12/02/2014 - The Mons International Love Film Festival is celebrating its 30th birthday, featuring a particular focus on Croatia and an homage to Italian cinema

A Promise by Patrice Leconte

This year, the Mons International Love Film Festival turns 30. By shining a particular spotlight on love in all its forms, the festival tries to reflect the world and its main social issues and phenomena. Over its 30 editions and as many years of love stories, the festival has borne witness to the disintegration of the family unit – as well as its reconstruction – and the increasing power of isolation and the feeling of solitude. As well as welcoming big names in the film industry, the festival also invites promising young newcomers and puts a particular emphasis on European cinema.

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Opening this exceptional edition is the new film by Patrice Leconte, A promise [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], which is an English-language adaptation of a work by Stefan Zweig, starring Alan Rickman and Rebecca Hall. The closing film, another adaptation (Les yeux jaunes des crocodiles [+see also:
trailer
film profile], a novel by Katherine Pancol), portrays a grand story of sisterly love between Emmanuelle Béart and Julie Depardieu, and is directed by Cécile Telerman.

In addition to these two titles, the festival will host an international competition, and 11 films will duke it out for the main award in this category. Among them are 10 European films: Rosenn by Yvan Le Moine (Belgium), Honeymoon [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Jan Hrebejk (the Czech Republic/Slovakia), The Strange Little Cat [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ramon Zürcher
film profile] by Ramon Zürcher (Germany), One Shot [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Robert Orhel (Croatia), The Value of Time [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Xavier Bermudez (Spain), La Prima Neve [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Andrea Segre (Italy), The Finishers [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Nils Tavernier (France/Belgium) and Una Noche [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Lucy Mulloy (Cuba/Great Britain). There are 11 other European films in the European competition and an additional 14 in the “Regards Croisés” (Converging Views) section. Of note are the latest film by Catherine Breillat starring Isabelle Huppert and Kool Shen, Abuse of Weakness [+see also:
trailer
interview: Catherine Breillat
film profile], and The Invisible Woman [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ralph Fiennes
film profile] by the English actor Ralph Fiennes. Interestingly, the festival will also feature a special focus on Croatia and an overview of Italian cinema, together with an homage to Ettore Scola. Save the date for the 14-21 February in Mons.

(Translated from French)