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Exclusive: In keeping with its start-of-the-year tradition, Goodfellas has rolled out the bulk of its French-language slate for 2025 ahead of the Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Paris next week, and it’s a hot one.

The line-up features fresh additions An Affair by Arnaud Desplechin and Prime Rush by Carlos Abascal Peiró as well as half a dozen pictures that we expect to see at Cannes or Venice later this year.

An Affair marks a new chapter for Desplechin after achieving closure in 2024 with his long-running character of Paul Dédalus through Cannes-selected drama Filmlovers!, which hits French cinemas for Les Films du Losange next week.

New movie An Affair sees Desplechin collaborate with rising French stars François Civil (Beating Hearts) and Nadia Tereszkiewicz (The Crime is Mine) for the first time, in a cast also featuring Charlotte Rampling and Hippolyte Girardot.

Civil plays a pianist who returns to France after a long...

One of France’s most critically lauded producers of the last decade with movies such as Audrey Diwan’s Golden Lion prizewinner “Happening,” Edouard Weil has sold his Paris-based production company Rectangle Productions to sales company Goodfellas after filing for bankruptcy in June.

Goodfellas, the thriving sales company co-founded by Vincent Maraval, is a longtime collaborator of Rectangle Productions. Maraval previously handled international distribution on Rectangle movies while at Wild Bunch (which he co-founded and partially exited in 2019), and he and Weil have continued working together on movies after Maraval launched his standalone sales banner Goodfellas (formerly known as Wild Bunch International) on movies such as the erotic drama “Emmanuelle,” Diwan’s recent follow-up to “Happening.”

Although Rectangle Productions has been dissolved as a business entity, it “will retain its brand, creative independence, attached talent and ongoing projects” over at Goodfellas, said the company in a statement.

Producer Alice Girard,...

The excitement builds as the 2024 Paris Olympics prepares to showcase a thrilling new event: kayak cross. Scheduled to air on Saturday, August 3, 2024, at 11:45 Am on USA, this event marks the Olympic debut of kayak cross, a fast-paced competition that promises to captivate sports fans.

In kayak cross, athletes navigate through a challenging course filled with obstacles, all while racing head-to-head against their opponents. The round 1 heats will feature both men’s and women’s events, allowing viewers to witness the skills and strategies of the world’s best kayakers. The atmosphere is expected to be electric, with competitors pushing their limits to secure a spot in the next rounds.

As the athletes paddle through the course, viewers can expect to see thrilling moments, intense rivalries, and unexpected twists. This new addition to the Olympic lineup is sure to bring a fresh energy to the games, making it a must-watch...

Evy Leibfarth, a rising star in the U.S. Olympic team, is gearing up for the 2024 Paris Olympics with a renewed focus and a deeper appreciation for her sport. Specializing in canoe slalom, a sport she has been involved in since she was a toddler, Leibfarth’s journey is as much about personal growth as it is about athletic achievement.

Leibfarth’s involvement in canoe slalom began early, thanks to her parents’ passion for the sport. “My parents met kayaking, and my dad was actually a coach for the national team before I was born. So I started kayaking when I was like two or three years old. So I’ve pretty much been doing it my whole life and, you know, as I got older I just really fell in love with it,” she shared.

Training for an Olympic sport is no small feat, and Leibfarth’s regimen reflects her dedication.

If you don’t want to miss a single paddle stroke at the 2024 Paris Olympics, you’re in luck. Here we’ve broken down every single heat of canoeing competition at the Summer Olympics. (All times Eastern. An asterisk indicates a repeat airing.) Saturday, July 27 9 a.m. – Slalom: Men’s Canoe & Women’s Kayak Heats (Digital) 12 p.m. – Slalom: Women’s Kayak Heats (E!) 9:30 p.m. – Slalom: Men’s Canoe Heats (USA) Sunday, July 28 9:30 a.m. – Slalom: Women’s Kayak Semifinal (Digital) 11:35 a.m. – Slalom: Women’s Kayak Final (USA) Monday, July 29 9:30 a.m. – Slalom: Men’s Canoe Semifinal (Digital) 11 a.m. – Slalom: Men’s Canoe Semi, Final (E!) 8 p.m. – Slalom: Men’s Canoe Semi, Final (USA)* Tuesday, July 30 9 a.m. – Slalom: Men’s Kayak & Women’s Canoe Heats (Digital) 4 p.m. – Slalom – Men’s Kayak, Women’s Canoe Heats (E!

For teenage tennis prodigy Julie, discipline isn’t merely a virtue but a survival strategy. Repressing adolescent urges and emotional swings has long been part of her routine at the high-level youth tennis academy where she’s currently the star student: Years of concentrating all her time and attention on her game — all work and all play, as it were — look likely to reward her with the pro career she dreams of. Yet as whispers build of inappropriate behavior by her coach, Julie’s deliberate tunnel vision seems less a rigorous regimen than a fragile defense against interior collapse. A tense, taut, artfully hushed debut feature by Belgian writer-director Leonardo van Dijl, “Julie Keeps Quiet” also knows the value of control — though its own calm is fraught with anxiety and anger.

