02/03/2006

The Association of French Arthouse and Experimental Cinemas (AFCAE), which groups together 1,000 cinemas and 2,000 screens in France, has chosen to support the April 12 release of the Czech feature Something Like Happiness [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bohdan Slama
interview: Pavel Strnad
film profile] by Bohdan Slama, which won top prize at the last San Sebastian Film Festival (see Focus on film) and which will be distributed by Why Not Productions.

This support includes a call for it to be included in the programming of the participating theatres, screenings in the regions for exhibitors, the circulation of prints to favour a denser release and the publication of an accompanying document aimed at audiences.

Having helped forty or so films in this way, through three groups (Actions-Promotion, Young Public and Repertoire), the AFCAE has supported, since its inception in 2006, features such as La Trahison (lit. "The Betrayal") by Philippe Faucon, UK documentary Sisters-in-Law by Kim Longinotto and Florence Ayisi, the German co-production The Cave of the Yellow Dog and the Swedish animated film Franz and The Conductor by Lotta et Uzi Geffenblad.

Within the framework of Cinédiversité (see article), run in partnership with Titra Films and the support of the Media Programme, the AFCAE is also getting behind the release of two European films that received awards in Berlin from the International Confederation of Arthouse and Experimental Cinemas (CICAE): the Irish/UK production Breakfast on Pluto [+see also:
trailer
film profile], by Neil Jordan, and the Belgian/French film Congo River [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Thierry Michel.

Jordan’s film was released yesterday in France (Pathé Distribution) while Congo River will hit the screens on April 4, distributed by Pierre Grise Distribution, which will benefit from the circulation of 20,000 six-page promotional leaflets, orchestrated by the AFCAE.

(Translated from French)