22/02/2007

Seven feature projects by Arnaud Desplechin, Robert Guédiguian, Bouli Lanners, Laurence Ferreira Barbosa, Patric Jean, Sharunas Bartas and Karim Dridi were selected last week by the second advances on receipts committee held by the Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC).

After the success of his latest film Kings and Queen [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (seven nominations at the 2005 Cesars and Best Actor for Mathieu Amalric), Desplechin is expected to begin lensing in Roubaix and Tourcoing in March on Un Conte de Noël (lit. “A Christmas Fairytale”), produced by Why Not Productions, who is keeping very tight-lipped about the cast and the script.

Meanwhile, Guédiguian will start shooting in Marseille on Monday on crime drama Lady Jane, starring Ariane Ascaride and Jean-Pierre Darroussin, a feature produced by Agat Films, which Cineuropa will cover in more detail next week.

Belgian films also featured strongly in the first 2007 advances on receipts session. First up, is documentary La domination masculine by Jean (La raison du plus fort), from the slate of French outfit Elzévir Films, co-produced with Les Productions Virage and Black Moon.

The list also includes Lanners’ Lea, a minority co-production by Paris-based outfit Lazennec & Associés. Initiated by Belgium’s Versus Production in co-production with Prime Time and Inver Invest, the new project by the director behind Ultranova [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bouli Lanners
film profile] will be sold internationally by Films Distribution. The title has received scriptwriting funding from the Communauté française de Belgique and development support from the MEDIA programme.

Lazennec & Associés has good reason to celebrate, as Alain Rocca’s company is to be granted advances on receipts for Not Before and Not After by Lithuanian director Bartas, whose latest film, Seven Invisible Men, screened in the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes 2005.

Two last films to be granted advances on receipts were Barbosa’s soit je meurs, soit je vais mieux (lit. “Either I Die or I Get Better”), produced by Paolo Branco for Alma Films, and Dridi’s Khamsa, which is still without a producer.

(Translated from French)