News

Reda Kateb and Naidra Ayadi also star in the cast of Thomas Kruithof’s second feature film, which is produced by 24 25 Films and sold by Elle Driver. Thomas Kruithof has kicked off filming in the Paris region on his second full-length work: Promises. Discovered via The Eavesdropper (2017), the filmmaker has drawn together a cast composed of Isabelle Huppert (recently well-received in Mama Weed and whom we’ll be seeing next year in Joan and Caravaggio’s Shadow), Reda Kateb and Naidra Ayadi (crowned Best Female New Hope at the 2012 Césars thanks to Poliss; likewise drawing attention in the series Black Spot). Written by Thomas Kruithof and Jean-Baptiste Delafon (of the series Baron...

The previous two films of France's resident doctor-turned-filmmaker, Thomas Lilti, were called Irreplaceable (Medecin de campagne) and Hippocrates: Diary of a French Doctor, and both were inspired by his own days in the medical profession. Hippocrates (2014), which cast a then up-and-coming Vincent Lacoste as a bumbling hospital intern, premiered at the Cannes Critics' Week and became an unexpectedly robust box-office hit, while 2016's Irreplaceable, which starred Intouchables' Francois Cluzet as a rural doctor, did even better.

The success of these titles, which also sold offshore, no doubt led to the unchecked — or at least, unchecked-feeling — liberty to make ...

The previous two films of France's resident doctor-turned-filmmaker, Thomas Lilti, were called Irreplaceable (Medecin de campagne) and Hippocrates: Diary of a French Doctor, and both were inspired by his own days in the medical profession. Hippocrates (2014), which cast a then up-and-coming Vincent Lacoste as a bumbling hospital intern, premiered at the Cannes Critics' Week and became an unexpectedly robust box-office hit, while 2016's Irreplaceable, which starred Intouchables' Francois Cluzet as a rural doctor, did even better.

The success of these titles, which also sold offshore, no doubt led to the unchecked — or at least, unchecked-feeling — liberty to make ...

He’s only 24, but French actor Vincent Lacoste is already a veteran of Cannes. He first came to the Croisette at the age of 16 for the knockout comedy The French Kissers, and has returned multiple times for movies like Camille Rewinds, Hippocrates: Diary of a French Doctor and Victoria.

This year, he is back with Christophe Honore’s Sorry Angel, which is his first role in a competition film.

Between a slew of TV interviews — Angel is being released in France this week — he spoke with THR about the stress of Cannes and his recent transition from comedies to more dramatic roles....

He’s only 24, but French actor Vincent Lacoste is already a veteran of Cannes. He first came to the Croisette at the age of 16 for the knockout comedy The French Kissers, and has returned multiple times for movies like Camille Rewinds, Hippocrates: Diary of a French Doctor and Victoria.

This year, he is back with Christophe Honore’s Sorry Angel, which is his first role in a competition film.

Between a slew of TV interviews — Angel is being released in France this week — he spoke with THR about the stress of Cannes and his recent transition from comedies to more dramatic roles....

Author: Luke Channell

Thomas Lilti’s Irreplaceable sees him turn the spotlight on a pair of doctors once again, following his critically successful sophomore feature Hippocrate. Lilti’s focus is hardly surprising considering he started his career working as a medical professional before becoming a filmmaker. Irreplaceable revolves around middle-aged country doctor Jean-Pierre Werner (François Cluzet) and his trying relationship with inexperienced new work colleague Nathalie Delezia (Marianne Denicourt). Despite a somewhat pedestrian narrative, Irreplaceable gets by on the strength of its fantastic lead performances.

The film begins on a sombre note, Jean-Pierre is diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour. After working devoutly as his rural community’s Gp for years, Jean-Pierre has established a firm routine and become attached to his many regular patients. So, when newly-trained city doctor Nathalie arrives to help ease Jean-Pierre’s workload, conflicts inevitably ensue as the two share contrasting viewpoints on life and...

