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The world premiere of David Luke Rees’ UK horror thrillerByThe Throat andPedro Kos’ feature debut In Our Blood are among the 11 features in the line-up for UK horror and fantasy festival Glasgow FrightFest.

It will take place as part of the Glasgow Film Festivall from March 6-8.

By The Throattells the story of a housekeeper who is haunted by evil forces and stars Patricia Allison, whose credits includeSex Education.

Further world premieres areAdam Marcus’ documentary Hearts Of Darkness: The Making Of The Final Friday;Jack Lawrence McHenry’s 1940sThe Doom Busters; andAndy Edwards’ version of the Brothers Grimm fairytale,Rumplestiltskin.

Quentin Dupieux had enlisted alumni Adèle Exarchopoulos and then add-ons Sandrine Kiberlain and Karim Leklou for L’Accident de piano (formerly L’Avant-dernière séance). As per usual, we won’t have the logline until it moves into a film fest premiere slot, but this is the filmmaker’s 14th feature film. Production began yesterday. Is Locarno or Venice in the cards?

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Sandrine Kiberlain and Pierre Lottin are set to headline Jean-Baptiste Leonetti’s French comedy-drama Whatever It Takes (Personne d’Autre) as polar opposites who connect under strange circumstances. The film will begin shooting in the Paris region at the end of the month.

Lottin plays Jean, a stubborn single in his thirties who has shut himself off from the world. When he meets Kiberlain’s Rose, a mother of three with a disarming joie de vivre, the two form an unlikely pairing. Ugc will release the film in France in 2026.

Snd is launching sales on the title at Unifrance’s...

In the lively world of modern French film, Julie Delpy proves herself once more as a master storyteller with “Meet the Barbarians,” a razor-sharp comedy that looks at the difficulties of integrating refugees through the lens of a small Breton town. Delpy, known for her complex stories and ability to mix humor with deep social commentary, works in front of and behind the camera to create a funny and deeply personal story.

The movie is set in the beautiful commune of Paimpont. It shows how a group of people have to deal with their attitudes when a Syrian family replaces the Ukrainian refugees they were expecting. As the story goes on, the town’s original excitement quickly fades into reluctance, ignorance, and xenophobia that is barely hidden.

The movie’s plot seems very simple: a local schoolteacher named Joëlle (Delpy) fights for refugees to be welcomed. This sets the stage...

The Cairo International Film Festival (Ciff) has unveiled the line-up for its comeback 45th edition, taking place from November 13-22.

The world premiere of Palestinian filmmaker Rashid Masharawi’s Passing Dreams will open the festival, as part of a focus on Palestinian cinema.

Passing Dreams is a drama about a 12-year-old boy who embarks on a journey across Palestine, while chasing a carrier pigeon, convinced it has returned to its original owner.

The line-up includes three Palestinian feature documentaries competing for the best Arab film awards in the Horizons of Arab Cinema programme, and the best Palestinian film award.

Carol Mansour...

Reflecting the breadth of her legacy across different continents, French actor Isabelle Huppert was celebrated by the likes of Alfonso Cuarón, Claire Denis, Alejandro Jodorowsky and François Ozon at the 15th edition of the Lumiere Film Festival in Lyon where she received a sprawling career tribute on Oct. 18.

Huppert kicked off the festivities as she entered the 3000-seat auditorium dancing to the 1980’s disco beats of “Nuit de folie,” dressed in a shimmery champagne gown.

The joyful ceremony, emceed by Huppert’s longtime friend (and Cannes boss) Thierry Fremaux who runs the Lumiere Film Festival, was punctuated by live musical numbers ranging widely from Camelia Jordana’s singing a capella “I Will Survive,” to Julien Clerc performing his 1978 cult song “Ma Preference” by the piano, and French actor Sandrine Kiberlain playfully singing “Nuit de folie” which was said to be Huppert’s unexpected all-time favorite song.

The most vibrant homage...

In the culture-clash comedy “Meet the Barbarians,” actor-director Julie Delpy lays bare a number of Western hypocrisies. The film follows several townspeople in the struggling French commune of Paimpont, who vote to welcome a handful of Ukrainian refugees, but are caught by surprise when a Syrian family shows up instead. The ensuing response runs the gamut from clumsy to hostile, which Delpy captures by applying a documentary-like lens to the town’s fabric, and to their Arab guests. The result is a movie that, though it never quite achieves the dramatic highs for which it aspires, proves eye-wateringly funny.

