News

Ticket sales in July up 33.13% compared with same month in 2022; Barbie and Oppenheimer alone accounted for 25% of admissions.

After a slow summer start with dipping ticket sales in June, the French box office jumped back to life in July with 18.38m tickets sold, powered by ‘Barbenheimer’ and US blockbusters. Ticket sales were up 33.3% compared to the same month in 2022 and 10.1% more than the pre-pandemic 2017-2019 average.

Warner Bros’ Barbie and Universal’s Oppenheimer alone accounted for 25% of ticket sales for the month. Barbie led the pack with 2.6m admissions followed by Indiana Jones And The Dial of Destiny, released on June 28 in France,...

French cinema guilds L’Arp and La Srf have put out a joint statement declaring solidarity with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

Many of the demands around value sharing and A.I. regulation of the Hollywood writers and actors, who went on strike on May 2 and July 14 respectively, chime with long-running battles of the two organizations in France.

“This double social movement, a first since 1960 in Hollywood, is the sign of a major turning point, where the issues of value sharing, the integration of new models and artificial intelligence are central,” the bodies in a joint statement, issued on Thursday.

“At the heart of these demands, is the future of our sector. To guarantee that authors and artists continue to emerge and renew creation, we must on the one hand adapt value-sharing to new distribution models, so that the transition from linear does not lead to a weakening of creators,” it continued.

“Yvonne Moreau is both original and very popular,” said Indie Sales.

Paris-based Indie Sales is heading to Cannes with The Jolly Forgers in tow, kicking off sales at the market for Yolande Moreau’s latest ensemble drama.

Moreau directs and stars in the feel-good feature as a woman who returns to her hometown to a house she inherited and takes in a merry band of new tenants, three men who brighten up her daily life and help her rekindle the flame of her long-lost true love. Sergi Lopez and Gregory Gadebois co-star in the film produced by Julie Salvador of...

Paris-based company Indie Sales has acquired Teddy Lussi-Modeste’s topical third feature, “The Good Teacher,” co-written by “Happening” filmmaker Audrey Diwan.

François Civil, the French star of “The Three Musketeers” and “The Wolf’s Call,” stars as a young teacher wrongfully accused of sexual misconduct by a teenage girl from his class. As he faces mounting pressures from the girl’s older brother and her classmates, the situation spirals out of control: Allegations spread, the entire school is thrown into turmoil, and the teacher has to fight to clear his name.

“The Good Teacher” marks the second collaboration between Indie Sales and Lussi-Modeste following “The Price of Success” which screened at Toronto and San Sebastián New Directors’ competition. “The Price of Success was picked up by Netflix for a multi-territory deal including the US.

Indie Sales will be introducing “The Good Teacher” to buyers at the Cannes Film Market with an exclusive promo-reel.

Duo are behind Dominik Moll’s ’The Night of the 12th’

Haut et Court’s Carole Scotta and Barbara Letellier were named best producers of the year at the 16th annual edition of France’s Academy of Film Arts & Sciences’ Daniel Toscan du Plantier Prize held on Monday night (February 14) in Paris.

The duo are notably behind Dominik Moll’s investigative drama The Night Of The 12th, which has been sweeping awards season in France, winning the Best Film Lumiere Award and nominated for 10 César awards.

A swanky gala dinner celebrated the winning pair along with the finalists for the prize,...

French sales company to showcase comedy and drama slate at Rendez-Vous.

Paris-based Indie Sales has boarded Jean-Pierre Améris’ Take A Chance On Me and Pierre Jolivet’s Green Tide, expanding the company’s star-powered French slate.

Indie Sales’ French language line-up also includes Noémie Lvovsky’s The Great Magic, Mathias Gokalp’s The Assembly Line, Emad Aleebrahim Dehkordi’s A Tale of Shemroon and Marc Fitoussi’s Two Tickets to Greece.

Take A Chance On Me stars popular French singer turned actress Louane Emera, whose credits include The Belier Family, who plays a young woman juggling between odd jobs to support her agoraphobic father.

The Arp is proposing expulsion for members convicted of sexual violence, with 200 film-makers set to vote at a special meeting

A French organisation of more than 200 film-makers said on Monday it will propose new rules regarding members charged or convicted of a criminal offence, particularly of a sexual nature, which could lead to the suspension and expulsion of French-Polish director Roman Polanski.

The board of the Arp directors’ guild voted to present “new procedures to suspend any member facing legal charges, and expel any member convicted, especially for crimes of a sexual nature,” said Pierre Jolivet, the organisation’s president.

France's Arp, the country's guild for directors, writers and producers, has proposed new rules for members under investigation or convicted of sexual crimes, which would lead to the suspension of Roman Polanski.

The director has been a fugitive from justice in the U.S. for decades and faces a fresh probe following an explosive accusation from actress Valentine Monnier that Polanski raped her in 1975.

The Arp board's new rules would “suspend any member facing legal charges, and expel any member convicted, especially for crimes of a sexual nature,” said president Pierre Jolivet.

The new ...

France's Arp, the country's guild for directors, writers and producers, has proposed new rules for members under investigation or convicted of sexual crimes, which would lead to the suspension of Roman Polanski.

The director has been a fugitive from justice in the U.S. for decades and faces a fresh probe following an explosive accusation from actress Valentine Monnier that Polanski raped her in 1975.

The Arp board's new rules would “suspend any member facing legal charges, and expel any member convicted, especially for crimes of a sexual nature,” said president Pierre Jolivet.

The new ...

A full-blown immersion inside a working French fire station, The Brigade (Les Hommes du feu) deserves credit for the nearly documentary way it captures the life-risking and life-saving quotidian of a squad of firefighters based in the Gallic southwest.

But as a dramatic thriller, this lackluster effort from writer-director Pierre Jolivet (The Night Watchmen) suffers from generic storytelling and a very telefilm-style sheen — to the point that it often feels less like a movie than like a fictionalized training video. A decent cast lead by Roschdy Zem (Point Blank) and Emilie Dequenne (Rosetta) should give this StudioCanal release a...

L’Arp expresses love for Us culture and “consternation” at Us president’s budget plan.

French cinema guild L’Arp has issued a message of solidarity with Us filmmakers and artists, condemning Us President Donald Trump’s recently revealed proposals to slash cultural spending.

“We love American culture and cinema which for us [are] our inexhaustible sources of inspiration and escape,” said the body, jointly presided over by Oscar-winning director Michel Hazanavicius (pictured) and filmmaker Julie Bertuccelli.

