Guédiguian, Kounen, Gondry and co in line-up

by Fabien Lemercier

27/04/2009 - The 62nd Cannes Film Festival Official Selection includes an impressive line-up of French titles, besides those selected in competition (see news) and in the Un Certain Regard section.

Out of competition, Robert Guédiguian will unveil his new Resistance-themed film: The Army of Crime (see news). Produced by Agat Films & Cie for €9.16m, the feature received co-production support from France 3 Cinéma, an advance on receipts from the National Film Centre (CNC) and pre-sales from Canal+ and Ciné Cinéma. StudioCanal is handling domestic distribution and international sales.

The Official Selection will close with Jan Kounen’s Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky [trailer] (see news), featuring Anna Mouglalis and Danish star Mads Mikkelsen. Produced by Eurowide Film for an estimated €12m, the film was co-produced by Wild Bunch (which is managing international sales and French distribution), Switzerland’s Filmazure and Veronika Zonabend, in association with Hexagon Films. Backing was received from the Ile-de-France region as well as pre-sales from Canal + and TPS.

Special Screenings include Michel Gondry’s documentary about his aunt L'épine Dans le Cœur (“The Thorn in the Heart”); and Keren Yedaya’s Jaffa, a French/Israeli/German co-production piloted by Bizibi Productions (see interview with Emmanuel Agneray - Producer on The Move 2009), with backing from Arte France Cinéma, Canal + and Rezo (who will release the film in France on June 10 and manage international sales).

Finally, the Midnight Screenings section will show Stéphane Aubier and Vincent Patar’s A Town Called Panic, a minority French co-production (via Made In Productions and distributor Gebeka) with Belgium and Luxembourg, sold internationally by The Coproduction Office; and Marina de Van’s Ne Te Retourne Pas [trailer] (“Don’t Look Back”).

Starring Sophie Marceau and Monica Bellucci, the latter film was co-produced by France (35% investment - Agat Films & Ex Nihilo and Wild Bunch, who will release the title in France on June 3 and handle international sales), Luxembourg (30% - Samsa Film), Belgium (20% - Entre Chien et Loup) and Italy (15% - Studio Urania). The overall budget of €11.61m included pre-sales from Canal + and TPS.

(Translated from French)