13/03/2025 - The French film centre will also support Lukas Dhont, Régis Sauder, Alain Gagnol, Camille Vidal-Naquet, Marie-Sophie Chambon, Naïla Guiguet, Sarah Arnold, Omer Shamir and Bamba Diop

Ten projects have been selected during the first 2025 advance on receipts session of the CNC.

Standing out amongst the three titles selected by the 3rd committee (focused on fourth features and beyond) are the French-Italian co-production Roma elastica by Bertrand Mandico, the filmmaker’s 5th feature after The Wild Boys [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bertrand Mandico
film profile] (2017 Venice Critics’ Week), with After Blue [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] which had been unveiled in competition in Locarno in 2021, Conann [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bertrand Mandico
film profile] (Directors’ Fortnight 2023) and Dragon Dilatation [+see also:
film review
interview: Bertrand Mandico
film profile] (out of competition in Locarno in 2024). His new film will paint the portrait of an actress going to shoot her latest film in Rome in the 1980s. Starring in this feature produced by Atelier de Production, together with Italian outfits Redibis Film and Dugong Film, are Marion Cotillard, Alba Rohrwacher and Jasmine Trinca.

The CNC will also be supporting Un homme s’est échappé, the debut fiction feature by Régis Sauder, well known for his documentaries (notably Retour à Forbach [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], J’ai aimé vivre là [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], as well as Nous, princesses de Clèves). Written by the director together with Virginie Legeay, the film is produced by Petit à Petit Productions.

An animation project completes the 3rd committee's selection: Les chiens ne font pas des chats by Alain Gagnol (who had co-directed the very noteworthy A Cat in Paris [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Phantom Boy [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and Nina and the Hedgehog’s Secret). The production is handled by Parmi Les Lucioles Films and international sales will be led by Playtime.

Amongst the three projects selected by the second committee (for second and third features) shine Coward (read the news), the third film by Belgian filmmaker Lukas Dhont after the Cannes-award winning films Girl [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lukas Dhont
film profile] and Close [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Eden Dambrine
interview: Lukas Dhont
interview: Lukas Dhont
film profile], a production bringing together The Reunion and French outfit Lumen.

Also amongst the projects selected by the second committee are two features: Aref by Camille Vidal-Naquet (co-written with Qutiba Barhamji, produced by Les Films de la Croisade) who won an award in Cannes’ Critics’ Week in 2018 with Sauvage [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Camille Vidal-Naquet
film profile], as well as Là où les eaux se mêlent by Marie-Sophie Chambon (produced by Phénomènes Films and Noodles Production) who had been noticed in 2019 with 100 kilos d’étoiles [+see also:
trailer
film profile].

Finally, the first committee, dedicated to debut features, has selected four projects, three of which are fiction: Molitor by Naïla Guiguet (co-written with Benjamin Crotty and produced by Alta Rocca Films), L’espèce explosive by Sarah Arnold (co-written with Jérémie Dubois and Olivier Seror, produced by 5 à 7 Films), Les témoins by Omer Shamir (produced by Unité) and the documentary project Les routiers de l’espoir by Bamba Diop (co-written with Manon Lavaud, produced by Special Touch Studios).

(Translated from French)