The film flies out the gate with an energy reminiscent of “The Office,” as bumbling mayor Sébastien Lejeune (Jean-Charles Clichet) regales a TV news crew with his plans to welcome a Ukrainian family. The city council votes overwhelmingly in favor. Even potential holdout Hervé Riou (Laurent Lafitte), the sour-faced town plumber,...

With eight movies in just over two decades, actress turned filmmaker Julie Delpy has carved out a curious niche for herself on both sides of the Atlantic. Based in Los Angeles but working predominantly in France, collaborating with Richard Linklater (the Before trilogy) on one hand and Gallic stars like Dany Boon (Lolo) on the other, switching from drama (The Countess) to comedy (Le Skylab) and back again (My Zoe), Delpy, like the frazzled characters she often plays on screen, isn’t easy to pin down.

And yet her latest work, the refugee satire Meet the Barbarians (Les Barbares), is probably her most bluntly French film to date, and certainly her most political one. But it may also be her least funny movie, steeping to clichés and caricature in its depiction of a picturesque Breton village that welcomes a family of Syrians escaping from the war. Sporting a heartfelt pro-immigrant...

Until its full plot unfolds, viewers are likely to assume “Meet the Barbarians” is a sweetly nostalgic comedy. And in some ways, they’d be right. Director Julie Delpy structures her new film as a fairy tale, going so far as to introduce the action with a literal “Once upon a time in Paimpont …”

She gives us a delightful setting, heroes and villains, five distinct acts and a strong moral lesson. But while the tale is timeless, the time is two years ago. And Paimpont, a charming hamlet in Brittany, could be any number of small towns or big cities today.

Paimpont happens to be an ancient village so tiny, everyone is involved in every decision. When the film begins, the mayor, Sébastien (Jean-Charles Clichet), is proudly announcing a new initiative: Paimpont has decided to adopt a family of Ukrainian refugees. The whole town is vibrating with excitement, until they...

French-American actor and director Julie Delpy has tackled culture clash in comedies before in ”Two Days in Paris” and “Two Days in New York,” but it’s never been as poignant as in “Meet the Barbarians,” where she explores the journey of a Syrian family who find refuge in a village in Northern France.

The movie, which marks Delpy’s feature comeback after helming the Netflix series “On the Verge,” is set in Paimpont, a small town in France’s Brittany region that is preparing to welcome Ukrainian refugees. But instead of Ukrainians, Syrian refugees settle in town, causing some tension among locals and testing their liberal beliefs.

Charades is at Venice selling the film, which will screen at the Toronto Film Festival, and also has “Vermiglio” and “Their Children After Them” on its sales slate.

Delpy penned, directed and stars in the film as Joelle, a progressive schoolteacher who...

Memento International has sold Guillaume Nicloux’s romantic biopic The Divine Sarah Bernhardt to more than 20 territories across the globe.

The film about the life of the legendary French stage actress starring Sandrine Kiberlain in the titular role will be released by Wanted in Italy, Vercine in Spain, September Film Distribution in Benelux, Agora Films in Switzerland, Nos Lusomundo in Portugal, Rosebud.21 in Greece, Cirko in Hungary, Beta in Bulgaria, McF Megacom in Ex-Yugoslavia and HBO for Eastern Europe.

Further global sales include Eden Cinema in Israel, Imovision in Brazil, Sycomad in South Korea and O’Brien International for airlines. Negotiations continue in Poland,...

Dwayne Johnson is scheduled to descend on the Croisette for a buyers presentation to promote A24’s The Smashing Machine that Screen understands will take place on Tuesday (May 14).

The studio is producing and financing Benny Safdie’s biopic of the turbulent life of Mma fighter Mark Kerr and has high hopes for the project that sees it reunite with its Uncut Gems co-director.

Johnson’s appearance on the Croisette recalls pre-Covid years when A-listers frequently attended Cannes to meet buyers.

The Smashing Machine marks a step up in terms of scale for A24. Furthermore, industry sources regard it as...

Roschdy Zem, Sandrine Kiberlain and Elodie Bouchez have signed to star in Unchained, a prison-set dance feature to be directed by France’s Valerie Muller and choreographed by Angelin Preljocaj. Le Pacte is handling international sales.

Muller and Preljocaj previously collaborated on 2016 ballet drama Polina that screened in Venice’s Giornate degli Autori.

Zem will play an international renowned choreographer who launches a dance workshop in prison and guides inmates to break free of the chains binding them through dance as they seek redemption among their families outside the prison walls.

