Some 50 French entertainment personalities have signed an open letter speaking out against the public “lynching” and cancelling of Gérard Depardieu in the wake of multiple accusations of sexual assault and one of rape.
The signatories include former first lady, top model and musician Carla Bruni as well as popular actors Charlotte Rampling, Carole Bouquet, Nathalie Baye and Pierre Richard.
The signatories said they did not want to pass comment on the accusations against Depardieu but could not remain silent in the face of the backlash against the actor in recent weeks.
“We are artists, writers and cinema producers. It’s in this capacity that we’re expressing ourselves here,” read the letter, published in Le Figaro newspaper on Christmas Day.
“We don’t want to enter into debate, and we leave the judiciary to do its job. Gérard Depardieu is probably one the greatest actors. One of the last sacred icons of cinema.
The signatories include former first lady, top model and musician Carla Bruni as well as popular actors Charlotte Rampling, Carole Bouquet, Nathalie Baye and Pierre Richard.
The signatories said they did not want to pass comment on the accusations against Depardieu but could not remain silent in the face of the backlash against the actor in recent weeks.
“We are artists, writers and cinema producers. It’s in this capacity that we’re expressing ourselves here,” read the letter, published in Le Figaro newspaper on Christmas Day.
“We don’t want to enter into debate, and we leave the judiciary to do its job. Gérard Depardieu is probably one the greatest actors. One of the last sacred icons of cinema.
- 12/26/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Venice parallel section Giornate degli Autori (GdA), running alongside the main festival from August 30 to September 9, celebrates its 20th edition this year.
Partly modeled on Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, GdA (which is still often referred to by its initial name of Venice Days in English) was launched in 2004 as an alternative space for independent filmmakers to the star-studded, red-carpet focus of the main festival.
The compact 12-title inaugural edition featured Hubert Sauper’s feature-doc Darwin’s Nightmare, which was later nominated for an Oscar; This Is England director-writer Shaun Meadows’ fifth feature Dead Man’s Shoes and John Lvoff’s drama Now And Then, featuring Julie Depardieu in her first starring role.
Over the past 19 years, the event has expanded to include also special screenings, tributes and talks.
This year’s 10-title Competition line-up includes quirky Canadian teen vampire tale Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person; Moroccan road movie Backstage, Spanish adoption drama Foremost By Night,...
Partly modeled on Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, GdA (which is still often referred to by its initial name of Venice Days in English) was launched in 2004 as an alternative space for independent filmmakers to the star-studded, red-carpet focus of the main festival.
The compact 12-title inaugural edition featured Hubert Sauper’s feature-doc Darwin’s Nightmare, which was later nominated for an Oscar; This Is England director-writer Shaun Meadows’ fifth feature Dead Man’s Shoes and John Lvoff’s drama Now And Then, featuring Julie Depardieu in her first starring role.
Over the past 19 years, the event has expanded to include also special screenings, tributes and talks.
This year’s 10-title Competition line-up includes quirky Canadian teen vampire tale Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person; Moroccan road movie Backstage, Spanish adoption drama Foremost By Night,...
- 8/29/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
French production and sales arm will unveil four new films at the EFM.
France’s Orange Studio will kick off sales this EFM on French director Sophie Boudre’s intergenerational comedy-drama Schoolmates!, the latest production from Paris-based Vendôme Production, the company behind La Famille Bélier and English-language remake Coda.
Based on a true story, popular comedy actress Alice Pol co-stars as a village school headmistress whose school burns down forcing her to move her classroom into a local retirement home. Cohabitation between the children and seniors will not be easy. Jonathan Zaccaï and veteran French pop icon Eddy Mitchell also top the cast.
France’s Orange Studio will kick off sales this EFM on French director Sophie Boudre’s intergenerational comedy-drama Schoolmates!, the latest production from Paris-based Vendôme Production, the company behind La Famille Bélier and English-language remake Coda.
Based on a true story, popular comedy actress Alice Pol co-stars as a village school headmistress whose school burns down forcing her to move her classroom into a local retirement home. Cohabitation between the children and seniors will not be easy. Jonathan Zaccaï and veteran French pop icon Eddy Mitchell also top the cast.
- 2/22/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
This is a "go to" festival for international filmmakers with Jewish films who want to have their films premiere in Hollywood. The 11th L.A. Jewish Film Festival May 18th through May 25.
Opening night on May 18 will be a grand, red carpet, star-studded gala at the Steve Tisch Cinema Center at the Saban Theatre, Beverly Hills. Lajff will recognize the Laemmle Theater family with a special honor for their ongoing commitment to film and filmmakers. This family, headed by legendary Universal studio owner, Carl Laemmle and continuously run by subsequent three generations of Laemmles, is truly a force of nature. The Laemmle Theaters is a 75+ year old family run business which has established a sense of community through film in every neighborhood of Los Angeles they touch. The Laemmle family also supports many local organizations.
Watch this wonderful history of the Laemmle theaters in which Gregory Laemmle, the President of Laemmle Theaters, gives the Beverly Hills Historical Society a summary of the Laemmle family movie theater's history and his programming of the Fine Arts and Music Hall theaters in Beverly Hills.
Opening night film is the North American premiere of “False Flag” /”Kfulim”, a gripping espionage thriller TV series (now known as “filmed entertainment”) which premiered at the Berlinale’s inaugural Special Series section and won the Grand Prize at Series Mania. It comes from the makers of “Homeland” as it first appeared in Israel in 2015 before being remade for U.S. audiences.
Created by Amit Cohen and Maria Feldman, Amit will be present after the screening for a Q&A with actor Angel Bonanni.
Variety, October 2015 called it a “Thrill Ride. Keshet’s hot strike may continue with False Flag”
C21 Hot Picks for Mipcom 2015 said, “’False Flag’ has a touch of ‘Homeland’ about it and could be the next big Israeli drama”.
Directed by Oded Ruskin, it stars Ishai Golan, Ania Bukstein, Angel Bonanni, Roy Assaf and Orna Salinger who play five Israeli citizens who find themselves plunged into a gripping international espionage affair overnight. These ordinary people, going about their daily business, wake up one morning to discover that they are implicated in a ruthless kidnapping operation following the disappearance of the Iranian Defense Minister while on a secret visit to Moscow. News bulletins repeatedly flash their names and passport photos on screen, linking them to video footage from the kidnapping.
French pay TV channel Canal Plus acquired exclusive rights to “False Flag” for France from Keshet International. Will it be remade for U.S.??? We shall see.
In addition to the opening night ceremony, this year will be the first year for a new award. Lajff will establish the Marvin Paige Hollywood Legacy Award. Marvin Paige who died in 2014 was a classic Hollywood casting director, the go-to Hollywood star wrangler of anybody and everybody needing to get a hold of a celebrity. He worked with Lajff for its entire 11 years and his work continues with his former protégé.
Read Leonard Maltin on Marvin Paige
The Marvin Paige Hollywood Legacy Award will be presented on closing night, Wednesday, May 25th, at the iconic Beverly Hills theater, The Fine Arts, to legendary actress Marsha Hunt, formerly blacklisted and still known as a free speech and humanitarian activist today at age 98!).
Closing night film Wednesday, May 25th is the classic, 72 year old movie ”None Shall Escape” starring Marsha Hunt and directed by André De Toth, starring Marsha Hunt, Alexander Knox, Henry Travers, and written by Alfred Neumann and Joseph Than (Alfred Neumann and Joseph Than were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Story.)
"None Shall Escape" is a 1944 war film. Even though the film was made during World War II, the setting is a post-war Nuremberg-style war crimes trial. Production began August 31, 1943 and finished October 26, more than eighteen months before the war in Europe ended. About the career of a Nazi officer as shown as flashbacks from his trial as a war criminal, the film will be discussed by film historian, Professor Jan Christopher Horak with Marsha Hunt in person.
There will also be a very special screening of Israel’s beloved, 1966 film musical, “Sheni Kuni Lemel”/ “The Flying Matchmaker” featuring an appearance from L.A. local celebrity and star of the film, Mike Burstyn who starred in the film when he was just 19 years old. This is the first screening of the newly restored print from Israel - the first to be shown in the U.S. Lajff will honor this classic Israeli star with an award on the first night of the screening for “Sheni Kuni Lemel”. (Learn more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flying_Matchmaker)
Another film definitely to be seen is the first film made by Oscar-winning director of “Son of Saul”, László Nemes. The 2008,14 minute short, “ With a Little Patience” will be playing before “Fever at Dawn” on May 23. Director László Nemes fixes the camera on the evocatively stoic face of a young female office clerk, capturing her every nuance as she methodically goes about her daily routine, which leads to a solemn revelation just outside the window, where a man is waiting. The film premiered at the Venice International Film Festival
and was the winner at the 14th Drama International Short Film Festival.
Monday, May 23, 7:30 pm Laemmle’s Music Hall, Beverly Hills program introduction by Consul General of Hungary, Laszlo Kalman
Another top film here is “The People Vs. Fritz Bauer”. If you saw the German submission for the Academy Award this year, “Labyrinth of Lies” you will know the story, but will find this film much,much more authentic and engrossing. It is the real story of the boss of the young man “Labyrinth” who is the true life hero.
Audience Award Winner at the Locarno International Film Festival, World Premiere Toronto International Film Festival 2015. Cohen Media has U.S. rights.
Its L.A. premiere will be Tuesday, May 24, 7:30 pm Laemmle’s Music Hall. Drama, Germany, 2015, 105 minutes, Director: Lars Kraume, in German with English subtitles
Top German actors Burghart Klaussner (“The White Ribbon”) and Ronald Zehrfeld (“Barbara”, “Phoenix”) star in this riveting historical thriller, which chronicles the staggering efforts of German district attorney Fritz Bauer to bring Nazi war criminal Adolph Eichmann to justice.
Few figures encapsulate the conflicted character of postwar Germany better than Fritz Bauer, the Attorney General who was instrumental in bringing the elusive Adolf Eichmann to trial in Israel. This film is both a portrait of this complex man and a riveting historical thriller that chronicles the Herculean efforts and tremendous risks undertaken en route to apprehending the chief engineer of the Nazis' Final Solution.