A standout of this year’s Critics’ Week programme at Cannes — where it won the Sacd Award and scored sales including a U.

Over the past few years Italian cinema has been making strides in the global arena and 2024 looks likely to bolster its international standing. New works by top auteurs Paolo Sorrentino and Luca Guadagnino will be launching from the festival circuit just as a fresh crop of directors comes to fore, starting with Margherita Vicario, whose first film “Gloria!” scored a Berlin competition slot.

Below is a compendium of new Italian movies set to hit this year’s fest circuit.

“Another End” – Gael García Bernal and Renate Reinsve (“The Worse Person in the World”) star as lovers caught in an unusual bind in Italian director Piero Messina’s sci-fi film “Another End” which is competing in Berlin. This second feature by Messina – whose first feature, “The Wait,” launched with a splash in the 2015 Venice competition – is set in a near-future when a new technology exists that can put the consciousness of...

Italy’s Fandango Sales has taken global distribution rights outside Italy to Carlo Sironi’s coming-of-age drama “My Summer With Irène,” which will premiere in the Berlin Film Festival’s Generation section.

Sironi, whose first feature “Sole” made a splash on the international fest circuit, is back with this relationship drama starring rising French indie star Noée Abita (“Slalom”) and Maria Camilla Barandenburg (“Slam Italia”) playing two 17-year-olds named Clara and Irène who both have health issues. Shortly after meeting, they run away together to an island where they experience an unforgettable summer.

“Sole,” a love story intertwined with a baby trafficking plot and commentary on Italy’s surrogacy law, went to Venice and Toronto in 2019, catching the eye of master Vittorio Taviani, who chose Sironi as his on-stage partner for Berlin’s 2020 On Transmission director-on-director talks.

Sironi was among Variety’s 10 European Directors to Watch in 2020.

“Summer With Irène...

The French sales outfit has the first image of Tomer Sisley in The Price Of Money: A Largo Winch Adventure.

Goodfellas has boarded Claire Burger’s anticipated coming-of-age drama Langue Etrangère, starring Chiara Mastroianni and Nina Hoss, ahead of this week’s Rendez-Vous with France Cinema this week in Paris.

Langue Etrangère is about teenage pen pals in France and Germany and is produced by Anatomy of a Fall producer Marie-Ange Luciani’s Les Films de Pierre with Belgium’s Les Films du Fleuve and Germany’s Razor Film Produktion. Burger wrote the film in collaboration with The Five Devils’ Léa Mysius.

French filmmaker Charlène Favier who broke out with the Cannes 2020 Label Slalom (read review) is currently in week 2 of production on her sophomore feature Oxana and we’ve got a social media glimpse into some of the young actresses that have boarded the project. We might not know the hierarchy in terms of casting and who landed the lead part but among the names we’ve found Albina Korzh, Lada Korovai, Louka Meliava, Yoann Zimmer and we’re delighted to learn that Noée Abita has reteamed with the director as well. We’ve also learned that The Worst Ones (aka les pires) cinematographer Eric Dumont is part of the creative team.…...

Slalom (Cannes 2020 Label) and La fille qu’on appelle a television film (that we mislabeled) to be released in the fall (via Arte) filmmaker Charlène Favier looks to be headed into the Femen movement territory. Cnc (via Cineuropa) have awarded the advance coin receipts to the next feature film for the French filmmaker. To be produced Rectangle’s Édouard Weil and Alice Girard and 2.4.7. Films, Oxana could move into production as early as this year. This could be a big deal for the actress who takes on the spirit of the fighter.

Oksana Shachko ended her life in 2018 in Montrouge.…...

Exclusive: Brussels-based company Best Friend Forever has acquired international rights for the zany kung-fu-themed action romantic comedy Zenithal.

Vanessa Guide stars as a woman battling to establish peace between the sexes after her longtime boyfriend falls under the thrall of a Machiavellian schemer, who has murdered and harnessed the virulent powers of a famous kung-fu master, as part of a plan to restore absolute male domination.

It is the first feature of Jean-Baptiste Saurel, who has recently been signed as one of the directors on France TV’s upcoming Zorro reboot starring Jean Dujardin, with previous credits including the Disney+ sci-fi French original Parallels.

The feature expands on his provocative 2012 Cannes Critics’ Week short The Dickslap (La Bifle). Bff has released a first-look photo hinting at one of the zany plot twists.

First look at ‘Zenithal’

“Zenithal questions the injunctions of virility through comedy, with a visual style inherited from U.

Italy’s Kino Produzioni, the indie shingle that co-produced 2022 Berlin Golden Bear winner “Alcarràs,” is ramping up production with new films by emerging Italian filmmakers Carlo Sironi, Laura Luchetti and Irene Dionisio, as well as also Dutch director Michiel Van Erp and Argentine filmmakers María Alché and Benjamín Naishtat.

