21/04/2015 - Les Anarchistes, Les deux amis, The Wakhan Front and Learn by Heart to be showcased as part of this parallel section of Cannes

Adèle Exarchopoulos, Tahar Rahim, Jérémie Renier, Golshifteh Farahani, Louis Garrel, Vincent Macaigne, Kevin Azaïs..., the French feature films chosen for the 54^th Critics’ Week (which will be held from 14-22 May at the 68^th Cannes Film Festival) certainly feature their fair share of stars, putting the spotlight on the work of the directors.

Opening the 2015 edition of this parallel section of the Cannes Film Festival is the superb Les anarchistes [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (see article), the second feature film of Elie Wajeman, who was the revelation of the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes in 2012 with Alyah [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]. With a cast that includes Tahar Rahim, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Swan Arlaud, Guillaume Gouix, Karim Leklou, Sarah Lepicard, Cédric Kahn and Emilie De Preissac, the film centres on a policeman trying to infiltrate a group of anarchists in Paris in 1899 ( a storyline put together by Wajeman and Gaëlle Macé). Produced by Lola Gans for 24 Mai Production, Les anarchistes was co-produced by France 2 Cinéma and Mars Films (which will take care of distribution in French theatres). Also pre-bought by Canal+ and Ciné+, the film has benefited from support in the form of an advance on receipts from the CNC, as well as financial aid from the Ile-de-France region. International sales will be managed by Wild Bunch.

Also showing out of competition, at a special screening, is the first feature film of actor and director Louis Garrel: Les deux amis [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (see article). Garrel stars alongside Golshifteh Farahani and Vincent Macaigne in this piece, which is loosely based on Caprices de Marianne by Alfred de Musset, which Louis Garrel wrote with Christophe Honoré. Produced by Anne Dominique Toussaint for Les Films des Tournelles on a budget of €2.79 million, Les deux amis was co-produced by Arte France Cinéma. Also pre-bought by Canal+, it was supported by an advance on receipts from the CNC and by the Gan Foundation for Cinema. Distribution in French theatres will be managed by Ad Vitam and international sales will be handled by Indie Sales.

The French representative on course to win the Grand Prix of Critics’ Week is The Wakhan Front [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (see article), the debut feature film of Clément Cogitore. The cast includes Belgium actor Jérémie Renier, Swann Arlaud, Kévin Azaïs, Marc Robert, Finnegan Oldfield, Clément Bresson and Sâm Mirhosseini. Written by Cogitore with the collaboration of Thomas Bidegain, the film tells the story of a group of French soldiers on mission in an Afghan valley. Produced by Jean-Christophe Reymond for Kazak Productions on a budget of €2.45 million, the film was co-produced in Belgium by Tarantula. Pre-bought by OCS, it was supported by an advance on receipts from the CNC and by the Wallonia-Brussels fund. Distribution in French theatres will be handled by Diaphana, and international sales will be managed by Indie Sales.

Finally, closing Critics’ Week and shown out of competition will be Learn by Heart [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (see article), the first feature film of director of photography Mathieu Vadepied. The cast features Balamine Touré, Ali Bidanessy, Guillaume Gouix, and Joséphine De Meaux. Written by Vadepied with Olivier Demangel and Vincent Poymiro, the film follows the misfortunes of a teenager from the Parisian suburbs. Produced by Bruno Nahon for Unité de production on a budget of €3.08 million, the film was co-produced by Ten Films, France 3 Cinéma and Gaumont (which will take care of distribution in French theatres and handle international sales), has also been pre-bought by Canal+.

There are also three French minority co-productions being shown in competition: Paulina (La patota) [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Argentinian-born Santiago Mitre (co-produced by Didar Domehri for Full House - distribution France: Ad Vitam - sales: Versatile), La tierra y la sombra [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Colombian César Augusto Acevedo (co-produced by Ciné-Sud Promotion) and Dégradé by Palestinian filmmakers Tarzan and Arab Nasser (notably produced by Les Films du Tambour, co-produced by Full House and Mille et Une Films - distribution France: Le Pacte - sales: Elle Driver).

(Translated from French)