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A foal’s first breath and a newborn child’s cry merge in the dim light of a Normandy stable, as if nature conspires to witness two lives beginning in tandem. Zoe arrives into her parents’ world precisely when Beautiful Intrigue gives birth, setting the stage for a bond that transcends species. In those opening moments, director Christian Duguay sketches an unspoken promise: life’s fragility and its quiet grandeur entwined.

From the muck-scented floors where Zoe toddles beside her mare to the waterlogged arena where she later relearns how to stand, this drama traces the girl’s fierce love for horses. Carmen Kassovitz anchors Zoe’s journey with a gaze that carries both youthful wonder and the weight of lingering pain. Under Duguay’s hand, each scene feels like a living painting—soft pastels of dawn rides, the harsh white glare of winter snow, the dark lull of storm clouds gathering overhead.

The Vourdalak Photo: Courtesy of Venice Film Festival

The Vourdalak, Midnight, Film 4, Wednesday April 16 into 17

This atmospheric Gothic take on vampire mythology draws on Tolstoy's tale of a blood-sucker. An aristocrat (Kacey Mottet Klein) is looking for help in a forest when he stumbles on the home of a family who are waiting for the return of their patriarch, who cautioned them against letting him back in the house if he was gone for more than six days. You might think you can guess what happens next but the familiar elements of this horror are lent an additionally creepy vibe by the use of Super 16 and, more importantly, the fact that the vourdalak himself is not a human but a marionette. Adrien Beau's film has a Hammer-esque retro quality, and the director isn't afraid to employ a good dash of humour as well as the grotesque. Likely to be the most unusual film.

If you’re hungry for another Gothic vampire period piece in the wake of Nosferatu, sink your fangs into The Vourdalak on Blu-ray on April 8 from Oscilloscope Laboratories.

The 2023 French film is adapted from Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy’s 1839 novella The Family of the Vourdalak, which predates Bram Stoker’s Dracula by over half a century.

Adrien Beau makes his feature directorial debut from a script he co-wrote with Hadrien Bouvier.

Special Features:

Behind the scenes Les condiments irréguliers – 2011 short film by Adrien Beau La petite sirène – 2011 short film by Adrien Beau Theatrical trailer

The film is presented presented with 5.1 surround stereo sound in French with English subtitles.

When the Marquis d’Urfé, a noble emissary of the King of France, is attacked and abandoned in the remote countryside, he finds refuge at an eerie, isolated manor. The resident family, reluctant to take him in, exhibits strange behavior as they await...

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If you are a horror fan then there is a big chance that you might have heard about the horror streaming service Shudder, and if you have its subscription you might be wondering what’s in store for you in January 2025. Don’t worry there is a host of new and old horror movies coming to the service in the upcoming month and we have listed the 10 best movies coming to Shudder in January 2025.

The Others (January 1) Credit – Dimension Films

The Others is a gothic supernatural psychological horror film written and directed by Alejandro Amenabar. The 2001 film follows Grace as she moves in a Jersey house with her three children but she soon begins experiencing strange occurrences and becomes convinced that the house is haunted. The Others stars Nicole Kidman, Fionnula Flanagan, Christopher Eccleston, Elaine Cassidy, Eric Sykes,...

A foppish French aristocrat encounters a clan of peasants and their blood-sucking patriarch in a deliriously camp period yarn

Ageing and death are perhaps the foundation of all horror, but this droll French chamber piece, adapted from an 1839 novella by Aleksey Tolstoy, puts a devious spin on that. The titular “vourdalak” – a kind of Mitteleuropean vampire – is Gorcha, wizened patriarch of a family of forest-dwelling peasants, who is driven to feed on the blood of those he loves the most. With the film incarnating this beastie in the form of a toothy puppet resembling Norman Tebbit (voiced by director Adrian Beau), it’s a cruel but funny metaphor for parental authority and late-life dependency. Obviously they didn’t have assisted living in early modern Bohemia.

Arriving in the midst of this folkloric spat is Marquis Jacques Antoine Saturnin d’Urfé (Kacey Mottet Klein), a nervous envoy for the French king...

★★★★1/2

‘A visually stunning & emotionally devastating take on a classic scary story.’

Screen Rant

★★★★

‘One of the best horror films of the year so far.’

Dread Central

‘A tasty blend of blood, wit and social commentary.’

Screen International

Lost in a hostile forest, the Marquis d’Urfé, a noble emissary of the King of France, finds refuge in the home of a strange family… An adaptation of Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy’s 1884 vampiric novella of Gothic Romanticism “La Famille du Vourdalak”, published 40 years before Dracula, The Vourdalak is a haunting gothic tale directed by Adrien Beau and starring Ariane Labed, Kacey Mottet-Klein, and Grégoire Colin. The Vourdalak premiered at Venice Film Festival where it was nominated for Best Film at International Critics Week.

The Vourdalak arrives on Digital Platforms on 16th September 2024 from Blue Finch Film Releasing

The post Haunting Gothic Tale The Vourdalak – On Digital Platforms 16th September 2024 appeared first on Horror Asylum.