“We reached a turning point last year that started out well with the ‘Alcarràs’ victory,” said Kino chief Giovanni Pompili, speaking at the EFM. He noted that in 2022, the Rome-based outfit shot four films, “which for us was pretty challenging, but worked out well.”

Meanwhile, the Kino team has grown. Producer Lara Costa-Calzado, who has been working for a decade between the U.S. and Europe on films such as Eliza Hittman’s Silver Bear winner “Never Rarely Sometimes Always,” Sally Potter’s “The Roads Not Taken” and Halina Rejin’s “Bodies Bodies Bodies,” has joined Kino as head of production.

Exclusive: Netflix is adapting bestselling author Don Winslow’s novels The Dawn Patrol and The Gentlemen’s Hours for features. Charlène Favier is aboard to direct, with Chernin Entertainment and The Story Factory’s Shane Salerno producing. They are out to high level writers to script the film.

The deal comes as Winslow just released City on Fire, the first in a trilogy that he announced will be his swan song from novel writing after a long career of bestsellers. He has numerous film and TV deals for his other works. The City on Fire series was acquired by Sony Pictures and Elizabeth Gabler’s 3000 label for north of 5 million. Winslow also has The Border about to begin production as an FX series, after Fox acquired it for 6 million. Winslow separately set his Neal Carey novels with Knives Out helmer Rian Johnson for MRC and Peacock, and has the novel...

Audrey Diwan’s Venice’s Golden Lion prize-winning “Happening,” has won France’s Alice Guy Award for the best female-directed French film of the year.

The Alice Guy Prize, which was named in honor of the first female helmer, was created by veteran film journalist Veronique Le Bris in 2018 to highlight the work of women directors.

The other four movies which were vying for the prize were Aissa Maiga’s lushly-lensed documentary feature “Marcher sur l’eau” and Catherine Corsini’s timely social drama “La fracture” which world premiered at last year’s Cannes in the official selection; as well as Aurélie Saada’s uplifting dramedy “Rose” and Charlène Favier’s “Slalom,” a coming-of-age film set in the world of competitive skiing.

These contenders, which are all French movies which were theatrically released within the year, were selected by 3,260 voters, while the final winner was chosen by a jury of filmmakers and professionals,...

What was to be one of the highlights for Team U.S.A. in this Olympics ended in heartbreak as skiing superstar Mikaela Shiffrin missed a gate on her Slalom run tonight and was out of her best event after six seconds.

What was to be a centerpiece of NBC’s primetime coverage quickly became what the network’s Maria Taylor described as “Gold Medal heartbreak” as a dejected Shiffrin skied to the shoulder of the course and just sat down. That left the network’s announcers struggling to describe what was happening onscreen as the two-time Olympic Gold Medalist and three-time Overall World Cup champion simply sat in the snow with her skis off, head down.

Mikaela Shiffrin’s second Olympic race also ends early https://t.co/Pfs4hKcGlK pic.twitter.com/ThYP4QjDHL

— Globe Sports (@Globe_Sports) February 9, 2022

NBC cut to commercial and, when it returned, Shiffrin...

Following The Film Stage’s collective top 50 films of 2021, as part of our year-end coverage, our contributors are sharing their personal top 10 lists.

By many metrics, 2021 was a terrible year. Whether it was the persistence of a global pandemic and the ineffectiveness of those in charge to properly manage it or the increasing inanity of Film Twitter discourse clogging one’s timeline every day, it often felt like there was nowhere to seek relief from this year’s woes. But there was salvation somewhere: inside the films themselves. Despite what some may lead you to believe, and despite the perhaps rather milquetoast quality of many of this year’s award candidates, 2021 was the best year for cinema we’ve seen in quite some time.

Whether you were able to head back to theaters at some point during the year or remained watching from the safety of your own home, there...

Lou Ye’s embattled 2019 film “Saturday Fiction” will have a theatrical outing in the Chinese auteur’s home country nearly two years after its planned high-profile premiere there was abruptly cancelled.

After its long time in the dark, the black-and-white drama will return triumphantly to the official limelight as the closing film of the Beijing Intl. Film Festival on Sept. 10, then go on to light up Chinese theaters Oct. 15. Its star, the iconic Gong Li, is this year’s chairman of the international jury for the festival’s top Tiantan Awards.

“Saturday Film” originally debuted in competition at Venice in 2019 and was set to premiere in China soon after as the opening film of the country’s highly politicized government-run Golden Rooster Film Festival. It was yanked without warning from the line-up the night before due to unspecified “internal production problems” and replaced by a low-budget documentary about traditional bamboo flutes.

Lewis Trondheim has done a lot of comics, in lots of different styles and modes. The ones that come closest to major US comics genres – funny books for kids, dark fantasy adventure , autobio stories – have been the most likely to be published well on my side of the Atlantic and to succeed here. The rest…well, publishers keep trying, but some things haven’t really clicked yet.

