30/01/2006

Great news for French production at the Sundance Festival with the World Cinema Jury prize going yesterday to 13 (Tzameti) [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fanny Saadi
interview: Gela Babluani
film profile], the first feature from Gela Babluani. This award, a first for French film production in American independent cinema’s shop-window, is now added to 13’s Lion of the Future, best first film award at Venice 2005. Produced by Les Films de la Strada with Solimane Productions, Quasar Pictures and MK2 as co-producers, the film retraces the terrible accidental adventure of young Sébastien (Georges Babluani) who is looking for money. Taking the place of a dead man, the young man will find himself with no way out, forced to take part in a game of Russian roulette organised by an occult circle of rich gamblers. It is a journey of survival in the extreme filmed in black and white and in Scope, and Cineuropa will discuss the film in more detail on the 8th February (release date of the film in France) with a complete Focus.

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13 (Tzameti) had a budget of 1,4 million euros including 152 000 euros of post production Advance on Receipts from the National Film Centre (CNC) and will be distributed in France by MK2 Diffusion who also handle international sales. Released in the UK on the 6th of January, the film was lavished with praise and has been bought for, among others, Canada, Japan, Benelux, Turkey, Israël and Brazil. Sales will no doubt accelerate after this victory at Sundance. Aged 27, originally from Georgia and living in Paris for twelve years, Gela Bablauani is currently shooting L’âme perdue du sommet (interpreted notably by Sylvie Testud et Stanislas Mehrar), a film which he is co-directing with his father Temour Babluani (winner of the Silver Bear at Berlin in 1993). MK2 will release the film on the 24th May in the theatres.

(Translated from French)