09/12/2011

Screening in competition, Cédric Kahn’s A Better Life will tomorrow open the 3rd Les Arcs European Film Festival, which has quickly established itself in the panorama of international events, as much for its artistic quality (with a programme put together by Frédéric Boyer) as for its industry section.

Twelve titles will vie for the Crystal Arrow 2011, which will be awarded in the Alps resort by a jury headed by Italian director Michele Placido. Other contenders include two entries for the 2012 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar (Gypsy [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Slovakia’s Marin Sulik and Bullhead [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bart Van Langendonck
interview: Michaël R. Roskam
film profile] by Belgium’s Michael R. Roskam); Extraterrestrial [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nacho Vigalondo
film profile] by Spain’s Nacho Vigalondo; Ian Fitzgibbon’s German/Irish co-production Death of a Superhero [+see also:
trailer
film profile]; The Mill and the Cross [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
interview: Lech Majewski
film profile] by Poland’s Lech Majewski; Jens Lien’s Sons of Norway [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]; Italian director Emanuele Crialese’s Venice prize-winner Terraferma [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Emanuele Crialese
interview: Emanuele Crialese
film profile]; Belgian helmer Christophe Van Rompaey’s Dutch production Lena [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]; Dreileben - One Minute of Darkness by Germany’s Christoph Hochhäusler; and Nick Broomfield and Joan Churchill’s UK documentary Sarah Palin: You Betcha!.

Highlights among the avant-premieres include Eric Guirado’s Possessions (see news); David and Stéphane Foenkinos’s Delicacy [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (see news); Frédéric Beigbeder’s Love Lasts Three Years [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (see news); Rodrigo Garcia’s UK production Albert Nobbs [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]; Malgoska Szumowska’s Polish/French/German co-production Elles [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Malgorzata Sumowska
film profile] (see news); and John Michael McDonagh’s The Guard.

There will also be an Italy Focus with 11 films in the line-up and a Panorama of seven European features, including among others Nokas [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Norway’s Erik Skjoldbjærg , Kaat Beels’s Belgian title Hotel Swooni and Crebinsky [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Spain’s Enrique Otero.

Among the professional events, 22 projects will take part in the Co-production Village (December 11-13 – see news) and a Work In Progress will be organised for the first time with seven features in post-production in search of distributors and sellers (including forthcoming films by Baltasar Kormakur, Daniele Cipri and Szabolcs Hajdu). The festival will also host some conferences (in partnership with Europa Distribution and the European Producers Club), in particular on the new MEDIA Programme and the distribution of Italian films in Europe.

Finally, from December 14-17, the 11 French distributors belonging to DIRE (United European Independent Distributors) will present, before 100 exhibitors, a film from their 2012 line-ups, including Konstantin Bojanov’s Avé ; Jacques Maillot’s Blood From A Stone (see news); Yves Caumon’s The Bird; Rolando Colla’s Summer Games; Christine François’s The Secret of the Ant Children (see news); Viva Riva by Djo Tunda Wa Munga (see interview); and Joachim Trier’s Oslo, August 31st [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Joachim Trier
film profile].

(Translated from French)