child born out of wedlock, is driven out of his village. After many years, he returns to find out who his father is. At the moment of his arrival, something happens that the villagers interpret as the river spirit Faro’s angry reaction to Zanga’s coming. The film uses this fateful moment in the history of a village to bring us closer to the changing rural regions of Africa: suddenly, oppressed people are making demands and the local authorities are under pressure. Tradition has to find compromises with modernity so that life can go on.

- Dreams of Dust (Rêves de poussière)

Directed by Laurent SALGUES - Produced by Marc Daigle (Corporation ACPAV inc.), Sophie Salbot (Athénaïse)

Synopsis: Mocktar Dicko, a Nigerian peasant, comes looking for work in Essakane, a gold mine in Northeast Burkina Faso. In this cage made of wind and dust, he hopes to forget the past that haunts him. He becomes friend with his boss and his colleagues (Thiam, Paté and Tidiane) and with a prostitute Tassaba and a young widow, Coumba, who dreams about sending her daughter to France, where her uncle lives. While becoming familiar with his new life, Mocktar Dicko starts to loose his roots. The day he discover a piece of gold, decides not to go home and offers the money earned by selling the gold to Coumba.

- Ex Drummer

Directed by Koen MORTIER - Produced by Eurydice Gysel (CCCP)

Synopsis: Three disabled rock musicians are looking for a drummer. Dries, a well known writer, seems the right guy for the job, were it not for the fact that his only handicap is that he can’t play the drums. He joins the group as a perfect, but evil god walking down his mountain to play with the populace. With the arrival of this infiltrator, personal disputes and family feuds start to jeopardize the band’s fragile future. Dries will manipulate them till they are willing to drink each others blood and their only future is written down in many Punk lyrics: “No Future”.

- Ezra

Directed by Newton I. ADUAKA - Produced by Produced by Michel Loro, Gorune Aprikian (CINEFACTO, France), François Sauvagnargues, Arnaud Louvet (ARTE France)

Synopsis: In the year 2000, it was alleged that some 300,000 children were serving as soldiers in armed conflicts in more than thirty countries around the world. Nearly 120,000 of these were allegedly engaged in various conflicts on the African continent. EZRA is a factional tale inspired by the Sierra Leonean conflict. It is centred on one event: a drug fuelled atrocious attack on a village by rebel soldiers. The jigsaw puzzle of what occurred that night is reconstructed through the testimonies of three witnesses: Ezra, an excombatant, his sister Onitcha, a mute, and Cynthia, Ezra's fellow exsoldier. What is supposed to be reconciliation soon becomes a trial, as Onitcha chooses this as the arena to reveal a secret she has kept from her brother.

- Youssou N’Dour: Return to Goree (Retour à Gorée)

Directed by Pierre-Yves BORGEAUD - Produced by Jean-Louis Porchet, Gérard Ruey (CAB Productions), Nicolas Steil (Iris Productions), Emmanuel Gétaz (Dreampixies)

Synopsis: This musical road-movie tells of African singer Youssou N’Dour’s epic journey following the trail left by the blacks slaves and the jazz music they invented. Youssou N’Dour’s challenge is to bring back to Africa a jazz repertoire and to sing those tunes in Gorée, the island that today symbolizes the slave trade and stands to commemorates its victims. Guided in his travel by pianist Moncef Genoud, N’Dour travels across the United States and Europe. Accompanied by some of the world’s most exceptional musicians, they meet people and well known figures, and create, through concerts, encounters and debates, music which transcends cultural division.

- A casa de Alice

Directed by Chico TEIXEIRA - Produced by Patrick Leblanc, Zita Carvalhosa (SUPERFILMES)

Synopsis: São Paulo, in a working-class district. Alice, a 40-year-old woman and manicurist is married for the last 20 years to a taxi driver. They live with Alice’s mother, who cooks, cleans, does the household laundry, listening all day to her favorite radio program. Alice and Lindomar have 3 children living with them. Alice’s marriage is undergoing a crisis and Lindomar doesn’t try to hide his adventures with teenage girls. None of the three siblings pay much attention to their mother and they treat their grandmother with lack of respect. Alice’s life in the female working world contrasts strongly with the powerful masculine presence in her home. She envies her clients’ and is unable to handle this feeling. Although she’s a good girl, the chance to betray uncovers other betrayals.

