26/08/2014 - With 13 majority and 11 minority productions in the various selections at Venice, French film production will be making a grand entrance

The 71st Venice Film Festival, which kicks off tomorrow, Wednesday 27 August, will have a very strong French imprint left upon it. Out of the 20 titles duking it out for the Golden Lion, French film production has no fewer than eight hopefuls lined up: five majority and three minority productions. Films in the running (see the news) include the Franco-Swiss-Belgian co-production La rançon de la gloire [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Xavier Beauvois
film profile] by Xavier Beauvois (see the article - Why Not Productions), the Franco-German-Belgian feature 3 Hearts [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Benoît Jacquot
film profile] by Benoît Jacquot (see the article - Rectangle Productions), Le dernier coup de marteau [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Alix Delaporte (read the article - Lionceau Films), Loin des hommes [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by David Oelhoffen (read the article - One World Films) and the Franco-Italian-Belgian co-production Pasolini [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Abel Ferrara
film profile] by Abel Ferrara (Capricci Films). To these we must add the minority productions The Cut [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fatih Akin
interview: Tahar Rahim
film profile] by German director Fatih Akin (co-produced by Pyramide Productions), Black Souls [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Francesco Munzi
film profile] by Italy’s Francesco Munzi (co-produced by Babe Films) and A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Roy Andersson
film profile] by Swedish filmmaker Roy Andersson (co-produced by Société Parisienne de Production).

The competitive Orizzonti section will unveil NDE: Near Death Experience [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Benoît Delépine and Gustave Kervern (No Money Productions), starring Michel Houellebecq in the lead, and the Franco-Belgian co-production Reality [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Quentin Dupieux (read the article - Realitism Films), as well as the minority productions The President [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mohsen Makhmalbaf
film profile] by Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf (co-produced by Bac Films together with Georgia, the UK and Germany), These Are the Rules [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Croatia’s Ognjen Svilicic (a co-production with KinoElektron) and Lines of Credit [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Nino Kasradze (co-produced by Manuel Cam together with Georgia and Germany).

Out of competition, the Official Selection will also be presenting two minority productions: Tsili [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Israeli filmmaker Amos Gitai (co-produced by Archipel 35) and the Director's Cut of Nymphomaniac [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Louise Vesth
film profile] volume I and II by Denmark’s Lars von Trier (co-produced by Slot Machine).

French film production will shine especially brightly in the parallel Venice Days section (see the article), with the Franco-Belgian co-production Return to Ithaca [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Laurent Cantet
film profile] by Laurent Cantet (see news – produced by Full House), Métamorphoses [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Christophe Honoré
film profile] by Christophe Honoré (see the article – Les Films Pelléas), Les Nuits d'été [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mario Fanfani
film profile] by Mario Fanfani (see the article – 24 Mai Production) and the 100% French production The Smell of Us [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pierre-Paul Puljiz
film profile] by American director Larry Clark (see news – Morgane Production, Polaris Film Production & Finance, Polyester). The line-up is rounded off by the minority productions Between 10 and 12 [+see also:
trailer
interview: Peter Hoogendoorn
film profile] by Dutch filmmaker Peter Hoogendoorn (co-produced by Unlimited) and Labour of Love by India’s Aditya Vikram Sengupta (co-produced by Novo Films) – and we mustn’t forget Girlhood [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Céline Sciamma
interview: Céline Sciamma
film profile] by Céline Sciamma, which was revealed at Cannes and is among the three finalists for the LUX Prize awarded by the European Parliament.

Lastly, featuring at the Critics’ Week are the Franco-Belgian feature Terre battue (40-Love) [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Stéphane Demoustier (read the article) and the minority production Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere by Nguyen Hong Diep (co-produced by Ciné-Sud Promotion together with Vietnam, Norway and Germany).

(Translated from French)