“We therefore wish to express our solidarity with the American filmmakers and artists who have recently mobilised against this decision.”

Under its budget proposals for the next fiscal year, the Trump administration is planning to cut some $971m previously earmarked for non-profit cultural entities, including theatres, writing programmes, orchestras, libraries and public broadcasters.

The biggest losers are expected to be the National Endowment For The Arts, the Corporation For Public Broadcasting, the Institute Of Museum And Library Services, and the National...

L’Arp statement expresses love for Us culture and consternation over Us president’s budget plan.

French cinema guild L’Arp has issued a message of solidarity with Us filmmakers and artists, condemning Us President Donald Trump’s recently revealed proposals to slash cultural spending.

“We love American culture and cinema which for us are inexhaustible sources of inspiration and escape,” said the body, jointly presided over by Oscar-winning director Michel Hazanavicius (pictured) and filmmaker Julie Bertuccelli.

“We therefore wish to express our solidarity with the American filmmakers and artists who have recently mobilised against this decision.”

Under its budget proposals for the next fiscal year, the Trump administration is planning to cut some $971m previously earmarked for non-profit cultural entities, including theatres, writing programmes, orchestras, libraries and public broadcasters.

The biggest losers are expected to be the National Endowment For The Arts, the Corporation For Public Broadcasting, the Institute Of Museum And Library Services, and the National...

Pierre Jolivet's The Night Watchman (aka Jamais De La Vie) was awarded the Golden Goblet for Best Film on Sunday night at the 18th Shanghai International Film Festival, while Chinese crime drama The Dead End nabbed the Best Director prize for Cao Baoping and Best Actor, which was shared between the film's three leads: Deng Chao, Duan Yihong and Guo Tao. Best Actress went to Krista Kasonen, for her role in the Finnish drama Midwife (aka Katilo).The Jury Grand Prix was awarded to Jacek Lusinski's Carte Blanche, Patrick Tobin won Best Screenplay for the Jennifer Aniston starrer Cake, Vladislav Opeliyants won the Best Cinematography award for his work on the Russian film Sunstroke, while the Award for Outstanding Artistic Achievement was presented to the South Korean...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Pierre Jolivet’s France-Belgium co-production The Night Watchman won best feature in the Golden Goblet competition of this year’s Shanghai International Film Festival (June 13-21), while Cao Baoping’s The Dead End won best director and actor.

The acting prize for The Dead End was split between Deng Chao, Duan Yihong and Guo Tao. The Jury Grad Prix went to Polish filmmaker Jacek Lusinski’s Carte Blanche, while best actress went to Krista Kosonen in Antti Jokinen’ Finland-Lithuania co-production The Midwife (see full list of winners below)

Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev headed the Golden Goblet jury, which also included Chinese director Cai Shangjun, Chinese actress Hao Lei, French filmmaker Philippe Muyl, Hong Kong producer Nansun Shi and Us producer Ron Yerxa.

Last Thursday, Iranian filmmaker Hooman Seyedi’s 13 won best film and cinematography at the Asian New Talent Awards. Best director went to Japan’s Momoko Ando for 0.5mm, while best actress...

Derek Yee’s I Am Somebody will open this year’s Shanghai International Film Festival (Siff, June 13-21), while China-Russian co-production Ballet In The Flames Of War will close the event.

Directed by China’s Yachun Dong and Russia’s Nikita Mikhalkov, Ballet In The Flames Of War is a romance set during the Second World War and opened the Chinese Film Festival in Mosow last month.

Meanwhile, Mikhalkov’s Sunstroke is one of nine films selected for the Golden Goblet Awards, along with Daniel Barnz’s Cake and Taiwanese director Tung Wang’s Where The Wind Settles (see list below). Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev (Leviathan) heads the jury for the awards.

Films nominated for the Asian New Talent Award include Japanese director Momoko Ando’s 0.5mm, Iranian filmmaker Hooman Seyedi’s 13 and Labour Of Love from India’s Aditya Vikram Sengupta.

Zhang Yimou’s Coming Home is also nominated in this section, but for the...

Exclusive: My Life As A Zucchini is written by Tomboy and Girlhood director Céline Sciamma.

Indie Sales has acquired international rights to feature-length stop motion film My Life As A Zucchini, based on a screen adaptation by filmmaker Céline Sciamma of a popular novel.

The Paris-based company will launch sales on the film at the Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) alongside another new acquisition, Pierre Jolivet’s new project The Night Watchman, starring Olivier Gourmet.

My Life As A Zucchini is the first feature-length film by Swiss director Claude Barras after a series of well-received animated shorts including Chambre 69 and Land of the Heads.

It is a Swiss-French co-production between Rita Films in Switzerland, Blue Spirit Productions in Paris and Gebeka in Lyon. Gebeka will also distribute in France.

The film is an adaptation of Gilles Paris novel Autobiography of a Zucchini about a young boy adapting to life in a children’s home after his mother...

Today’s film is the 1981 short L’avant Dernier. The film stars Fabrice Roche, Pierre Jolivet, and Jean Reno, and is co-written by Jolivet and Besson, the latter of whom also directs. Besson has gained a reputation as the writer and director of numerous films over his career, including The Last Battle, a full-length adaptation of this short, along with La Femme Nikita, Léon: The Professional, The Transporter, and Colombiana. Brick Mansions, produced by Besson and using his screenplay for Banlieue 13, opened in wide release in American theatres this weekend.

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The post Sunday Shorts: ‘L’avant Dernier’, directed and co-written by Luc Besson appeared first on Sound On Sight.

Col*Coa is winding down, but you can still catch a few stellar films and see the award winners for free Monday, April 22, 2013.

Award Screenings at 6:00 pm: The evening will start with the rerun of two awarded films in the Renoir and Truffaut Theaters at the DGA. Films will be announced on Sunday April 21 on the Col*Coa website, on Facebook, Twitter and on the Col•Coa info line (310) 289 5346. Free admission on a First comes First Served basis. No RSVP needed.

You can stay and also see the Closing Night Films at 8:30 pm at the DGA. Reservations needed. Those are both North American Premieres of two very anticipated French films. The thriller Moebus by Eric Rochant will show for free as will the comedy Like Brothers by Hugo Gélin.

