20/03/2007

Films by Austria’s Ruth Mader, France’s Bertrand Bonello, Portugal’s João Pedro Rodrigues, Italy’s Michelangelo Frammartino and Romania’s Catalin Mitulescu are among 15 new feature projects that have been selected for the third edition of the Cinéfondation Atelier, held as part of Cannes Film Festival.

Set up with the aim of assisting directors to find additional funding for their films, the event allows them to rub shoulders with producers at the Cannes Film Festival (May 18-25, 2007) and to meet professionals interested in their projects in person.

The 2007 Atelier comprises projects by filmmakers who have been "acclaimed for their talent at international events" and "gives priority to discovery by betting on the future," say festival organisers.

And talent is certainly not short in supply among the five European directors selected, many of which have previously presented films at Cannes. First up, Bonello, who will present his project De la guerre to the Atelier, was selected in official competition in 2003 for his third and latest feature Tiresia (see article) and won the 2001 Critics’ Week with The Pornographer.

Meanwhile, Mader will present Serviam, her second film after Struggle, which stunned audiences at its screening in the 2003 Un Certain Regard sidebar (see article).

Rodrigues, whose To Die Like a Man has been selected, won at the 2000 Venice Film Festival with his feature debut O Fantasma and received a Special Mention at the 2005 Directors’ Fortnight with Odete [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (see article).

Lastly, 2003 Golden Palm shorts winner Mitulescu made a successful transition to features last year with his Un Certain Regard film The Way I Spent the End of the World [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (see news). This year he will present A Heart Shaped Balloon at the Atelier.

The only director not to have been at Cannes is Frammartino, who is presently preparing Le quattro volte. He did, however, present his impressive feature debut Il Dono [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (see article) at Locarno.

The complete list of projects can be viewed on the Cannes Film Festival website and in the book of projects and profiles of individual meetings, which will be published online in early April.

(Translated from French)