05/09/2019 - Standing out in the French sales agent’s Toronto line-up is German director Ina Weisse’s second feature film, which will then go on to battle it out in competition at San Sebastián

The international sales team (led by Alice Lesort) of Parisian outfit Les Films du Losange (directed by Margaret Ménégoz) are heading for the 44th Toronto International Film Festival (running 5 to 15 September), pinning their hopes on The Audition [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ina Weisse
interview: Ina Weisse
film profile], among others, by Germany’s Ina Weisse, which will have its world premiere in Canada on 8 September within the Discovery section of the Festival, before travelling on to compete in the 67th San Sebastian International Film Festival (20 to 28 September).

This second feature film by the actress, following on from The Architect [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (screened at the 2009 Berlinale within the German Cinema line-up), brings together German star Nina Hoss, France’s Simon Abkarian, Ilja Monti, Serafin Mishiev and Denmark’s Jens Albinus. Written by the director herself alongside Daphné Charizani, the story centres around Anna Bronsky, a violin teacher at a music-focused high school. Against the advice of her colleagues, Anna drives through the admission of a student, Alexander, in whom she sees a remarkable talent. Highly committed, she prepares him for the end-of-year exam, all the while neglecting her young son Jonas, also a violin student as well as an ice hockey enthusiast. She becomes increasingly distant from her loving husband, violin maker Philippe. As the audition draws near, Anna pushes Alexander to deliver ever more exceptional performances. On the big day, however, an accident takes place, with far-reaching consequences… The feature film has been produced by German outfit Lupa Film and co-produced by French firm Idéale Audience with the support of Port Au Prince Film & Kulturproduktion, ZDF/Arte, the German Federal Film Fund (DFFF), Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg (MBB), Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung (MDM), the French-German co-production mini treaty (led by the CNC and the FFA) and Panoptimo.

The latter will also be selling the Laurent Micheli-directed Belgian-French co-production Lola [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Laurent Micheli
film profile] during their time in Toronto, which did very well at the recent Festival du Film Francophone d’Angoulême and which is due to have its international premiere in a major festival this autumn.

Likewise featuring in the Losange line-up is The River [+see also:
film review
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film profile] by Lebanese director Ghassan Salhab, a work currently in post-production. This 7th fiction feature by the filmmaker, who made his name with The Valley [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (unveiled in Toronto’s Contemporary World Cinema section in 2014 and screened in the 2015 Berlinale Forum), Terra incognita (presented in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section in 2012) and The Last Man (Filmmakers of the Present in Locarno 2006 and in competition in Tribeca in 2007), to name but a few, stars Palestine’s Ali Suliman and American-Lebanese actress Yumna Marwan. The story centres around a young woman and a man who are lunching on a restaurant terrace nestled in a mountainous landscape in Lebanon. Suddenly, fighter planes appear out of nowhere, criss-crossing the sky. A war seems to break out in the distance. The couple leave the restaurant, forging ever deeper into the nature that surrounds them; an ever-more spectral form of nature that mirrors their relationship… Production is headed up by Lebanese firm Khamsin Films and French outfit Survivance, with The Postoffice in a co-producing role.

Last but not least, Toronto will see Les Films du Losange continuing sales efforts for Wonders in the Suburbs [+see also:
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film profile] by Jeanne Balibar (unveiled last month in Locarno’s Filmmakers of the Present section) and for its Cannes titles: Burning Ghost [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Stéphane Batut (the winner of the Jean Vigo Award in 2019, currently touring French cinemas), Particles [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Blaise Harrison
film profile] by Blaise Harrison and the documentary Oh les filles! [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by François Armanet.

(Translated from French)