Being among the French filmmakers (and I saw way too few of the films) gave me such a surprising sense of renewal - again because of this upcoming generation. After seeing City of Lights, the short by Pascal Tessaud which preceded the classic Jacques Demy film Bay of Angels starring a platinum blond gambling-addicted Jeanne Moreau in Cannes, Nice and Monte Carlo in 1963, we spoke at length about what is called "The New Vibe". City of Lights stars a deeply quiet young man from "les banlieus", the notorious "suburbs" surrounding Paris where the international mix of young (and old) proletariat population is invisible to the rest of France except when the anger erupts into riots. This first generation has the French education but not the money or jobs and it hurts. They have picked up the cameras and with no money are creating films which express their lives in many ways like the new Latin American filmmakers or the new Eastern European filmmakers. Tessaud gave me an entire education in the hour we talked and I will share this in time. For now, aside from his wonderfuly trenchant film which played like a feature, which captured the Paris this young generation recognizes as The City of Lights - dancing, the kitchen of a very upscale restaurant, the dreary streets filled with construction, there is another example of The New Vibe, started by Rachid Djaïdani (a story in himself) the film Hold Back (Rengaine) leads the pack of the 20-some-odd new films of The New Vibe. It is produced by Anne-Dominque Toussaint (Les Films des Tournelles) whose films are too numerous to name but include my favorite The Hedgehog which I wrote about at Col*Coa two years ago, Col*Coa's current Cycling with Moliere, 2002's Respiro and many many others. Hold Back took 9 years to make and most of the team was unpaid. The New Vibe makes films without the aid of the French system of funding; it is more guerilla-style, not New Wave, not Dogma but New Vibe. Hold Back took Cannes by storm when it showed last year in Directors Fortnight and went on to New Directors/ New Films in New York. The classic story of a Catholic and a Muslim who want to marry but whose family objects, this rendition the Juliet has a brother who marches throughout Paris to alert her 39 other brothers that she wants to marry outside her cultural and religious traditions. "This fresh debut mixes fable, plucky social commentary - particularly about France's Arab community - and inventive comic setpieces" (Col*Coa)

Hold Back (Rengaine) (Isa: Pathe) goes beyond the funny but "establishmant" film Intouchable which played here last year. It is the exact opposite of such films as Sister or even Aliyah (Isa: Rezo) which played here this year and also in Directors Fortnight last year. Aliyah is about a young French Jewish man who must make his last drug sale in order to escape his brother's destructive behavior. He escapes by immigrating to Israel. These films are made by filmmakers within the French establishment and describe a proletariat existence which exists in their bourgeois minds. They lack a certain "verite" which can only be captured by one who knows viscerally what such marginal existence is.

At the opposite end of the contemporary spectrum of films today, a real establishment film is You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet by Alain Renais (you have to be a Renais fan to love it who was so avant-garde in his day). Those old New Wave films one could see here stand out in beautiful contrast to today's New Vibe: Renais' Stavisky or the 1963 film The Fire Within (Le feu follet) by Louis Malle again starring the beautiful Jeanne Moreau. I missed them both to my regret. When I miss a film I always tell myself I can see it when it's released or on DVD or Mubi, but rarely do I get to see it. Instead I can only read about it as here written up by Beth Hanna on Indiewire blog ToH. The Fire Within was part of Wes Anderson's choices, one of the various showcases of Col*Coa. Says Hanna: "Anderson's taste is impeccable: He has selected Louis Malle's 1963 lyrical depression drama The Fire Within." It was made after the classic Elevator to the Gallows (1958) which Miles Davis scored and which also starred the young Jeanne Moreau. She also could be seen her in Col*Coa in the classic 1963 Jacques Demy-directed Bay of Angels.

Col*Coa really offered something for everyone this year. Another of my favorite film genres, the Jewish film, was represented by Aliyah and The Dandelions (Du Vent dans mes mollets) (Isa: Gaumont), Stavisky, and It Happened in St. Tropez (Isa: Pathe), a classic French comedy -- though a bit dark and yet still comedic, about romance, love and marriage switching between generations in a neurotic, comfortably wealthy Jewish family. The Dandelions was, according to my friend Debra Levine, a writer on culture including film and dance, (see her blog artsmeme), "darling, so touching, so well made, so creative ... i really liked it. Went into that rabbit hole of little girls together ... Barbie doll play. Crazy creative play. As looney as kids can be."

Ian Birnie's favorite film was Becoming Traviata. Greg Katchel's favorite originally was Rendez-vous à Kiruna by Anna Novion, but when I saw him later in the festival his favorite was Cycling with Moliere (Alceste a bicyclette) (Isa: Pathe), again produced by Anne-Dominque Toussaint and directed by Philippe Le Guay who directed one of my favorites, The Women on the 6th Floor. Greg also liked Three Worlds though it was a bit "schematic" in depicting the clash of different cultures which were also shown in Hold Back.

Of the few films I was able to see, the most interesting was Augustine by Alice Winokur. It is the French response to David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method and the British film Hysteria. All three were about the turn of the century concern of psychologists or doctors with female hysteria. This one concerned Jean-Martin Charcot and the neurologist's belief that hysteria was a neurological disease and he used hypnosis to get at its roots, whild in A Dangerous Method it was seen by Freud and Jung as a mental disorder and in Hysteria by Tanya Wexler (Tiff 2011) in which Dr. Mortimer Granville devises the invention of the first vibrator in the name of medical science.

Take a look at Indiewire's own article here for more on Los Angeles's greatest French attraction, the second largest French film festival in the world.

Several American distributors will present their films at Col•Coa before their U.S. release: Kino Lorber – You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet, co-written and directed by Alain Resnais (Focus on a Filmmaker); Mpi Media – Thérèse, the last film of director/co-writer Claude Miller starring Audrey Tautou; Cohen Media Group – In the House, written and directed by François Ozon and The Attack, co-written and directed by Ziad Doueiri; Distrib Films for two documentaries: Becoming Traviata and The Invisibles; Film Movement for two thrillers: Aliyah and Three Worlds; The Weinstein Company - Populaire.

Below you can see the international sales agents for the current features showing.