His first big popular series in his native France, nearly thirty ago now, was Les formidables aventures de Lapinot, a loose series of ten books which all had the same “characters” in which those “characters” often played different roles, as if they were actors cast in movies with each other a lot or the members of a repertory theater company.

Some time ago, Fantagraphics published two of the books in that series – Harum Scarum and The Hoodoodad – in paperbacks matching the size of the original French albums.

Blerta Basholli’s ‘Hive’ and Ninja Thyberg’s ‘Pleasure’ are among the films screening.

Blerta Basholli’s Hive is one of 10 female-directed features chosen for the Sydney Film Festival and European Film Promotion’s sixth Europe! Voices of Women in Film initiative.

Screen is a media partner on the initative

The Sydney Film Festival is set to take place in-person from November 3-14, having been postponed twice – from June and August – due to concerns over rising Covid-19 cases in the. Australian city. Last year’s Europe! Voices Of Women in Film event took place virtually.

Basholli, who is from Kosovo,...

Sydney Film Festival today announced the 10 shorts to compete in the Dendy Awards for Australian Short Films, including Jon Bell’s SXSW-winner The Moogai and Nash Edgerton’s follow-up to Bear and Spider – Shark, starring himself and Rose Byrne.

Also unveiled today are the films selected for the festival’s sixth annual Europe! Voices of Women strand, in partnership with European Film Promotion.

These are the first projects to be announced for Sff since it postponed its dates from August to November due to the Covid outbreak in Nsw, with 22 titles also publicised earlier this year.

The Dendy Awards are Australia’s longest running short film competition, now in its 52nd year.

Finalists compete for three prizes: The Dendy Live Action Short Award, The Rouben Mamoulian Award for Best Director and the Yoram Gross Animation Award, announced at the festival’s closing night. The jury will be announced closer to the festival.

Gong Li heads the jury of the international competition, which also includes Nadine Labaki, Renny Harlin and Leste Chen.

Beijing International Film Festival (Bjiff), which is scheduled to take place in a physical format next month (August 14-21), has unveiled the line-up for its international competition section, the Tiantan Awards.

The 15-title selection includes Russian co-production Conference, which won best director and actress at last year’s Cairo film festival; Rotterdam Youth Jury Award winner Night Of The Kings; Indian director Pan Nalin’s Last Film Show; and Cannes 2020 Label entry Slalom, directed by Charlene Favier (see full list below...

A moody, clenched drama that works its tension so deep you may find your palms marked with the indentations of your fingernails by the end, “Les Nôtres” is the deeply uneasy but compelling second film from director Jeanne Leblanc (“Isla Blanca”). Illuminated by a powerfully self-possessed performance by Émilie Bierre as the 13-year-old whose pregnancy will have dire consequences for all except the pedophile responsible, this is an enraging film astringent enough to peel the paint from the façade of virtue propped up by the small-town Quebecois community in which it takes place.

Pretty, popular Magalie (Bierre) and her little brother are being raised by her mother Isabelle (Marianne Farley) after her father died in an industrial tragedy for which the town of Sainte-Adeline is still in mourning. Isabelle is helped out by best friend Chantale, who happens to be married to the mayor and Isabelle’s employer, Jean-Marc...

After being shut down for over six months, French cinemas bounced back in a spectacular way, drawing 2.1 million admissions in six days after reopening on May 19. The results are particularly strong considering the current restrictions on cultural venues in France, notably an audience capacity of 35% and a 9pm curfew.

While there are no U.S. blockbusters currently playing in theaters, French audiences flocked to critically-acclaimed films, leading with Albert Dupontel’s “Bye Bye Morons,” which swept seven Cesar nods.

Distributed by Gaumont, “Bye Bye Morons” is one of the several movies re-released last week, along with Maiwenn’s Cannes 2020 movie “DNA,” Thomas Vinterberg’s Oscar-winning “Another Round,” Charlene Favier’s “Slalom” and Nicolas Maury’s “Garçon Chiffon.”

“Demon Slayer: Mugen Train,” the Japanese anime movie which took many markets by storm, ranked second at the French B.O., behind Dupontel’s offbeat comedy. Other to-performing films include the animation/live...

After a six-month shutdown, French cinemas reopened May 19 with a bang.

In spite of an audience capacity of 35% and a 9pm curfew, as many as 305,000 admissions were sold on Wednesday, scoring the best reopening day for cinemas in Europe, according to Comscore France.

“This score is simply exceptional and surpassed our most optimistic expectations,” says Eric Marti at Comscore. The number of admissions sold yesterday is on par with about the same day in May 2019, when “John Wick: Chapter 4” and “Aladdin” had just come out. “But back then, there was no cap on audience capacity, and no curfew,” points out Marti.

