08/01/2014 - The French filmmaker signs a German film distributed by Jour2Fête. Also in theatres Philomena and Yves Saint Laurent

Living in Berlin since 2010, French director Denis Dercourt pursues in Germany a trajectory outside of the boundaries of French cinema, which has not kept him from being selected twice for the Certain Regard in Cannes (The Page Turner [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Denis Dercourt
interview: Michel Saint-Jean
film profile] in 2006 and Tomorrow at Dawn [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Denis Dercourt
film profile] in 2009). He now returns with A Pact [+see also:
trailer
film profile], a delegate production by German outfit Busse & Halberschmidt, coproduced by Parisian companies Mact Productions and Cité Films, and launched today in French theatres on 15 screens by Jour2Fête.

Filmed entirely in Germany and in German with Mark Waschke, Marie Bäumer, Sylvester Groth et Sophie Rois in the cast, this “real-fake” thriller plays with recent history and the favourite themes of German tales: fear, guilt, devils and destiny... Starting at the beginning of the 80’s with a pact between two young “friends” in East Germany, the screenplay (written by Denis Dercourt) quickly moves on to our time with a manipulative game based on reflections between past and present, reality and fantasy, truth and lies... The story sometimes flirts with the limits of credibility in a strange atmosphere emphasized by the expressionist acting of the actors and highlighted by the musical art of the director (who is also a viola professor in a music school): “the story progresses according to the rules of rhythm, where a tense moment is resolved in a relaxed one, itself followed by an element of tension which will bring on the next episode, etc... To this is added the constant search for a counterpoint, which enables the emergence of storylines that were nearly forgotten, and which return unexpectedly.”

Also on screens this Wednesday, Yves Saint Laurent [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jalil Lespert
film profile] by Jalil Lespert (which will open the Panorama section of the next Berlinale - SND), The Sinkholes [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Antoine Barraud (discovered in 2012 in Locarno in the Filmmakers of the Present section, with Mathieu Amalric, Natalie Boutefeu and Marta Hoskins in the cast - Independencia Distribution), the Franco-Portuguese co-production Cadences obstinées [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Fanny Ardant (interview - Alfama Films) and the documentary A ciel ouvert by Marina Otero (Happiness Distribution).

As for non-national European cinema, Philomena [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Stephen Frears
film profile] by British director Stephen Frears (Best Screenplay in Venice and nominated for the Golden Globes in the Best Drama, Best Actress and Best Screenplay categories - distribution Pathé) stands out, as well as Witching & Bitching [+see also:
trailer
interview: Alex de la Iglesia
film profile] by Spanish director Alex de la Iglesia (interview - Rezo Films).

(Translated from French)