25/04/2013 - Lynne Ramsay’s short Swimmer also makes the cut

In an otherwise bleak year for British cinema on the Croisette, Clio Barnard’s The Selfish Giant [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Clio Barnard
interview: Clio Barnard
film profile] joins Ruairí Robinson’s Last Days On Mars in the Directors’ Fortnight line-up while Paul Wright’s For Those In Peril [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: George Mackay
film profile] finds a place in Critics’ Week. British director Lynne Ramsay will perform double duties as she has a place on the jury and her 16-minute Swimmer will play in the shorts programme.

The Selfish Giant is a contemporary fable about 13-year-old Arbor and his best friend Swifty. Excluded from school, and outsiders in their own neighbourhood, the two boys meet Kitten, a local scrap dealer – the Selfish Giant.  The film is produced by Tracy O’Riordan and is a Moonspun Films Production, with support from the British Film Institute (BFI) Film Fund and Film4. 

In For Those In Peril, Aaron, a young misfit in a remote Scottish community, is the lone survivor of a strange fishing accident that claimed the lives of five men including his older brother. Spurred on by sea-going folklore and local superstition, the village blames him for this tragedy, making him an outcast amongst his own people. The film is produced by Mary Burke and Polly Stokes and is a Warp X Production with support from the BFI Film Fund, Film4 and Creative Scotland in association with Screen Yorkshire. 

International sales are being handled by Protagonist Pictures on both titles.

Tessa Ross, Head of Film4, said, “We’re absolutely thrilled for Clio and Paul that their wonderful work has been recognised by the festival.  Both are visionary filmmakers who have produced beautifully realised films and we can’t wait for audiences to discover them in Cannes.”