Last time they reopened after a long lockdown, in June 2020, French cinemas had Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” to lure people back in. In May 2021, however, there wasn’t a single U.S. blockbuster. Instead, a wide-ranging roster of about 20 films drew huge lines outside cinemas from early morning...

Europe’s biggest box office opens for business after six-month hiatus.

France’s cinemas reopen their doors on Wednesday (May 19) after more than six months of closure as part of the country’s efforts to reign in a second wave of Covid-19.

Its 2,045 cinemas and their some 6,000 screens have been dark since October 30, 2020, with the hiatus following a previous 14-week closure during the first national lockdown in spring 2020.

As Covid-19 cases edge down and the vaccination rate rises, the reopening is part of a wider easing of restrictions which will also see café and restaurant terraces and museums and theatres...

Cedric Jimenez, the French director of “The Connection,” the Rosamund Pike-starrer “HHhH” and “Bac Nord,” will next be directing “November,” an action-packed thriller set against the backdrop of the Paris terror attacks of 2015 with a prestigious cast led by Oscar-winning Jean Dujardin (“The Artist”), Anais Demoustier (“Alice and The Mayor”) and Sandrine Kiberlain (“In Safe Hands”).

Written by Olivier Demangel, the screenwriter of Mati Diop’s “Atlantics,” “November” unfolds during the five days following the attacks which shook Paris, and revolves around the sprawling investigation carried on by a highly-secretive police brigade called Sdat (anti-terrorist sub-directorate) to track down the terrorists – including the two masterminds — behind the attacks.

Budgeted at $20 million, “November” is produced by Hugo Selignac at Chi-Fou-Mi Films, who had teamed with Jimenez on “Bac Nord,” and Mathias Rubin at Recifilms. Studiocanal is co-producing and is handling French distribution, as well as international sales on the film,...

Slalom Kino Lorber Reviewed for Shockya.com & BigAppleReviews.net linked from Rotten Tomatoes by: Harvey Karten Director: Charlène Favier Writer: Charlène Favier, Marie Talon Cast: Noée Abita, Jérémie Renier, Marie Danarnaud, Muriel Combeau, Maïra Schmitt, Axel Auriant Screened at: Critics’ link, NYC, 4/6/21 Opens: April 9, 2021 Take it from me. If you have ever taught […]

The post Slalom Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Photo: ‘Slalom’/Mille et une Productions Just like its source material, the film ‘Slalom’ has been slowly garnering attention in a way that no one can ignore anymore. With the pressures of stardom and becoming a professional skier on the line, ‘Slalom’ follows a young girl and her relationship with her much older coach as she begins to gain national attention. As the film progresses, the relationship between Lyz Lopez (played by Noée Abita) and her coach Fred (Jérémie Renier) grows into something much more sinister and dangerous. Related article: Watch: Hollywood Insider CEO Pritan Ambroase On The #metoo Revolution & Powerful Questions That Need Answers While the tension between Renier and Abita is clear, and it’s easy to guess what happens next, the events in the film are still gut-wrenching and hard to watch. Renier plays Fred better than any other actor could, with such a self-assuredness that it...

A chilling, controlled pressure cooker of a film, Charlène Favier’s Slalom brings attentive nuance to a story of psychological and sexual abuse. Set amongst the slopes of the French alps, the Cannes-selected drama centers on Lyz Lopez (Noée Abita), a 15-year-old skiing prodigy whose life is more or less controlled by her callous instructor Fred (Jérémie Renier). With his predatory advances shrouded and twisted in the mutual desire for competitive success and filtered through the young girl’s initial intrigue, Favier expertly delves into the psychological prison that soon becomes her daily existence. Far from a one-note #MeToo message movie, Slalom brings a poignant sense of restraint with fleshed-out characters for a thoroughly unnerving experience.

Clearly Fred’s favorite student, Lyz becomes ostracized by her fellow pupils in this high-stakes training program, with no one wanting to date her much less befriend her. Leaving only room in her life for skiing,...

Slippery Slopes: Favier Blends Coming-of-Age and Sexual Assault Narrative in Chilly Debut

There’s an immediate discomfort apparent in the opening act of Charlène Favier’s debut Slalom, a title which proves to be a stellar metaphor for the sexual awakening of its teenaged protagonist indicating the graceful navigation of obstacles and barriers as she winds through twists and turns on the trail.

Once we’re introduced to the main players settling into their isolated confines, which includes a handsome, tenacious ex-athlete turned ski-instructor and his comely, emotionally neglected protégé, the stage is set for a sprint into sexual assault. While Favier avoids skiing down all the predictable slopes and maintains a narrative poise, which surprises considering the subject matter, these are indeed chilly scenes of a winter oft repeated and normalized across every culture and climate.…...

The number of films releasing each month is steadily increasing yet again thanks to vaccines being administered in record time and theaters around the country re-opening. Even so, the marketing for the biggest names among them ultimately proves too lackluster to mention even without the below nine ensuring blocking them out. Mortal Kombat (in theaters April 23) never stood a chance.

