02/11/2023 - The 24th edition of the film gathering is unspooling 3 to 12 November, notably hosting masterclasses by Agnieszka Holland and Matteo Garrone

Today will see Edge of the Blade [+see also:
film review
interview: Vincent Perez
film profile] by Vincent Perez (which won the Audience Award in Karlovy Vary) opening the 24th edition of the Arras Film Festival, which will offer up a very wide-ranging showcase of 110 films - European movies in particular – all the way through to 12 November. An event which strikes an impressive balance between being popular (45,682 admissions last year, with a number of premieres in the presence of artistic talent), cinephile (featuring works often hailing from countries which rarely enjoy the limelight in French cinemas) and industrial (over 500 professionals and journalists from twenty or so Old Continent countries), the Arras Film Festival is set to shine even brighter this year on account of a guest of honour, Dominique Blanc, who’ll be delivering an acting masterclass, and two high-calibre European filmmakers who are set to deliver masterclasses (whilst also accompanying their latest works which won awards in Venice, Green Border [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] and Me Captain [+see also:
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trailer
film profile]), namely Poland’s Agnieszka Holland and Italy’s Matteo Garrone. Other talented film professionals set to make the journey to Arras include Fanny Ardant, Anaïs Demoustier, Damien Bonnard, Benjamin Lavernhe, Monia Chokri and Laetitia Casta.

In addition to the nine contenders for the Golden Atlas (read our article), which will be assessed by a jury led by Dominik Moll (joined by Lucie Debay, Laurent Capelluto, Solène Rigot and Laurent Poitrenaux) are eight feature films from the Visions de l’Est section: Backwards [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Poland’s Jacek Lusinski, Wake Me [+see also:
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interview: Marko Šantić
film profile] by Croatia’s Marko Santic, Guardians of the Formula [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dragan Bjelogrlić
film profile] by Serbia’s Dragan Bjelogrlic, Phantom Youth [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] by French-Kosovar director Luána Bajrami, Polish animated film The Peasants [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by DK and Hugh Welchman, She Came at Night [+see also:
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interview: Tomáš Pavlíček, Jan Vejnar
film profile] by Czech filmmakers Jan Vejnar and Tomas Pavlicek, Restore Point [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Robert Hloz
film profile] by their compatriot Robert Hloz, and Photophobia [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Ivan Ostrochovský, Pavol Pe…
film profile] by the Slovakian duo Ivan Ostrochovsky and Pavol Pekarcik.

Likewise worth a mention this year is a Croatia Focus, which includes - in addition to the two afore-mentioned titles - Bosnian Pot [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Pavo Marinkovic, Hotel Pula [+see also:
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film profile] by Andrej Korovljev and Seventh Heaven [+see also:
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film profile] by Jasna Nanut.

Stealing focus in the European Discoveries section are the Spanish movies 20,000 Species of Bees [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Estíbaliz Urresola
film profile] by Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren and Matria [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Álvaro Gago
film profile] by Alvaro Gago, not to mention Elaha [+see also:
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film profile] by Germany’s Milena Aboyan, Gondola [+see also:
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interview: Veit Helmer
film profile] by fellow German Veit Helmer, Kiddo [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Zara Dwinger
film profile] by Holland’s Zara Dwinger, Munch [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Henrik M Dahlsbakken
film profile] by Norway’s Henrik M. Dahlsbakken and Scrapper [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] by English director Charlotte Regan. Standing tall in the Great Masters category, meanwhile, are King’s Land [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] by Denmark’s Nikolaj Arcel, The Zone of Interest [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] by England’s Jonathan Glazer and Poor Things [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Suzy Bemba
Q&A: Yorgos Lanthimos
film profile] by Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos.

It’s a showcase of European cinema in all its diversity, which will also shine a light on French film production, exhibiting more than 20 feature films which are set to screen in premieres, including Borgo [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] by Stéphane Demoustier, The Deep Dark by Mathieu Turi, It's Rainning Men by Caroline Vignal (which is set to close the festival) and the four young talents on the French Perspectives agenda (Vincent Must Die [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Stéphan Castang
film profile] by Stéphan Castang, The Fantastic Three by Michaël Dichter, La tête froide by Stéphane Marchetti and Paternel by Ronan Tronchot).

And that’s without forgetting the World Cinema section (and notably the European co-productions Goodbye Julia [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mohamed Kordofani
film profile] by Mohamed Kordofani, Inchallah A Boy [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Amjad Al Rasheed, If Only I Could Hibernate [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Zoljargal Purevdash
film profile] by Zoljargal Purevdash and Behind the Mountains [+see also:
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interview: Mohamed Ben Attia
film profile] by Mohamed Ben Attia), two retrospectives ("Dirty Beasts" and "The Odd Czechs"), special screenings, a young audience selection and, in terms of the professional sidebar, the 17th edition of the Professional Northern Meetings (running 8 to 10 November) and the pitching sessions for the Arras Days Development Grant (on 11 November ), with a focus on several Croatian projects the following day, to boot.

(Translated from French)