Adrien Beau’s feature debut The Vourdalak is a horror film that brings a unique vibe to the table. A French, period-set vampire tale that utilizes some unique effects work to bring the titular fiend to life. The Serbian folk monster the Vourdalak is not exactly the same thing as a vampire, but they’re close cousins. The legends carry a lot of similarities, and Beau uses those to play with audience expectations, while throwing in some unexpected turns at the same time.

Based on a 19th century novel by Aleksey Konstantonovich Tolstoy, The Vourdalak opens with a young French nobleman, the Marquis d’Urfe (Kacey Mottet Klein), lost in the Serbian woods. He has been robbed by bandits, and is completely alone. He eventually finds his way to the home of Gorcha, where he is taken in by the family. Though Gorcha is the patriarch, he is absent when the Marquis arrives.

Lost in a misty forest one stormy eve, a French diplomat named Jacques comes upon an isolated homestead far from familiar comforts. Its inhabitants seem welcoming yet harbor peculiar secrets. So begins The Vourdalak, an entrancing new folk tale from writer-director Adrien Beau.

Based on a 19th-century Russian novella but feeling fresh, this 2023 film transports viewers to a remote countryside emerging from war. Shot on grainy 16mm, it crafts an eerily charming world where superstition shadows certainty. As Jacques discovers the true nature hiding behind the family’s strange behaviors, Beau steadily builds an unsettling atmosphere you feel wrapped in.

Lead Kacey Mottet Klein brings stately charm to Jacques, an outsider drawn to mystery. But the real star is a looming marionette beast brought to unnerving life. Beau makes the unnatural feel uncannily natural, feeding our need for folk horror’s blend of chills and character drama. Fans of gothic...

The Vourdalak is a vintage-looking French horror film with a unique vampire concept, set in a picturesque European countryside. The film's cast creates intricate relationships, and the story is well-paced with a clear focus on character development. The Vourdalak showcases practical effects and a strong emphasis on light and shadow, setting it apart from modern horror movies.

While watching The Vourdalak , it's almost a stretch of the imagination to believe the film initially premiered in 2023. What I witnessed could easily have passed for the 1980s or late '70s, and I say this with the highest compliments. Reminiscent of a time gone by, The Vourdalak was shot on film, truly earning the vintage look with real grain and harsh shadows that only elevate the stylization of the project. It stakes its claim as a French movie everyone should see and as the perfect summer horror movie for film buffs and casual viewers alike.

The indie market is feeling pretty good. A big film from India Kalki 2898 Ad may unseat Rrr’s North American opening weekend. June Squibb-starrer Thelma is blowing through midweek shows and stands at $3.75 million heading into week 2 steady at 1,280 theaters. Searchlight Pictures Kinds Of Kindness by Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things) starring Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons jumps to 500 screens from five after the best limited opening of the year last weekend.

Annie Baker’s Janet Planet from A24 goes from 2 screens to 300 and a handful of interesting indies open in limited release from Catherine Breillat‘s Last Summer to Jake Paltrow’s June Zero. Things are still quite tough but there’s room for optimism. Not clear if that will last, but it’s nice..

New: Telugu sci-fi epic Kalki 2898 Ad on 900+ screens is rivaling crossover blockbuster Rrr as distributor Prathyangira Cinemas said the film grossed $5.56 million in...

Vampires are eternal, and so are movies about them. The genre shows no signs of going bloodless anytime soon, even if the oldest texts continue to inspire some of its most compelling entries. Consider writer-director Adrien Beau’s “The Vourdalak,” an adaptation of Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy’s 1839 “The Family of the Vourdalak,” a foundational novella that predates Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” by more than half a century. After premiering in Venice last year, the film arrives in theaters less than a week after the trailer for “The Witch” helmer Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu” remake dropped — a coincidence, surely, but one that’s nevertheless emblematic of the ur-texts’ enduring influence.

“The Vourdalak” doesn’t exactly announce its blood-sucking bonafides, though the signs are all there. A stranger introducing himself as an emissary of the King of France (Kacey Mottet Klein) loses his way while traveling through a remote village and is refused...

Stars: Kacey Mottet Klein, Ariane Labed, Vassili Scheider, Grégoire Colin, Claire Duburcq, Gabriel Pavie | Written by Adrien Beau, Hadrien Bouvier | Directed by Adrien Beau

The Vourdalak, or if you prefer, Le Vourdalak, is the most recent adaptation of Alexei Tolstoy’s novella The Family of the Vourdalak. Written in 1839 and first published in 1850, it has already been filmed several times, most famously as the final segment of Mario Bava’s Black Sabbath, the Italians returned to the story in 1972 with Giogio Ferroni’s The Night of the Devils and most recently as A Taste of Blood by Argentinian director Santiago Fernández Calvete.

This time it’s French filmmakers, director Adrien Beau and co-writer Hadrien Bouvier who are adapting it. They begin the film with Marquis Jacques Antoine Saturnin d’Urfe looking for shelter after an attack that wiped out his entire entourage. The owner of the first house he stops at refuses to help,...