Bonus: Now that the Oscar nominations are here, the usual suspects in the alt poster community (I’ve collected a bunch in this Twitter list) have begun their annual Best Picture series. There are a ton of great ones out there, but my 2021 favorites are those created by Eileen Steinbach (Sound of Metal below), Matt Needle (Promising Young Woman below), Snollygoster Productions (The Trial of the Chicago Seven below), and Scott Saslow (The Father below). Definitely check out their currently in-progress sets.

Out of the shadows

The sheet for Giants Being Lonely...

Zita Hanrot and Sami Bouajila in Farid Bentoumi’s toxic Red Soil (Rouge)

During the 2021 UniFrance and Film at Lincoln Center’s Rendez-Vous with French Cinema there were two virtual live panels. How Music Makes the Film (with composers Jean-Benoît Dunckel of François Ozon’s Summer Of 85; Evgueni Galperine of Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Trouilh’s Gagarine; Nicolas Weil and Sylvain Ohrel of Charlène Favier’s Slalom; Aska Matsumiya (Aska) of Crystal Moselle’s Skate Kitchen, and Emilie Levienaise-Farrouch of Sarah Gavron’s Rocks).

Melvil Poupaud and Benjamin Voisin in François Ozon’s cool Summer Of 85 (Eté 85)

The Vive la Résistance panel had directors Farid Bentoumi on his Red Soil (Rouge); Reinaldo Marcus Green on Monsters And Men; Kitty Green on The Assistant, and Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Trouilh, moderated by Maddie Whittle.

At the César Awards on March 12, Filippo Meneghetti’s Oscar-shortlisted Two Of Us (Deux), starring...

"I told you. Hard work pays off." Kino Lorber has released a new official US trailer for a French film titled Slalom, which was supposed to premiere at the 2020 Cannes Film Festival last year before it was cancelled. Under the guidance of a strict ex-champion, a promising 15 year old girl named Lyz trains as a professional skiing star. She ends up becoming an object of desire for the coach. The director uses "brilliant camera work to stage a highly topical story about the crossing of boundaries in the field of world-class sports... She takes a deep look into the psyche of a young athlete who unexpectedly finds herself faced with the fact that even the biggest dream is not worth any price. The story of an emancipation." Starring Noée Abita as Lyz, with Jérémie Renier as Fred, Marie Denarnaud, Muriel Combeau, Maïra Schmitt, and Axel Auriant. This looks very, very...

Especially eye-catching within the line-up is Avi Mograbi’s The First 54 Years, screening in the Forum section, and new titles from Ely Dagher and Brieuc Carnaille. Riding the wave of excellent results achieved by Filippo Meneghetti’s Two of Us (the French candidate for the 2021 Best International Film Oscar), Aurel’s Josep and Charlène Favier’s Slalom (both awarded Cannes’ 2020 Official Selection label), French international sales agent The Party Film Sales (directed by Sarah Chazelle and Etienne Ollagnier and managed by Clémence Lavigne and Samuel Blanc) will cut a confident figure at the 71st Berlinale’s European Film Market. Stealing focus in their line-up is the documentary The First 54 Years – An Abbreviated Manual for Military Occupation by Israel’s Avi Mograbi, which will enjoy its world premiere in the Forum section, a Berliner line-up which the director is more than familiar with, having already presented Comment j'ai...

The Party Films Sales, the sales outfit behind the Golden-Globe nominated drama “Two of Us,” has acquired a trio of feature debuts from promising filmmakers, “Too Close to the Sun,” “The Sea Ahead,” and the animated film “My Neighbor’s Neighbours.”

All three films are set to be delivered later this year and are expected to world premiere in the festival circuit. The Party Films Sales will introduce all three projects at the virtual European Film Market.

“Too Close to the Sun” is directed by Brieuc Carnaille, a screenwriter-turned-filmmaker who is also a rock singer for the band Duel.

The film follows Clément Roussier (“Churchmen”) as Basile, a 30-something man who has just come out of the hospital and moved in with this youngest sister and closest confidant, Sarah. Suffering from a psychiatric disorder, Basil tries his best to re-establish a sense of normality in both his work and his love life.

Trailers are an under-appreciated art form insofar that many times they’re seen as vehicles for showing footage, explaining films away, or showing their hand about what moviegoers can expect. Foreign, domestic, independent, big budget: What better way to hone your skills as a thoughtful moviegoer than by deconstructing these little pieces of advertising? This week, […]

The post This Week In Trailers: The Vigil, The Misadventures of Hedi and Cokeman, Long Live Rock…Celebrate The Chaos, Happily, Slalom appeared first on /Film.