A middle-aged country doctor is diagnosed with a disease that forces him to take on a replacement with little experience in Irreplaceable (Medecin de campagne), from French doctor-turned-director Thomas Lilti. This is the filmmaker’s third feature, after Les Yeux bandés and Hippocrates: Diary of a French Doctor, and indeed, if the latter title, about a medical apprentice at a chaotic Paris hospital, hadn’t already been taken, his latest could have been called Diary of a Country Doctor — which would suggest both what the film is about as well as the story’s gently observational qualities, which ...

A middle-aged country doctor is diagnosed with a disease that forces him to take on a replacement with little experience in Irreplaceable (Medecin de campagne), from French doctor-turned-director Thomas Lilti. This is the filmmaker’s third feature, after Les Yeux bandés and Hippocrates: Diary of a French Doctor, and indeed, if the latter title, about a medical apprentice at a chaotic Paris hospital, hadn’t already been taken, his latest could have been called Diary of a Country Doctor — which would suggest both what the film is about as well as the story’s gently observational qualities, which ...

Reda Kateb Takes an Oath in Hippocrates

By Alex Simon

French actor Reda Kateb always knew he was a born actor. The son of an Algerian actor father and French mother (and grandnephew of celebrated Algerian writer Kateb Yacine), Reda grew up watching his father perform on stages across Europe. After deciding himself to “enter the family business” as a child, honing his skills reciting his great uncle’s texts, Reda stayed busy on the stage as well, making his film debut in the internationally-lauded A Prophet in 2009.

Reda’s latest film, Hippocrates: Diary of a French Doctor, traces the relationship between two young physicians (Kateb and Vincent Lacoste) doing their internships in a Parisian hospital. Reda’s work captured him a 2014 César Award as Best Supporting Actor. The film opens in the U.S. today, June 19.

Reda spoke to us by phone from his home in France. Here’s...

The 40th annual César Awards (i.e., the French Oscar equivalent) were bestowed in Paris Friday, with "Timbuktu" claiming top honors. The film, Oscar-nominated in the foreign category as Mauritania's first-ever submission, won seven awards overall and is seen as a potential spoiler at the Oscars on Sunday. Also of note, Kristen Stewart, who had already become the first American actress to receive a César nomination in 30 years, went on to win the supporting actress prize for her performance in "Sils Maria." That makes her the first American actress to ever win a César (and the first American period since Adrien Brody in 2003). Perhaps that will set her up as someone to watch out for at the Oscars next year, but that might be tricky with an April Us release. Check out the full list of winners below, the nominees here and the rest of the season at The Circuit.

It was a battle of Yves Saint Laurent biopics at the Césars (the French Oscars, if you will) this year as both the French foreign language Oscar submission "Saint Laurent" (leader of the pack with 10 nods) and "Yves Saint Laurent" picked up a ton of mentions. Oscar players that popped up include "Two Days, One Night" star Marion Cotillard and animated feature "Song of the Sea." Foreign film Oscar nominee "Timbuktu" also had a major showing. And of course, in the Césars' foreign category, films like "Boyhood," "The Grand Budapest Hotel" and "12 Years a Slave" are duking it out. Check out the full list of nominees below, and remember to keep track of it all at The Circuit. Best Film "Les Combattants" "Eastern Boys" "La Famille Bélier" "Saint Laurent" "Hippocrate" "Sils Maria" "Timbuktu" Best Director Céline Sciamma, "Bande De Filles" Thomas Cailley, "Les Combattants" Robin Campillo, "Eastern Boys" Thomas Lilti,...

Update, 2:25 Am Pt: Last year’s dueling Yves Saint Laurent biopics each picked up several nominations this morning for France’s César Awards. Bertrand Bonello’s Saint Laurent, the country’s entry for the Foreign Language Oscar, leads the pack with 10 mentions, followed by Thomas Cailley’s Directors’ Fortnight title Les Combattants with nine, and Oscar nominee Timbuktu with eight. Yves Saint Laurent, from helmer Jalil Lespert, took seven nods. Otherwise, there are a number of usual suspects in the batch including Best Actress Oscar nominee Marion Cotillard for Two Days, One Night, as well as Juliette Binoche for Olivier Assayas’ Sils Maria. In something of a departure — and a first — for the French Académie, they nominated American actress Kristen Stewart for her supporting turn in that Cannes competition entry. (Adrien Brody won the Best Actor prize in 2003 for The Pianist.) There are also six nominations for late 2014 release La Famille Bélier.

