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FUNDING France

Arte France Cinéma throws its weight behind Jonas Carpignano’s A Chiara

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- The upcoming films by Thierry de Peretti, Chloé Mazlo and Dinara Droukarova will also be co-produced by the French-German channel

Arte France Cinéma throws its weight behind Jonas Carpignano’s A Chiara
Director Jonas Carpignano

Arte France Cinéma’s (headed up by Olivier Père) second selection committee of 2019 has decided to get involved in the co-production and pre-purchasing of four projects. Standing out among them is A Chiara [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jonas Carpignano
film profile
]
, which will be the third feature by Italy’s Jonas Carpignano, following Mediterranea [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jonas Carpignano
film profile
]
(first revealed in the Cannes Critics’ Week in 2015) and A Ciambra [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jonas Carpignano
film profile
]
(Europa Cinemas Label in the Directors’ Fortnight in 2017, David di Donatello Award for Best Director in 2018, the Italian candidate for the Oscar for Best International Feature Film, and nominated for the Film Independent Spirit Awards 2018 in the Best Director category). The story, written by the filmmaker himself, revolves around 15-year-old Chiara, who is utterly powerless as she watches her father suddenly up sticks and leave their small town in Calabria. The young girl is determined to understand why he left, like so many before him. She will then have to choose between her loyalty to her own flesh and blood, and her own freedom... Production duties are being handled by France’s Haut et Court and Italy’s Stayblack, with backing from RAI Cinema and the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities, among others. Casting is already under way, and principal photography is slated to start in October.

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Arte France Cinéma has also selected Les Années 10 [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Thierry de Peretti
film profile
]
, which will be the third feature by Thierry de Peretti, after Les Apaches [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
(2013 Directors’ Fortnight) and A Violent Life [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
(Cannes Critics’ Week in 2017). The film is a cinematic adaptation of the investigation conducted by a journalist in conjunction with a whistleblower, focusing on the drug-squad scandal that tarnished the reputation of the French police force’s upper echelons in the late 2010s, and it will star Pio Marmai, Mathieu Kassovitz, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi and Alexis Manenti. Produced by Les Films Velvet, the movie will be shot from July 2019-January 2020.

The other two films selected during this session are feature debuts. In late 2019, Chloé Mazlo (César Award for Best Short Film in 2015 for Les petits cailloux) will shoot Skies of Lebanon [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, which will be toplined by Italy’s Alba Rohrwacher and Lebanese-Quebecois actor Wajdi Mouawad. The story unfolds during the 1950s, as young Alice leaves her native Switzerland and heads for Lebanon, a sun-drenched and luxuriant land where she enjoys the best years of her life. But la dolce vita turns into disillusionment as war breaks out and spoils Alice’s paradise. She will try to protect herself from this inevitable fate, refusing to give in to despair… The movie is being staged by Moby Dick Films.

Meanwhile, Russian actress Dinara Drukarova will be in Canada from June-July 2020 to shoot her feature-length directorial debut, Grand Marin [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dinara Drukarova
film profile
]
, which she will also topline, flanked by Belgium’s Wim Willaert and Francis Majer. An adaptation of Catherine Poulain’s novel of the same name, the story centres on 30-year-old Lili, who decides to leave everything behind in order to go off to fish in the Far North. In this male-dominated world, she will have to contend with fear, physical exhaustion, unbridled nature at its most extreme, and her feelings for the one she calls the Great Sailor… Production duties have been entrusted to Paris-based outfit Rouge International, with Canada’s Max Films also on board.

As a reminder, Arte France Cinéma is supporting the upcoming films by Mia Hansen-Løve, Philippe Garrel, Leos Carax, Mathieu Amalric, Miguel Gomes, Nadav Lapid, Lisandro Alonso, Cédric Kahn, Arthur Harari, Leyla Bouzid, Rabah Ameur-Zaïmèche, Vincent Le Port, Just Philippot, Thomas Balmès, Hafsia Herzi, Manele Labidi, Chen Bo Yilin, Dror Moreh, and duo Rana Kazkaz and Anas Khalaf, in addition to animated films being helmed by Florence Miailhe and Pierre Földes.

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(Translated from French)

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