12/04/2018 - The new ventures by Philippe Garrel, Marco Bellocchio and Manele Labidi will also be co-produced by the French-German channel

Arte France Cinéma’s (managed by Olivier Père) second selection committee of 2018 has decided to get involved in the co-production and pre-purchasing of four projects. Standing out among them is Selvajaria by Portugal’s Miguel Gomes (Tabu [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Miguel Gomes
interview: Miguel Gomes
film profile], the Arabian Nights [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Miguel Gomes
film profile] trilogy). The story of his upcoming opus, written by the director together with Maureen Fazendeiro, Telmo Churro and Mariana Ricardo, is an adaptation of Rebellion in the Backlands by Brazilian author Euclides da Cunha (published in 1902), a chronicle of a bloody war that pitted the inhabitants of the hamlet of Canudos, led by their prophet, against the army of the young Brazilian Republic in 1897. Production duties are being handled by O Som e a Fúria (Portugal), Shellac Sud (France), Bananeira Filmes (Brazil), Komplizen Film (Germany) and Piano (Mexico).

Arte France Cinéma has also selected The Salt of Tears [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Souheila Yacoub
film profile], which will be the 27th fiction feature by Philippe Garrel, who penned the screenplay with his regular writing partners Jean-Claude Carrière and Arlette Langmann. The film will explore family ties, particularly the one that binds a father and son. Through its main character and his various amorous sojourns, it will weave the tale of a young man whose life is shaped by both his acceptance and rejection of his father figure. Production duties are being handled by Rectangle, and the shoot is slated to take place in September 2018. 

Arte France Cinéma will also be throwing its weight behind the next opus by seasoned Italian director Marco Bellocchio, The Traitor [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Marco Bellocchio
film profile]. Written by the filmmaker together with Ludovica Rampoldi, Valia Santella and Francesco Piccolo, the film will revolve around Tommaso Buscetta, also known as Don Massimo, a former Cosa Nostra strongman who collaborates with Judge Falcone to dismantle the mafia. Considered a traitor, he nevertheless stands up for Cosa Nostra’s true values when confronted with the Corleone crimes carried out by Toto Riina. So which of the two is the real traitor? The movie is being staged by Ad Vitam Production (France), Kavac Films (Italy), IBC Movie (Italy), Match Factory Productions (Germany) and Gullane Entreitenimento (Brazil).

The fourth title selected during this session is Arab Blues [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Manele Labidi
film profile], which will be the feature debut by Manele Labidi, produced by Paris-based outfit Kazak. The movie will make use of the comedy genre to delve into the heart of Tunisia, just after it has been freed from the clutches of Ben Ali, where 35-year-old Selma returns to open a psychoanalysis clinic in a working-class suburb of Tunis. Arousing curiosity, but also misunderstanding and even rejection, her aim is to listen and encourage others to speak openly at a time when the whole country is just discovering freedom of thought and speech. 

As previously reported, Arte France Cinéma is backing the upcoming films by Pawel Pawlikowski, Jia Zhangke, Alice Rohrwacher, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Gaspar Noé, Jayro Bustamante, Mia Hansen-Love, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Olivier Assayas, Philippe Faucon, Leos Carax, Corneliu Porumboiu, Nadav Lapid, Diao Yi'nan, André Téchiné, Claire Burger, Mati Diop, Arthur Harari, Mikhaël Hers, Emmanuel Mouret, Gustave Kervern and Benoît Delépine, Quentin Dupieux, Christophe Honoré, Benoît Jacquot, Rabah Ameur-Zaïmèche, Mohamed Ben Attia, Nicolas Pariser, Jean-Bernard Marlin, Hafsia Herzi, Dror Moreh, and duos Caroline Poggi - Jonathan Vinel, Rana Kazkaz - Anas Khalaf and Felipe Barbosa - Clara Linhart, as well as animated films being helmed by Florence Miailhe, duo Zabou Breitman - Eléa Gobbé-Mevellec, and Michel Ocelot.

(Translated from French)