24/12/2008

Six European productions and co-productions are among the 14 new releases hitting French screens on Wednesday, December 24 and 31. These include two French and two UK features, a Belgian and an Italian film.

Among the domestic titles, audiences will be able to discover the explosive, dark social comedy Louise Michel [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Benoît Delépine and Gustav…
interview: Benoît Jaubert
film profile] by Benoît Delépine and Gustave Kervern, which is being released by Ad Vitam. The film won Best Screenplay at San Sebastian and has been selected in competition for the forthcoming Sundance Festival.

French film will also be represented on December 24 by Sunny and the Elephant [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Frédéric Lepage and Olivier Horlait. This English-language film is set in the forests of Northern Thailand and centres on a teenager who dreams of becoming an elephant driver.

Produced by MC4 in co-production with France 2 Cinéma and Switzerland’s Les Productions Jean-Marc Henchoz, the feature is being launched by StudioCanal.

Meanwhile, Le Pacte will be hoping for success this Christmas eve with UK director Stephen Walker’s documentary Young at Heart [+see also:
trailer
film profile]. The film’s endearing elderly rock choir members have won over critics.

The press has been particularly enthusiastic about Italian director Paolo Sorrentino’s Il Divo [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nicola Giuliano
interview: Paolo Sorrentino
interview: Philippe Desandre
film profile], which won the Jury Prize at the latest Cannes Film Festival and whose star, Toni Servillo, picked up the 2008 European Film Award for Best Actor in early December. This Indigo Film production received co-production support from France’s Babe Films, Arte France Cinéma and StudioCanal. The latter are releasing the title on December 31 on around 60 screens.

Demonstrating the diversity of European film, New Year’s Eve will also see the release of Belgian director Taylan Barman’s 9mm [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (Alexart Films Distribution). Starring Morgan Marinne, Serge Riaboukine and Anne Coesens, the feature was produced by Belgium’s Saga Films with backing from French company Dolce Vita Films and the Nord-Pas de Calais audiovisual fund (CRRAV).

Finally, film enthusiasts will also get the chance to learn more about the eventful life of a great contemporary film master in Marina Zenovich’s documentary Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired. This US/UK co-production will be launched by Metropolitan Filmexport on December 31.

(Translated from French)