09/05/2016 - 12 features backed through World Cinema Support and 17 through the advance on receipts are in the various Cannes selections

The French film industry is very much open to international co-productions and is particularly active when it comes to supporting the younger generations: this is what can be gleaned from the CNC’s financial support for production, which backed 29 features (18 of which were first or second films) that are set to be unveiled in the various selections of the 69th Cannes Film Festival (11-22 May 2016); and this score shoots up to 55 movies if we include the shorts and the entire range of selective support (development, new technologies, diversity and so on). 

Seventeen features were supported via the CNC’s advance on receipts, including nine in the official selection, with three titles duking it out for the Palme d'Or (Slack Bay [+see also:
film review
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Q&A: Bruno Dumont
film profile] by Bruno Dumont, Staying Vertical [+see also:
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interview: Alain Guiraudie
film profile] by Alain Guiraudie and Elle [+see also:
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film profile] by Paul Verhoeven), two in Un Certain Regard (The Dancer [+see also:
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film profile] by Stéphanie Di Giusto and The Stopover [+see also:
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interview: Delphine and Muriel Coulin
film profile] by Delphine and Muriel Coulin) and four on the special screenings programme (Chouf [+see also:
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film profile] by Karim Dridi, Le Cancre [+see also:
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film profile] by Paul Vecchiali, the documentary Wrong Elements [+see also:
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film profile] by Jonathan Littell and Fool Moon [+see also:
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film profile] by Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet). Six features being showcased in the Directors’ Fortnight were also backed by the advance on receipts: Mercenaire [+see also:
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interview: Sacha Wolff
film profile] by Sacha Wolff, Divines [+see also:
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interview: Houda Benyamina
film profile] by Houda Benyamina, the animated title My Life as a Courgette [+see also:
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interview: Claude Barras
film profile] by Switzerland’s Claude Barras, After Love [+see also:
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interview: Joachim Lafosse
film profile] by Belgian director Joachim Lafosse, Tour de France [+see also:
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interview: Rachid Djaïdani
film profile] by Rachid Djaïdani and The Together Project [+see also:
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film profile] by late filmmaker Solveig Anspach. Lastly, two films selected in the Critics’ Week also feature on the list, with In Bed with Victoria [+see also:
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interview: Justine Triet
film profile] by Justine Triet and Raw [+see also:
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interview: Julia Ducournau
film profile] by Julia Ducournau. Interestingly, 10 of these 17 movies are first or second features, which the president of the CNC, Frédérique Bredin, was delighted about: “The strong presence of films supported by the advance on receipts shows just how vitally important this aid is for film production and discovering a new generation of budding directors.

“France also plays a key role in supporting filmmakers from all over the world and in promoting cultural diversity,” Bredin went on, and the gamut of movies at Cannes proves her right, as 12 films on the line-up were backed by the CNC via World Cinema Support, five of which are in the Official Selection, with Sieranevada [+see also:
film review
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Q&A: Cristi Puiu
film profile] by Romanian director Cristi Puiu, which will vie for the Palme d'Or, and four titles being showcased in Un Certain Regard: Clash [+see also:
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film profile] by Egypt’s Mohamed Diab, Apprentice [+see also:
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film profile] by Singapore’s Boo Junfeng, Dogs [+see also:
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interview: Bogdan Mirica
film profile] by Bodgan Mirica and Harmonium [+see also:
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film profile] by Japanese filmmaker Kôji Fukada. Added to these are three films in the Directors’ Fortnight (the Danish executive-produced Wolf and Sheep [+see also:
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interview: Shahrbanoo Sadat
film profile] by Afghan director Shahrbanoo Sadat, Neruda [+see also:
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film profile] by Chile’s Pablo Larrain and Endless Poetry [+see also:
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film profile] by his fellow countryman Alejandro Jodorowsky), three in the Critics’ Week (Diamond Island [+see also:
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film profile] by Cambodia’s Davy Chou, Tramontane [+see also:
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film profile] by Lebanon’s Vatche Boulghourjian and A Yellow Bird [+see also:
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film profile] by Singapore’s K Rajagopal) and the documentary Madame B, histoire d'une nord-coréenne [+see also:
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film profile] by Jero Yun on the alternative ACID programme. In total, eight of these 12 movies are first or second features.

Every day at Cannes, the CNC will organise professional events on the Gray d'Albion beach, most notably a discussion panel on international co-productions with China on Friday 13 May (in conjunction with Bridging the Dragon and the Film Market, and featuring Vincent Grimond of Wild Bunch, Rikke Ennis of TrustNordisk/Zentropa China and Jerry Ye of Huayi Brothers among the speakers – read the news).

(Translated from French)