28/04/2006

Seven features were chosen on April 25 by the 2006 selection committee of Arte France Cinéma. Scripts that will benefit from co-production funding and a pre-sales agreement include 35 Rhums by Claire Denis (Soudaine Production), which will begin shooting in the second half of this year, as well as Lumière silencieuse by Mexico’s Carlos Reygadas (Bac Films - see interview with the director in Focus on Battle in Heaven).

The list also includes 99 Francs by Jan Kounen (produced by Légende). An adaptation from the successful novel by French author Frédéric Beigbeider, the film tells the behind-the-scenes story of large Parisian advertising agencies of the 1990s, in which a young designer/editor, well aware of the cynical practices of his profession, does everything he can to get fired.

Arte France Cinéma’s 2006 investment (€7.14m for 22 films last year, €4.4m of which was for co-productions) will also benefit Las Camelias by Philippe Grandrieux (Central Films), the third feature by the director of Sombre and A New Life, as well as Son of Ranbow by Gareth Jennings (produced by Celluloid), director of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005) and member of the eccentric duo Hammer & Tongs.

Lastly, as they work to reach a technical agreement on the productions, the cinema arm of the French/German broadcaster will also fund Projet TCLK by Patrice Chéreau (Azor Films) and Baratt by Chad’s Mahamat Saleh Haroun.

In January, Arte France Cinéma chose to finance Jacques Rivette’s Ne touchez pas la hache (Pierre Grise Productions, see news), Délice Paloma by Nadir Moknèche (Sunday Morning Productions), Les Sapins bleus by Romuald Beugnon (Bizibi Productions) and Tengri le bleu du ciel by Marie Jaoul de Poncheville (L Films).

(Translated from French)