The nominations for France's Lumière Awards were announced this morning, and leading the way was the film's Oscar foreign film entry "Saint Laurent" (which sadly didn't make it past the initial culling with the Academy). The film picked up four nominations and will compete for best film with Cannes hit "Girlhood," "La Famille Bélier," "Pas son genre," fellow Oscar foreign hopeful "Timbuktu" and "Three Hearts." Check out the full list of nominees below. Winners will be announced on Feb. 3. And oh yeah: The Circuit. Best Film "Girlhood" "La Famille Bélier" "Pas son genre" "Saint Laurent" "Timbuktu" "Three Hearts" Best Director Lucas Belvaux, "Pas son genre" Bertrand Bonello, "Saint Laurent" Benoît Jacquot, "Three Hearts" Cédric Kahn, "Wild Life" Céline Sciamma,"Girlhood" Abderrahmane Sissako, "Timbuktu" Best Actor Guillaume Canet, "La prochaine fois je viserai le cœur," "In The Name of My Daughter" Romain Duris, "The New Girlfriend" Mathieu Kassovitz, "Wild Life" Pierre Niney,...

Two Days, One Night, Mommy and Fevers nominated in French-language foreign film category.Scroll down for full list of nominations

The Lumière Awards, France’s version of the Golden Globes, has announced the nominations for its 20th anniversary edition. There is no clear front-runner this year.

Bertrand Bonello’s Yves Saint Laurent biopic Saint Laurent, Benoît Jacquot’s 3 Hearts, starring Gainsbourg and Chiara Mastroianni as sisters who unwittingly fall for the same man, and Eric Lartigau’s Christmas hit La Famille Bélier, about an aspiring singer growing up in deaf family, lead the field with four nominations each including best film.

Céline Sciamma’s gritty urban drama Girlhood (Bande de Fille) and Lucas Belvaux’s chalk-and-cheese romance Not My Type(Pas Mon Genre) and, which were also nominated in the best film category, followed behind with three nominations.

Franco-Mauritanian Abderrahmane Sissako Timbuktu about the impact of Islamic fundamentalism on a rural community in Mali, is the sixth...

The Cannes Film Festival's lineup of films include the Competition titles of several legendary auteurs such as Jean-Luc Godard, David Cronenberg, The Dardenne Brothers, Atom Egoyan, Mike Leigh, and Ken Loach. In the Un Certain Regard section, the highly anticipated film by actor-turned-director Ryan Gosling. Those in the business will be happy to find Alison Thompson in her new company, Sunray Films, selling Mike Leigh's Mr. Turner. Two films out of 18 in Competition are by women, but across all sections there are 15 women directors. Further in Competition, three films are from Canada; two are from U.S. one film is from Latin America (Argentina); one is from Japan; one from Turkey; one from Russia and the rest are European.

Opening Night Film :

Grace of Monaco (Producer: Stone Angels/ U.S. The Weinstein Company) from France by Olivier Dahan

In Competition

Clouds of Sils Maria (Isa: MK2/ U.S. Distribution: IFC Films) from France/ Gremany/ Switzerland by Olivier Assayas

Saint Laurent (Isa: EuropaCorp) from France by Bertrand Bonello

Winter's Sleep aka Kis uykusu (Producer: Zeynofilm ) from Turkey by Nuri Bilge Ceylan who has a great website.

Maps to the Stars (Isa: Entertainment One) from Canada by David Cronenberg

Two Days, One Night (Isa: Wild Bunch/ U.S. Distribution: IFC Films) from Belgium and France by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne

Mommy (Isa: Seville International) from Canada by Xavier Dolan

The Captive (Isa: Entertainment One) from Canada by Atom Egoyan. You can watch the trailer here.

Goodbye to Language aka Adieu au Langage (Isa: Wild Bunch) from France by Jean-Luc Godard

The Search (Isa: Wild Bunch/ U.S. Distribution: Worldview Entertainment) from France by Michel Hazanavivius

The Homesman (Isa: Europacorp) from U.S. by Tommy Lee Jones

Still the Water (Isa: MK2) from Japan and France by Naomi Kawase ♀

Mr. Turner (Isa: Sunray Films/ U.S. Distribution: Sony Pictures Classics) from U.K. by Mike Leigh. Sunray Films is Alison Thompson's new company and she brought the film over from her former employer Focus Features International when they left the international sales business.

