08/02/2007

Winner of seven Golden Bears since the Berlinale began, but only two since 1966 – Bertrand Tavernier’s Fresh Bait in 1995 and Patrice Chéreau’s Intimacy in 2001 – French cinema is hoping to come away with further awards at the 57th Berlin International Film Festival, which opens today with Olivier Dahan’s La Vie en Rose [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (see article).

After a poor 2006 edition, with only one film in competition, French films are making a comeback at Berlin this year with four features in the competition line-up, including films by a trio of well-known directors: André Téchiné’s The Witnesses [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Jacques Rivette’s Don’t Touch the Axe [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and François Ozon’s Angel, which will close the festival.

Other competition titles joining these four French co-productions are: Ariel Rotter’s The Other [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], Bille August’s Goodbye Bafana [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Zhang Lu’s Desert Dream [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and Sam Garbarski’s Irina Palm [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sam Garbarski
interview: Sébastien Delloye
film profile].

French films will have a strong presence in the other sections of the 2007 Berlinale as well. The Panorama has selected three Gallic features (Pascale Ferran’s Lady Chatterley [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], Michel Spinosa’s Anna M. [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and Julie Delpy’s 2 Days in Paris [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Christophe Mazodier
interview: Julie Delpy
film profile], see article), two documentaries (Rodolphe Marconi’s Lagerfeld Confidential [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and Olivier Meyrou’s Celebration [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) and three co-productions (Santiago Otheguy’s La Leon, André Schäfer’s Here's Looking at You, Boy and Marco Simon Puccioni’s Shelter [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]).

The Forum will unveil nine French (co-)productions (see news), in particular Jeanne Waltz’s A Parting Shot [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jeanne Waltz
interview: Pierre-Alain Meier
film profile], Fred Poulet and Vikash Dhorasoo’s Substitute [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and Aurélien Gerbault’s documentary All Blossoms Again.

Lastly, the Generation category will give audiences a chance to discover or rediscover directing duo Serge Elissalde and Gregoire Solotareff’s U, Jean-Pierre Ameris’ Call Me Elisabeth [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and Catalin Mitulescu’s French/Romanian co-production The Way I Spent the End of the World [+see also:
trailer
film profile].

A final mention goes to European co-production The Lark Farm, helmed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, which will screen in the Berlinale Special programme.

(Translated from French)