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CANNES 2023 ACID

ACID to present seven world premieres at Cannes

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- Independent cinema will descend on the Croisette with nine films, four of which are fiction titles, four documentaries and one animation

ACID to present seven world premieres at Cannes
Chicken for Linda! by Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach

True to its editorial policy, committed to offering visibility to quality independent works that often circulate poorly, the ACID (Association for the Circulation of Independent Film) has unveiled the 31st programme that it will be organising on the Croisette, from 17-26 May, as an integral part of the 76th Cannes Film Festival. It’s a selection of nine features (seven of which will be world-premiered and four of which are debut films), including four fiction titles, four documentaries and one animated flick.

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Shining bright in the showcase is the animated movie Chicken for Linda! [+see also:
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]
by Italy’s Chiara Malta and France’s Sébastien Laudenbach. The former opened the Discovery section of Toronto in 2019 with her feature-length fiction debut, Simple Women [+see also:
film review
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film profile
]
. As for the latter, his first animated feature, The Girl Without Hands [+see also:
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, which was unveiled as part of ACID in 2016, went on to win a Special Mention at Annecy, among other prizes, and was nominated for the César Award for Best Animated Feature in 2017. Written by the two directors, the screenplay revolves around Paulette, who realises that she has unfairly punished her daughter Linda. To make up for it, she promises to cook her a chicken with peppers, even though she cannot cook at all. But where to find a chicken on a strike day, when all the shops are closed? Produced by French outfits Dolce Vita Films and Miyu Productions, Chicken for Linda! was co-produced by France 3 Cinéma and Italy’s Palosanto Films, with a pre-purchase by Ciné+ and support from the Ile-de-France region and Eurimages, among other sources. The international sales are handled by Charades.

Among the fiction titles is Laissez-moi [+see also:
film review
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]
, the feature debut by Swiss helmer Maxime Rappaz, with Jeanne Balibar topping the bill in the role of a woman called Claudine, who, every Tuesday, entrusts her disabled son to a neighbour and goes to a mountain hotel to meet men passing through. When she meets Michael (Thomas Sarbacher) and he decides to extend his stay for her, Claudine is confused and finds herself dreaming of another life. The production, staged by GoldenEgg with France’s Paraiso Production and Belgium’s Fox the Fox Production on board as co-producers, secured an advance on receipts from the CNC.

As for the documentaries, we should highlight On the Edge [+see also:
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]
by Nicolas Peduzzi, the winner of a Special Mention at CPH:DOX last month. The French documentarian is back in the ACID showcase at Cannes after having taken part for the first time in 2021 with Ghost Song [+see also:
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]
. Also on the line-up is Machtat [+see also:
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]
, the second documentary feature by French-Tunisian director Sonia Ben Slama, which follows a woman and her two daughters, who work as traditional wedding musicians in Tunis. Lastly, two debut feature-length documentaries are also heading to Cannes: the French-Canadian production Caiti Blues [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
 by Justine Harbonnier (a Sister Productions co-production which will have its world premiere this Saturday at Visions du Réel) and In the Rearview [+see also:
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]
by Poland’s Maciek Hamela, which places us in a Polish vehicle criss-crossing the roads of Ukraine, carrying passengers who have been evacuated following the Russian invasion.

Also standing out on the fiction side are the French-Lebanese feature debut The Sea and its Waves [+see also:
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by Liana & Renaud, Dreaming in Between by Japan’s Ryûtarô Ninomiya (his fourth feature) and Nome [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by Bissau-Guinean filmmaker Sana Na N’hada (his third feature).

Here is the full selection:

Caiti Blues [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
 - Justine Harbonnier (France/Canada)
Dreaming in Between - Ryûtarô Ninomiya (Japan)
On the Edge [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
- Nicolas Peduzzi (France)
In the Rearview [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
- Maciek Hamela (Poland/France)
Laissez-moi [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
- Maxime Rappaz (Switzerland/France/Belgium)
Chicken for Linda! [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
- Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach (France/Italy)
Machtat [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
- Sonia Ben Slama (Tunisia/Lebanon/France/Qatar)
The Sea and its Waves [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
- Liana & Renaud (France/Lebanon)
Nome [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
- Sana Na N’hada (Guinea-Bissau/France/Portugal/Angola)

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(Translated from French)

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