French actress Noée Abita burst onto the scene with a remarkable display in coming-of-age drama Ava, and it was clear right away that we were dealing with an actress who could go right to the very top. Her latest performance, in the brilliant drama Slalom is one that shows maturity, and confirms our belief was unfounded. To mark the film’s release, exclusively on Curzon Home Cinema, we had the pleasure to speak to Abita, as part of the annual UniFrance event Rendezvous with French Cinema. Watch the full interview with the talented performer below, complete with a translator:

Synopsis

Under the guidance of a strict ex champion, a promising 15 year old girl trains as a professional skiing star.Will she be able to endure the physical and emotional pressures?

Slalom is released exclusively on Curzon Home Cinema from 12th February

The post French star Noée Abita on her tough...

Noée Abita in Slalom. Charlène Favier: 'I wanted to put the audience inside the feelings of the young girl. She is lost in this place which is weird, beautiful and a nightmare all at the same time' Photo: UniFrance “Woo-hoo Reechard!” yells filmmaker Charlène Favier down the Zoom-line from a virtual Paris as part of the 23rd UniFrance Rendez-vous with French Cinema earlier this year. We’ve been Facebook buddies since her first film Slalom started the rounds in festivals and previews all over France towards the end of last year yet because of cinema closures has still to be released on its home ground.

It’s the first time we have spoken in person - a moment to treasure. Favier is a compulsive social media practitioner. Only a few hours after our interview she has been posting pictures of herself on the train back to Marseille, where she now lives.

Les Arcs Film Festival’s Industry Village, one of the many events that switched to virtual due to the pandemic, has unveiled its award-winning projects, which include Delphine Girard’s “Most Alive,” Damien Manivel’s “Magdala” and Sabine Ehrl’s “Paradise Bleeding.”

The event has a stellar track record when it comes to unveiling projects that go on to premiere at prestigious festivals and win awards. Recent alumni include Alex Camilleri’s Malta-set movie “Luzzu,” which will compete at this year’s Sundance, as well as Charlene Favier’s “Slalom,” which was part of Cannes 2020’s Official Selection, and just won the Lumieres Award in France for best female newcomer award (for Noée Abita).

“Paradise Bleeding” was one of the eight projects pitched as part of the Talent Village, a development workshop and platform for emerging talent launched by Les Arcs in 2018. The project won the T Port-Award from a jury comprising producer Florence Gastaud,...

Emmanuel Mouret’s “Love Affairs” won best film at the 26th Lumieres Awards, which are prizes given by France-based members of the foreign press. The film weaves together a series of romantic tales with an ensemble cast including Camelia Jordana and Niels Schneider.

This year, the ceremony became a televised event. The show was broadcast on Canal Plus and hosted by French journalists Laurie Cholewa and Laurent Weil with the participation of several voting journalists. The Lumieres event traditionally kicks off France’s awards season.

Filippo Meneghetti’s romance “Two of Us,” which represents France in the international feature film race at the Oscars, won two prizes, including best first film, and best actress for the duo Martine Chevallier and Barbara Sukowa. The feature debut follows Nina and Madeleine, two pensioners who have hidden their deep and passionate love for many decades and see their bond put to the test...

Playtime has acquired international sales rights to Philippe Le Guay’s “The Man From the Basement,” a Paris-set thriller produced by Anne-Dominique Toussaint’s Les Films des Tournelles.

Now in post, the film shot during the lockdown on location in Paris, with a stellar cast including François Cluzet, Jérémie Renier (“Slalom”), Bérénice Bejo and Jonathan Zaccaï (“The Bureau”).

“The Man From The Basement” was written by Le Guay, Gilles Taurand, the critically acclaimed screenwriter of “Wild Reeds” and “Farewell, My Queen,” and Marc Weitzmann, a French journalist and novelist.

The thought-provoking thriller revolves around a Parisian couple who decide to sell an unsanitary basement in their building. A seemingly ordinary man, Mr. Fonzic, shows up to buy it and makes it his permanent residence. But slowly, Mr. Fonzic becomes a threat to the family as he turns out be a hateful man spreading anti-semitic lies and exerting a perverted influence...

Debut film was one of 15 titles feted with a Cannes 2020 label selection last year.

Kino Lorber has acquired US and English-speaking Canada rights to French filmmaker Charlène Favier’s drama Slalom and plans to release it theatrically in April.

Set against the ski resorts of the French Alps, the debut feature stars rising French actress Noée Abita as a young alpine skiing champion who falls prey to her coach, played by Jérémie Renier.

The film was one of 15 first features to be feted with a Cannes 2020 label selection last year.

”Slalom may thrill with hyper ski action but it wins...

Anne-Dominique Toussaint, a Belgian-born revered yet discreet film producer based in Paris, has uncovered and championed many promising filmmakers through her company Les Films des Tournelles. And the best is yet to come.

Since launching her company 32 years ago, Toussaint, who is known for her spot-on artistic taste and elegant demeanor, has nurtured long-term relationships with talent such as Nadine Labaki (“Caramel”), Riad Sattouf (“The French Kissers”), Louis Garrel (“Les deux amis”) and Philippe Le Guay (“The Cost of Living”). She produced their debuts and kept up with them, giving them the necessary freedom to deliver original movies that found an international audience.