In the late 1950s, Germany flourishes under the economic miracle, and grows increasingly apathetic about confronting the horrors of its recent past. Nevertheless, Fritz Bauer (Burghart Klaussner) relentlessly devotes his energies to bringing the Third Reich to justice. One day Bauer receives a letter from Argentina, with information about Adolf Eichmann. He is excited by the promising lead, but obstructed at every turn by authorities with Nazi ties, many of them former higher-ups under Hitler, now in top government positions. Bauer journeys to Jerusalem to seek alliance with Mossad, the Israeli secret service. This is an act of treason — yet committing treason is the only way Bauer can serve his country.
Fritz Bauer was the Attorney General portrayed in “Labyrinth of Lies.” This is the story that led up to the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials.
Introduction: Deputy Consul General Stefan Biedermann of the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany. Sponsored by the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany
“A La Vie” / “To Life”
Drama, France, 2014, 104 minutes
Director: Jean-Jacques Zilbermann
Starring: Julie Depardieu, Johanna ter Steege, Suzanne Clément
Audience Award Winner at Warsaw Jewish Ff 2015
Breaking Glass has U.S. rights.
Veteran French writer/director Jean-Jacques Zilbermann (“He’s My Girl” - Lajff 2011) sets his engaging new drama in postwar Paris where Hélène (Julie Depardieu), a young Auschwitz survivor rebuilds her life while searching for her friends from the camp, Lily and Rose (Johanna ter Steege, Suzanne Clément). When the women are finally reunited, they share a watershed vacation in 1962 in a seaside resort, enjoying the intimacies of life, love and faith. This emotionally complex film about the sustaining power of women’s friendship was inspired by the director’s mother and her annual vacation with the friends she made in the camps. Don’t miss this masterful film starring a trio of award-winning actresses.
“Children Of Giant”
Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqBYPp8IfQw
La Premiere
Documentary, United States 2015, 85 minutes
Director: Hector Galan
Thursday, May 19 at the Laemmle's Town Center, Encino at 7:30 pm
Marilyn Moss, George Stevens biographer, M.G. Lord, Elizabeth Taylor biographer Plus Earl Holliman (actor from the film) and Jim Silke join the panel discussion, moderated by Nick Redman.
Sixty years after the Hollywood blockbuster that dared tackle the issue of prejudice against Mexican-Americans, “Children Of Giant” explores the cultural and social legacy of the landmark 1956 drama. Starring a legendary trio—Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and James Dean—Giant is the epic story of a powerful West Texas ranching dynasty, and the Anglo-Latino tensions their characters encounter. Edna Ferber, the daughter of a Hungarian-born Jewish storekeeper, whose own encounters with discrimination informed her work, bases the film on the novel. Similarly stirred to address human rights issues after his WWII military service, Oscar-winning director George Stevens embraced the book’s controversial themes of feminism, class division and racism in the post-war American Southwest. The lavish production had an enormous impact on the dusty little town of Marfa, Texas, and the Mexican-Americans who saw it as a first exposure to their second-class status.
Rare behind-the-scenes footage and clips from the movie complement interviews with surviving cast and crew, film historians, as well as residents whose lives mirrored the social issues explored onscreen.
“Golan: A Farewell To Mr. Cinema”
Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evRsJy8GxrU&spfreload=10
La Premiere
Documentary, UK/Israel, 74 minutes
Directed by Christopher Sykes
Sunday, May 22, 7:00 pm, Laemmle’s Music Hall, Beverly Hills
Speakers for Golan: Farewell to Mr. Cinema. Sam Firstenberg and Sybil Danning.
This film is the final chapter in the extraordinary life and career of Menahem Golan, Israeli movie director, producer, mogul and 'madman'. Golan and his cousin Yoram Globus, pursued the American Dream and turned the Hollywood power structure upside down, producing over 300 films and becoming the most powerful independent film company in the world; Cannon Films. Golan produced movies featuring such stars as Sylvester Stallone, Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Charles Bronson.
In his eighties and living in Jaffa, Golan looks back to his great days in Hollywood, forward to a new blockbuster, and dreams of the Oscar he has always wanted...
“In Search Of Israeli Cuisine”
La Premiere
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOd6cyFvBr8
Documentary, United States 2015, 97 minutes
Thursday, May 19, 7:30 pm Laemmle’s Music Hall, Beverly Hill
Q&A with Amelia Saltsman, cookbook author and personality and Rob Eshman, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief of the Jewish Journal.
Sunday, May 22, 4:30 pm, Laemmle’s Town Center, Encino
Q&A with Elana Horwich, owner of Meal with a Spiel
Director: Roger Sherman
Starring: Michael Solomonov
Michael Solomonov, the James Beard award-winning celebrity chef-restaurateur travels across Israel to savor a food revolution rooted in centuries-old tradition. Developed in only the last 30 years and using both ancient farming techniques and high-tech innovations, Israel’s food scene is among the most dynamic in the world. From Tel Aviv’s most exclusive eateries to street bazaars, Israeli-American Solomonov interviews chefs, home cooks, farmers, vintners, and cheese makers drawn from the more than 100 cultures that make up Israel today — Jewish, Arab, Muslim, Christian, and Druze. This journey to his homeland reaffirms that Israeli cuisine is a beautiful and delectable reflection of the country’s unique diversity.
In a gastronomical expedition, celebrity chef-restaurateur Michael Solomonov zigzags Israel to savor a food revolution rooted in centuries-old tradition.
Israel’s food scene is among the most dynamic in the world, extending beyond falafel and hummus to include tasty ethnic and regional specialties. Having won the James Beard award for embracing these authentic flavors, Israeli-American Solomonov returns to his homeland to discover his culinary heritage anew. From Tel Aviv’s most exclusive eateries, to street bazaars, to simmering pots in family kitchens, “In Search Of Israeli Cuisine” excites the taste buds with multi-cultural recipes passed on and elevated. But even food is not immune to sectarian conflict, as Palestinian cooks chafe when their savory secrets are adapted by Jewish chefs. Equally eye-opening is the story behind the ingredients that Israel produces using both ancient farming techniques and high-tech innovations. Combining a procession of mouthwatering dishes and interviews with chefs, home cooks and farmers of all backgrounds, Oscar-nominated documentarian Roger Sherman presents a diverse portrait of the Israeli people told through the very personal language of food.
Rob Eshman, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the Jewish Journal, Blog “Foodaism” to lead discussion. Additional guests Tbd. Sponsored by the Jewish Journal and the Consulate General of Israel
Food sponsored by Mickey Fine Pharmacy & Grill and Yrf Darca
For the full array of programming go to: http://lajfilmfest.org/...
Opening night on May 18 will be a grand, red carpet, star-studded gala at the Steve Tisch Cinema Center at the Saban Theatre, Beverly Hills. Lajff will recognize the Laemmle Theater family with a special honor for their ongoing commitment to film and filmmakers. This family, headed by legendary Universal studio owner, Carl Laemmle and continuously run by subsequent three generations of Laemmles, is truly a force of nature. The Laemmle Theaters is a 75+ year old family run business which has established a sense of community through film in every neighborhood of Los Angeles they touch. The Laemmle family also supports many local organizations.
Watch this wonderful history of the Laemmle theaters in which Gregory Laemmle, the President of Laemmle Theaters, gives the Beverly Hills Historical Society a summary of the Laemmle family movie theater's history and his programming of the Fine Arts and Music Hall theaters in Beverly Hills.
Opening night film is the North American premiere of “False Flag” /”Kfulim”, a gripping espionage thriller TV series (now known as “filmed entertainment”) which premiered at the Berlinale’s inaugural Special Series section and won the Grand Prize at Series Mania. It comes from the makers of “Homeland” as it first appeared in Israel in 2015 before being remade for U.S. audiences.
Created by Amit Cohen and Maria Feldman, Amit will be present after the screening for a Q&A with actor Angel Bonanni.
Variety, October 2015 called it a “Thrill Ride. Keshet’s hot strike may continue with False Flag”
C21 Hot Picks for Mipcom 2015 said, “’False Flag’ has a touch of ‘Homeland’ about it and could be the next big Israeli drama”.
Directed by Oded Ruskin, it stars Ishai Golan, Ania Bukstein, Angel Bonanni, Roy Assaf and Orna Salinger who play five Israeli citizens who find themselves plunged into a gripping international espionage affair overnight. These ordinary people, going about their daily business, wake up one morning to discover that they are implicated in a ruthless kidnapping operation following the disappearance of the Iranian Defense Minister while on a secret visit to Moscow. News bulletins repeatedly flash their names and passport photos on screen, linking them to video footage from the kidnapping.
French pay TV channel Canal Plus acquired exclusive rights to “False Flag” for France from Keshet International. Will it be remade for U.S.??? We shall see.
In addition to the opening night ceremony, this year will be the first year for a new award. Lajff will establish the Marvin Paige Hollywood Legacy Award. Marvin Paige who died in 2014 was a classic Hollywood casting director, the go-to Hollywood star wrangler of anybody and everybody needing to get a hold of a celebrity. He worked with Lajff for its entire 11 years and his work continues with his former protégé.
Read Leonard Maltin on Marvin Paige
The Marvin Paige Hollywood Legacy Award will be presented on closing night, Wednesday, May 25th, at the iconic Beverly Hills theater, The Fine Arts, to legendary actress Marsha Hunt, formerly blacklisted and still known as a free speech and humanitarian activist today at age 98!).
Closing night film Wednesday, May 25th is the classic, 72 year old movie ”None Shall Escape” starring Marsha Hunt and directed by André De Toth, starring Marsha Hunt, Alexander Knox, Henry Travers, and written by Alfred Neumann and Joseph Than (Alfred Neumann and Joseph Than were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Story.)
"None Shall Escape" is a 1944 war film. Even though the film was made during World War II, the setting is a post-war Nuremberg-style war crimes trial. Production began August 31, 1943 and finished October 26, more than eighteen months before the war in Europe ended. About the career of a Nazi officer as shown as flashbacks from his trial as a war criminal, the film will be discussed by film historian, Professor Jan Christopher Horak with Marsha Hunt in person.
There will also be a very special screening of Israel’s beloved, 1966 film musical, “Sheni Kuni Lemel”/ “The Flying Matchmaker” featuring an appearance from L.A. local celebrity and star of the film, Mike Burstyn who starred in the film when he was just 19 years old. This is the first screening of the newly restored print from Israel - the first to be shown in the U.S. Lajff will honor this classic Israeli star with an award on the first night of the screening for “Sheni Kuni Lemel”. (Learn more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flying_Matchmaker)
Another film definitely to be seen is the first film made by Oscar-winning director of “Son of Saul”, László Nemes. The 2008,14 minute short, “ With a Little Patience” will be playing before “Fever at Dawn” on May 23. Director László Nemes fixes the camera on the evocatively stoic face of a young female office clerk, capturing her every nuance as she methodically goes about her daily routine, which leads to a solemn revelation just outside the window, where a man is waiting. The film premiered at the Venice International Film Festival
and was the winner at the 14th Drama International Short Film Festival.
