The seventh edition of the Champs-Élysées Film Festival will take place from 12-19 June, presenting a selection of more than 60 French and US independent films in the various movie theatres strewn along the famous Parisian avenue (the Balzac, the Gaumont Marignan, the Lincoln, the Publicis Cinémas and the UGC George V).

The feature-film jury, made up of actresses Judith Chemla and Ana Girardot, actress-director Naidra Ayadi, actors Damien Bonnard and Pierre Deladonchamps, and filmmaker Sébastien Betbeder, will be weighing up two competitive sections comprising six titles each, one of which is dedicated to US films, while the other is reserved for French titles. The latter includes the documentary Cassandro the Exotico! [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film] by Marie Losier (unveiled on the ACID programme at Cannes), July Tales [+leggi anche:
trailer
scheda film] by Guillaume Brac (screened at Locarno, and set to go on general release in France on 25 July), the animated film Funan [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
intervista: Denis Do
scheda film] by Denis Do (which will have its world premiere just beforehand, at this week’s Annecy Film Festival), Naufragé volontaire by Didier Nion, the doc 68, Mon père et les Clous [+leggi anche:
trailer
scheda film] by Samuel Bigiaoui, and La Trajectoire du homard [+leggi anche:
trailer
scheda film] by Vincent Giovanni and Igor Mendjisky (another film enjoying its world premiere – the storyline unfolds one hour before the very first theatrical performance of a collective creation, as a range of unexpected, zany and dramatic situations come thick and fast, from the dressing rooms to the lighting desk, and from the corridors to the back offices… The film was produced by Topshot Films and Entre 2&4 Production).

This year, the Champs-Élysées Film Festival has invited as its guests of honour director John Cameron Mitchell (who will give a master class on 13 June and whose film How to Talk to Girls at Parties [+leggi anche:
recensione
trailer
scheda film] will open the gathering), and his counterparts David and Nathan Zellner (who will bring the event to a close with Damsel). We should also point out that the short-film jury is being chaired by French filmmaker Katell Quillévéré, and the programme is rounded off by four US features enjoying premiere screenings (including the French co-production Thirst Street [+leggi anche:
trailer
intervista: Nathan Silver
scheda film] by Nathan Silver).

The Industry Week (the professional sidebar of the gathering) is planning a US in Progress event, with ten US films in post-production that will be presented to the attending French sales agents, distributors and producers, as well as to a jury including Emilie Georges (Memento Films International). The US & French Connection programme, meanwhile, will enable professionals from both sides of the Atlantic to forge links on projects in development (five US titles have been selected based on their screenplays).