Madness and misfortune darken the doorstep of the 2024 Chattanooga Film Festival with Adrien Beau’s The Vourdalak, celebrating its North American premiere after an acclaimed run on the European festival circuit. Like an accidental renaissance rendition of Pet Sematary or a Napoleonic re-telling of Salem’s Lot, this French nightmare is a lush and looney folk tale of grave misfortunes. And monsters! Here be monsters…

Shot on film and featuring some incredible moments of handmade horror, The Vourdalak is, yes, a Period Piece- but not a Period Piece that haters of Period Pieces should immediately disregard. I get it, fancy talk and frilly garments aren’t for everyone…but how about live-sized puppets of skeletal ghouls with long boney fingers that stalk in the shadows at night and feast on the blood of the living? How ’bout them Elizabethan apples!? The Vourdalak is like Jim Henson meets The Brothers Grimm, filtered...

The Vourdalak hits theaters on June 28, 2024, offering a unique and atmospheric vampire experience for horror fans. French filmmaker Adrien Beau is excited to partner with Oscilloscope for the U.S. release of his debut feature film. Die-hard horror fans will recognize The Vourdalak story from the 1963 anthology film, Black Sabbath.

Nosferatu might be getting ready to scare audiences on Christmas day 2024, but fans of Gothic vampire stories wont have to wait too much longer to get their fix, as the French period piece The Vourdalak is getting ready to hit theaters later this month thanks to landing a U.S. distribution deal. Based on Russian novelist Aleksey Tolstoys Gothic novella, The Family of the Vourdalak, which was first published in 1839, the story predates Bram Stokers 'Dracula' by nearly 60 years. The Vourdalak premiered during the International Critics Week section of the 80th Venice International Film Festival last year.

As...

"Everything was fine here before you arrived." Oscilloscope Labs in the US has revealed the official trailer for a very peculiar French film called The Vourdalak, described as "an acclaimed 18th Century vampire tale." This initially premiered in the Critics' Week sidebar of the 2023 Venice Film Festival last year, and it will get a limited art house theatrical opening it the US this summer. For any who dare venture in to explore its darkness. Lost in a hostile forest, the Marquis d'Urfé, a noble emissary of the King of France, finds refuge in the home of a strange family... "Adapted from a novella (Aleksei K. Tolstoï's "La famille du Vourdalak") that predates Bram Stoker's Dracula by over half a century, The Vourdalak is an atmospheric, unexpected, sensorial experience that will leave you reeling and giddy in equal measure." Starring Kacey Mottet Klein as Marquis d'Urfé, along with Ariane Labed,...

In a rather surprising turn of events, after Cannes skipped on premiering Emmanuelle––Audrey Diwan’s follow-up to her Golden Lion-winning Happening––the film won’t be at Venice, Telluride, or TIFF either as the 72nd San Sebastian Festival announced it will world premiere as their opening night film on September 20. Starring Noémie Merlant, Naomi Watts, Jamie Campbell Bower, and Will Sharpe, see the full announcement below along with a new still.

The French production Emmanuelle directed by Audrey Diwan will open the 72nd San Sebastian Festival in competition. The feature film will be screened as a world premiere on 20 September and will be attended by its director and leading cast.

Diwan, winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival with Happening / L’événement in 2021, co-wrote the screenplay with fellow filmmaker Rebecca Zlotowski. The film follows the steps of a woman in search of a lost pleasure, whose...

Based on a 19th century Gothic novella by Aleksey Tolstoy, The Vourdalak is the debut feature film from French writer-director Adrien Beau. It tells of the Marquis d'Urfé (Kacey Mottet Klein), an emissary of the King of France who seeks shelter with a family when he becomes lost travelling through Eastern Europe. The family are anxiously awaiting the return of their patriarch, Gorcha, who has gone to capture an outlaw. Before leaving, he forewarned his family that if he does not return within six days, he has been killed and, if he reappears, they must refuse him entry to the house as he has become a vourdalak; a walking corpse returned from the grave seeking the blood of its loved ones...

Prior to the rise of the literary vampire, beginning with Bram Stoker's Dracula, Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla, and John Polidori's The Vampyre, Eastern...

An edgy new voice within the world of French genre, Adrien Beau worked as a designer and scenographer for the likes of Dior, John Galliano and Agnes B before making his feature debut with the offbeat vampire movie “Vourdalak.”

Produced by Judith-Lou Levy at Les Films du Bal, “Vourdalak” will world premiere at Venice Critics’ Week and will likely be one of its boldest entries. At a time when horror has become a mainstream genre overloaded with special effects, “Vourdalak” couldn’t be more radical. Lensed in Super 16, the film’s central character is a vampire patriarch named Gorcha, played by a marionette that Beau operates and lends his voice to.

In an interview with Variety ahead of the festival, Beau says he got the idea for the film after he and Levy came across “La Famille du Vourdalak,” a strange vampire novella penned by Alexeï Konstantinovitch Tolstoï, published in...

Exclusive: Paris-based WTFilms has acquired international sales rights for thriller Hood Witch, the debut film of rising French director Saïd Belktibia, starring Golshifteh Farahani and Denis Lavant.

Iranian-French actress and activist Farahani (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No) plays a woman who makes a living smuggling exotic animals and illicit products.