Monday, May 23, 7:30 pm Laemmle’s Music Hall, Beverly Hills program introduction by Consul General of Hungary, Laszlo Kalman
Another top film here is “The People Vs. Fritz Bauer”. If you saw the German submission for the Academy Award this year, “Labyrinth of Lies” you will know the story, but will find this film much,much more authentic and engrossing. It is the real story of the boss of the young man “Labyrinth” who is the true life hero.
Audience Award Winner at the Locarno International Film Festival, World Premiere Toronto International Film Festival 2015. Cohen Media has U.S. rights.
Its L.A. premiere will be Tuesday, May 24, 7:30 pm Laemmle’s Music Hall. Drama, Germany, 2015, 105 minutes, Director: Lars Kraume, in German with English subtitles
Top German actors Burghart Klaussner (“The White Ribbon”) and Ronald Zehrfeld (“Barbara”, “Phoenix”) star in this riveting historical thriller, which chronicles the staggering efforts of German district attorney Fritz Bauer to bring Nazi war criminal Adolph Eichmann to justice.
Few figures encapsulate the conflicted character of postwar Germany better than Fritz Bauer, the Attorney General who was instrumental in bringing the elusive Adolf Eichmann to trial in Israel. This film is both a portrait of this complex man and a riveting historical thriller that chronicles the Herculean efforts and tremendous risks undertaken en route to apprehending the chief engineer of the Nazis' Final Solution.
In the late 1950s, Germany flourishes under the economic miracle, and grows increasingly apathetic about confronting the horrors of its recent past. Nevertheless, Fritz Bauer (Burghart Klaussner) relentlessly devotes his energies to bringing the Third Reich to justice. One day Bauer receives a letter from Argentina, with information about Adolf Eichmann. He is excited by the promising lead, but obstructed at every turn by authorities with Nazi ties, many of them former higher-ups under Hitler, now in top government positions. Bauer journeys to Jerusalem to seek alliance with Mossad, the Israeli secret service. This is an act of treason — yet committing treason is the only way Bauer can serve his country.
Fritz Bauer was the Attorney General portrayed in “Labyrinth of Lies.” This is the story that led up to the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials.
Introduction: Deputy Consul General Stefan Biedermann of the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany. Sponsored by the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany
“A La Vie” / “To Life”
Drama, France, 2014, 104 minutes
Director: Jean-Jacques Zilbermann
Starring: Julie Depardieu, Johanna ter Steege, Suzanne Clément
Audience Award Winner at Warsaw Jewish Ff 2015
Breaking Glass has U.S. rights.
Veteran French writer/director Jean-Jacques Zilbermann (“He’s My Girl” - Lajff 2011) sets his engaging new drama in postwar Paris where Hélène (Julie Depardieu), a young Auschwitz survivor rebuilds her life while searching for her friends from the camp, Lily and Rose (Johanna ter Steege, Suzanne Clément). When the women are finally reunited, they share a watershed vacation in 1962 in a seaside resort, enjoying the intimacies of life, love and faith. This emotionally complex film about the sustaining power of women’s friendship was inspired by the director’s mother and her annual vacation with the friends she made in the camps. Don’t miss this masterful film starring a trio of award-winning actresses.
“Children Of Giant”
Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqBYPp8IfQw
La Premiere
Documentary, United States 2015, 85 minutes
Director: Hector Galan
Thursday, May 19 at the Laemmle's Town Center, Encino at 7:30 pm
Marilyn Moss, George Stevens biographer, M.G. Lord, Elizabeth Taylor biographer Plus Earl Holliman (actor from the film) and Jim Silke join the panel discussion, moderated by Nick Redman.
Sixty years after the Hollywood blockbuster that dared tackle the issue of prejudice against Mexican-Americans, “Children Of Giant” explores the cultural and social legacy of the landmark 1956 drama. Starring a legendary trio—Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and James Dean—Giant is the epic story of a powerful West Texas ranching dynasty, and the Anglo-Latino tensions their characters encounter. Edna Ferber, the daughter of a Hungarian-born Jewish storekeeper, whose own encounters with discrimination informed her work, bases the film on the novel. Similarly stirred to address human rights issues after his WWII military service, Oscar-winning director George Stevens embraced the book’s controversial themes of feminism, class division and racism in the post-war American Southwest. The lavish production had an enormous impact on the dusty little town of Marfa, Texas, and the Mexican-Americans who saw it as a first exposure to their second-class status.
Rare behind-the-scenes footage and clips from the movie complement interviews with surviving cast and crew, film historians, as well as residents whose lives mirrored the social issues explored onscreen.
“Golan: A Farewell To Mr. Cinema”
Trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evRsJy8GxrU&spfreload=10
La Premiere
Documentary, UK/Israel, 74 minutes
Directed by Christopher Sykes
Sunday, May 22, 7:00 pm, Laemmle’s Music Hall, Beverly Hills
Speakers for Golan: Farewell to Mr. Cinema. Sam Firstenberg and Sybil Danning.
This film is the final chapter in the extraordinary life and career of Menahem Golan, Israeli movie director, producer, mogul and 'madman'. Golan and his cousin Yoram Globus, pursued the American Dream and turned the Hollywood power structure upside down, producing over 300 films and becoming the most powerful independent film company in the world; Cannon Films. Golan produced movies featuring such stars as Sylvester Stallone, Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Charles Bronson.
In his eighties and living in Jaffa, Golan looks back to his great days in Hollywood, forward to a new blockbuster, and dreams of the Oscar he has always wanted...
“In Search Of Israeli Cuisine”
La Premiere
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOd6cyFvBr8
Documentary, United States 2015, 97 minutes
Thursday, May 19, 7:30 pm Laemmle’s Music Hall, Beverly Hill
Q&A with Amelia Saltsman, cookbook author and personality and Rob Eshman, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief of the Jewish Journal.
Sunday, May 22, 4:30 pm, Laemmle’s Town Center, Encino
Q&A with Elana Horwich, owner of Meal with a Spiel
Director: Roger Sherman
Starring: Michael Solomonov
Michael Solomonov, the James Beard award-winning celebrity chef-restaurateur travels across Israel to savor a food revolution rooted in centuries-old tradition. Developed in only the last 30 years and using both ancient farming techniques and high-tech innovations, Israel’s food scene is among the most dynamic in the world. From Tel Aviv’s most exclusive eateries to street bazaars, Israeli-American Solomonov interviews chefs, home cooks, farmers, vintners, and cheese makers drawn from the more than 100 cultures that make up Israel today — Jewish, Arab, Muslim, Christian, and Druze. This journey to his homeland reaffirms that Israeli cuisine is a beautiful and delectable reflection of the country’s unique diversity.
In a gastronomical expedition, celebrity chef-restaurateur Michael Solomonov zigzags Israel to savor a food revolution rooted in centuries-old tradition.
Israel’s food scene is among the most dynamic in the world, extending beyond falafel and hummus to include tasty ethnic and regional specialties. Having won the James Beard award for embracing these authentic flavors, Israeli-American Solomonov returns to his homeland to discover his culinary heritage anew. From Tel Aviv’s most exclusive eateries, to street bazaars, to simmering pots in family kitchens, “In Search Of Israeli Cuisine” excites the taste buds with multi-cultural recipes passed on and elevated. But even food is not immune to sectarian conflict, as Palestinian cooks chafe when their savory secrets are adapted by Jewish chefs. Equally eye-opening is the story behind the ingredients that Israel produces using both ancient farming techniques and high-tech innovations. Combining a procession of mouthwatering dishes and interviews with chefs, home cooks and farmers of all backgrounds, Oscar-nominated documentarian Roger Sherman presents a diverse portrait of the Israeli people told through the very personal language of food.
Rob Eshman, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the Jewish Journal, Blog “Foodaism” to lead discussion. Additional guests Tbd. Sponsored by the Jewish Journal and the Consulate General of Israel
Food sponsored by Mickey Fine Pharmacy & Grill and Yrf Darca
For the full array of programming go to: http://lajfilmfest.org/...
- 5/5/2016
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Hot projects new to Screenbase include Nicolas Winding Refn feature The Neon Demon, Pope Francis biopic Francisco, Brady Corbet’s directorial debut The Childhood Of A Leader and a new adaptation by Wim Wenders.Nicolas Winding Refn’s The Neon Demon
Elle Fanning, Keanu Reeves, Christina Hendricks, Abbey Lee, Bella Heathcote and Jena Malone have signed on to co-star in Nicolas Winding Refn’s next feature.
“After making Drive and falling madly in love with the electricity of Los Angeles, I knew I had to return to tell the story of The Neon Demon,” Winding Refn said.
Principal photography will begin in Los Angeles on March 30. Gaumont and Wild Bunch are co-selling the title.
Wim Wenders’ Les Beaux Jours D’Aranjuez
This adaptation of the play by Peter Handke was announced by Alfama’s Paulo Branco during the Efm. It will star Reda Kateb and Sophie Semin. Wenders is expected to shoot in June.
Brady Corbet’s [link...
Elle Fanning, Keanu Reeves, Christina Hendricks, Abbey Lee, Bella Heathcote and Jena Malone have signed on to co-star in Nicolas Winding Refn’s next feature.
“After making Drive and falling madly in love with the electricity of Los Angeles, I knew I had to return to tell the story of The Neon Demon,” Winding Refn said.
Principal photography will begin in Los Angeles on March 30. Gaumont and Wild Bunch are co-selling the title.
Wim Wenders’ Les Beaux Jours D’Aranjuez
This adaptation of the play by Peter Handke was announced by Alfama’s Paulo Branco during the Efm. It will star Reda Kateb and Sophie Semin. Wenders is expected to shoot in June.
Brady Corbet’s [link...
- 2/18/2015
- by maud.le-rest@sciencespo-toulouse.net (Maud Le Rest)
- ScreenDaily
Cinema Guild has acquired all rights to Jem Cohen’s documentary Counting ahead of its world premiere in Berlin on Monday (February 9).