11.6 / 11.6 (Isa: Wild Bunch)

Directed by: Philippe Godeau

Written by: Philippe Godeau, Agnès De Sacy

A Few Hours Of Spring / Quelques heures de printemps (Isa: Rezo)

Directed by: Stéphane Brizé ♀

Written by: Stéphane Brizé, Florence Vignon

Cast: Vincent Lindon, Hélène Vincent, Emmanuelle Seigner, Olivier Perrier

Aliyah/Alyah ✡ (Isa: Rezo, U.S.: Film Movement

Directed by: Élie Wajeman

Written by: Élie Wajeman, Gaëlle Macé

Armed Hands / Mains armées (Isa: Films Distribution)

Directed by: Pierre Jolivet

Written by: Pierre Jolivet, Simon Michaël

Augustine / Augustine (Isa: Kinology, U.S.: Music Box)

Directed by: Alice Winocour ♀

Written by: Alice Winocour

Aya Of Yop City / Aya de Yopougon (Isa: TF1)

Directed by: Clément Oubrerie, Marguerite Abouet ♀

Written by: Marguerite Abouet

Bay Of Angels / La Baie des anges (U.S.: Criterion)

Directed by: Jacques Demy

Written by: Jacques Demy

Becoming Traviata /Traviata et nous (Isa: Films Boutique, U.S. Distrib Films and Cinema Guild)

Directed by: Philippe Béziat

Written by: Philippe Béziat

Cycling With MOLIÈRE / Alceste à bicyclette (Isa: Pathe)

Directed by: Philippe Le Guay

Written by: Philippe Le Guay, based on an original idea by Fabrice Luchini and Philippe Le Guay

Fly Me To The Moon / Un plan parfait (Isa: Kinology)

Directed By: Pascal Chaumeil

Written By: Laurent Zeitoun, Yoann Gromb, Philippe Mechelen

Haute Cuisine / Les Saveurs du palais (Isa: Wild Bunch, U.S.: The Weinstein Company)

Directed by: Christian Vincent

Written by: Etienne Comar & Christian Vincent, based on the life of Danièle Mazet-Delpeuch

Hidden Beauties / Mille-Feuille (Isa: Other Angle Pictures)

Directed by: Nouri Bouzid

Written by: Nouri Bouzid, Joumène Limam

Hold Back / Rengaine (Isa: Pathe)

Directed by: Rachid Djaïdani

Written by: Rachid Djaïdani

In The House / Dans la maison (Isa: Wild Bunch, U.S.: Cohen Media Group)

Directed by: François Ozon

Written by: François Ozon

It Happened In Saint-tropez / Des Gens qui s’embrassent (Isa: Pathe)

Directed by: Danièle Thompson ♀

Written by: Danièle Thompson, Christopher Thompson

Jappeloup/ Jappeloup (Isa: Pathe)

Directed by: Christian Duguay

Written by: Guillaume Canet

Le Grand Soir / Le grand soir (Isa: Funny Balloons)

Directed by: Benoît Delépine and Gustave de Kervern

Written by: Benoît Delépine and Gustave de Kervern

Little Lion / Comme un Lion (Isa: Pyramide)

Directed by: Samuel Collardey

Written by: Catherine Paillé, Nadège Trebal, Samuel Collardey

Moon Man / Jean de la lune (Isa: Le Pacte)

Directed By: Stephan Schesch

Written By: Stephan Schesch, Ralph Martin. Based on the book by: Tomi Ungerer

Populaire / Populaire (Isa: Wild Bunch, U.S.: TWC)

Directed By: Régis Roinsard

Written By: Régis Roinsard, Daniel Presley, Romain Compingt

Rendezvous In Kiruna / Rendez-vous à Kiruna (Isa: Pyramide)

Directed by: Anne Novion ♀

Written by: Olivier Massart, Anne Novion, Pierre Novion

Sons Of The Wind / Les Fils du vent (Isa: Wide)

Directed by: Bruno Le Jean

Written by: Bruno Le Jean

Stavisky / Stavisky (1974) (Isa: StudioCanal)

Directed by: Alain Resnais

Written by: Jorge Semprún

The Attack / L’Attentat

France, Belgium, Lebanon, Qatar, 2013

Directed by: Ziad Doueiri (Isa: Wild Bunch, U.S.: Cohen Media Group)

The BRONTË Sisters / Les Soeurs Brontë (Isa: Gaumont, U.S.: Cohen Media Group)

Directed by: André Téchiné

Written by: André Téchiné, Jean Gruault, Pascal Bonitzer

The Dandelions / Du Vent dans mes mollets ✡

Directed By: Carine Tardieu ♀

Written By: Carine Tardieu, Raphaële Moussafir, Olivier Beer

The Fire Within / Le Feu Follet (1963) (Isa: Pyramide, U.S.: Janus Films)

Directed by: Louis Malle

Written by: Louis Malle

The Invisibles / Les Invisibles (Isa: Doc & Film, U.S. Distrib Films))

Directed By: Sébastien Lifshitz

The Man Who Laughs/ L’Homme qui rit (Isa: EuropaCorps)

Directed by: Jean-Pierre Améris

Written by: Jean-Pierre Améris , Guillaume Laurant

THÉRÈSE / Thérèse Desqueyroux (Isa: TF1, U.S.: Mpi)

Directed by: Claude Miller

Written by: Claude Miller, Natalie Carter

Three Worlds / Trois mondes (Isa: Pyramide, U.S.: Film Movement)

Directed by: Catherine Corsini ♀

Written by: Catherine Corsini, Benoît Graffin

To Our Loves / À nos amours (1983) (U.S. Janus)

Directed By: Maurice Pialat

Written By: Arlette Langmann, Maurice Pialat

True Friends / Amitiés sincères (Isa: Snd Groupe 6)

Directed By: Stéphan Archinard, François Prévôt-Leygonie

Written By: Stéphan Archinard, François Prévôt-Leygonie, Marie-Pierre Huster

Welcome To Argentina / Mariage à Mendoza (Isa: Kinology)

Directed By: Édouard Deluc

Written By: Anaïs Carpita, Édouard Deluc, Thomas Lilti, Philippe Rebbot

What’S In A Name / Le prénom (Isa: Pathe, U.S. Under The Milky Way)

Directed by: Alexandre de La Patellière, Matthieu Delaporte

Written by: Alexandre de La Patellière, Matthieu Delaporte

You Ain’T Seen Nothin’ Yet / Vous n’avez encore rien vu (Isa: StudioCanal, U.S.: Kino Lorber)

Directed By: Alain Resnais

Written By: Alain Resnais, Laurent Herbiet...

Festival initiative “U.S. in Progress” introduces four U.S. productions in post-production to European buyers.

American Independent films, French Independent Films and Oscar Nominated Foreign Language Films will be showcased.

The Weinstein Company’s Harvey Weinstein wil receive a tribute and will host a retrospective of his films.

Donald Sutherland will host a screening of Klute and will receive a Medal of Arts and Letters bestowed by Frederic Mitterrand.