She branches out with the creation of a mobile App that connects clients with mystical marabout healers, but when a user’s consultation takes a tragic turn she finds her facing a violent backlash that could cost her and her son their lives.

The thriller is produced by Iconoclast and Les Misérables director Lady Ly’s Lyly Films.

Iconoclast’s recent credits include Romain Gavras’s Netflix original Athena, which debuted in Venice last year. The company is in Cannes this year as a producer on the Midnight Screening title The King Of Algiers.

“Saïd Belktibia is...

Click here to read the full article.

Not since a teenage Elizabeth Taylor rode her steed to victory in National Velvet has a film about a kid and a horse proven such an effective tearjerker as Christian Duguay’s French drama about a young girl who doesn’t let a terrible accident prevent her from pursuing her dream of becoming a jockey. The film may feel predictable at times in its plot machinations, but it nonetheless exerts a solid emotional pull that should make it a crowd-pleaser upon its theatrical release next month in its native country. Ride Above recently received its U.S. premiere as the centerpiece film of the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival.

The story begins in 2001, when Zoe is born in a racehorse stable owned by her parents at the same time as a horse named Beautiful Intrigue. Zoe and Beautiful Intrigue grow up together, with...

Brussels-based sales company Be For Films has picked up international sales rights to two world premiere titles at the upcoming 75th Locarno Film Festival: Delphine Lehericey’s Piazza Grande entry “Last Dance” and Julie Lerat-Gersant’s Cineasti del Presente player “Little Ones.”

Lehericey’s third film, the dramedy “Last Dance,” is a Switzerland-Belgium co-production, teaming Lausanne-based Box Productions with Brussels’ Need Productions.

The film follows Germain, an introspective retiree who abruptly becomes a widower at 75. Suddenly, he finds himself at the heart of a contemporary dance company’s newest work, honoring a promise he made to his departed wife.

The film stars French actor François Berléand, Spanish-born choreographer, dancer and visual artist La Ribot, Kacey Mottet-Klein, Jean-Benoît Ugeux and Sabine Timoteo.

“Last Dance” is produced by Box Productions’ Elena Tatti, the producer of Lehericey’s previous features “Puppy Love” and “Beyond the Horizon” a best film and screenplay winner at the 2020 Grand Prix Swiss Award.

Chicago – In an extraordinary flash of timing, the new French film “Happening” gets a general release in select theaters on May 13th, right in the midst of an another abortion debate in the U.S. The story of a young woman seeking the procedure in 1963 features Anamarie Varolomei and is adapted by director Audrey Diwan. They spoke to HollywoodChicago.com.

Happening” is an adaptation of a notable French novel, written by Annie Ermaux, about a young woman trying desperately to find an abortion provider in the illegal era of 1963 France (they’ll throw both the seeker and the provider in jail). Anamaria Vartolomei is Anne, a whipsmart and ambitious working class student who seeks a different world beyond her roots. When she becomes pregnant through a temporary encounter, she desperately seeks the procedure to make sure her circumstance remains with her.

Anamaria Vartolomei as Anne in ‘Happening’

Photo credit: IFC Films

Director Audrey Diwan,...

Winner of the Golden Lion at last year’s Venice Film Festival, featuring a jury led by Bong Joon-ho, Audrey Diwan’s abortion drama Happening is an intense, Dardennes-esque drama. Set in 1963 in Angoulême, France––which had strict anti-abortion laws––the story follows Anne, a pregnant student who attempts to find someone that can help her. Ahead of a May release, IFC Films have now released the U.S. trailer.

Mitchell Beaupre said in his review, “While comparing Happening to Eliza Hittman’s masterful 2020 abortion drama Never Rarely Sometimes Always skirts reductive, there’s something to be said for the similar way in which Diwan observes her main character. While her aesthetic may boast some grander flourishes than Hittman’s neorealism, there is nevertheless a vérité style to Diwan’s approach that places us right up against Anne for the majority of the film — a tight, boxed aspect ratio leads...

"I'd like a child one day, but not instead of a life." IFC has debuted the official US trailer for an acclaimed French drama titled Happening, the second feature directed by filmmaker Audrey Diwan. This initially premiered at the 2021 Venice Film Festival last year, where it won the Golden Lion top prize at the end of the fest. It also stopped by the 2022 Sundance Film Festival last month and picked up more rave reviews. Adapted from Annie Ernaux's semi-autobiographical book, Happening follows Anne, a bright young student who faces an unwanted pregnancy while abortion was still illegal in 1960s France. There are more and more abortion films recently because filmmakers are turning to art to express their concerns about the growing anti-abortion movement that has been taking over recently. These films are vital and necessary. Happening stars Anamaria Vartolomei, Kacey Mottet Klein, Luàna Bajrami, Louise Orry-Diquéro, and also Louise Chevillotte.

Happening Review — Happening (2021) Film Review from the 44th Annual Sundance Film Festival, a movie directed by Audrey Diwan and starring Anamaria Vartolomei, Kacey Mottet Klein, Luana Bajrami, Louise Orry-Diquero, Louise Chevillotte, Pio Marmai, Sandrine Bonnaire, Leonor Oberson, Anna Mouglalis, Madeleine Baudot, Alice de Lencquesaing and Fabrizio Rongione. Set in the early 1960’s, the [...]