Always on the lookout for stimulating challenges, Toussaint is now getting ready to produce the feature debut of one of France’s best-known actors, Emmanuelle Devos (“Read My Lips”).

Devos’ project “On the Road Again” is an ambitious 1913-set movie headlined by two female protagonists, which will be played by Anais Demoustier,...

Rolling off a strong year for Scandinavian filmmaking, the virtual 44rd edition of the Goteborg Film Festival will kick off with Zaida Bergroth’s “Tove,” which will compete alongside Thomas Vinterberg’s “Another Round” and Ninja Thyberg’s “Pleasure,” among other Nordic pics.

Telling the story of one of Finland’s most beloved and inspiring artists, “Tove” broke box office records in Finland last year in spite of the pandemic, and now ranks as the highest grossing Finnish film in the last 40 years.

“Tove,” which is also Finland’s Oscar candidate, will be one of the seven films vying for the Dragon Award Best Nordic Film. The lineup comprises “Another Round,” one of the most prominent titles in Cannes 2020’s official selection, and “Pleasure,” which is set to world premiere at Sundance, as well as Ronnie Sandahl’s “Tigers,” Lisa Jespersen’s “Persona Non Grata,” Itonje Søimer Guttormsen’s “Gritt...

Awards ceremony will take place on January 19, 2021.

Italian director Filippo Meneghetti’s debut feature Two Of Us leads the nominations in the 26th edition of France’s Lumière awards, which were unveiled online today (December 14).

The awards, which are voted on by some 130 international correspondents hailing from 40 countries, are France’s equivalent of the Golden Globes.

In spite of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has delayed numerous releases this year, they have retained their traditional time slot and the awards ceremony will take place on January 19, 2021, in line with previous years.

Meneghetti’s Two Of Us is also France’s submission...

French cinemas and theaters that were expected to reopen Dec. 15 will be staying closed until at least Jan. 7 due to the pandemic. The news was announced by France’s Prime Minister Jean Castex on Thursday evening.

Along with cinemas and theaters, concert venues and museums will also remain shut until early January at the soonest.

“The numbers are not going down…and we know that the holiday period presents some risks. We cannot let our guard down,” said Castex.

“I know how much professionals in the culture sector have been preparing for the reopening [on Dec. 15]…It’s a particularly painful decision. But if we let ourselves be tempted by a reopening, the sanitary situation would be worse in January,” said Castex.

France President Emmanuel Macron said during a televised address on Nov. 24 that the country’s venues could reopen on Dec. 15 if the number of coronavirus cases had decreased to 5,000 per day,...

Covid-19 cases have not fallen enough to allow cinemas and theatres to re-open.

French cinemas and theatres will remain closed until at least January 7, 2021 as part of national measures to rein in Covid-19 in France, prime minister Jean Castex confirmed on Thursday.

”Establishments receiving the public, which we had hoped to allow to reopen December 15, will stay closed for an extra three weeks,” said Castex, in a special televised address detailing the government’s latest strategy for managing the pandemic.

“Unfortunately, the conditions that were set to allow them to reopen have not been met,” he continued.

This ruling covers cinemas,...

At the Award Ceremony of the 24th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) awards were handed to the winners of the four competition programmes of the festival and PÖFF’s sub-festivals Youth and Children’s Film Festival Just Film and International Short Film and Animation Film Festival PÖFF Shorts.

The jury of Official Selection – Competition headed by Mark Adams selected director Ivaylo Hristov’s drama “Fear“ as their favourite, handing the film the Grand Prix of the festival. Blending drama with deadpan comedy, the film’s story is set on the Bulgarian border, on a new route for African migrants arriving from Turkey with hopes to reach Germany. The protagonist, the former school teacher, comes across an African man who will bring a dramatic turn to her life.

The Best Director award goes to Turkish director Nisan Dağ for “When I’m Done Dying“, a vibrant portrayal of an upcoming hiphop artist struggling with drug addiction.

A selection of prominent films that debuted in this year’s real-world festivals Berlin and Venice, or were presented under the so-called ‘Cannes Label 2020,’ make their Southeast Asian premiere over the next week at the 31st Singapore International Film Festival. Among the highlights is the Venice Golden Lion-winning title “Nomadland” directed by Chloe Zhao.

The film festival, which runs from Nov. 26 to Dec. 6 in a hybrid format with physical and online screenings amid Covid-19, has long positioned itself as a leading event in the region to showcase Singaporean cinema. Just as important is its role curating the year’s top international films for Singapore audiences.

Besides “Nomadland,” which follows a group of American middle class people forced to become nomads amid recession, the festival’s Cinema Today showcases another Venice award-winner “New Order.” Directed by Mexican filmmaker Michel Franco, the thriller revolving around a lavish wedding turning into a coup...