The Champs Elysees Film Festival’s U.S. President is Michael Madsen

The French Festival President is Lambert Wilson

The discussions held so often about the sustainability of arthouse theaters, about the joining of forces between them and festivals and the ownership of festivals themselves, and sometimes of theaters as well, by distributors as a way to sustain the three key players of this precious triangle of culture, continue as the first Champs Elysees Film Festival presents a jam-packed line up and full program of events at its inaugural edition.

The seven day festival, June 6-12, has been formed and is owned by the independent distributor Sophie Dulac. It is exciting for me to go to see the arthouses we have already written about in the area of the Champs Elysees - the Balzac, its rival the Lincoln, the Publicis, and the two major chains, Gaumont Champs Elysees and Ugc George V. Another interesting aspect of this upcoming event is the festival's ownership by a French distributor, Sophie Dulac. This is one of two similarities between Gutek and Dulac. The New Horizons and the American Film Festivals are owned by Roman Gutek whose distribution company Gutek is the largest arthouse distributor in Poland. Similarly Sophie Dulac seems to "own" this festival. Somewhat analagous to this is the "owning" of distribution company Tribeca Films by the Tribeca Film Festival or the Sundance Select Distribution arm owned by the Sundance Film Festival. The New York Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festivals have yet to declare themselves distributors but do own the arthouses in which to show "their" films year round in festival settings.

Dulac explains the impetus to launch the Champs Elysees Film Festival, “As Paris’ first truly international film festival, our mission is to create a bridge between the independent American and French film industries. In the most beautiful city in the world and one with a worldwide association to cinema, the Champs Elysées Film Festival will be a celebration of film promoting the work of young filmmakers and honoring the work of established directors.” She adds, “We want to throw a spotlight on independent film from France and the U.S. We will welcome famous names, offer new films, open up discussions between members of the film industry, give short films a special showcase and invite audiences to gala previews.”

I personally hope the tourists of Champs Elysees see this as a special opportunity to share inside festival experiences with international professionals and that it brings in more business than ordinary theatrical fare brings to the same theaters, thus proving that festivals serve as a new branch of film distribution and that the joining of forces between distributor, exhibitor and festival point toward a new mode of profitability for all parties.

U.S. in Progress was first presented at the American Film Festival in Wroclaw Poland in November. This is the second similarity between Dulac and Gutek. U.S. in Progress will now be here as well. U.S. in Progress is in fact a joint initiative between the American Film Festival in Wroclaw, the Champs Elysees Film Festival in Paris and Black Rabbit Film, a company of Adeline Monzier who also created the association of European indie distributors called EuropaDistribution. It is the first and only industry event devoted to U.S. indies in Europe. Its aim is to present U.S. indie films in post-production to European buyers in order to foster the circulation and distribution of American indie films in Europe. This presentation of American independent films in post-production to European buyers to promote the distribution of American independent films in Europe is uniquely one of the top new developments in the industry. The program works to forge inroads between the generation of talented American filmmakers emerging today and European buyers. I am so proud to be serving on its jury as I did on the first edition as well.

The other sections are: Official Selection of American Independent Films, French Galas, American Galas, Oscar Nominated Foreign Language Films and Shorts. A tribute to Harvey Weinstein will be presented on June 6 at an event to celebrate his career. Weinstein will participate in a roundtable conversation to discuss French/American co-productions and a Retrospective of 11 of his films will be shown throughout the week.

The American independent films selected as part of the inaugural program include Richard Linklater’s Bernie (Isa: Hyde Park, U.S.: Millennium) with Jack Black, Shirley Maclaine and Matthew McConaughey; Jesus Henry Christ (Isa: Im Global, U.S. E1) with Toni Collette and Michael Sheen; Bruce Beresford’s Peace, Love & Misunderstanding (Isa: Voltage, U.S. IFC) starring Jane Fonda, Catherine Keener and Elizabeth Olsen and Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present (Isa: Submarine, U.S. Music Box). An Audience Award will be given out to the most popular American Independent. American Galas include Jennifer Westfeldt’s Friends with Kids (Isa: Red Granite, U.S. Roadside Attractions/ Lionsgate) and Wes Craven’s My Soul to Take (2010) in 3D.

French films include Comme Un Homme (Isa: Memento) directed by Safy Nebbou; Journal de France (Isa: Wild Bunch) directed by Claudine Nougaret and Raymond Depardon; Vous n'avez encore rien vu (Isa: Studiocanal) directed by Alain Resnais and Wrong (Isa: Kinology) helmed by Quentin Dupieux.

The Champs Elysees Film Festival has selected esteemed French Actor Lambert Wilson for the role of French President and Michael Madsen has accepted the role of the Festival’s U.S. President.

The festival will pay tribute to the actor Donald Sutherland who will be at the Festival to host a screening of the masterpiece Klute directed by Alan J. Pakula followed by a “Hollywood Conversation” with the iconic actor. Frederic Mitterrand will bestow Sutherland with the medal of Commander of Arts and Letters that evening.

Official Selection of American Independent Films

Blank City, a documentary directed by Celine Danhier’s

Bernie directed by Richard Linklater starring Jack Black, Shirley Maclaine and Matthew McConaughey

Jesus Henry Christ with Toni Colette, Jason Spevack and Michael Sheen

Keep The Lights On directed by Ira Sachs

Luv directed by Sheldon Candis

Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present, Matthew Akers acclaimed documentary

Not Waving But Drowning directed by Devyn Waitt, winner of U.S. in Progress Prize, Wroclaw, Poland.

Peace, Love & Misunderstanding directed by Bruce Beresford starring Jane Fonda, Catherine Keener and Elizabeth Olsen

Tabloid, Errol Morris fascinating documentary

The Perfect Family, directed by Anne Renton and starring Kathleen Turner, Emily Deschanel and Jason Ritter

French Galas

Adieu Berthe directed by Bruno Podalydès

Comme Un Homme directed by Safy Nebbou

Du Vent Dans Mes Mollets directed by Carine Tardieu

Journal De France directed by Claudine Nougaret and Raymond Depardon

La Clinique De L’Amour directed by Artus de Penguern

L’Air De Rien directed by Grégory Magne and Stéphane Viard

Mains Armees directed by Pierre Jolivet

Quand Je Serai Petit directed by Jean-Paul Rouve

Vous N’Avez Encore Rien Vu directed by Alain Resnais

Wrong helmed by Quentin Dupieux.

American Galas

After Life directed by Agnieszka Wojtow

Brake directed by Gabe Torres

Bitch Slap directed by Rick Jacobson

Friends With Kids directed by Jennifer Westfeldt

My Soul To Take (3D) directed by Wes Craven

Perfect Host directed by Nick Tomnay

Terri, directed by Azazel Jacobs

Summertime directed by Matthew Gordon.