Continue reading: Film Review: Happening: An Unflinching, Well Acted Look at a Delicate Topic [Sundance 2022]...

Of course a filmmaker of André Téchiné’s standing doesn’t simply “toss off” a feature, but it remains dispiriting that a director who can make emotionally trenchant movies — including the recent success “Being 17” — is also able to turn out duds like “Farewell to the Night.” Though “based on an original idea,” there’s very little originality in this story of a woman (Catherine Deneuve) discovering her grandson has been radicalized by Islamist extremists. As one of the more inclusive Western directors when it comes to Arab talent, Téchiné aims for a bit of character balance, but in the end, the film stumbles into the usual banal pitfalls and features some truly lamentable scenes. A modest Euro release is the best that can be expected.

Clunky chapter demarcations — “First day of spring 2015,” “Second day of spring 2015,” etc. — unintentionally call attention to how slowly each day passes rather than lend...

French actress-turned-director Nicole Garcia is set to direct “Lisa Redler” (working title), a drama starring Stacy Martin. France Television Distribution has come on board to handle international sales on “Lisa Redler.”

Produced by Les Films Pelléas and Mars Films, “Lisa Redler” is set in Paris and follows Lisa, who, while on vacation with her husband, rekindles a passionate affair with her ex-boyfriend. But that may lead to murder.

Martin stars with Benoit Magimel (“Marseille”) and Pierre Niney (“Yves Saint Laurent”). France Television Distribution is kicking off pre-sales at the European Film Market.

“Lisa Redler” marks Garcia’s follow up to “From the Land of the Moon,” which starred Marion Cotillard and competed at the Cannes Film Festival.

France Televisions is also selling Andre Techine’s “Farewell to the Night” with Catherine Deneuve, Kacey Mottet Klein and Oulaya Amamra, which is playing at the festival out of competition.

The film, produced by Curiosa Films,...

Films by Zhang Yimou and André Téchiné will have world premieres in Berlin.

The final titles for the Berlin International Film Festival Competition and Berlianle Special sections have been announced.

The new competition additions are world premieres of Zhang Yimou’s One Second, André Téchiné’s Farewell To The Night, Nadav Lapid’s Synonyms, the German premiere of Vice, and the European premiere of Aretha Franklin documentary Amazing Grace.

Of the new titles, Farewell To The Night, Alan Elliott’s Amazing Grace and Vice will play out of competition. 17 of the 23 films in the Competition section will be in contention...

Some 40 French companies will participate in Paris showcase.

Source: Alain Guizard

The Red Collar

Jean Becker’s WW1 drama The Red Collar will open Unifrance’s 20th Rendez-vous with French Cinema in Paris, running Jan 18-22, 2018, its international sales agent FranceTV Distribution (Ftd) has announced.

The Wwi drama, adapted from the 2014 novel by Jean-Christophe Rufin, resolves around the interrogation of a decorated war hero who has fallen from grace after staging a strange, anti-war protest using his medal.

Nicolas Duvauchelle plays the disgraced soldier opposite François Cluzet as a corrupt judge who is charged with the task of interrogating the young man. French-Belgian actress Sophie Verbeek plays the fallen hero’s lover. Above and below, Screen can reveal the two first look images from the film.

The production is one of the first titles to be completed on the slate of FranceTV Distribution’s new feature film division following its launch at the 2017 Paris Rendez-vous.

Other upcoming titles...

Some 40 French companies will participate in Paris showcase.

Source: Alain Guizard

The Red Collar

Jean Becker’s WW1 drama The Red Collar will open Unifrance’s 20th Rendez-vous with French Cinema in Paris, running Jan 18-22, 2018, its international sales agent FranceTV Distribution (Ftd) has announced.

The Wwi drama, adapted from the 2014 novel by Jean-Christophe Rufin, resolves around the interrogation of a decorated war hero who has fallen from grace after staging a strange, anti-war protest using his medal.

Nicolas Duvauchelle plays the disgraced soldier opposite François Cluzet as a corrupt judge who is charged with the task of interrogating the young man. French-Belgian actress Sophie Verbeek plays the fallen hero’s lover. Above and below, Screen can reveal the two first look images from the film.

The production is one of the first titles to be completed on the slate of FranceTV Distribution’s new feature film division following its launch at the 2017 Paris Rendez-vous.

Some 40 French companies will participate in Paris showcase.

Source: Alain Guizard

The Red Collar

Jean Becker’s WW1 drama The Red Collar will open Unifrance’s 20th Rendez-vous with French Cinema in Paris, running Jan 18-22, 2018, its international sales agent FranceTV Distribution (Ftd) has announced.

The Wwi drama, adapted from the 2014 novel by Jean-Christophe Rufin, resolves around the interrogation of a decorated war hero who has fallen from grace after staging a strange, anti-war protest using his medal.

Nicolas Duvauchelle plays the disgraced soldier opposite François Cluzet as a corrupt judge who is charged with the task of interrogating the young man. French-Belgian actress Sophie Verbeek plays the fallen hero’s lover.