The film (pictured) comprises 15 chapters shot around the world. Cinema Guild negotiated the deal with Jem Cohen.
Breaking Glass Pictures has acquired North American rights from Le Pacte to Jean-Jacques Zilbermann’s French drama To Life (À La Vie) and has set a September theatrical release. Julie Depardieu, Suzanne Clément and Johanna ter Steege star in the story of three women who reunite 15 years after surviving Auschwitz. The film premiered in Locarno.City Drive Films has acquired Us rights to documentary The Mind Of Mark Defriest, about abuse suffered by the escape artist in the prison system. The film will open theatrically on March 6 and air on Showtime on March 19.
The film (pictured) comprises 15 chapters shot around the world. Cinema Guild negotiated the deal with Jem Cohen.
Breaking Glass Pictures has acquired North American rights from Le Pacte to Jean-Jacques Zilbermann’s French drama To Life (À La Vie) and has set a September theatrical release. Julie Depardieu, Suzanne Clément and Johanna ter Steege star in the story of three women who reunite 15 years after surviving Auschwitz. The film premiered in Locarno.City Drive Films has acquired Us rights to documentary The Mind Of Mark Defriest, about abuse suffered by the escape artist in the prison system. The film will open theatrically on March 6 and air on Showtime on March 19.
- 2/6/2015
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Breaking Glass Pictures has acquired North American distribution rights to Jean-Jaqcues Zilbermann's "To Life." Inspired by Zilbermann's own mother's friendships formed in the camps, "To Life" tells the story of three young Jewish women who survived the Holocaust together and have since gone their separate ways. An ad in a Yiddish newspaper reunites them for the first time 15 years later, and the film follows them through several warm (and cathartic) summer days in Berck Plage. "To Life" stars Julie Depardieu, Suzanne Clément and Johanna ter Steege. Of the acquisition, Breaking Glass CEO Rich Wolff said in a statement, "After screening 'To Life' this had to be our first acquisition at Berlin and we will ensure the film will be well represented in North America. With one third of the world in conflict we need to remember the past to preserve the future." Breaking Glass co-president Richard Ross added, "Audiences will be deeply.
- 2/6/2015
- by Rosie Narasaki
- Indiewire
Juliette Binoche - star of Olivier Assayas's Clouds of Sils Maria - and recipient of a career achievement award in Locarno
With special career achievement awards for stellar actresses Mia Farrow and Juliette Binoche and the veteran Armin Mueller-Stahl, as well as a line-up of such diverse talents as Dario Argento, Agnès Varda, Aleksandr Sokurov and Olivier Assayas, the Locarno Film Festival’s director Carlo Chatrian today (16 July) unveiled the cornucopia of delights in store for next month’s bumper 67th edition.
Other names figuring in the cast list include Luc Besson (for the opening film Lucy with Scarlett Johannson), cinematographer Garrett Brown and Spanish director Víctor Erice (both the subject of special focuses and workshop sessions), as well as American star Melanie Griffith, and French actress Julie Depardieu.
The vast 8000-seat Piazza Grande open air auditorium will see a host of international and world premieres among them Jean-Jacques Zilbermann...
With special career achievement awards for stellar actresses Mia Farrow and Juliette Binoche and the veteran Armin Mueller-Stahl, as well as a line-up of such diverse talents as Dario Argento, Agnès Varda, Aleksandr Sokurov and Olivier Assayas, the Locarno Film Festival’s director Carlo Chatrian today (16 July) unveiled the cornucopia of delights in store for next month’s bumper 67th edition.
Other names figuring in the cast list include Luc Besson (for the opening film Lucy with Scarlett Johannson), cinematographer Garrett Brown and Spanish director Víctor Erice (both the subject of special focuses and workshop sessions), as well as American star Melanie Griffith, and French actress Julie Depardieu.
The vast 8000-seat Piazza Grande open air auditorium will see a host of international and world premieres among them Jean-Jacques Zilbermann...
- 7/16/2014
- by Richard Mowe
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Gay erotic thriller Stranger by the Lake wins Queer Palm at Cannes Film Festival (photo: Pierre de Ladonchamps, Christophe Paou in Stranger by the Lake) Writer-director Alain Guiraudie’s Stranger by the Lake / L’inconnu du lac has won the 2013 Queer Palm handed out to Cannes Film Festival movies featuring gay, lesbian, bi, tri, multi, transgender, etc. characters. Stranger by the Lake was screened in the Un Certain Regard sidebar. Set near an idyllic lake where hot-and-heavy gay cruising takes place during the summer season, Guiraudie’s sexually charged thriller revolves around Franck (Pierre de Ladonchamps), a young man who falls in lust with brawny suspected murderer Michel (Christophe Paou). Strand Releasing will handle the distribution of Stranger by the Lake in North America. Stranger by the Lake: Mixing explicit sex with explicit love As quoted by Agence France Presse, Alain Guiraudie explained the (purportedly) graphic sex scenes in Stranger...
- 5/26/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Taylor Kitsch in Disney's John Carter Mars Movie Directed by Wall-e's Andrew Stanton, and starring Taylor Kitsch in the title role, Disney's $250 million-budgeted sci-fi/adventure John Carter opened on Wednesday in France. Though by far the biggest new release that day, John Carter sold a relatively modest 66,583 tickets at 505 sites according to Cbo-Box Office — placing it in the sixth slot among the year's top opening-day movies, smack between Clint Eastwood's J. Edgar, starring the internationally popular Leonardo DiCaprio, and the 3D adventure Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, which stars Josh Hutcherson, Dwayne Johnson, and Vanessa Hudgens. According to France Soir, John Carter doesn't have much time to continue its box-office dominance among the new releases in France. Opening next Wednesday is Florent-Emilio Siri's Cloclo, starring Jérémie Renier as '60s and '70s singing sensation Claude François and Benoît Magimel as François' manager, Paul Lederman. The biopic,...
- 3/9/2012
- by Zac Gille
- Alt Film Guide
Greed aka Possessions is a French language thriller being distributed by TF1 International. In the film, a young family travels to a remote cabin for a serene vacation. They were never heard from again. Now, their last moments will be documented in this film from director Eric Guirado. Possessions will premiere in Europe this March with a North American release unsecured. For now, have a look at the film's first poster with release details to come.
Release Date: 2012.
Director: Eric Guirado.
Producers: Thomas Anargyros and Edouard de Vésinne.
Cast: Jérémie Rénier, Julie Depardieu, Little Lili, Lucien Jean-Baptiste and Alexandra Lamy.
Source:
Possessions at TF1 Int.
| | |
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Release Date: 2012.
Director: Eric Guirado.
Producers: Thomas Anargyros and Edouard de Vésinne.
Cast: Jérémie Rénier, Julie Depardieu, Little Lili, Lucien Jean-Baptiste and Alexandra Lamy.
Source:
Possessions at TF1 Int.
| | |
Advertise Here - Contact me Michael Allen at 28Dla
Subscribe to 28 Days Later: An Analysis Email Subscription...
- 1/13/2012
- by noreply@blogger.com (Michael Allen)
- 28 Days Later Analysis
Greed. It's one of the seven deadly sins for a very good reason. It can consume you. Dictate your actions. Make you act out in very violent ways. In short ... we love sin! Especially sin that ends in bloodshed and carnage.
Below you'll find the first info, stills, and artwork for Eric Guirado's Greed starring Julie Depardieu, Jeremie Renier, Alexandra Lamy, and Lucien Jean-Baptiste.
Synopsis
Dreaming of a better life, Bruno and Maryline, 30, move to a small town nestled in the breathtaking French Alps. They are greeted by their landlord, Patrick, a successful real estate developer, and his beautiful wife, Gladys, a perfect homemaker. Because their home is not yet ready, Patrick puts them up in another house. But what begins as temporary housing soon turns into a series of moves from one place to the next until Bruno and his family end up in a hotel, still waiting for their home.
Below you'll find the first info, stills, and artwork for Eric Guirado's Greed starring Julie Depardieu, Jeremie Renier, Alexandra Lamy, and Lucien Jean-Baptiste.
Synopsis
Dreaming of a better life, Bruno and Maryline, 30, move to a small town nestled in the breathtaking French Alps. They are greeted by their landlord, Patrick, a successful real estate developer, and his beautiful wife, Gladys, a perfect homemaker. Because their home is not yet ready, Patrick puts them up in another house. But what begins as temporary housing soon turns into a series of moves from one place to the next until Bruno and his family end up in a hotel, still waiting for their home.
- 11/7/2011
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
First announced last Afm was the French psychological thriller from director Eric Guirdo (The Grocer's Son) entitled Greed. Said to be based on tragic events that made major headlines back in 2003, we got our hands on the official sales art and imagery for the flick starring Jérémie Renier (Brotherhood of the Wolf), Julie Depardieu , Alexandra Lamy, and Lucien Jean-Baptiste. "Bruno and Maryline are dreaming of a better life. The couple move to a small town nestled in the breathtaking French Alps where they are greeted by their landlord Patrick and his beautiful wife Gladys. Because their home is not yet ready, Patrick puts them up in another house - but what begins as temporary housing soon turns into a series of moves from one place to the next, until Bruno and his family end up in a hotel, still waiting for their home....."...
- 11/7/2011
- bloody-disgusting.com
I’m a pretty die-hard rom-com fan. You’ve Got Mail, Never Been Kissed, 27 Dresses, pretty much any movie Hugh Grant did after 1998, are all favorites. Something about laughing and crying at the same time wildly appeals to me, along with thousands of other twenty-something women.
I cannot, however, quite get my head around movies that throw drama into the mix (dromantic-comedies?). Melodrama (melodromantic-comedies? I just can't stop myself...), sure — afterall, what's any decent picture without a little over(re)acting?
Toi et Moi revolves around two sisters: one, Lena (Marion Cotillard), a somewhat timid but beautiful cellist; the other, Ariane, (Julie Depardieu), a somewhat beautiful but loony photo-novelist. Sadly I found myself better able to relate to Ariane, who lives in her head, entertaining wild fantasies (that often translate into her work) about her lackluster relationship with Farid (Tomer Sisley), and that of Lena and her kind of lame...
I cannot, however, quite get my head around movies that throw drama into the mix (dromantic-comedies?). Melodrama (melodromantic-comedies? I just can't stop myself...), sure — afterall, what's any decent picture without a little over(re)acting?