Rendez-Vous with French Cinema 2008

2008-01-17T06:52:00.000-08:00

Screenings:

- A Police Romance (Un Roman Policier)

Directed by Stéphanie DUVIVIER - Produced by Richard Magnien (Mat Films)

Screening in Paris:

Friday 11 January, 15h00
Gaumont Opéra Premier 6

- Captain Ahab (Capitaine Achab)

Directed by Philippe RAMOS - Produced by Florence Borelly (Sésame Films)

Screening in Paris:

Sunday 13 January, 13h00
Gaumont Opéra Premier 3

- Nuage

Directed by Sébastien BETBEDER - Produced by Sylvie Pialat (Les Films du Worso)

Screening in Paris:

Friday 11 January, 9h00
Gaumont Opéra Français 5

- Red Ants (Les Fourmis Rouges)

Directed by Stephan Carpiaux - Produced by Stéphan Carpiaux (Hémisphères Films), Jean-Luc Van Damme (Banana Films), Véronique Rofé (Librisfilms)

Screening in Paris:

Monday 14 January, 15h00
Gaumont Opéra français 5

In House Production & Coproduction:

- El Camino

Directed by Ishtar YASIN - Produced by Ishtar Yasin (Astarte Producciones)

- Redemption Song

Directed by Markus HANSEN, Jean-Marie BOULET - Produced by Loïc Magneron (WIDE Management)

- I dreamt under the water (J’ai rêvé sous l’eau)

Directed by HORMOZ - Produced by Sebastien Burnet (Triskel Film), Loïc Magneron (WIDE Management)

- Unfailing

Directed by Davy SIHALI - Produced by Loïc Magneron (Wide Management)

Synopsis: A secret criminal organization, headed by Mr. Takamura, arranges a tournament in order to find the perfect killer. Ten young people who have nothing to lose, accept the rules and run in this revenge. To spice up the game, Silex, the right arm of Takamura, winner of the last 5 years, was introduced anonymously in the group. Between emerging friendships, rivalries and spirit of chivalry, the participants manage the tests. The eliminations are increasing and the losses are heavy. The tournament goes far to the point of no return.

Upcoming Title :

- Another Love Story (Maré, Nossa História de Amor)

Directed by Lucia MURAT - Produced by Lucia Murat (Taiga Filmes e Video)

- Distant Tremors (Les Tremblements Lointains)

Directed by Manuel POUTTE - Produced by Boris Van Gils (Dolce Vita Films) , Michaël Goldberg (Formosa Productions)

- Falling From Earth (Wa-Ala el Ard el Sama’a)

Directed by Chadi ZENEDDINE - Produced by Samuel Chauvin (Promenades Films), Neon Productions and Chadi Zeneddine (ARTWIST Production)

Synopsis: Does it really mean that we have lost our sense of reality when everything sounds like constant explosions?

Youssef, a wise fool, lives in the remains of a building collecting photographs of happy people. Behind each photograph lie millions of implosions of a city wounded by time.

Chapter after chapter, they are all still waiting for…Beirut

- The Rage (La Rabbia)

Directed by Louis NERO - Produced by Louis Nero (Altrofilm)

Synopsis: A young director 25/30 years old, lives with a girl. Active part of the Intellectual society, he represents perfectly the union between fear and determination, that changes deeply his way of understanding the world that surrounds him. His only aim is to leave a footstep of his presence on this world realizing a film. Daily vent seems to be the bar meeting with two writers friends, perfect place where to dream about their future…

- We were Exodus (Nous étions l’« Exodus » )

Directed by Jean-Michel Vecchiet - Produced by Marie Mouchel-Blaisot and Richard Magnien (MAT Films)

Synopsis: “1947: The Summer of the Exodus” is truly the missing link between two important moments of the 20^th Century: the Shoah and the creation of the state of Israel. In July 1947, 4,551 passengers, all survivors from the Shoah, boarded a boat called “Exodus 47” in Sète that left secretly for Palestine. Intercepted by the British Navy, the passengers were transferred to three English boats, which, after nine days of a difficult journey, returned to Provence at Port-de-Bouc. On that morning of July 29^th, 1947, no one could have imagined the trial of strength between the English and the French governments that would ultimately lead to the most spectacular historical moment in the creation of the Jewish nation. So, what did a little port in the South of France have to do with this great historical moment?