The production is one of the first titles to be completed on the slate of FranceTV Distribution’s new feature film division following its launch at the 2017 Paris Rendez-vous.

Other upcoming titles on its slate include Xabi Molia’s Comme Des Rois,...

Some 40 French companies will participate in Paris showcase.

Source: Alain Guizard

The Red Collar

Jean Becker’s WW1 drama The Red Collar will open Unifrance’s 20th Rendez-vous with French Cinema in Paris, running Jan 18-22, 2018, its international sales agent FranceTV Distribution (Ftd) has announced.

The Wwi drama, adapted from the 2014 novel by Jean-Christophe Rufin, resolves around the interrogation of a decorated war hero who has fallen from grace after staging a strange, anti-war protest using his medal.

Nicolas Duvauchelle plays the disgraced soldier opposite François Cluzet as a corrupt judge who is charged with the task of interrogating the young man. French-Belgian actress Sophie Verbeek plays the fallen hero’s lover.

The production is one of the first titles to be completed on the slate of FranceTV Distribution’s new feature film division following its launch at the 2017 Paris Rendez-vous.

Other upcoming titles on its slate include Xabi Molia’s Comme Des Rois, starring Kad Merad as a con...

Before Hollywood takes the spotlight this weekend, the film world turns its eyes to France for the annual Cesar Awards. Presented by the French Academy, this year’s nominees represent a distinct blend of international favorites, festival standouts and homegrown hits.

Paul Verhoeven’s “Elle” led this year’s nominees, scoring 11 nominations for Verhoeven as Best Director, lead actress Isabelle Huppert, Best Adapted Screenplay and a trio of other acting awards.

Read More: ‘Elle,’ Isabelle Huppert, Xavier Dolan Nominated in France’s Cesar Awards

The evening’s winners at Paris’ Salle Pleyel featured a variety of upsets and sure things. Huppert, going into a busy weekend in the States, won her category. In a pair of surprises, Xavier Dolan and Gaspard Ulliel both won their respective categories for Dolan’s “It’s Only the End of the World.” Houda Benyamina’s debut feature “Divines” also won big, taking home prizes for Best First Film,...

France’s film community congratulated Isabelle Huppert on her Oscar nomination, adding yet another to her growing list of accolades for her performance in “Elle.” The French Academy announced its nominees for what Americans call the “French Oscars” on Wednesday morning. “Elle” received 11 nominations in total, including best film and best director for Paul Verhoeven.

Following in a close send was Francois Ozon’s “Frantz,” which garnered 10 nominations, and Bruno Dumont’s “Slack Bay,” which received nine. Xavier Dolan received a best director nomination for “It’s Only the End of the World.” Actors Vincent Cassel, Gaspard Ulliel, and Nathalie Baye were all nominated for their work in Dolan’s film as well.

Read More: Oscars 2017 Surprises and Snubs: Amy Adams and ‘Weiner’ Out, Mel Gibson and ‘Passengers’ In

The Cesars have little import on the Oscars, though there is often some crossover. The French Academy did recognize Kenneth Lonergan...

With a title like Being 17, images of gorgeous 20-somethings brooding about the confines of a high school in a Sundance-saccharine “indie” are conjured. Having the air of a forgettable comedy one’s parents might champion, without much knowledge of the project and the creative team behind it, looking at that title may not instill confidence when trying to pick a film to watch during a weekend. However, that would be an absolute shame as it is more than worth the nearly two hours it asks of you.

Directed by Andre Techine and written by Celine Sciamma (whose own Girlhood is one of this decade’s great coming of age tales), Being 17 tells the story of two French teens from different walks of life, both dealing with growing desires they aren’t sure how to handle. First we meet Damien (Kacey Mottet Klein), whose mother is a beloved doctor and whose...

One of the major problems with many (most) American movies is that characters are always supposed to know what they want. That’s what they teach you in film school — in fact, that’s pretty much all they teach you in film school. Establish a hero with a clear objective. He has to solve the murder, he has to get the girl, he has to win the big game (sadly, not in the same film). Define a “want” in the first act, complicate it in the second, and make good on it in the third. Of the infinite fantasies that can be found in the dark of the cinema, perhaps the greatest and most perverse of them all is that everyone walks around this world with such a clear sense of purpose.

Would that it were so simple. Who the hell ever really knows what it is that they want,...

October is upon us. The leaves are changing. Sweaters are becoming more abundant. Awards contenders are popping up in theaters nationwide. But those are far from the only films opening throughout the coming weeks. Below, you’ll find every planned theatrical release for the month of October, separated out into films with wide runs and limited ones. (Synopses are provided by festivals and distributors.)

Each week, we’ll give you an update with more specific information on where these films are playing. In the meantime, be sure to check our calendar page, where we’ll update releases for the rest of the year. Stay warm and happy watching!

Week of October 7 Wide

The Birth of a Nation

Director: Nate Parker

Cast: Aja Naomi King, Armie Hammer, Gabrielle Union, Jackie Earle Haley, Mark Boone Junior, Nate Parker

Synopsis: Set against the antebellum South and based on a true story, “The Birth...

