13/11/2006

Five features are in competition for the prestigious Louis Delluc Prize, which will be awarded by a jury of critics presided over by Gilles Jacob, who will select the Best French Film of 2006 on December 18.

The contenders include two films selected in official competition at Cannes this year: Jury Grand Prize winner Flanders [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Bruno Dumont (3B Productions, see article and interview with the director); The Singer [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Xavier Giannoli (Rectangle Productions and EuropaCorp, see article and interview with Gérard Depardieu); and, last but not least, Back Home [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche, (Sarrazink and Les Films du Losange, see article and interview with director), screened in the Cannes Un Certain Regard sidebar.

Other films in the running include Otar Iosseliani’s Gardens in Autumn [+see also:
trailer
film profile] – also a Films du Losange production, which was screened at the recent RomeFilmFest (see article) – and the recently released Lady Chatterley [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Pascale Ferrand (see news).

Five titles will battle it out for the Louis Delluc Prize for Best Debut Film, three of which were Venice Film Festival titles: Gela Babluani’s 13 (Tzameti) [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fanny Saadi
interview: Gela Babluani
film profile] (2005 Lion of the Future for Best First Feature and Grand Prize at the 2006 Sundance Festival, Les Films de la Strada, see Focus); The Passenger [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Eric Caravaca (Diaphana, see article); and Premonition [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Jean-Pierre Darroussin (Agat Films & Cie, see article).

The other titles are  [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Gabriel Le Bomin (Dragoonie Films and Productions Paul Lederman), released last Wednesday, and Christian Volckman’s futuristic animated film Renaissance [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Aton Soumache
interview: Christian Volckman
film profile] (Onyx Films, see Focus).

Former winners of the prize – created in 1937 and named after director-critic-writer Louis Delluc – include such great French filmmakers as Jean Renoir, Claude Sautet, Clouzot, Bresson, Truffaut, Pialat. More recent winners have been Patrice Chéreau, Nicolas Philibert, Noémie Lvovsky, Lucas Belvaux and Arnaud Desplechin.

Last year, the prize went to Philippe Garrel’s Regular Lovers [+see also:
trailer
interview: Philippe Garrel
film profile], while Cold Showers [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Anthony Cordier took the Delluc for Best Debut Film.

(Translated from French)