Highlights:

- Her name is Sabine (Elle s’appelle Sabine)

Directed by Sandrine BONNAIRE - Produced by Thomas Schmitt (Mosaique Films)

- Mai 68, la belle ouvrage

Directed by Jean - Luc MAGNERON - Produced by Loïc Magneron (WIDE Management)

- Counterparts (Gegenüber)

Directed by Jan BONNY - Produced by Bettina Brokemper (Heimat Films)

- Sonic Mirror

Mika Kaurismäki`s new film SONIC MIRROR is a surprising and emotional dive into the world of rhythm - an extraordinary trip to discover the magic relationship between Life and Rhythm. Drum legend Billy Cobham takes us from the bandstands of the Western world to the primal music of African origin with kids in a Brazilian community and on to the completely secluded world of musical experiences of autists. These different worlds are yet connected in a mystical and secret way. The relation between the collective and the individual consciousness becomes obvious when, in a fantastic final, the symbiosis is achieved. Music is emotion. Music is communication. Music is identity. Music as a true universal language to express hope, love, ambition and joy. SONIC MIRROR is a film full of vibrancy and compassion, authentic and hypnotic from the first to the very last moment.

- Faro – Goddess of the Waters (Faro, la Reine des eaux)

Directed by Salif TRAORÉ - Produced by Philippe Quinsac (P.A.V. Communication, France), Bärbel Mauch (Bärbel Mauch Films, Germany)

- Shelter (Riparo)

Directed by Marco Simon PUCCIONI - Produced by Mario Mazzarotto (Intelfilm), Francesca Van Der Staay (Adesif)

Synopsis: Anna and Mara return from a holiday abroad, and realize that Anis, a young Moroccan immigrant, managed to hide in their car in order to cross the border to Italy. At first unsure of what to do, they then decide to take him with them. Gradually Anis establishes himself in the life of the couple and for a brief moment, the three manage to help and support each other in an unusual and emotionally intricate relation. Yet this precarious balance is short-lived: Anis loses his job and is rejected by Mara who he has fallen in love with and Anna has to witness her idyllic domestic arrangement fall to pieces. “SHELTER” portrays three human beings, diverse from each other and the majority, compelled to deal, with compassion, trust and fear, with issues raised by sexual orientation, coming of age, immigration and work related problems.

- Dreams of Dust (Rêves de poussière)

Directed by Laurent SALGUES - Produced by Marc Daigle (Corporation ACPAV inc.), Sophie Salbot (Athénaïse)

- Ex Drummer

Directed by Koen MORTIER - Produced by Eurydice Gysel (CCCP)

- Ezra

Directed by Newton I. ADUAKA - Produced by Produced by Michel Loro, Gorune Aprikian (CINEFACTO, France), François Sauvagnargues, Arnaud Louvet (ARTE France)

EZRA is a factional tale inspired by the Sierra Leonean conflict. It is centred on one event: a drug fuelled atrocious attack on a village by rebel soldiers. The jigsaw puzzle of what occurred that night is reconstructed through the testimonies of three witnesses: Ezra, an excombatant, his sister Onitcha, a mute, and Cynthia, Ezra's fellow exsoldier.

What is supposed to be reconciliation soon becomes a trial, as Onitcha chooses this as the arena to reveal a secret she has kept from her brother.

- A casa de Alice

Directed by Chico TEIXEIRA - Produced by Patrick Leblanc, Zita Carvalhosa (SUPERFILMES)

- Youssou N’Dour: Return to Goree (Retour à Gorée)

Directed by Pierre-Yves BORGEAUD - Produced by Jean-Louis Porchet, Gérard Ruey (CAB Productions), Nicolas Steil (Iris Productions), Emmanuel Gétaz (Dreampixies)

- Substitute

Directed by Fred POULET, Vikash DHORASOO - Produced by Nicolas Brevière (LOCAL FILMS)

Synopsis: The story begins on June 2006. Fred POULET, singer, author and video clipper, entrusted a Super 8 camera to his friend, the football player Vikash DHORASOO, so that he can film his everyday life until July 9^th, date of the World Football Cup finale in Berlin… The movie follow up will be written day after day in Le Havre, Paris, then in Germany, in hotel rooms, in buses or on the phone. Also a bit in stadiums… In fact, Vikash DHORASSO will only play 16 minutes during this World Cup full of new developments and with the French team eventually reaching the finale. The twelfth man, the substitute, such was the destiny of this original player. This is the sincere portrait of a man who was hurt and lost in the largest sports event of the world.

- Twisted Souls (Ecorchés)

Directed by Cheyenne CARRON - Produced by Jacques Driencourt (BerFilms)

Synopsis: A young couple leaves for vacation in an isolated house in the countryside. During their stay, with the shelter of the glances, they slip into a violent and passionate relationship, which will lead them to make the worst…

- But Once Mom Had Gone... (Il a suffit que Maman s’en aille)

Directed by René FERET - Produced by René Féret, Fabienne Camara (Les Films Alyne)

Synopsis: Olivier, owner of a construction company in the Limousin region, hasn’t seen time passing, just like he hasn’t noticed his wife, younger than he, drift away, to the point that she’s actually gone to live elsewhere. At a loss, furious, wounded, he demands custody of their daughter Léa.