Toi et Moi revolves around two sisters: one, Lena (Marion Cotillard), a somewhat timid but beautiful cellist; the other, Ariane, (Julie Depardieu), a somewhat beautiful but loony photo-novelist. Sadly I found myself better able to relate to Ariane, who lives in her head, entertaining wild fantasies (that often translate into her work) about her lackluster relationship with Farid (Tomer Sisley), and that of Lena and her kind of lame...
- 12/1/2009
- by Jess Goodwin
- JustPressPlay.net
For those who have wished their love lives could be as romantic as what is found in fiction, Toi & Moi is the story of two sisters Ariane (Julie Depardieu) a writer in Paris dating a commitment-phobic businessman and her sister Lena (Marion Cotillard) a professional musician caught in a relationship with a perfectly nice but romantically uninspiring teacher. What happens when they try to make their lives more like Ariane.s stories is a colorful, funny and sometimes touching look at what constitutes real love and romance. Ariane writes stories for a magazine .Toi & Moi,. and these are a kind of graphic novel with a plot like a soap opera. In costumed photographic stills with her dialogue appearing...
- 12/1/2009
- by June L.
- Monsters and Critics
- The majority of his films don't find U.S distribution (perhaps his films are simply too "French") but audiences might remember him as the helmer of Le petit criminel, Ponette and most recently, Raja. Just by reading the plot outline, I think busy bee director Jacques Doillon might find a taker for Aux Quatre Vents (To the Four Winds). Counting on a stellar cast, written by Doillon, the film centres on a playwright (Pascal Greggory) who invites some actors to his secluded house to prepare a play. But the combined presence of his ex-wife (Julie Depardieu) and her lover (Louis Garrel), as well as the playwright’s assistant and mistress (Agathe Bonitzer), makes this a particularly turbulent day, in which romantic and creative rivalries become entangled. For some reason, I'm thinking of Ils se marièrent et eurent beaucoup d'enfants as I write this (probably because of the Birkin connection
- 7/7/2009
- IONCINEMA.com
Next week blogging will return to normal but this weekend I'm mostly offline. That's normally hard for me (My name is Nathaniel and I'm an internet addict) but this wedding weekend is such a blast that I haven't much though of movies... except for when we passed the Alamo Ritz earlier.
Before I left I took in my last Tribeca film, All About Actresses [Q & A] which is a French mockumentary about actresses and their neurosis. The actresses play themselves... but comedic false versions of themselves. The writer/director/star Maïwenn looked So familiar to me and I just couldn't place her. This is what IMDb is for. Turns out she played the diva Plavalaguna in The Fifth Element. Well, how about that? I always loved her scene in that movie. Her new film is... unusual... but despite my francophilia, I feel like more knowledge of French cinema would have definitely helped...
Before I left I took in my last Tribeca film, All About Actresses [Q & A] which is a French mockumentary about actresses and their neurosis. The actresses play themselves... but comedic false versions of themselves. The writer/director/star Maïwenn looked So familiar to me and I just couldn't place her. This is what IMDb is for. Turns out she played the diva Plavalaguna in The Fifth Element. Well, how about that? I always loved her scene in that movie. Her new film is... unusual... but despite my francophilia, I feel like more knowledge of French cinema would have definitely helped...
- 5/2/2009
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
I first saw veteran French director Claude Miller's "A Secret" at a film festival last year. I was underwhelmed. I saw it again a few weeks ago, and was more impressed, although still bothered by its shameless sentimentality.
Based on true events, it tells of secrets harbored by a French Jewish family torn asunder by sexual passion and the Holocaust.
The cast is first-rate, with pixie-haired Cécile de France - playing an athletic, head-turning mother - as the centerpiece.
She is backed by Patrick Bruel as her husband; Julie Depardieu (Gerard's sister...
Based on true events, it tells of secrets harbored by a French Jewish family torn asunder by sexual passion and the Holocaust.
The cast is first-rate, with pixie-haired Cécile de France - playing an athletic, head-turning mother - as the centerpiece.
She is backed by Patrick Bruel as her husband; Julie Depardieu (Gerard's sister...
- 9/5/2008
- by By V.A. MUSETTO
- NYPost.com
By Neil Pedley
This week's trip to the multiplex offers a jaunt around the globe where, amongst other things, there's a case of mistaken ethnicity in Boston, Nic Cage gets another wig fitted in Thailand, there's whimsy and surrealism in Scotland and Matthew McConaughey is right at home in Malibu, where he might finally have found something he does well, maybe.
"August Evening"
Strained emotional bonds and the transitory nature of the life of an illegal immigrant provide the backdrop for Chris Eska's quietly affecting family drama that stars Pedro Castaneda as an aging farmhand who loses his job at a chicken farm in a sleepy Texas town, forcing he and his devoted daughter-in-law (Veronica Loren) to relocate to San Antonio to stay with his older children and the grandchildren he never knew he had. As Alison Willmore pointed out in last week's Lunchbox, Castaneda is a first-time actor...
This week's trip to the multiplex offers a jaunt around the globe where, amongst other things, there's a case of mistaken ethnicity in Boston, Nic Cage gets another wig fitted in Thailand, there's whimsy and surrealism in Scotland and Matthew McConaughey is right at home in Malibu, where he might finally have found something he does well, maybe.
"August Evening"
Strained emotional bonds and the transitory nature of the life of an illegal immigrant provide the backdrop for Chris Eska's quietly affecting family drama that stars Pedro Castaneda as an aging farmhand who loses his job at a chicken farm in a sleepy Texas town, forcing he and his devoted daughter-in-law (Veronica Loren) to relocate to San Antonio to stay with his older children and the grandchildren he never knew he had. As Alison Willmore pointed out in last week's Lunchbox, Castaneda is a first-time actor...
- 9/1/2008
- by Neil Pedley
- ifc.com
Strand Releasing
One of Claude Miller's most personal films to date, A Secret also is among the strongest in a 40-year career that yielded the memorable 1981 crime drama Under Suspicion.
Adapted by Miller and Natalie Carter from the Philippe Grimbert autobiographical novel, this stirring period portrait of a French family harboring a dark past takes familiar subject matter and casts it in a provocative setting.
It also has in leads Cecile De France, Ludivine Sagnier and Julie Depardieu three of the today's top French actresses -- Depardieu won a Caesar Award for her supporting performance -- making it a smart U.S. acquisition for Strand Releasing. Secret recently screened at the City of Lights, City of Angels festival.
Set primarily during the 1950s, the film is seen through the eyes of Francois Grimbert, a gawky, introverted 14-year-old who has always felt like a disappointment to his gregarious, athletic father (Patrick Bruel) and beautiful, former swim champ mother (De France).
There turns out to be justification for his deep-seated feelings of inadequacy, as Francois uncovers uncomfortable truths about his parents' lives as a young Jewish couple living in France during the Occupation.
To reveal anything more wouldn't be fair to this intriguing study in guilt and forgiveness, and the personal choices made that would reverberate throughout subsequent generations.
Incorporating a beautifully shot, clever color schematic, Miller, himself a child of the Holocaust, shifts effortlessly between three distinct time periods, while the exceptionally cast performers (also including "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly's" Mathieu Amalric as the adult Francois) imbue their generously written roles with both a palpable passion and a heartbreaking vulnerability.
One of Claude Miller's most personal films to date, A Secret also is among the strongest in a 40-year career that yielded the memorable 1981 crime drama Under Suspicion.
Adapted by Miller and Natalie Carter from the Philippe Grimbert autobiographical novel, this stirring period portrait of a French family harboring a dark past takes familiar subject matter and casts it in a provocative setting.
It also has in leads Cecile De France, Ludivine Sagnier and Julie Depardieu three of the today's top French actresses -- Depardieu won a Caesar Award for her supporting performance -- making it a smart U.S. acquisition for Strand Releasing. Secret recently screened at the City of Lights, City of Angels festival.
Set primarily during the 1950s, the film is seen through the eyes of Francois Grimbert, a gawky, introverted 14-year-old who has always felt like a disappointment to his gregarious, athletic father (Patrick Bruel) and beautiful, former swim champ mother (De France).
There turns out to be justification for his deep-seated feelings of inadequacy, as Francois uncovers uncomfortable truths about his parents' lives as a young Jewish couple living in France during the Occupation.
To reveal anything more wouldn't be fair to this intriguing study in guilt and forgiveness, and the personal choices made that would reverberate throughout subsequent generations.
Incorporating a beautifully shot, clever color schematic, Miller, himself a child of the Holocaust, shifts effortlessly between three distinct time periods, while the exceptionally cast performers (also including "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly's" Mathieu Amalric as the adult Francois) imbue their generously written roles with both a palpable passion and a heartbreaking vulnerability.
- 4/22/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
PARIS -- Jean-Paul Salome's "Les Femmes de l'Ombre" (Female Agents) doesn't pretend to be much more than an old-fashioned action flick with a feminist slant. Unashamedly targeting popular audiences, the movie boasts high production values and packs sufficient star-power to appeal broadly in both home and foreign markets.
The pitch is an all-woman commando unit parachuted into occupied France in May 1944 to rescue a British agent captured while reconnoitering the terrain ahead of the Normandy landings. Resistance fighter Louise (Sophie Marceau) heads up a team that includes feisty prostitute Jeanne (Julie Depardieu), good-time cabaret artiste Suzy (Marie Gillain) and nervous explosives expert Gaelle (Deborah Francois), patriots one and all.
Linking up with radio operator Maria Maya Sansa) already in situ, they get the job done in double-quick time. Then they are charged by their London controllers with a follow-up mission to kill Karl Heindrich (Moritz Bleibtreu), head of German military intelligence, who they fear may have correctly deduced the location of the pending Allied landings. Louise's brother Pierre Julien Boisselier) is captured, as is Gaelle. The female agents launch an assassination attempt in a Metro station. It fails, and one of them is killed as a result.
There are torture scenes and seductions. Salome papers over the numerous gaps and implausibilities in the plot by keeping the action moving along at breakneck speed, leaving little time for reflection. The hardest part of the film, according to Salome, was "making it as realistic as possible while providing plenty of glamour." Glamour clearly won out over realism since the spectator is left to wonder at how the heroines remain so impeccably groomed and maintain such a well-stocked wardrobe, while on the run in penury-ridden Paris.