Damien (Kacey Mottet Klein, “Gemma Bovery”) and Tom (Corentin Fila) dislike each other very much. It’s the kind of hate that blooms at first sight, and with little to no provocation these French 17-year-olds trip each other up, deliver schoolyard beatings, and make appointments to really bring the pain in the nearby woods with private brawls that bruise torsos, scrape knuckles and fracture bones. “Being 17,” André Téchiné‘s crisply executed examination of teenage self-discovery, pairs the 73-year-old director with screenwriter Céline Sciamma (“Girlhood”) and returns him to territory he marked in his 1994 hit “Wild Reeds.” Yet this time around,...

Ahead of a release next month, a U.S. trailer has arrived for André Téchiné‘s latest drama Being 17, which premiered earlier this year at the Berlin International Film Festival. The story concerns Damien (Kacey Mottet Klein) who lives with his mother (Sandrine Kiberlain) while their father is away. Damien is bullied by Thomas (Corentin Fila) who’s lashing out due to his own mother falling ill. Suddenly, Damien finds his world meshed together when his mother invites Thomas to come live with them.

However, Damien’s relationship becomes complex as the two struggle through sexual awakenings and budding manhood. The film looks to sport some wonderful photography and intense, realistic performances from its young stars. See the trailer and a poster below, with a tip of the hat to FirstShowing.

Being 17 is a moving exploration of adolescent sexual awakening from renowned French director André Téchiné (Wild Reeds) with a...

"You lack confidence. In yourself, in others, in life." Strand Releasing has debuted an official Us trailer for André Téchiné's Being 17, a drama that first premiered at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year. The film is about a boy named Thomas, played by newcomer Corentin Fila, who lives up in the mountains in a small town in France. He is always getting into fights with another kid at his school, named Damien played by Kacey Mottet Klein, but it turns out there's actually a sexual tension between them that is causing all the problems. The cast includes Sandrine Kiberlain as the mother of Damien, who invites Thomas to stay at their home. I saw this film in Berlin and was very impressed, even though it's going to be a hard sell for most, it's worth your time to discover. André Téchiné is an experienced director who knows what he's doing.

Directed by André Téchiné, “Being 17” stars Sandrine Kiberlain, Kacey Mottet Klein and Corentin Fila (son of Congolese filmmaker, David-Pierre Fila) in a drama that follows the pampered teenage son of a soldier and a doctor who lives with his mother in Army… Continue Reading →...

Exclusive: André Téchiné’s drama premiered at Berlin this year.

Pacific Northwest Pictures (Pnp) has picked up Canadian rights to André Téchiné’s French drama Being 17.

Téchiné and Céline Sciamma wrote the screenplay to the recent Berlin premiere about a pampered teenager whose household takes in a rival youngster.

Sandrine Kiberlain, Kacey Mottet Klein and Corentin Fila star.

Marc Missonier and Olivier Delbosc of Fidelitie Films produced the France 2 Cinema and Wild Bunch co-production.

Pnp plans to release Being 17 theatrically later this year and negotiated the deal with the film’s international sales agent, Elle Driver.

The distributor has picked up all Us rights from Elle Driver to Andre Techiné’s recent Berlinale competition world premiere.

Being 17 will open in late autumn and takes places against the mountainous backdrop of the Pyrenees, where two young classmates start off as enemies and gradually develop feelings for each other.

Sandrine Kiberlain stars with Kacey Mottet Klein, Corentin Fila, and Alexis Loret.

This will be the fifth Techiné film that Strand distributes after Wild Reeds, The Girl On The Train, Witnesses and Unforgivable.

Techiné collaborated on the screenplay with Girlhood director Celine Sciamma, whose film Strand also released.

Strand co-president Jon Gerrans brokered the deal with Adeline Fontan Tessaur of Elle Driver.

Exclusive: Berlin competition entry Being 17 among six titles acquired by Metrodome at Efm.

UK distributor Metrodome has finalised six deals from the Efm in Berlin including André Téchiné- Celine Sciamma drama Being 17 and fantasy-romance Angel, both from Elle Driver for all UK and Irish distribution rights.

Téchiné directs the Berlin competition title Being 17, a project he co-wrote with Girlhood director Sciamma.

The French-language film follows the tense relationship between two boys whose lives intertwine until they unexpectedly find themselves living under the same roof.

Sandrine Kiberlain, Kacey Mottet Klein and Corentin Fila star. Producers are Marc Missonnier and Olivier Delbosc of Fidélité Films, co-producers are Wild Bunch and France 2 Cinema.

Fantasy romance Angel is directed by actor-director Harry Cleven and stars Elina Lowensohn, Fleur Geffrier, Hannah Boudru and Maya Dory.

The screenplay is written by Thomas Gunzig (The Brand New Testament) and the film is produced by Jaco Van Dormael and Terra Incognita Films’ Olivier Rausin and Daniel Marquet...