The judge decides it is in the young girl’s best interests that she continue to be surrounded by familiar situations. In the large house, the big wounded bear used to ordering men about finds himself alone with this tomboy, who he doesn’t quite know how to handle.

Nearing sixty, he knows, he feels how precious the bond being woven between himself and his daughter is. This new situation changes his relationship to things, to his work, life, his first daughter – who has already made him a grandfather – to the whole world. As for Léa, she slowly realizes the worth of a father who loves you totally and who enters your heart forever.

- Falafel

Directed by Michel Kammoun - Produced by Michel Kammoun (Roy Films), Thierry Lenouvel (Cinésud Promotion)

Synopsis: A summer evening in Beirut. One night in the life of Toufic, a young Lebanese man, and his nocturnal rides. Between his family, friends and love affairs, he tries to seize every day of his existence. Each second is the most important. Soon he discovers that having a normal life in this country is a luxury out of his reach. Fifteen years after the war has ended, a volcano lies on every street corner, like a ticking bomb that is ready to explode.

Berlin EFM 2007

2007-01-31T04:29:00.000-08:00

Dear friends,

Wide Management will attend the Berlin International Film Festival and we are proud, this year, to present you two films at the Panorama and three films at the Forum. We would be really pleased to set up a meeting with you at the market, from February 8th till 18th.

Please find attached our complete line up and screenings schedule.

In Official Selection, at the Panorama:

- Riparo, a film by Marco Simon Puccioni, produced by Mario Mazzarotto (Intelfilm), Francesca Van Der Staay (Adesif), France/Italy, 2007,100' : World Première
Anna and Mara return from a holiday abroad, and realize that Anis, a young moroccan immigrant, managed to hide in their car in order to cross the border to Italy. At first unsure of what to do, they then decide to take him with them. Gradually Anis establishes himself in the life of the couple and for a brief moment, the three manage to help and support each other in an unusual and emotionally intricate relation. Yet this precarious balance is short-lived: Anis loses his job and is rejected by Mara who he has fallen in love with and Anna has to witness her idyllic domestic arrangement fall to pieces. Riparo portrays three human beings, diverse from each other and the majority, compelled to deal, with compassion, trust and fear, with issues raised by sexual orientation, coming of age, immigration and work related problems.
Screening dates and times:
12-feb, 20:00 - Cubix 7 & 8
13-feb, 22:30 - CinemaxX Studio 7
14-feb, 17:00 - Cubix 9
15-feb, 17:30 - CineStar 3

In Official Selection, at the Panorama:

- A Casa de Alice, a film by Chico Teixeiro, produced by Patrick Leblanc, Zita Carvalhosa (SUPERFILMES), Brazil, 2007, 90' : World Première
In São Paulo, in a working-class district, Alice, a 40-year-old woman and manicurist has been married for the last 20 years to a taxi driver. They live with Alice’s mother, who cooks, cleans, and does the household laundry, listening all day to her favourite radio program. Alice and Lindomar have 3 children living with them. Alice’s marriage is undergoing a crisis and Lindomar doesn’t try to hide his adventures with teenage girls. None of the three siblings pay much attention to their mother and they treat their grandmother with lack of respect. Alice’s life in the female working world contrasts strongly with the powerful masculine presence in her home. She envies her clients and is unable to handle this feeling. Although she’s a good girl, the chance to betray uncovers other betrayals.
Screening dates and times:
10-feb, 14:30 - Cubix 9
13-feb, 17:30 - CineStar 3
14-feb, 20:00 - CinemaxX 7
15-feb, 22:45 - CineStar 3
16-feb, 22:30 - Cubix 7 & 8

In Official Selection, at the Forum:

- The Sugar Curtain (El Telon de Azucar), directed by Camila Guzman Urzua, produced by Paraiso Productions Diffusion, France/Spain, 2007, 80'.
This is an autobiographic documentary on the generation of Cuban borns, raised in the golden years of the Revolution. Camila Guzman Urzua goes back to Cuba after years of exil to remember her early childhood and to figure out what happened to her generation who used to live with ideals and got disappointed as they came of age.
The screening dates and times:
14-feb, 19:30 - CinemaxX Studio 5
15-feb, 20:00 - Cubix 9
16-feb, 12:30 - CineStar 8
18-feb, 15:15 - Arsenal
18-feb, 21:45 - Delphi-Filmpalast

In Official Selection, at the Forum:

- Faro, a film by Salif Traore, co-produced by Philippe Quinsac (P.A.V. Communication), Daniel Morin (Boréal Films), Salif Traoré (Sarama Films), Bärbel Mauch (Bärbel Mauch Films), France/Canada/Mali/Germany, 2007, 90' : World Première.
Dra, an engineer, comes from a small village on the Niger, but has long since established a life for himself in the city. Only after he is rejected by his fiancé’s parents, because he is the son of a single mother, does he begin to confront his past. In the hope of finding his father, he returns to his childhood village. The journey reveals the enormous differences between rural and urban life and sheds light on the conflict between the modern world and superstitious customs.
Screening dates and times:
14-feb, 10:00 - CinemaxX Studio 5
15-feb, 20:00 - CineStar 8
16-feb, 12:30 - Cubix 7
17-feb, 12:30 - Arsenal
18-feb, 19:30 - Delphi-Filmpalast

In Official Selection, at the Forum:

- Substitute, a documentary by Fred Poulet and Vikash Dhorasoo, produced by Local Film (Nicolas Brevière), France, 2007, 70'.
The story begins on June 2006. Fred POULET, singer, author and video clipper, entrusted a Super 8 camera to his friend, the football player Vikash DHORASOO, so that he can film his everyday life until July 9th, date of the World Football Cup finale in Berlin… The movie follow up will be written day after day in Le Havre, Paris, then in Germany, in hotel rooms, in buses or over the phone. Also a bit in stadiums… In fact, Vikash DHORASSO will only play 16 minutes during this World Cup full of new developments and with the French team eventually reaching the finale. The twelfth man, the substitute, such was the destiny of this original player. This is the sincere portrait of a man who was hurt and lost in the largest sport event of the world.
Screening dates and times:
08-feb, 10:30 - CinemaxX Studio 5
09-feb, 17:30 - CineStar 8
10-feb, 13:00 - Cubix 7
11-feb, 22:45 - Arsenal
12-feb, 20:00 - Colosseum 1

AT THE MARKET (MARKET PREMIERE), WIDE WILL PRESENT:

- Ex Drummer, a film by Koen Mortier, produced by CCCP (Eurydice Gysel), Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, France, 2007, 104', World Premiere in the Tiger Awards Competition at the Rotterdam International Film Festival 2007.
Three handicapped musicians from a provincial rock band find their missing drummer in the form of the arrogant and manipulative well-known writer Dries. His arrival leads to increasingly violent situations in which the band members seem to lose all control over their lives.
Screening date and time :
10-feb, 17:50 - CinemaxX Studio 14
12-feb, 13:30 - CinemaxX Studio 13

- Dreams of Dust, directed by Laurent Salgues, co production between France, Canada and Burkina Faso, 2007, 86'.
World Première in Sundance 2007, the film tells about Mocktar Dicko, a Nigerian peasant, who goes to look for work in Essakane, a gold mine in northeastern Burkina Faso. In this prison with bars of wind and dust, he hopes to forget the past that haunts him.
Screening dates and times:
12-feb, 16:30 - CinemaxX Studio 14
14-feb, 10:00 - CinemaxX Studio 14

- Fissures, a 87' feature film directed by Alanté Kavaïté, produced by Les Films d'Antoine (Antoine Simkine), France, 2007, 87'. Fissures, is already optionned by Joe Dante for the remake rights in the US.
The film tells the story of Charlotte (Emilie Dequenne), a sound engineer who's actually listening to a record made in the house where her mother was murdered. Charlotte discovers sounds from the past blend with sounds from the present and reconstructs the events which lead to her mother's death.
Screening dates and times:
09-feb, 11:45 - CinemaxX Studio 14
12-feb, 10:00 - CinemaxX Studio 14

- Stolen Holidays (Les Petites Vacances), directed by Olivier Peyon, produced by Tu Vas Voir, France, 90'.
Stolen Holidays tells the story of Daniele, a retired teacher, for whom weekends with her grandchildren are the highlights of her everyday routine. Sometimes, however, she does little more than "transfer" the two children between their divorced mother and father. And suddenly there are some "friends of friends" who take care of the children when the father has no time for them. Everything is organised – wonderful patchwork family chaos. One day, the grandmother takes the two children on an improvised trip. She tries to hold onto the precious atmosphere of these stolen holidays as long as possible – until it seems impossible to go back. The fun trip becomes a journey to the melancholy of farewell.
Screening dates and times:
09-feb, 18:30 - CinemaxX Studio 13
11-feb, 14:30 - CinemaxX Studio 13