Louise is portrayed as wanting above all to raise a family, and each of the agents is given a defining human quality -- one her Catholic faith, another her desire to avenge her murdered Jewish parents, and so on. The characterization is perfunctory, however. Most of the stock figures from wartime resistance movies are present, with only Bleibtreu as the troubled but duty-bound German officer hinting at anything original.
Technically the movie is spot on with the reconstructions of occupied Paris a strong point. Salome directs with conviction and despite its simplicities -- or perhaps, in its depiction of an age when wars had a clear beginning and end, because of them -- these female agents is likely to carry audiences with it.
LES FEMME DE L'OMBRE
La Chauve-Souris, Restons Groupes Productions
Sales Agent: TF1 International
Credits:
Director: Jean-Paul Salome
Writers: Jean-Paul Salome, Laurent Vachaud
Director of photography: Pascal Ridao
Producer: Eric Neve
Executive producer: Nora Salhi
Production designer: Francois Dupertuis
Music: Bruno Coulais
Costume designer: Pierre-Jean Larroque
Editor: Marie-Pierre Renaud
Cast:
Louise Desfontaines: Sophie Marceau
Jeanne Faussier: Julie Depardieu
Suzy Desprez: Marie Gillain
Gaelle Lemenech: Deborah Francois
Karl Heindrich: Moritz Bleibreu
Maria Luzzato: Maya Sansa
Pierre Desfontaines: Julien Boisselier
Eddy: Vincent Rottiers
Lt. Becker: Volker Bruch
Melchior: Robin Renucci
Running time -- 118 minutes
No MPAA rating...
The pitch is an all-woman commando unit parachuted into occupied France in May 1944 to rescue a British agent captured while reconnoitering the terrain ahead of the Normandy landings. Resistance fighter Louise (Sophie Marceau) heads up a team that includes feisty prostitute Jeanne (Julie Depardieu), good-time cabaret artiste Suzy (Marie Gillain) and nervous explosives expert Gaelle (Deborah Francois), patriots one and all.
Linking up with radio operator Maria Maya Sansa) already in situ, they get the job done in double-quick time. Then they are charged by their London controllers with a follow-up mission to kill Karl Heindrich (Moritz Bleibtreu), head of German military intelligence, who they fear may have correctly deduced the location of the pending Allied landings. Louise's brother Pierre Julien Boisselier) is captured, as is Gaelle. The female agents launch an assassination attempt in a Metro station. It fails, and one of them is killed as a result.
There are torture scenes and seductions. Salome papers over the numerous gaps and implausibilities in the plot by keeping the action moving along at breakneck speed, leaving little time for reflection. The hardest part of the film, according to Salome, was "making it as realistic as possible while providing plenty of glamour." Glamour clearly won out over realism since the spectator is left to wonder at how the heroines remain so impeccably groomed and maintain such a well-stocked wardrobe, while on the run in penury-ridden Paris.
Louise is portrayed as wanting above all to raise a family, and each of the agents is given a defining human quality -- one her Catholic faith, another her desire to avenge her murdered Jewish parents, and so on. The characterization is perfunctory, however. Most of the stock figures from wartime resistance movies are present, with only Bleibtreu as the troubled but duty-bound German officer hinting at anything original.
Technically the movie is spot on with the reconstructions of occupied Paris a strong point. Salome directs with conviction and despite its simplicities -- or perhaps, in its depiction of an age when wars had a clear beginning and end, because of them -- these female agents is likely to carry audiences with it.
LES FEMME DE L'OMBRE
La Chauve-Souris, Restons Groupes Productions
Sales Agent: TF1 International
Credits:
Director: Jean-Paul Salome
Writers: Jean-Paul Salome, Laurent Vachaud
Director of photography: Pascal Ridao
Producer: Eric Neve
Executive producer: Nora Salhi
Production designer: Francois Dupertuis
Music: Bruno Coulais
Costume designer: Pierre-Jean Larroque
Editor: Marie-Pierre Renaud
Cast:
Louise Desfontaines: Sophie Marceau
Jeanne Faussier: Julie Depardieu
Suzy Desprez: Marie Gillain
Gaelle Lemenech: Deborah Francois
Karl Heindrich: Moritz Bleibreu
Maria Luzzato: Maya Sansa
Pierre Desfontaines: Julien Boisselier
Eddy: Vincent Rottiers
Lt. Becker: Volker Bruch
Melchior: Robin Renucci
Running time -- 118 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 3/17/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
PARIS -- After a successful visit to New York, French films will continue their world tour as Unifrance's third annual "Rendez-Vous with French Cinema in Japan" kicks off Thursday in Tokyo and Osaka, organizers said Monday.
Gallic actress-turned-director Sophie Marceau will preside over a festival that will feature 14 Gallic feature films, including Marceau's own "Trivial", Eric Rohmer's "The Romance of Astree and Celadon" and Claude Miller's "A Secret". Seven short films will complete the selection.
Unifrance also is planning a special retrospective devoted to French New Wave director Jacques Rivette. Bulle Ogier and Pascal Bonitzer will present Rivette works including "Mad Love", "The Gang of Four", "La Belle Noiseuse", "Celine and Julie Go Boating" and "Joan the Maiden".
French talent expected to make the trip across the globe include actors Patrick Bruel and Christopher Lambert, actresses Ludivine Sagnier and Julie Depardieu and directors Cedric Klapisch and Denis Dercourt, who will meet with Japanese press throughout the five-day event.
Gallic producers and international sales agents also plan to make the trip on their way to the Hong Kong Filmart, which begins the day after Unifrance's event wraps.
Gallic actress-turned-director Sophie Marceau will preside over a festival that will feature 14 Gallic feature films, including Marceau's own "Trivial", Eric Rohmer's "The Romance of Astree and Celadon" and Claude Miller's "A Secret". Seven short films will complete the selection.
Unifrance also is planning a special retrospective devoted to French New Wave director Jacques Rivette. Bulle Ogier and Pascal Bonitzer will present Rivette works including "Mad Love", "The Gang of Four", "La Belle Noiseuse", "Celine and Julie Go Boating" and "Joan the Maiden".
French talent expected to make the trip across the globe include actors Patrick Bruel and Christopher Lambert, actresses Ludivine Sagnier and Julie Depardieu and directors Cedric Klapisch and Denis Dercourt, who will meet with Japanese press throughout the five-day event.
Gallic producers and international sales agents also plan to make the trip on their way to the Hong Kong Filmart, which begins the day after Unifrance's event wraps.
- 3/11/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
PARIS -- Strand Releasing is closing in on U.S. distribution rights for Claude Miller's Cesar-nominated Holocaust drama "A Secret". The adaptation of Philippe Grimbert's best-selling novel was nominated for 11 Cesars this year, with Julie Depardieu taking the best supporting actress prize for her role in the film.
UGC International is handling global sales for "Secret", which was released in Gaul on Oct. 3 by UGC.
The film screened this week at Unifrance's 13th annual Rendez-Vous with French Cinema in New York over the weekend, with a slew of Gallic titles now set for stateside distribution including Eric Guirado's "The Grocer's Son" (Film Movement) and Richard McGuire's "Fear(s) of the Dark" (IFC).
The "Secret" screening drew a huge crowd, with more than 100 filmgoers turned away.
UGC International is handling global sales for "Secret", which was released in Gaul on Oct. 3 by UGC.
The film screened this week at Unifrance's 13th annual Rendez-Vous with French Cinema in New York over the weekend, with a slew of Gallic titles now set for stateside distribution including Eric Guirado's "The Grocer's Son" (Film Movement) and Richard McGuire's "Fear(s) of the Dark" (IFC).
The "Secret" screening drew a huge crowd, with more than 100 filmgoers turned away.
PARIS -- Olivier Dahan's Edith Piaf biopic "La Vie en Rose" was in tune Friday with Claude Miller's Holocaust drama "A Secret" as both films nabbed 11 nominations for France top film honors the Cesar Awards.
"Rose" and "Secret" will compete for the title of best French film of the year with Abdellatif Kechiche's immigrant drama "The Secret of the Grain", Marjan Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud's animated hit "Persepolis" and Julian Schnabel's "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," which dove into the nominee pool with a total of seven nods.
"Butterfly" star Mathieu Amalric was nominated for best actor for his role as paralyzed Elle editor Dominique Bauby. Amalric will vie against Gallic cinema veterans Michel Blanc (Andre Techine's "The Witnesses"), Vincent Lindon Anne Le Ny's "Those Who Remain"), Jean-Pierre Darroussin (Jean Becker's "Conversations with my Gardener") and Jean-Pierre Marielle (Noemie Lvovsky's "Let's Dance!").
Marion Cotillard, fresh from her Golden Globe win and Oscar nomination will compete for the best actress title in her home country alongside "Secret" star Cecile de France, Isabelle Carre (Michel Spinoza's "Anna M".), Marina Fois (Christine Carriere's "Darling") and Catherine Frot ("Odette Toulemonde").
Dahan, Miller, Schnabel, Kechiche and Techine will vie for the best director prize.
Dahan's "Rose" was selected in the best original screenplay category alongside Kechiche's "The Secret of the Grain", Julie Delpy's cross-cultural comedy "2 Days in Paris", Anne Le Ny's "Those Who Remain" and Laurent Tirard and Gregoire Vigneron's "Moliere" while "Secret", "Butterfly", "Persepolis" and "Darling" will compete with Claude Berri's "Hunting and Gathering" in the best adaptation category.
"Secret"'s Julie Depardieu and Ludivine Sagnier will contend for the best supporting actress prize with Noemie Lvovsky (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi's "Actresses"), Bulle Ogier (Lvovsky's "Let's Dance!") and Sylvie Testud for her performance in "Rose".
The nominees for best supporting actor are Sami Bouajila ("The Witnesses"), Pascal Greggory ("La Vie en Rose"), Michael Lonsdale ("The Human Question"), Fabrice Luchini ("Moliere") and Laurent Stocker ("Hunting and Gathering").
Stocker received a parallel nom in the most promising male newcomer category. Joining him for the race for the young talent discovery award are Nicolas Cazale (Eric Guirado's "The Grocer's Son"), Gregoire Leprince-Ringuet (Christophe Honore's "Love Songs"), Jonathan Libereau ("The Witnesses") and Jocelyn Quivrin (Jan Koenen's "99 Francs").
Young actresses Louise Blachere and Adele Haenel, stars of Celine Sciamma's adolescent angst story "Water Lilies", will vie for the most promising female newcomer award with Clotilde Hesme ("Love Songs"), Lumiere prize winner Hafsia Herzi ("The Secret of the Grain") and Audrey Dana (Claude Lelouch's "Crossed Tracks").
