27/03/2013 - A refreshing breeze in theatres with Julien Abraham’s first feature film. Also on the bill, Almodóvar, Amelio, Lanthimos, Wnendt and Ridremont

Surfing on a wave of 18 new films arriving on French screens today, the Parisian suburbs are in the spotlight with Asphalt Playground [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Julien Abraham. Produced by Ex Nihilo and distributed by UGC on 89 screens, this dynamic first feature film, oscillating between comedy and drama, delves into the everyday life of a housing estate in Saint-Denis, focusing on the misfortunes of several youngsters. The director explains: “We really wanted to talk about the “invisible minority”, who want their children to escape the drug-trafficking world and live a normal family life, but who cannot make themselves heard. That was the incentive: to make a movie which talks about the suburbs without hiding the violence, but which brings people together and, above all, does not become a source of division between communities".

Non-French European cinema is particularly well-represented this Wednesday with the comedy I'm so Excited [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar (review - Pathé Films in 369 theatres), Alps [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos (Best Screenplay in Venice, 2011 – review [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] and interview - A3 Distribution on 17 screens), Combat Girls [+see also:
trailer
interview: Jella Haase
film profile] by German director David Wnendt (Bronze Lola for Best Film and winner in the Best Screenplay and Best Actress categories - UFO Distribution on 19 screens), The First Man [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Italian director Gianni Amelio (interview - Paradis Films in 50 cinemas), the Belgium-France-Luxembourg coproduction Dead Man Talking [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Patrick Ridremont (review - Atypik Films on 41 screens) and the animated German film Le petit corbeau by Ute von Münchow-Polh (Gebeka Films in 89 theatres).

As for coproductions, El Premio by Paula Markovitch (associating Mexico, France, Poland and Germany – prize-winner in Berlin in 2011 - Zelig Films on 15 screens) stands out,as well as the Israeli-French feature film God's Neighbors [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Meni Yaesh, discovered last year during the Critics’ Week in Cannes (review - Sophie Dulac Distribution on 13 screens).

Also worth mentioning, the Franco-Belgian comedy Une chanson pour ma mère [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Joël Franka (The Walt Disney Company in 325 cinemas) and three other French productions: Le Diable dans la peau [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by French director Gilles Martinerie (article - NiZ ! in 5 cinemas) and the documentaries Pierre Rabhi au nom de la terre by Marie-Dominique Dhelsing and Paroles de conflits by Raphaël Beaugrand.

(Translated from French)