- Gradiva directed by Alain Robbe-Grillet, starring James Wilby and Arielle Dombasle, France, 114'.
John Locke, an art historian, is doing research on Orientalism in the visual arts — with a particular focus on Delacroix and the work he did in Morocco — under the jealous scrutiny of Belkis, his very young and enigmatic servant-mistress. John stumbles into a series of recurring, elusive encounters with a willowy, evanescent woman in the medina, who lures him through a labyrinth of Marrakech alleyways and then vanishes into thin air. Finally, he meets Anatoli, an alleged antiques dealer and coordinator of Orientalism exhibitions for perverse amateurs. Despite Belkis’ desperate objections, John is drawn into this web of sado-erotic phantasms by Anatoli and the pseudo-ghost of the too-beautiful woman, without realizing that he’s being manipulated.
Screening date and time :
9-feb, 13:30 - CinemaxX Studio 13

- Once upon a tomorrow (Il sera une fois), a film by Sandrine Veysset, produced by Art'mell Producteurs Associés, France, 2007, 75' and starring Michael Lonsdale and Alphonse Emery.
Countdown is Pierrot’s way of living. He has for obsession the time going by and fears his mother’s death. His only friend Elise, and the lonely bunker on top of the hill, here is all Pierrot’s universe. Visions come to him more often, becoming hallucinations. Old age is everywhere, already surrounding him. One night, the countdown comes to its end, madness reaches its limits and Pierrot finds himself facing the old man he will become. A strange journey starts for this improbable duet….
Screening date and time:
11-feb, 17:45 - CinemaxX Studio 13

- Youssou N'Dour: Return to Goree by Pierre-Yves Bourgeaud, produced by CAB Productions (Jean-Louis Porchet and Gerard Ruey), Iris Productions (Jesus Gonzales and Nicolas Steil) and Dreampixies, Switzerland and Luxembourg, 2007, 112'.
This musical road-movie tells the story of the African singer Youssou N’Dour and his epic journey following the trail left by the black slaves and the jazz music they invented. Youssou N’Dour’s challenge is to bring back to Africa a jazz repertoire and to sing those tunes in Gorée, the island that today symbolizes the slave trade and stands to commemorate its victims. Guided in his journey by the blind pianist Moncef Genoud, N’Dour travels across the United States and Europe. Along with some of the world’s most exceptional musicians, they meet well- known figures and create a music which goes beyond cultural division.
Screening date and time:
13-feb, 17:30 - CinemaxX Studio 13

- Carla's List (La Liste de Carla), by Marcel Schupbach, produced by CAB Productions (Jean-Louis Porchet and Gerard Ruey), Switzerland, 93' and 52'
Following for the first time Carla del Ponte behind the scenes of the ICTY, the journey brings us from The Hague to New York, from Belgrade to Washington, Zagreb or Luxemburg, in a thrilling atmosphere of manhunt, gambling and risk. We follow her quest between truth and lies, between success and deceived hopes, fake news, and lobbying.
Screening date and time:
09-feb, 9:30 - CinemaxX Studio 13

- Piazza Vittorio's Orchestra (L'Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio), directed by Agostino Ferrente, produced by Lucky Red, Italy, 93'.
The film is now released in Italy, and is a big success in the Nanni Moretti's theater in Roma where the concert follows the screenings.
L'Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio combines music, interviews, solidarity and human comedy. Created at the instigation of Mario Tronco, a film score composer and pianist with the Piccola Orchestra Avion Travel and the collective Apollo 11, this musical group has its roots in a working-class district of Rome where the Italians are «an ethnic minority». Shot over a five-year period, from the birth of the orchestra to its recent successes, this documentary brings together thirty professional and street musicians of various nationalities (some of them illegal), five cameramen, and three sound engineers. The film highlights and echoes aspects of contemporary Italy, representative of a varied sociological and cultural mix. The result is an extraordinary alliance of sounds, harmony and life stories.
Screening dates and times:
11-feb, 11:45 - CinemaxX Studio 14
13-feb, 11:30 - CinemaxX Studio 14

- Border Post (Karaula), directed by Rajko Grlic, produced by Refresh Productions, Bosnia and Herzegovinia, 95'.
1987: It’s the seventh year anniversary of Tito’s death and official celebrations paralyse the country. A military detachment on the Albanian border is on standby due to strong rumours of movements by Albanese troops preparing to invade Yugoslavia. If the truth must be told, the soldier in charge of the post has cancelled all permits for far more prosaic reasons. An X-ray of a multiethnic group, obvious parabola of the falling apart Yugoslavia, directed at a jaunty speed which doesn’t give the spectator a minute’s rest.
Screening date and time :
8-feb, 16:00 - CinemaxX Studio 16