Christian Mungiu's Palm d'Or winner at last year's Festival de Cannes "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days", Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's "The Lives of Others", Fatih Akin's "On the Other Side", David Cronenberg's "Eastern Promises" and James Gray's "We Own the Night" will compete for best foreign-language film.
"Rose" and "Secret" will compete for the title of best French film of the year with Abdellatif Kechiche's immigrant drama "The Secret of the Grain", Marjan Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud's animated hit "Persepolis" and Julian Schnabel's "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," which dove into the nominee pool with a total of seven nods.
"Butterfly" star Mathieu Amalric was nominated for best actor for his role as paralyzed Elle editor Dominique Bauby. Amalric will vie against Gallic cinema veterans Michel Blanc (Andre Techine's "The Witnesses"), Vincent Lindon Anne Le Ny's "Those Who Remain"), Jean-Pierre Darroussin (Jean Becker's "Conversations with my Gardener") and Jean-Pierre Marielle (Noemie Lvovsky's "Let's Dance!").
Marion Cotillard, fresh from her Golden Globe win and Oscar nomination will compete for the best actress title in her home country alongside "Secret" star Cecile de France, Isabelle Carre (Michel Spinoza's "Anna M".), Marina Fois (Christine Carriere's "Darling") and Catherine Frot ("Odette Toulemonde").
Dahan, Miller, Schnabel, Kechiche and Techine will vie for the best director prize.
Dahan's "Rose" was selected in the best original screenplay category alongside Kechiche's "The Secret of the Grain", Julie Delpy's cross-cultural comedy "2 Days in Paris", Anne Le Ny's "Those Who Remain" and Laurent Tirard and Gregoire Vigneron's "Moliere" while "Secret", "Butterfly", "Persepolis" and "Darling" will compete with Claude Berri's "Hunting and Gathering" in the best adaptation category.
"Secret"'s Julie Depardieu and Ludivine Sagnier will contend for the best supporting actress prize with Noemie Lvovsky (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi's "Actresses"), Bulle Ogier (Lvovsky's "Let's Dance!") and Sylvie Testud for her performance in "Rose".
The nominees for best supporting actor are Sami Bouajila ("The Witnesses"), Pascal Greggory ("La Vie en Rose"), Michael Lonsdale ("The Human Question"), Fabrice Luchini ("Moliere") and Laurent Stocker ("Hunting and Gathering").
Stocker received a parallel nom in the most promising male newcomer category. Joining him for the race for the young talent discovery award are Nicolas Cazale (Eric Guirado's "The Grocer's Son"), Gregoire Leprince-Ringuet (Christophe Honore's "Love Songs"), Jonathan Libereau ("The Witnesses") and Jocelyn Quivrin (Jan Koenen's "99 Francs").
Young actresses Louise Blachere and Adele Haenel, stars of Celine Sciamma's adolescent angst story "Water Lilies", will vie for the most promising female newcomer award with Clotilde Hesme ("Love Songs"), Lumiere prize winner Hafsia Herzi ("The Secret of the Grain") and Audrey Dana (Claude Lelouch's "Crossed Tracks").
Christian Mungiu's Palm d'Or winner at last year's Festival de Cannes "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days", Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's "The Lives of Others", Fatih Akin's "On the Other Side", David Cronenberg's "Eastern Promises" and James Gray's "We Own the Night" will compete for best foreign-language film.
- 1/26/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
PARIS -- Olivier Dahan's Edith Piaf biopic "La Vie en Rose" was in tune with Claude Miller's Holocaust drama "A Secret" on Friday as both films nabbed 11 nominations for France's top film honors, the Cesar Awards.
"Rose" and "Secret" will compete for the title of French film of the year with Abdellatif Kechiche's immigrant drama "The Secret of the Grain", Marjan Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud's animated hit "Persepolis" and Julian Schnabel's "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," which dove into the nominee pool with a total of seven nods.
"Butterfly" star Mathieu Amalric was nominated for best actor for his role as paralyzed Elle editor Dominique Bauby. Amalric will vie against Gallic cinema veterans Michel Blanc (Andre Techine's "The Witnesses"), Vincent Lindon Anne Le Ny's "Those Who Remain"), Jean-Pierre Darroussin (Jean Becker's "Conversations with my Gardener") and Jean-Pierre Marielle (Noemie Lvovsky's "Let's Dance!").
Marion Cotillard, fresh from her Golden Globe win and Oscar nomination, will compete for the best actress title alongside "Secret" star Cecile de France, Isabelle Carre (Michel Spinoza's "Anna M".), Marina Fois (Christine Carriere's "Darling") and Catherine Frot ("Odette Toulemonde").
Dahan, Miller, Schnabel, Kechiche and Techine will vie for the best director prize.
Dahan's "Rose" was selected in the best original screenplay category alongside Kechiche's "The Secret of the Grain", Julie Delpy's cross-cultural comedy "2 Days in Paris", Anne Le Ny's "Those Who Remain" and Laurent Tirard and Gregoire Vigneron's "Moliere"; while "Secret", "Butterfly", "Persepolis" and "Darling" will compete with Claude Berri's "Hunting and Gathering" in the best adaptation category.
"Secret"'s Julie Depardieu and Ludivine Sagnier will contend for the supporting actress prize with Noemie Lvovsky (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi's "Actresses"), Bulle Ogier (Lvovsky's "Let's Dance!") and Sylvie Testud ("Rose").
The nominees for best supporting actor are Sami Bouajila ("The Witnesses"), Pascal Greggory ("La Vie en Rose"), Michael Lonsdale ("The Human Question"), Fabrice Luchini ("Moliere") and Laurent Stocker ("Hunting and Gathering").
Christian Mungiu's Palm d'Or winner at last year's Festival de Cannes "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days", Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's "The Lives of Others", Fatih Akin's "On the Other Side", David Cronenberg's "Eastern Promises" and James Gray's "We Own the Night" will compete for best foreign-language film.
"Rose" and "Secret" will compete for the title of French film of the year with Abdellatif Kechiche's immigrant drama "The Secret of the Grain", Marjan Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud's animated hit "Persepolis" and Julian Schnabel's "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," which dove into the nominee pool with a total of seven nods.
"Butterfly" star Mathieu Amalric was nominated for best actor for his role as paralyzed Elle editor Dominique Bauby. Amalric will vie against Gallic cinema veterans Michel Blanc (Andre Techine's "The Witnesses"), Vincent Lindon Anne Le Ny's "Those Who Remain"), Jean-Pierre Darroussin (Jean Becker's "Conversations with my Gardener") and Jean-Pierre Marielle (Noemie Lvovsky's "Let's Dance!").
Marion Cotillard, fresh from her Golden Globe win and Oscar nomination, will compete for the best actress title alongside "Secret" star Cecile de France, Isabelle Carre (Michel Spinoza's "Anna M".), Marina Fois (Christine Carriere's "Darling") and Catherine Frot ("Odette Toulemonde").
Dahan, Miller, Schnabel, Kechiche and Techine will vie for the best director prize.
Dahan's "Rose" was selected in the best original screenplay category alongside Kechiche's "The Secret of the Grain", Julie Delpy's cross-cultural comedy "2 Days in Paris", Anne Le Ny's "Those Who Remain" and Laurent Tirard and Gregoire Vigneron's "Moliere"; while "Secret", "Butterfly", "Persepolis" and "Darling" will compete with Claude Berri's "Hunting and Gathering" in the best adaptation category.
"Secret"'s Julie Depardieu and Ludivine Sagnier will contend for the supporting actress prize with Noemie Lvovsky (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi's "Actresses"), Bulle Ogier (Lvovsky's "Let's Dance!") and Sylvie Testud ("Rose").
The nominees for best supporting actor are Sami Bouajila ("The Witnesses"), Pascal Greggory ("La Vie en Rose"), Michael Lonsdale ("The Human Question"), Fabrice Luchini ("Moliere") and Laurent Stocker ("Hunting and Gathering").
Christian Mungiu's Palm d'Or winner at last year's Festival de Cannes "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days", Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's "The Lives of Others", Fatih Akin's "On the Other Side", David Cronenberg's "Eastern Promises" and James Gray's "We Own the Night" will compete for best foreign-language film.
- 1/25/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This review was written for the festival screening of "Blame It on Fidel" (La Faute a Fidel).PARK CITY -- Documentary filmmaker Julie Gavras has made a successful transition into narratives with the remarkably assured, thoroughly delightful "Blame It on Fidel" (La Faute a Fidel).
Adapted with considerable grace and style from an Italian novel by Domitilla Calamai, Gavras has reset the story of social unrest as seen through the eyes of a young girl in France circa 1970.
The beautifully observed, terrifically acted production, screened as part of the expanded dramatic World Cinema Competition at Sundance, where it was met with an enthusiastic audience response, should have no trouble charming a suitable American distributor. It opened in France late last year.
When we first meet the fiercely logical Anna (splendidly performed by Nina Kervel), the 10-year-old has been living an orderly, comfortable middle-class existence with her French journalist mother, Marie (Julie Depardieu), and Spanish attorney father, Fernando (Stefano Accorsi).
But her structured, bourgeois lifestyle is about to undergo a serious upheaval when her parents turn into radical political activists after Fernando's sister and daughter arrive from Spain to live with them following the arrest of her anti-Franco husband.
The visit has triggered guilty feelings of familial neglect in her father, and after her parents return from an extended trip to Chile, Anna is thrust kicking and screaming into a daunting new world while her Little Brother Francois resiliently embraces the new developments.
Suddenly, Anna's former spacious home with a garden is replaced by a cramped apartment where women being interviewed for her mother's book on women's abortion issues and strange, scruffy young men come and go all hours of the day and night. Her beloved Castro-bashing Cuban nanny has been replaced by a succession of refugees who cook weird food, and she's forced to sit out her Catholic school's Divinity classes.
Through it all, Anna's constantly questioning, big brown eyes speak volumes as writer-director Gavras -- who comes by her political interests naturally as the daughter of famed filmmaker Costa-Gavras -- adroitly adds in witty dollops of irony to go along with all the conflicting ideologies.
Things come to a visually stirring turning point during a powerful sequence in which Anna is brought along on a protest with her parents and riot police turn back the crowds with tear gas.