Jimmy's Hall (Isa: Wild Bunch) from Ireland and U.K. by Ken Loach

Foxcatcher (Isa: Panorama Media/ U.S. Distribution: Sony Pictures Classics) from U.S. by Bennett Miller

Le Meraviglie (Isa: The Match Factory) from Italy, Switzerland and Germany by Alice Rohrwacher ♀

Timbuktu (Isa: Le Pacte) from France by Abderrahmane Sissako

Wild Tales (Isa: Film Factory Entertainment/ U.S. Distribution: Palmera International) from Argentina by Damian Szifron

Leviathan (Isa: Pyramide International) from Russia by Andrey Zvyagintsev

Un Certain Regard

Party Girl (Isa: Pyramide International) from France by Marie Amachoukeli ♀ , Claire Burger ♀ , Samuel Theis

Jauja (Isa: Ndm) from Argentina by Lisandro Alonso

The Blue Room (Isa: Alfama Films) from France by Mathieu Amalric

Misunderstood aka Incompresa aka L'Incomprise (Production: Paradis Films) from Italy by Asia Argento ♀

Titli (Isa: Westend Films) from India by Kanu Behl

The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby (Isa: Myriad Pictures/ U.S. Distribution: The Weinstein Company) from U.S. by Ned Benson

Bird People (Isa: Films Distribution) from France by Pascale Ferran ♀

Lost River (Isa: Sierra/Affinity) from U.S. by Ryan Gosling

Amour Fou (Isa: Coproduction Office Paris) from Austria by Jessica Hausner ♀

Charlie's Country (Isa: Visit Films) from Australia by Rolf de Heer

Snow in Paradise (Isa: The Match Factory) from U.K. by Andrew Hulme

A Girl at My Door (Isa: Cj Entertainment) from So. Korea by July Jung ♀

Xenia (Isa: Pyramide International) from Greece by Panos Koutras

Run (Isa: Bac) from France by Philippe Lacote

Turist from Sweden and Norway by Ruben Ostlund

Beautiful Youth aka Hermosa Juventud (Producer: Fresdeval Films) by Jaime Rosales

Fantasia by Wang Chao

The Salt of the Earth (Isa: Le Pacte) from Germany and Brazil by Wim Wenders, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado

Away From His Absence (Isa: Bizibi) from Israel by Karen Yedaya ♀

Out of Competition

How to Train Your Dragon 2 (Dreamworks Animation) from the U.S. by Dean Deblois

Coming Home aka Gui Lai (Isa: Wild Bunch) from China by Zhang Yimou

Special Screenings

Bridges of Sarajevo (Les Ponts de Sarajevo) from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Portugal, Germany, and France

Red Army from the U.S. and Russia by Gabe Polsky

Maidan (Isa: Atoms & Void Bv) from Belarus by Segei Loznitsa

Silvered Water, Syria Self-Portrait from Syria by Ossama Mohammed

Cartoonists - Foot Soldiers Of Democracy from France by Stephanie Valloatto

Directors' Fortnight

Opening Film: Girlhood aka Bande De Files (Isa: Films Distribution) from France by Céline Sciamma

Closing Film: Pride (Isa:Pathe International) from the U.K. by Matthew Warchus

Features

Alleluia (Isa:snd- Groupe M6) from Belgium and France by Fabrice Du Welz

Catch Me Daddy (Isa: Altitude Film Sales) from the U.K. by Daniel Wolfe

Next To Her aka At Li La Yla (Isa: Films Boutique) from Israel by Asaf Korman

Cold In July (Isa: Memento Films International) from the U.S. by Jim Mickle

Fighters aka Les Combattants (ISa: Bac Films) from France by Thomas Cailley

Gett — The Trial Of Viviane Amsalem (Isa: Films Distribution) from France, Germany, Israel by Ronit & Shlomi Elkabetz