The Champs Elysees Film Festival intends to reflect the diversity of international production by offering the public a selection of the 2012 Oscar nominated foreign language films, some never before seen in France:

Bullhead directed by Michael R.Roskam (Belgium)

Dans Ses Veux directed by Juan José Campanella (Spain/Argentina)(2010)

Monsieur Lazhar directed by Philippe Falardeau (Canada)

Une Separation directed by Asghar Farhadi (Iran)

72 Days directed by Danilo Serbedzija (Croatia)

Letters To Angel directed by Sulev Keedus (Estonia)

Volcano directed by Runar Runarsson (Iceland)

Films being screened as part of Harvey Weinstein’s retrospective include The Aviator, Chicago, Gangs Of New York, Jackie Brown, Kill Bill 1&2, The English Patient, Pulp Fiction, Shakespeare In Love, Good Will Hunting and The Yards.

More than thirty short films comprise the Champs Elysees Film Festival’s Official Selection of Short Films which were selected by a French industry team as well as four major film school programs: University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts, New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and Columbia University’s Columbia University Film Festival for the United States and Paris-based film school La Femis for France:

French Shorts Selection

Hurlement D’Un Poisson directed by Sébastien Carfora

It’S A Miracul’House directed by Stéphane Freiss

Les Meutes directed by Manuel Schapira

Mon Canard directed by Emmanuelle Michelet & Vincent Fouquet

Les Grossesses De Charlemagne directed by Nicolas Slomka and Matthieu Rumani,

Plume directed by Barry Purves

Personne(S) directed by Marc Fouchard

La Fille De L’Homme directed by Manuel Schapira

Kiss & Kill directed by Alain Ross

USC School of Cinematic Arts Shorts Selection

Little Spoon directed by Lauren Fash

Ellen directed by Kyle Hausmann-Stokes

Efrain directed by Matthew Breault

Fig directed by Ryan Coogler

The Nature Of Fall directed by Tomer Stolz

New York University Tisch School of the Arts Shorts Selection

Little Horse directed by Levi Abrino

Border Land directed by Alexander Smolowe

Premature directed by Rashaad Ernesto Green

Down In Number 5 directed by Kim Spurlock

Columbia University Film Festival Shorts Selection

Rolling On The Floor Laughing directed by Rusel Harbaugh

Motherland directed by Shario Siddiqui

Hatch directed by Christoph Kusching

Crossing directed by Gina Atwater

Off Season directed by Jonathan Van Tulleken

The Hirosaki Players directed by Jeff Sousa

La Femis Shorts Selection

Goose directed by Morgan Simon

Demain Ce Sera Bien directed by Pauline Gay

On Traks directed by Laurent Navarri

Bye Bye Wild Boy directed by Julie Lena...

This year the Paris based sales agent only has a pair of films in Cannes – Gilles Jacob’s own doc about the day of the 60th anniversary festivities called A Special Day, and in the Critics’ Week section they’re repping Sandrine Bonnaire’s Maddened by His Absence (pic above).

Armed Hands (Mains ARMÉES) by Pierre Jolivet

Maddened By His Absence (J’Enrage De Son Absence) by Sandrine Bonnaire

Yossi by Eytan Fox

30 Beats by Alexis Lloyd

38 Witnesses (38 TÉMOINS) by Lucas Belvaux

A Special Day (Une JOURNÉE PARTICULIÈRE) by Gilles Jacob

Captive by Brillante Mendoza

Citadel by Ciaran Foy

Duch, Master Of The Forges Of Hell by Rithy Panh

Paris Under Watch

The Cherry On The Cake (La Cerise Sur Le Gateau) by Laura Morante

Time Of My Life (Tot Altijd) by Nic Balthazar

War Witch (Rebelle) by Kim Nguyen...

Opening the fest is the North American premiere of Emmanuel Mouret's French sex comedy Please Please Me! (which I think should logically be picked up for the U.S. market - see trailer here) and the ten day fest will be closing with the North American premiere of Radu Mihaileanu's The Concert - a Weinstein Co. title starring Melanie Laurent that will most likely open sometime early in 2010. - Now in its 15th year, Montreal's Cinemania Film Festival, one of North America's better French language fests has unveiled its 30-title roster with its usual mix of films from the big four (Cannes, Berlin, Venice and Toronto) and select tiles from the Rotterdams, Locarnos, Karlovy Varys and Sundances. Opening the fest is the North American premiere of Emmanuel Mouret's French sex comedy Please Please Me! (which I think should logically be picked up for the U.

Year: 1983

Director: Luc Besson

Writers: Pierre Jolivet/Luc Besson

IMDb: link

Trailer: link

Amazon: link

Review by: agentorange

Rating: 9 out of 10

Before dazzling us with genre favorites like Subway, Nikita, The Professional, and The Fifth Element, Luc Besson made a full length post-apocalyptic film called Le Dernier Combat in 1983. Beautifully shot in black and white and without a lick of dialog, Le Dernier Combat is not only one of the most interesting films of the genre, but one of the most striking works of art I've seen in a really long time. Seriously, what is it with French directors and their ability to harness all the cliches of a certain genre (which in the case of Pa read as; mystery, adventure, horror, action, suspense, etc) without ever loosing sight of the work's artistic aspirations? Well anyway, watching Le Dernier Combat again last night reminded me of why I fell in...

Paris -- "Mamma Mia!" will kick off the 34th annual Deauville Festival of American Cinema on Sept. 5, organizers said Monday.

Distributor Universal will showcase its new Paris-based French wing with a strong presence at the fest including Clint Eastwood's "Changeling" and Guillermo del Toro's "Hellboy II: The Golden Army."

Other U.S. majors will be keeping a low profile with just a few titles in the official selection, including Warner Bros.' "Get Smart" and Sony's "Lakeview Terrace" and "Married Life."

An American Nights sidebar will feature classic U.S. titles totaling 187 hours of round-the-clock screenings.

French actress Carole Bouquet will top an eight-strong jury including French actor Edouard Baer, Israeli actress-director Ronit Elkabetz and Palme d'Or-winning Romanian director Cristian Mungiu.

The festival's Uncle Sam's Docs sidebar will see nine documentaries compete for Gallic pay TV network Canal Plus' Favorite Doc prize.

Deauville will pay homage to Spike Lee, who will be in town to present the French premiere of "Miracle at St. Anna." Parker Posey, Ed Harris and director Mitchell Leisen also will be honored.

