Independent cinema on show on the Champs-Élysées
- Stéphane Brizé will preside over the jury at this 8th edition of the festival where masterclasses from Jeff Goldblum, Debra Granik and Kyle MacLachlan are all on the cards
From 18 to 25 June, the 8th edition of the Champs-Élysées Film Festival will unfold under the leadership of Sophie Dulac, with a selection of over 60 French films and independent American titles set to be presented in the various movie theatres of the famous Parisian avenue (the Balzac, the Gaumont Marignan, the Lincoln, Publicis Cinémas and the UGC George V). The event will be opened by Benoît Forgeard’s All About Yves [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Benoît Forgeard
film profile], the closing film of Cannes’ recent Directors’ Fortnight (to be released in France on 26 June via Le Pacte).
Presided over by director Stéphane Brizé, with the notable support of filmmaker Danielle Arbid and actress Clotilde Hesme, the feature film jury will appraise two competitive sections - one dedicated to American films, the other reserved for French offerings - comprising six titles each. The French section will bring together Daniel [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Marine Atlan (Special Mention in the Generation Kplus line-up in Berlin), Braquer Poitiers – Chapitres 1 et 2 [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Claude Schmitz (in a world premiere), Frères d’arme [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Sylvain Labrosse, documentary Siblings [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Audrey Gordon, and two feature films unveiled in Cannes’ ACID line-up: Blind Spot [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Pierre Trividic and Patrick-Mario Bernard (to be released in France on 16 October 2019 via Rouge Distribution) and Burning Ghost [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] by Stéphane Batut (recently awarded the Prix Jean Vigo – due to be released in France on 28 August via Les Films du Losange).
Guests of honour at this year’s Champs-Élysées Film Festival include director Debra Granik, actors Jeff Goldblum, Kyle MacLachlan and Christopher Walken, and filmmaker David Lowery, who will all be on hand for masterclasses. Alex Ross Perry and Rick Alverson will likewise put in a Parisian appearance for the French premières of Her Smell and The Mountain. Also of note, the short films jury will be presided over by French filmmaker Valérie Donzelli, while the remainder of the festival line-up will comprise of five premiering American feature films and two documentaries to be shown in special screenings (Lil’ Buck: Real Swan [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and Océan [+see also:
trailer
film profile]). Last but not least, a three-film tribute is due to be paid to the director S. Craig Zahler.
On the professional side of things, the now obligatory US in Progress sidebar is set to run from 19 to 21 June, where six American films in post-production will be presented (20 minutes of extracts and a 10-minute pitch) to French sales agents, distributers and producers, as well as to a jury including the likes of distributer Cécile Salin (Diaphana), producer Gabrielle Dumon (Le Bureau) and producer and cinema owner Nathanaël Karmitz (mk2 Films).
(Translated from French)
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