07/05/2008

Leading German international sales company The Match Factory will be well represented at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival, with one film in competition and several titles in the Un Certain Regard and Directors’ Fortnight sections.

Ari Folman’s documentary Waltz With Bashir [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] – co-produced by Israel, France and Germany (Razor Film) – will vie for the Palme d'Or. In this unusual work, the director, intrigued by a riddle told to him by an old friend, delves into his unexplored past.

The Un Certain Regard section is hosting three titles from the Match Factory slate. These include Cloud 9 [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by German director Andreas Dresen (Summer in Berlin [+see also:
trailer
film profile]), who once again subtly explores an everyday situation. Produced by Rommel Film, the title centres on a married sixty-year-old woman and an older man who rediscover their youth during a passionate love affair.

The company will also present O'Horten [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], the new film by Cannes regular Norwegian director Bent Hamer (winner of numerous awards, in particular for Kitchen Stories and Factotum [+see also:
trailer
film profile]). The film tells the story of a railway mechanic who is forced to retire after 40 years of good and loyal service.

The Un Certain Regard section will also screen Tulpan, the debut feature by documentary filmmaker Sergey Dvortsevoy, who is a regular at international festivals. Produced by German company Pandora Film, the title is set in the Kasakh Steppes.

In the Directors’ Fortnight, The Match Factory have Liverpool, the fourth feature by Argentinean director Lisandro Alonso. Like his previous three titles, the film will have its premiere at Cannes (see news).

The Match Factory director Michael Weber emphasises the importance of having a "very personal selection". He believes that the five selected films "reveal our approach and confirm our vision of auteur cinema".

(Translated from French)