16/06/2005

As it has every year for 22 years, the Avignon Film Festival welcomes, from today till 19th of June, filmmakers from all over Europe and the Unites States who will show their films and get together. This is the first step in a festival, with an echo in New York, for several years showing Americans a large part of independent European production. The Workshop, as it is called, can boast not only the discovery of many independent cinema auteurs from America but also having screened the first films of a number of talented directors such as GaspardNoé, Christophe Ruggia, Delphine Gleize, Emanuele Crialese and also Arnaud Desplechin.

In the programme for this edition will be the screening of 13 features, among them Quand les anges s'en mêlent by Crystel Amsalem, Le Voyage en Inde by Yann Piquer and the documentary by Patrick Jeudy about Robert Capa, and also Eugenia of Patagonia from the Italians Idanna Pucci and Claudio Cutry, the Australian Take me home by Robert Narholz and from Germany The last of the First by Anja Baron. 17 short films (11 European) will also be in competition. Guest of Honour this time is the American Hal Hartley, well-known independent filmmaker who has resisted the Hollywood norm for years and will be presenting one of his films. Alongside him will be Portuguese Maria de Medeiros and Finnish Mika Kaurismaki who has come to close the festival with his new film, the documentary Brasileirinho. A homage is dedicated to the French-American-German Pierre Salinger whose private photographic collection will be exhibited at the Avignon Opera. He, surely, represents the spirit of the festival, open to French culture, curious about Europe, aware of its independence and friend to the resistance against the American bulldozer.

(Translated from French)