The Tale of Princess Kaguya aka Kaguya-Hime No Monogatari (Isa: Wild Bunch) from Japan by Isao Takahata

Eat Your Bones aka Mange Tes Morts (Isa:Capricci Films) from France by Jean-Charles Hue

A Hard Day aka Kkeut-Kka-Ji-Kan-Da (Isa: Showbox/Mediaples, Inc.) from South Korea by Seong-Hun Kim

National Gallery (Isa: Doc & Film International) from France by Frederick Wiseman

Queen And Country (Isa: Le Pacte) from the U.K. and Ireland by John Boorman

Sheltered aka Refugiado (Isa: Backup Media Films) from Argentina, France, Poland, and Colombia by Diego Lerman

These Final Hours (Isa: Celluloid Dreams/Nightmares) from Australia by Zach Hilditch

Tu Dors Nicole (Isa: Seville International) from Canada by Stéphane Lafleur

Whiplash (Isa:Sierra /Affinity) from the U.S. by Damien Chazelle

Special Screening

P'tit Quinquin by Bruno Dumont

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre by Tobe Hooper (4K restoration)

Acid Program

Brooklyn (Produced by Les Enfants de la Dalle) from France by Pascal Tessaud

The Way Out aka Cesta Ven (Produced by Cinema de Facto) from France and the Czech Republic by Petr Vaclav

Challat of Tunis aka Le Challat the Tunis (Produced by Cinetelefilms ) from Tunisia and France by Kaouther Ben Hania

The Girls and the River aka La Fille et le Fleuve (Produced by 31 Juin Films) from France by Aurélia Georges

Mercuriales (Produced by Kazak Productions) from France by Virgil Vernier

New Territories (Produced by Paraiso Production Difussion) from France by Fabianny Deschamps

Insecure aka Qui Vive (Isa: Udi- Urban Distribution International ) from France by Marianne Tardieu

The Rules of the Game aka Les Regles du Jeu (Isa: Doc & Film International) from France by Claudine Bories and Patrice Chagnard

Spartacus & Cassandra (Produced by Morgane Productions) from France by Ioanis Nuguet

Critics' Week

Opening Night: Faire: L'Amour (Fla) from France by Djinn Carrénard

Closing Nigh: Hippocrates aka Hippocrate (Isa: Le Pacte) from France by Thomas Lilti

Features

Darker Than Midnight aka Piu' Buio di Mezzanotte (Isa: Rai Trade) from Italy by Sebastiano Riso

Gente de Bien (Isa: Versatile) from Colombia and France by Franco Lolli

Hope (Isa: Pyramide International) from France by Boris Lojkine

It Follows (Isa: Visit Films) from the U.S. by David Robert Mitchell

Self Made aka Boreg (Isa: Westend Films) from Israel by Shira Geffen

The Tribe aka Plemya (Isa: Alpha Violet) from Ukraine by Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy

When Animals Dream aka Nar Dyrene Drommer (Produced by Gaumont) from Denmark by Jonas Alexander Arnby

Critics' Week: Special Screenings

Breathe aka Respire (Produced by Gaumont) from France by Mélanie Laurent

The Kindergarten Teacher aka Haganenet Teacher aka (Isa: Le Pacte) from Israel by Nadav Lapid...

It’s almost astonishing that we’ve managed to guess two (we also had Nadav Lapid pegged for the Main Comp) of the eleven titles unveiled by the Cannes Critics’ Week sidebar earlier today. On our radar we had Djinn Carrénard’s sophomore film (Faire L’Amour has been selected as the opening film) and Jonas Alexander Arnby’s debut (When Animals Dream is one among the seven comp titles) as strong possibilities and we’re excited that an American indie personality we’ve featured on this site before in David Robert Mitchell will be showcasing his sophomore film, It Follows (starring Maika Monroe and Keir Gilchrist) in a section that showcased The Myth Of The American Sleepover back in 2010. Mélanie Laurent’s Respire (which could catapult the careers of thesps Lou de Laâge and Joséphine Japy) receives the Special Screening status alongside Lapid’s The Kindergarten Teacher. Also on...