This year's Michel d'Ornano prize for best French first film will be awarded to Jean-Stephane Sauvaire for his harrowing portrait of child soldiers in Africa, "Johnny Mad Dog."

A lineup for the Deauville fest follows:

Competition

"Afterschool," Antonio Campos

"All G-d's Children Can Dance," Robert Logevall

"American Son," Neil Abramson

"Ballast," Lance Hammer

"Gardens of the Night," Damian Harris

"Towelhead," Alan Ball

"The Visitor," Tom McCarthy

"Smart People," Noam Murro

"Snow Angels," David Gordon Green

"Sunshine Cleaning," Christine Jeffs

Official selection

"Mamma Mia!" Phyllida Lloyd

"Appaloosa," Ed Harris

"Changeling," Clint Eastwood

"Dan in Real Life," Peter Hedges

"Get Smart," Peter Segal

"Hellboy II: The Golden Army," Guillermo del Toro

"Idiots & Angels," Bill Plympton

"Lakeview Terrace," Neil Labute

"Lars and the Real Girl," Craig Gillespie

"Married Life," Ira Sachs

"Miracle at St. Anna," Spike Lee

"Recount," Jay Roach

"The Wackness," Jonathan Levine

"The Life Before her Eyes," Vadim Perelman

"The Girl Next Door," Gregory Wilson

"Then She Found Me," Helen Hunt

Jury

French actress Carole Bouquet

French actor Edouard Baer

Israeli actress-director Ronit Elkabetz

French director Pierre Jolivet

French director Cedric Kahn

Belgian director Bouli Lanners

Romanian director Cristian Mungiu

Portuguese actress Leonor Silvera

American artistic director Dean Tavoularis...

Paris -- "Mamma Mia!" will kick off the 34th annual Deauville Festival of American Cinema on Sept. 5, organizers said Monday.

Distributor Universal will showcase its new Paris-based French wing with a strong presence at the fest including Clint Eastwood's "Changeling" and Guillermo del Toro's "Hellboy II: The Golden Army."

Other U.S. majors will be keeping a low profile with just a few titles in the official selection, including Warner Bros.' "Get Smart" and Sony's "Lakeview Terrace" and "Married Life."

An American Nights sidebar will feature classic U.S. titles totaling 187 hours of round-the-clock screenings.

French actress Carole Bouquet will top an eight-strong jury including French actor Edouard Baer, Israeli actress-director Ronit Elkabetz and Palme d'Or-winning Romanian director Cristian Mungiu.

The festival's Uncle Sam's Docs sidebar will see nine documentaries compete for Gallic pay TV network Canal Plus' Favorite Doc prize.

Deauville will pay homage to Spike Lee, who will be in town to present the French premiere of "Miracle at St. Anna." Parker Posey, Ed Harris and director Mitchell Leisen also will be honored.

This year's Michel d'Ornano prize for best French first film will be awarded to Jean-Stephane Sauvaire for his harrowing portrait of child soldiers in Africa, "Johnny Mad Dog."

A lineup for the Deauville fest follows:

Competition

"Afterschool," Antonio Campos

"All G-d's Children Can Dance," Robert Logevall

"American Son," Neil Abramson

"Ballast," Lance Hammer

"Gardens of the Night," Damian Harris

"Towelhead," Alan Ball

"The Visitor," Tom McCarthy

"Smart People," Noam Murro

"Snow Angels," David Gordon Green

"Sunshine Cleaning," Christine Jeffs

Official selection

"Mamma Mia!" Phyllida Lloyd

"Appaloosa," Ed Harris

"Changeling," Clint Eastwood

"Dan in Real Life," Peter Hedges

"Get Smart," Peter Segal

"Hellboy II: The Golden Army," Guillermo del Toro

"Idiots & Angels," Bill Plympton

"Lakeview Terrace," Neil Labute

"Lars and the Real Girl," Craig Gillespie

"Married Life," Ira Sachs

"Miracle at St. Anna," Spike Lee

"Recount," Jay Roach

"The Wackness," Jonathan Levine

"The Life Before her Eyes," Vadim Perelman

"The Girl Next Door," Gregory Wilson

"Then She Found Me," Helen Hunt

Jury

French actress Carole Bouquet

French actor Edouard Baer

Israeli actress-director Ronit Elkabetz

French director Pierre Jolivet

French director Cedric Kahn

Belgian director Bouli Lanners

Romanian director Cristian Mungiu

Portuguese actress Leonor Silvera

American artistic director Dean Tavoularis...

PARIS -- ARP, France's influential body of writers, directors and producers, said Tuesday that its board has elected director-writer Claude Zidi as president. Zidi replaces director-writer Pierre Jolivet, who has headed the organization since 1999 and will continue to serve as a vp. Director-writers Claude Miller and Jean Marboeuf also were elected vps at a board meeting Monday. Producer-director Claude Berri, who heads the French Cinematheque, will serve as honorary president for a second year, ARP said. French directors Jeanne Labrune, Gerard Krawczyk and Bertrand Van Effenterre have been named members of the association's management, while producer-writer-director Jean-Claude Jean will serve as treasurer. ARP's administrative council of 14 members includes French directors Alain Corneau, Costa-Gavras, Claude Lelouch, Coline Serreau, Christophe Barratier, Jean-Jacques Beineix and Bertrand Tavernier.

Pierre Jolivet's "Zim and Co". is a fast-paced and sly comedy about the lengths to which a street-smart kid and his pals will go to keep him out of prison. The movie doesn't get weighed down with any heavy messages.

Nevertheless, it's nice to see -- and the film undoubtedly earned a spot in Un Certain Regard because of this -- a filmmaker who can mingle social observations with breezy comedy. The film definitely has a life ahead in festivals and distribution in many markets.

The key point the story brings home is that for a certain groups of kids in French society, an by extension elsewhere in the world, it's all too easy to get into trouble based on the youngsters' ethnicity or social status.

Zim (Adrien Jolivet, presumably the director's son) is actually an okay guy. He works various gigs to help his single working-class mom, although he does so with jobs that pay under the counter with no pay slips reported to the government. Okay, that's strike one. He's not above smoking a little weed, fairly common among kids from all walks of life but it's usually the lower classes that take the heat. So there's strike two.

A bit high one morning as he rides his scooter, he has an accident, which an older man in a now slightly dented car takes to be a capital offense. So police are called and a prior petty crime turns up on his record. Suddenly, Zim finds himself facing a judge who tells him to avoid prison, he must get a real job, the kind with pay slips.