- Anytime Soon, directed by Anahí HOENEISEN & Daniel ANDRADE, produced by Verónica Andrade (La Maquinita), Ecuador, 2007, 84'
A day in the life of five long-time schoolmates from Quito, who decided to get together again after 14 years. Elena is expecting her second child. Marina lives the ups and downs of infedility. Diana, a premature widow, shares her loneliness with her teenage daughter. Tamara still lives a crazy life amongst drugs and one night’s stands. That night they will visit Alejandra who has been seriously ill. “Anytime Soon” is a choral film where each character delivers the lights and shadows of their paradoxical middle class life in an Andean city. In that unusual encounter, these women will weave –swinging between guilt and hope, solitude and solidarity- a tapestry of emotions that arise in the middle of the apparent monotony of their lives…
Screening date and time :
10-feb, 11:30 - CinemaxX Studio 15

- My time will come, directed by Victor Arregi, produced by Paul Venegas, Ecuador, 2007, 84'
Love, chance, city and death. All these elements are articulated in thousand ways in the town of Quito, capital of Ecuador, in order to precipitate destinies of multiple characters. Arturo Fernandez, medical examiner, his mother, his brother, his assistant, a taxi driver… God gives birth to them and Quito gathers them. Only death makes them equal.
Screening date and time :
14-feb, 13:30 Marriott 2

Wide Management will be located at the UNIFRANCE BOOTH N°33:

Attending:
- Loïc Magneron, General Manager (Cell: +33 6 60 43 96 86, lm@widemanagement.com)
- Matteo Lovadina, International Sales (Cell: +33 6 14 45 62 78, ml@widemanagement.com)
- Agathe Valentin, International Sales (Cell: +33 6 62 44 92 35, av@widemanagement.com)
- Anaïs Clanet, Documentary Division (Cell: +33 6 16 11 71 19, ac@widemanagement.com)

We would be happy to schedule a meeting with you. Please complete the following form and return it via e-mail at wide@widemanagement.com or by fax to the + 33 1 53 95 04 65

Name(s) : ........................................................
Company : ......................................................
Date : ..............................................................
Time : ..............................................................

We really do hope to meet you soon.

Best regards,

Wide Team

Please note our new address from March the 1st:
WIDE MANAGEMENT
40, rue Sainte-Anne
75002 Paris
Tel: +33 1 53 95 04 64
Fax: + 33 1 53 95 04 65
Email. wide@widemanagement.com
Web. www.widemanagement.com

YOU CAN NOW SUSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER ON WWW.WIDEMANAGEMENT.COM

MAN PUSH CART Nominated for 2007 Spirit Awards

2006-12-07T07:22:00.000-08:00

MAN PUSH CART by Ramin Bahrani (USA/Iran, 2005) was nominated for 3 Independent Spirits Awards on November 28th:

MAN PUSH CART nominated for Best First Feature
Ahmad Razvi nominated for Best Male Lead
Michael Simmonds nominated for Best Cinematography

Moreo information on http://ifc.com/news/article?aId=18328

WIDE at the AFM 2006

2006-10-23T10:03:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Loïc Magneron, General Manager of Wide Management, will be attending the upcoming AFI Fest - Los Angeles Film Festival and the AFM - American Film Market 2006 from the 1st to the 9th of November 2006.

He would be really glad to schedule a meeting with you during the Festival and the Market to present our new programs available for your domestic market.

Wide Management is the licensor of more than 300 feature films, more than 250 documentaries and about 100 short films.

Wide Management is presenting the following programs this year:

Fissures (Ecoute le Temps), directed by Alanté Kavaïté, produced by Les Films d'Antoine (Antoine Simkine), selected in Official Competition at the AFI Fest and screened at the AFM. Fissures is already optionned for the remake rights in the US with Joe Dante Production Company.

The film tells the story of Charlotte (Emilie Dequenne), a sound engineer who's actually listening to a record made in the house where her mother (Ludmila Mikael) was murdered. Charlotte discovers sounds from the past blend with sounds from the present and reconstructs the events which lead to her mother's death.

The screenings will be at the following dates and times:

AFI Fest - Official Competition - Sunday, Nov. 5 at 21:15, Arclight 12

AFI Fest - Official Competition - Monday, Nov. 6 at 16:15, Arclight 12

AFM - Market Screening - Wednesday, Nov. 1 at 11:00, AMC 4

AFM - Market Screening - Friday, Nov. 3, 11:00, AMC 4

Return to Gorée (Retour à Gorée), directed by Pierre-Yves Bourgeaud, produced by CAB Productions (Switzerland), Market Première at the AFM.