Critics' Week at the Cannes Film Festival is one of those institutions that generally looks impressive only in retrospect. In advance, it's hard to tell which of the films selected for the sidebar will really land, but look back at the archives, and it's remarkable how many significant films -- from Ken Loach's "Kes" to Alejandro Gonzalez Inarittu's "Amores Perros" -- have quietly premiered there. In other words, while I don't have much to say right now about this year's Critics' Week selection, announced earlier today, it could yet give us plenty to talk about. As it stands, the most famous name in the lineup isn't one best known for her work behind the camera: French actress Mélanie Laurent, whose second directorial effort, "Respire," will play as a Special Screening in the section. Laurent starred in her 2011 debut, "The Adopted," a middling family melodrama that received a quiet release in France and the UK,...

Melanie Laurent - behind the camera for Breathe in Cannes Critics' Week

The Cannes film festival’s strand Critics’ Week (La semaine de la critique) which has been responsible for encouraging the likes of Ken Loach, François Ozon and Wong Kar-Wai among many, will open with Djinn Carrenard’s Making Love (Faire l’amour), it was announced today (21 April).

Also worth noting in the selection is French actress Melanie Laurent’s second feature as a director Breathe (screening out of competition), while the closing title, also out of competition, will be Thomas Lilti’s second feature Hippocrate.

There are seven films vying for the grand prix with a jury presided over by British director Andrea Arnold (who made Fish Tank).

The section is organised independently by the French film critics association and has been an official parallel section of the Cannes Film Festival since 1962.

Competition

Darker Than Midnight (dir: Sebastiano Riso...

Djinn Carrenard’s second feature to open selection; genre pictures When Animals Dream [pictured] and It Follows to compete in Cannes Critics’ Week.

Djinn Carrénard’s Faire L’Amour (Fla)], revolving around the relationship between a musician and woman on parole, will open the 53rd edition of Cannes Critics’ Week, running May 15-23

The respected parallel selection, focusing on first and second works, unveiled its 2014 line-up on Monday (April 20). In total, the selection committee screened 1,200 feature-length films and 1,770 shorts.

Haitian, France-based Carrénard won France’s prestigious Louis Delluc prize for best first film in 2011 for his buzzy, micro-budget Donoma, which premiered in Cannes in 2010 in the indie-focused Acid selection.

“The director of Donoma instils in his second feature all the energy of the previous one with a sense of drama and character development that really packs a punch,” commented Critics’ Week artistic director Charles Tesson, adding it revolved around, “how to construct love and how to really make love...

Djinn Carrenard’s second feature to open selection; genre pictures When Animals Dream [pictured] and It Follows to compete in Cannes Critics’ Week.

Djinn Carrénard’s Faire L’Amour (Fla)], revolving around the relationship between a musician and woman on parole, will open the 53rd edition of Cannes Critics’ Week, running May 15-23

The respected parallel selection, focusing on first and second works, unveiled its 2014 line-up on Monday (April 20). In total, the selection committee screened 1,200 feature-length films and 1,770 shorts.

Haitian, France-based Carrénard won France’s prestigious Louis Delluc prize for best first film in 2011 for his buzzy, micro-budget Donoma, which premiered in Cannes in 2010 in the indie-focused Acid selection.

“The director of Donoma instils in his second feature all the energy of the previous one with a sense of drama and character development that really packs a punch,” commented Critics’ Week artistic director Charles Tesson, adding it revolved around, “how to construct love and how to really make love...

This morning the 2014 Cannes Film Festival lineup was announced and while at least one Out of Competition title is still to be announced, along with the Critics' Week and Directors' Fortnight lineups, we have a look at what films make up the competition and it's largely a lot of the titles that were rumored heading into today's announcement. Among the competition titles you have Atom Egoyan's Captives, which we'll have to hope is better than Devil's Knot, Bennett Miller's highly anticipated Foxcatcher, Jean-Luc Godard's 3D feature Goodbye To Language, The Homesman from Tommy Lee Jones, Ken Loach's Jimmy's Hall and David Cronengberg's Maps to the Stars. I'm jealous I won't be there to see Xavier Dolan's first time in competition with Mommy, Mike Leigh is again at Cannes with Mr. Turner and Michel Hazanavicius returns to Cannes after The Artist took the fest by storm with The Search.