The look on the girl's face, simultaneously registering fear, confusion and a strange, wise-beyond-her-years comprehension as she's enveloped in a suffocating gray haze, is a testament to young Kervel's exceptional portrayal (watch out, Dakota Fanning!), Gavras' never-heavy touch and cinematographer Nathalie Durand's artfully thoughtful compositions.
BLAME IT ON FIDEL
Gaumont
A Gaumont presentation in association with Les Films du Worso
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Julie Gavras
Producers: Sylvie Pialat, Matthieu Bompoint
Director of photography: Nathlie Durand
Art director: Laurent Deroo
Editor: Pauline Dairou
Costume designer: Annie Thiellement
Cast:
Marie: Julie Depardieu
Fernando: Stefano Accorsi
Anna: Nina Kervel
Francois: Benjamin Feuillet
Grandpa: Olivier Perrier
Granny: Martine Chevallier
Running time -- 110 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Adapted with considerable grace and style from an Italian novel by Domitilla Calamai, Gavras has reset the story of social unrest as seen through the eyes of a young girl in France circa 1970.
The beautifully observed, terrifically acted production, screened as part of the expanded dramatic World Cinema Competition at Sundance, where it was met with an enthusiastic audience response, should have no trouble charming a suitable American distributor. It opened in France late last year.
When we first meet the fiercely logical Anna (splendidly performed by Nina Kervel), the 10-year-old has been living an orderly, comfortable middle-class existence with her French journalist mother, Marie (Julie Depardieu), and Spanish attorney father, Fernando (Stefano Accorsi).
But her structured, bourgeois lifestyle is about to undergo a serious upheaval when her parents turn into radical political activists after Fernando's sister and daughter arrive from Spain to live with them following the arrest of her anti-Franco husband.
The visit has triggered guilty feelings of familial neglect in her father, and after her parents return from an extended trip to Chile, Anna is thrust kicking and screaming into a daunting new world while her Little Brother Francois resiliently embraces the new developments.
Suddenly, Anna's former spacious home with a garden is replaced by a cramped apartment where women being interviewed for her mother's book on women's abortion issues and strange, scruffy young men come and go all hours of the day and night. Her beloved Castro-bashing Cuban nanny has been replaced by a succession of refugees who cook weird food, and she's forced to sit out her Catholic school's Divinity classes.
Through it all, Anna's constantly questioning, big brown eyes speak volumes as writer-director Gavras -- who comes by her political interests naturally as the daughter of famed filmmaker Costa-Gavras -- adroitly adds in witty dollops of irony to go along with all the conflicting ideologies.
Things come to a visually stirring turning point during a powerful sequence in which Anna is brought along on a protest with her parents and riot police turn back the crowds with tear gas.
The look on the girl's face, simultaneously registering fear, confusion and a strange, wise-beyond-her-years comprehension as she's enveloped in a suffocating gray haze, is a testament to young Kervel's exceptional portrayal (watch out, Dakota Fanning!), Gavras' never-heavy touch and cinematographer Nathalie Durand's artfully thoughtful compositions.
BLAME IT ON FIDEL
Gaumont
A Gaumont presentation in association with Les Films du Worso
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Julie Gavras
Producers: Sylvie Pialat, Matthieu Bompoint
Director of photography: Nathlie Durand
Art director: Laurent Deroo
Editor: Pauline Dairou
Costume designer: Annie Thiellement
Cast:
Marie: Julie Depardieu
Fernando: Stefano Accorsi
Anna: Nina Kervel
Francois: Benjamin Feuillet
Grandpa: Olivier Perrier
Granny: Martine Chevallier
Running time -- 110 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 1/31/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
PARK CITY -- Documentary filmmaker Julie Gavras has made a successful transition into narratives with the remarkably assured, thoroughly delightful "Blame It on Fidel" (La Faute a Fidel).
Adapted with considerable grace and style from an Italian novel by Domitilla Calamai, Gavras has reset the story of social unrest as seen through the eyes of a young girl in France circa 1970.
The beautifully observed, terrifically acted production, screened as part of the expanded dramatic World Cinema Competition at Sundance, where it was met with an enthusiastic audience response, should have no trouble charming a suitable American distributor. It opened in France late last year.
When we first meet the fiercely logical Anna (splendidly performed by Nina Kervel), the 10-year-old has been living an orderly, comfortable middle-class existence with her French journalist mother, Marie (Julie Depardieu), and Spanish attorney father, Fernando (Stefano Accorsi).
But her structured, bourgeois lifestyle is about to undergo a serious upheaval when her parents turn into radical political activists after Fernando's sister and daughter arrive from Spain to live with them following the arrest of her anti-Franco husband.
The visit has triggered guilty feelings of familial neglect in her father, and after her parents return from an extended trip to Chile, Anna is thrust kicking and screaming into a daunting new world while her Little Brother Francois resiliently embraces the new developments.
Suddenly, Anna's former spacious home with a garden is replaced by a cramped apartment where women being interviewed for her mother's book on women's abortion issues and strange, scruffy young men come and go all hours of the day and night. Her beloved Castro-bashing Cuban nanny has been replaced by a succession of refugees who cook weird food, and she's forced to sit out her Catholic school's Divinity classes.
Through it all, Anna's constantly questioning, big brown eyes speak volumes as writer-director Gavras -- who comes by her political interests naturally as the daughter of famed filmmaker Costa-Gavras -- adroitly adds in witty dollops of irony to go along with all the conflicting ideologies.
Things come to a visually stirring turning point during a powerful sequence in which Anna is brought along on a protest with her parents and riot police turn back the crowds with tear gas.
The look on the girl's face, simultaneously registering fear, confusion and a strange, wise-beyond-her-years comprehension as she's enveloped in a suffocating gray haze, is a testament to young Kervel's exceptional portrayal (watch out, Dakota Fanning!), Gavras' never-heavy touch and cinematographer Nathalie Durand's artfully thoughtful compositions.
BLAME IT ON FIDEL
Gaumont
A Gaumont presentation in association with Les Films du Worso
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Julie Gavras
Producers: Sylvie Pialat, Matthieu Bompoint
Director of photography: Nathlie Durand
Art director: Laurent Deroo
Editor: Pauline Dairou
Costume designer: Annie Thiellement
Cast:
Marie: Julie Depardieu
Fernando: Stefano Accorsi
Anna: Nina Kervel
Francois: Benjamin Feuillet
Grandpa: Olivier Perrier
Granny: Martine Chevallier
Running time -- 110 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Adapted with considerable grace and style from an Italian novel by Domitilla Calamai, Gavras has reset the story of social unrest as seen through the eyes of a young girl in France circa 1970.
The beautifully observed, terrifically acted production, screened as part of the expanded dramatic World Cinema Competition at Sundance, where it was met with an enthusiastic audience response, should have no trouble charming a suitable American distributor. It opened in France late last year.
When we first meet the fiercely logical Anna (splendidly performed by Nina Kervel), the 10-year-old has been living an orderly, comfortable middle-class existence with her French journalist mother, Marie (Julie Depardieu), and Spanish attorney father, Fernando (Stefano Accorsi).
But her structured, bourgeois lifestyle is about to undergo a serious upheaval when her parents turn into radical political activists after Fernando's sister and daughter arrive from Spain to live with them following the arrest of her anti-Franco husband.
The visit has triggered guilty feelings of familial neglect in her father, and after her parents return from an extended trip to Chile, Anna is thrust kicking and screaming into a daunting new world while her Little Brother Francois resiliently embraces the new developments.
Suddenly, Anna's former spacious home with a garden is replaced by a cramped apartment where women being interviewed for her mother's book on women's abortion issues and strange, scruffy young men come and go all hours of the day and night. Her beloved Castro-bashing Cuban nanny has been replaced by a succession of refugees who cook weird food, and she's forced to sit out her Catholic school's Divinity classes.
Through it all, Anna's constantly questioning, big brown eyes speak volumes as writer-director Gavras -- who comes by her political interests naturally as the daughter of famed filmmaker Costa-Gavras -- adroitly adds in witty dollops of irony to go along with all the conflicting ideologies.
Things come to a visually stirring turning point during a powerful sequence in which Anna is brought along on a protest with her parents and riot police turn back the crowds with tear gas.
The look on the girl's face, simultaneously registering fear, confusion and a strange, wise-beyond-her-years comprehension as she's enveloped in a suffocating gray haze, is a testament to young Kervel's exceptional portrayal (watch out, Dakota Fanning!), Gavras' never-heavy touch and cinematographer Nathalie Durand's artfully thoughtful compositions.
BLAME IT ON FIDEL
Gaumont
A Gaumont presentation in association with Les Films du Worso
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Julie Gavras
Producers: Sylvie Pialat, Matthieu Bompoint
Director of photography: Nathlie Durand
Art director: Laurent Deroo
Editor: Pauline Dairou
Costume designer: Annie Thiellement
Cast:
Marie: Julie Depardieu
Fernando: Stefano Accorsi
Anna: Nina Kervel
Francois: Benjamin Feuillet
Grandpa: Olivier Perrier
Granny: Martine Chevallier
Running time -- 110 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 1/31/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
OTTAWA -- Swedish director Jan Troell and Polish director Andrzej Zulawski were named as co-presidents of the international jury of the 27th Montreal World Film Festival, fest president Serge Losique said Thursday. Troell is best known outside of Sweden for The Emigrants (1972), and The New Land. "Possession is the most well known film by Zulawski, who has made a name for himself with the European art-house audiences. Other members of the seven-member jury are French actress Julie Depardieu, Quebec producer Rock Demers, Spanish historian and film critic Luis Gasca, Screen International editor Mike Goodridge and Italian filmmaker Alessandro D'Altari.
PARIS -- French director Claude Miller will begin shooting next week on "La petite Lili" (Little Lili), a contemporary adaptation of Anton Chekov's "The Seagull," the film's publicist said Tuesday. Produced by the director's wife, Annie Miller, through their company Les Films de la Boissiere, the screenplay was written by Claude Miller and Julien Boivent. The seven-week shoot will start on an island off Brittany before moving to Paris and into studios. The movie is being shot using HD digital cameras. "Lili" stars Ludivine Sagnier ("Huit femmes") and Robinson Stevenin, who won this year's Cesar Award for best male newcomer for his role in "Mauvais Genre" (Bad Company). Nicole Garcia ("L'Adversaire"), Bernard Giraudeau, Julie Depardieu and Michel Piccoli co-star.
- 8/28/2002
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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