This musical road-movie tells the story of the African singer Youssou N’Dour and his epic journey following the trail left by the black slaves and the jazz music they invented. Youssou N’Dour’s challenge is to bring back to Africa a jazz repertoire and to sing those tunes in Gorée, the island that today symbolizes the slave trade and stands to commemorate its victims. Guided in his journey by the blind pianist Moncef Genoud, N’Dour travels across the United States and Europe. Along with some of the world’s most exceptional musicians, they meet well- known figures and create a music which goes beyond cultural division.

The market screenings will be at the following dates and times:

AFM - Market Screening - Saturday, Nov. 4 at 13:00, Fairm 1

Also, Wide is licensing the following new titles:

The Sugar Curtain (El Telon de Azucar), directed by Camila Guzman and produced by Paraiso Productions Diffusion, World Première at the Toronto Film Festival 2006 (82').

This is an autobiographic documentary on the generation of Cuban borns, raised in the golden years of the Revolution. Camila Guzman Urzua goes back to Cuba after years of exil to remember her early childhood and to figure out what happened to her generation who used to live with ideals and got disappointed as they came of age.

Carla's List (La Liste de Carla), by Marcel Schupbach, produced by CAB Productions (Switzerland), a documentary which had its World Première in Locarno Film Festival with Kofi Annan, Gerhard Schröder and Carla del Ponte attending the Official Screening on the Piazza Grande. Following for the first time Carla del Ponte behind the scenes of the ICTY, the journey brings us from The Hague to New York, from Belgrade to Washington, Zagreb or Luxemburg, in a thrilling atmosphere of manhunt, gambling and risk. We follow her quest between truth and lies, between success and deceived hopes, fake news, and lobbying.

Already sold in Italy (Ripley's Film), in France (Pierre Grise Distribution), in Finland (MTV3 News) and in former Yougoslavia, the film is still available for your domestic market.

The film has a running time of 95 minutes and a short version of 52 minutes is available.

Piazza Vittorio's Orchestra (L'Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio), directed by Agostino Ferrente, produced by Lucky Red (Italy), screened for the Closing Night at the Locarno Film Festival and followed by a concert on the Piazza Grande.

L'Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio combines music, interviews, solidarity and human comedy. Created at the instigation of Mario Tronco, a film score composer and pianist with the Piccola Orchestra Avion Travel and the collective Apollo 11, this musical group has its roots in a working-class district of Rome where the Italians are «an ethnic minority». Shot over a five-year period, from the birth of the orchestra to its recent successes, this documentary brings together thirty professional and street musicians of various nationalities (some of them illegal), five cameramen, and three sound engineers.

Une Maison à Tanger (A House in Tanger), directed by the acclaimed French film-maker Benoît Jacquot, co-produced by France 5 and Les Films du Lendemain. This documentary follows the famous architect Andrée Putman, in charge of the building of Arielle Dombasle and Bernard Henry-Lévy's house in tanger, Morocco.

Gradiva (C'est Gradiva qui vous apelle), directed by Alain Robbe-Grillet, starring James Wilby and Arielle Dombasle, a feature film which had its Première in the Venice International Film Festival 2006 in the Orizzorti Section (Out of Competition).

John Locke, an art historian, is doing research on Orientalism in the visual arts — with a particular focus on Delacroix and the work he did in Morocco — under the jealous scrutiny of Belkis, his very young and enigmatic servant-mistress. John stumbles into a series of recurring, elusive encounters with a willowy, evanescent woman in the medina, who lures him through a labyrinth of Marrakech alleyways and then vanishes into thin air. Finally, he meets Anatoli, an alleged antiques dealer and coordinator of Orientalism exhibitions for perverse amateurs. Despite Belkis’ desperate objections, John is drawn into this web of sado-erotic phantasms by Anatoli and the pseudo-ghost of the too-beautiful woman, without realizing that he’s being manipulated.

Border Post (Karaula), directed by Rajko Grlic, produced by Refresh Productions, selected for the International Competition at San Sebastian 2006.

1987. It’s the seventh year anniversary of Tito’s death and official celebrations paralyse the country. A military detachment on the Albanian border is on standby due to strong rumours of movements by Albanese troops preparing to invade Yugoslavia. If the truth must be told, the soldier in charge of the post has cancelled all permits for far more prosaic reasons. An X-ray of a multiethnic group, obvious parabole of the falling apart Yugoslavia, directed at a jaunty speed which doesn’t give the spectator a minute’s rest.

Here are his contacts in Santa Monica:

Loïc Magneron: Manager, International Sales and Production. Mob : +33 6 60 43 96 86.

Wide - News & Treads - Welcome !

2006-10-21T10:13:00.000-07:00

Hi, welcome to our blogspot !