After several false starts, he lands a job by lying that he has a car and driver's license. In 10 days, he manages to acquire the license -- only because the driving inspector admits France needs more white drivers. But the car alludes.

The more he tries to go straight and stay out of jail, the more trouble he lands in. His friends are all from immigrant families so everyone in his circle is used to people taking advantage of them or ripping them off.

It's heartening to see a movie that treats close friendships between kids from different racial groups. In the course of the movie, Zim even acquires a Moslem girlfriend in Safia (Naidra Ayadi), albeit a very westernized Moslem.

The film's conclusion and a telling coda underscore the point by Jolivet (who wrote the script with Simon Michael) that adult prejudices can really wear some kids down.

Vendredi Film/BAC Films...

PARIS -- As it announced its debut slate Tuesday, Bac Films International -- the newly formed international sales arm of French distributor Bac Films -- also named Silvere Moreau as head of the company. Moreau, until recently head of sales at Bac Films, said in a statement that the new division will distribute about six international films a year at the start. Bahman Ghobadi's Turtles Can Fly, which bagged the top honor at the San Sebastian Film Festival last month, will be the first film to be distributed. Turtles already has been sold in more than 10 territories, including Britain, Canada, Benelux, Australia, Spain and Latin America, Moreau said. Other films on Bac International's debut slate include Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau's Coquillages et Crustaces (Shellfish and Crustaceans), Pierre Jolivet's La Caisse (The Crate) and La Planete Blanche (White Planet), a documentary directed by Stephane Milliere and Thierry Piantanida and produced by Gedeon Programmes -- which, like Bac Films, is part of French animation and production group Millimages.

PARIS -- ARP, France's influential body of writers, directors and producers, said Tuesday that it has re-elected director-writer Pierre Jolivet as president. He has headed the organization since 1999. Jolivet was elected at a board meeting June 24, ARP said. Directors Claude Lelouch, Gerard Krawczyk and Bertrand Van Effenterre were elected vps at the meeting. Claude Berri, who heads the French Cinematheque, has been named honorary president. The association's management has been enlarged to include two new members -- writer-directors Christophe Barratier, whose Les Choristes (The Choristers) has been a runaway French hit this year, and Jeanne Labrune (Vatel). The body's administrative council of 13 members includes French directors Alain Corneau, Constantin Costa-Gavras, Claude Miller, Coline Serreau and Unifrance's president, producer Margaret Menegoz.

LONDON -- Veteran Italian director Mario Monicelli will head the Venice International Film Festival's main competition jury, organizers said Tuesday. The festival runs Aug. 27-Sept. 6. Monicelli, who received the festival's Golden Lion for The Great War in 1959, will preside over a seven-person jury that includes U.S. producer Monty Montgomery (The Portrait of a Lady) and German cinematographer Michael Ballhaus, (GoodFellas, Dracula). Also on the jury are Italian actor Stefano Accorsi, French writer-director Pierre Jolivet, Spanish actress Assumpta Serna and Hong Kong director Ann Hui.

French film director Luc Besson wants to thank those who have supported him - by lending his help to young film directors. The Fifth Element, The (1997) director, who is presiding over the jury at the 53rd CANNES FILM FESTIVAL, has confirmed he wants to produce more films. He explains "I have access to all the necessary tools to produce films, so I'd like to help the young film directors. It's a way to thank those who believed in me... Happily people like Pierre Jolivet and JEAN-JACQUES BEINEIX helped me. I would simply like to do the same, I think it's everyone's duty in this business. We should all give a hand to those who are just beginning."...

Fred has too much time on his hands. A slice-of-life drama about an unemployed crane operator curled around the pursued-pursuer story convention, this French film playing at the 33rd annual Chicago International Film Festival is a well-crafted demi-entertainment, a character study and canny insight into what havoc social forces can wreak on an individual.

In "Fred", Vincent Lindon stars as the title character, a thirtysomething crane operator who has been out of work for nearly two years. A life of leisure on the slim pickings of the dole does not appeal either to Fred or his fellow construction mates, all of whom have been laid off. Fred fills his days doing minor housework chores for his wife Lisa (Clotile Courau), a receptionist whose ardor for Fred is still of honeymoon dimension. Being a househusband for his wife and daughter is not Fred's idea of a rightful position, no modern-guy he.

Using boys-will-be-boys psychology, Fred and his mates spend their days pubbing or swilling beer, which invariably leads to fights and minor hooliganism. Admittedly, Fred has a lot of energy, and if usual social and professional avenues do not offer outlets, he reverts to puerile adolescence. Most interesting -- both amusing as well as sobering -- Fred and his fellow dolers act much like schoolboys at the end of summer vacation, bored and boisterous.

A smart depiction of present-day unemployment malaise in France, "Fred" conveys the personal frustration of such a predicament and does so in an engaging fashion. Screenwriters Pierre Jolivet and Simon Michael rotate Fred's roustabout ways around a gripping plot line -- Fred seems circumstantially guilty of killing a friend with whom he had previously come to blows. Using this prototypical Hitchcockean structure to full advantage, director Jolivet constructs an intelligent and lively escapade, one pinioned by credible and current social conditions.

"Fred" stands tallest in its production design, however. Credit Jolivet and Sylvie Salmon for their articulate and telling visualizations. In the cement, tract-dwelling unit in which Fred wastes his days, we see the barrenness of his life, one literally gridded into a captive-like condition.

The performances are also well-drawn, particularly Lindon as the hyperactive and sometimes foolish Fred and Courau as his frisky but steadfast wife. Special praise to Francois Berleand as a cynical and sotted investigator.

FRED

Le Studio Canal Plus

Les Films Alain Sarde

Director Pierre Jolivet

Producer Alain Sarde

Screenwriters Pierre Jolivet,

Simon Michael

Executive producer Alain Sarde

Associate producers Bertrand Tavernier,

Frederic Bourboulon

Director of photography Patrick Blossier

Production designer Sylvie Salmon

Editor Luc Barnier

Sound Pierre Excoffier, William Flageollet

Casting Luce Gregory

Costume designer Valerie Posso di Borgo

Music Serge Perathoner, Jannick Top

Color/stereo

Cast:

Fred Vincent Lindon

Lisa Clotile Courau

Barrere Francois Berleand

Michel Stephane Jobert

Nouchi Roschdy Zem

Yvan Albert Dray

Corinne Carine Lemaire

Running time -- 85 minutes

No MPAA rating...