Reviewed in today's Berlinale Diary: Heiner Carow's The Journey to Sundevit; Ted Fendt's Short Stay with Meaghan Lydon, Marta Sicinksa and Mike Maccherone; André Téchiné's Being 17, co-written with Céline Sciamma and starring Sandrine Kiberlain, Kacey Mottet Klein, Corentin Fila and Alexis Loret; Ivo M. Ferreira's Letters from War with Miguel Nunes, Margarida Vila-Nova, Ricardo Pereira, João Pedro Vaz and João Pedro Mamede; Philip Scheffner's Havarie; Anne Zohra Berrached's 24 Weeks with Julia Jentsch, Bjarne Mädel, Johanna Gastdorf, Emilia Pieske and Maria Dragus; and Rachid Bouchareb's Road to Istanbul with Astrid Whettnall, Pauline Burlet, Patricia Ide and Abel Jafri. » - David Hudson...

Reviewed in today's Berlinale Diary: Heiner Carow's The Journey to Sundevit; Ted Fendt's Short Stay with Meaghan Lydon, Marta Sicinksa and Mike Maccherone; André Téchiné's Being 17, co-written with Céline Sciamma and starring Sandrine Kiberlain, Kacey Mottet Klein, Corentin Fila and Alexis Loret; Ivo M. Ferreira's Letters from War with Miguel Nunes, Margarida Vila-Nova, Ricardo Pereira, João Pedro Vaz and João Pedro Mamede; Philip Scheffner's Havarie; Anne Zohra Berrached's 24 Weeks with Julia Jentsch, Bjarne Mädel, Johanna Gastdorf, Emilia Pieske and Maria Dragus; and Rachid Bouchareb's Road to Istanbul with Astrid Whettnall, Pauline Burlet, Patricia Ide and Abel Jafri. » - David Hudson...

★★★★☆ French director André Téchiné teams up with Céline Sciamma to write the screenplay for a tale of two young men struggling with their identities whilst living in the unforgiving landscape of rural France. Being 17, screening in competition in Berlin, introduces Damien (Kacey Mottet Klein) and Tom (Corentin Fila) as being somewhat close to each other on the social hierarchy, in a scene where the two are last to be picked for basketball at school. Tom's relief when he is shortly chosen before Damien, is quickly usurped, when faced with Damien's demonstrable intellectual gifts later in class. In retaliation, Tom lashes out, unable to express his frustration in any way other than violence.

As if new films from the Coens and Jeff Nichols weren’t enough, the 2016 Berlin Film Festival has further expanded their line-up, adding some of our most-anticipated films of the year. Mia Hansen-Løve, following up her incredible, sadly overlooked drama Eden, will premiere the Isabelle Huppert-led Things to Come, while Thomas Vinterberg, Lav Diaz, André Téchiné, and many more will stop by with their new features. Check out the new additions below, followed by some previously announced films, notably John Michael McDonagh‘s War on Everyone.

Competition

Cartas da guerra (Letters from War)

Portugal

By Ivo M. Ferreira (Na Escama do Dragão)

With Miguel Nunes, Margarida Vila-Nova

World premiere

Ejhdeha Vared Mishavad! (A Dragon Arrives!)

Iran

By Mani Haghighi (Modest Reception, Men at Work)

With Amir Jadidi, Homayoun Ghanizadeh, Ehsan Goudarzi, Kiana Tajammol

International premiere

Fuocoammare (Fire at Sea) – documentary

Italy / France

By Gianfranco Rosi (Sacro Gra, El Sicario...

New titles from Thomas Vinterberg, Mia Hansen-Løve, Danis Tanovic, Lav Diaz and Gianfranco Rosi among line-up.Scroll down for full list

Berlin International Film Festival (Feb 11-21) has added nine titles to its Competition line-up, bringing the current total to 14 (the full Competition programme will be announced soon, according to the fest).

The new additions include The Commune, marking the first time Danish director Thomas Vinterberg (The Hunt, Far From The Madding Crowd) has been in Competition at Berlin since Submarino in 2010. The film centres on a Danish commune in the 1970s and will be released in Denmark this weekend (Jan 14).

French director Mia Hansen-Løve (Eden) has been selected with her drama Things to Come, starring Isabelle Huppert as a woman embarking on a new life after her husband leaves her for another woman. The film will world premiere at Berlin.

Another world premiere will be documentary Fire at Sea, capturing life on...

Quand on a 17 ans

Director: André Téchiné

Writer(s): Celine Sciamma, André Téchiné

French auteur André Téchiné will be ready with his twenty-first feature in 2016, Quand on a 17 ans (When You’re 17), co-written by director Celine Sciamma. Swiss actor Kacey Mottet Klein of Ursula Meier’s 2012 film Sister and revered French actress Sandrine Kiberlaine headline this tale about adolescent Damien the gay son of a soldier who lives in the barracks with his mother in Southwest France. When his dad is dispatched to Africa, Damien starts to be bullied by Tom, whose own adoptive mother has fallen ill. Tensions rise when Damien’s mom decides to care for Tom due to his own mother’s inability.

Cast: Sandrine Kiberlain, Kacey Mottet Klein, Alexis Loret

Production Co./Producers: Fidelite Films’ Olivier Delbosc and Marc Missonnier, France 2 Cinema

U.S. Distributor: Rights Available. Tbd (domestic). Elle Driver (international).

Release...