18/07/2013 - Gare du Nord by Claire Simon, Une autre vie by Emmanuel Mouret and Tonnerre by Guillaume Brac in competition for the Golden Leopard

On track with an excellent 2013 production already showcased in Cannes, French films will be massively present at the 66th Locarno Film Festival (from August 7th to 17th). In the international competition, out of the 20 candidates for the Golden Leopard, four films of French initiative stand out with Une autre vie [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Emmanuel Mouret (photo - article - production Moby Dick Films – sales Kinology), Tonnerre [+see also:
film review
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interview: Guillaume Brac
film profile] by Guillaume Brac (article - production Rectangle – sales Wild Bunch) and two Films d’Ici productions (also handling the international sales): Gare du Nord by Claire Simon (news) and the documentary Pays barbare by duo Yervant Gianikian - Angela Ricci Lucchi.

Five minority coproductions are also competing with When Evening Falls on Bucharest or Metabolism by Romanian director Corneliu Porumboiu (coproduction Les Films du Worso – sales Wild Bunch), Historia by La Meva Mort [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Albert Serra
film profile] by Spanish director Albert Serra (article – coproduced and sold by Capricci Films), The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Belgian duo Hélène Cattet - Bruno Forzani (coproduction Tobina films - sales Bac Films), Mary, Queen of Scots by Swiss director Thomas Imbach (coproduction Sciapode and Arte) and El mudo by Peruvian directors Daniel and Diego Vega (coproduction and sales Urban Distribution International). It is also worth mentioning that Memento Films International is selling the American title Short Term 12 by Destin Cretton whilst Rezo will be negotiating for Backwater by Japanese director Shinji Aoyama.

In the Filmmakers of the Present section, Le sens by l’humour stands out by Marilyne Canto (article - production Christmas in July – sales Films Distribution), as well as Mouton by duo Gilles Deroo - Marianne Pistone (article - Boule by suif production), the Franco-Swiss coproduction L’harmonie by Blaise Harrison (production Les Films du Poisson – sales Doc & Film) and The Ugly One by Eric Baudelaire (production Poulet-Malassis, coproduced by Lebanon and Japan), as well as Buqələmun by duo Elvin Adigozel - Ru Hasanov (produced by Azerbaijan with Russia and France via Arizona Productions, which also handles the international sales).

As for the Piazza Grande screening, the documentary Sur le chemin de l’école by Pascal Plisson stands out (which will close the festival – production Winds – sales Wild Bunch) and Wrong Cops by Quentin Dupieux (article - production Realitism Films – sales Le Pacte), as well as two minority French coproductions by Films Pelléas with Switzerland: Les grandes ondes by Lionel Baier and L’expérience Blocher by Jean-Stéphane Bron.

It is also worth noting out of competition Que d’amour by Valérie Donzelli (production ARTE France, La Comédie Française and Maïa Cinema) who will be part of the jury of the international competition, and three documentaries: Géographie humaine by Claire Simon, the Franco-Italian coproduction La passione di Erto by Penelope Bortoluzzi and the Franco-Estonian title A Spell To Ward Off The Darkness by Ben Rivers and Ben Russell. Finally, Margaret Ménégoz (Les Films du Losange) will receive the Raimondo Rezzonico Prize for Best Independent Producer.  

(Translated from French)