Unchained is being produced by Nicolas Mauvernay’s Mizar Films.

Memento International has secured pre-sales to Bruno Dumont’s The Empire to several key territories ahead of its world premiere in Berlin’s main competition and has unveiled the first English-language trailer for the auteur-sci-fi French film.

The Empire has sold to Njuta in Sweden, Vertigo in Hungary, McF Megacom in Ex-Yugoslavia, Scanorama in Baltics, Beta in Bulgaria, and Pt Falcon in Indonesia with more territories in discussions. The film will be released by Arp Selection in France, Cineart in Benelux and Academy Two in Italy.

Set in a quiet fishing village on the Opal Coast in Northern France, The...

The French sales outfit has the first image of Tomer Sisley in The Price Of Money: A Largo Winch Adventure.

Goodfellas has boarded Claire Burger’s anticipated coming-of-age drama Langue Etrangère, starring Chiara Mastroianni and Nina Hoss, ahead of this week’s Rendez-Vous with France Cinema this week in Paris.

Langue Etrangère is about teenage pen pals in France and Germany and is produced by Anatomy of a Fall producer Marie-Ange Luciani’s Les Films de Pierre with Belgium’s Les Films du Fleuve and Germany’s Razor Film Produktion. Burger wrote the film in collaboration with The Five Devils’ Léa Mysius.

Sandrine Kiberlain stars as the French icon in the film that is now in production in France.

Memento International is launching sales of Guillaume Nicloux’s The Divine Sarah Bernhardt starring Sandrine Kiberlain as the titular French stage actresss at Unifrance’s upcoming Rendez-Vous with French Cinema in Paris (January 16-23).

The film is now shooting in France. Produced by Les Films du Kiosque with Bac Films, the romantic biopic will portray the artist and actress renowned for her audacious personality and stage performances. It is based on a script by Nathalie Leuthreau.

TF1 Films Production and Belgium’s Umedia are also co-producing.

Paris-based sales company is bringing eight new titles to Rendez-Vous.

Julie Delpy’s immigration-themed comedy Meet The Barbarians (Les Barbares) is among eight new titles Paris-based sales company Charades is launching at Unifrance’s Rendez-Vous with French Cinema this month.

The event takes place from January 16-23 in Paris.

Charades extensive Rendez-Vous line-up also includes 3D animation Flow, romantic comedy Just A Couple of Days starring Camille Cottin, Jeremie Sein’s Olympic sports comedy Game Changers, Antoine Raimbault’s political thriller Smoke Signals, Gustave Kervern’s revenge story Enough Is Enough!, dark comedy Plastic Guns plus recently announced adaptation And...

Other signatories include Isabelle Adjani, Jacques Audiard and Michel Hazanavicius.

More than 500 leading figures from the French film and cultural industries have signed a letter calling for a silent march on Sunday (November 19) in Paris in response to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

Marion Cotillard, Melanie Laurent, Isabelle Adjani, Nathalie Baye, Jacques Audiard, Christophe Honore and Michel Hazanavicius are among the actors, filmmakers, agents and producers who have called for “a silent march of solidarity, humanism and peace”. The initiative was organised by Le Collectif Une Autre Voix (Another Voice) and spearheaded by the group’s President Lubna Azabal, a Belgian...

There is no slowing down French filmmaker Guillaume Nicloux. With the comedy Dans la peau de Blanche Houellebecq now in post, Nicloux is now eying a biopic on Sarah Bernhardt – a project that has been simmering for some time now. Actress Sandrine Kiberlain has been attached to the project for some time now so we’ll likely see her in the driver’s seat. Titled La divine (based on Michel Peyramaure’s retelling on her life), production would take place in January and February of 2024 in and around Paris. We’ll be keeping an eye out on casting announcements and the producing team backing the project.…...

The Cineuropa folks confirm that production on Sophie Fillières‘ seventh feature film is now complete (production took place in Scotland) – which means we’ll be aiming for a 2024 major film festival release. Fillières has been to Berlinale, Locarno and TIFF with her previous features. Among the cast in Ma vie ma gueule we find Agnès Jaoui, Philippe Katerine, Édouard Sulpice, Angelina Woreth, Emmanuel Salinger and filmmaker-actress Valérie Donzelli. Mother to actress Agathe Bonitzer, Fillières’ last film was La belle et la belle which starred Bonitzer, Sandrine Kiberlain and Melvil Poupaud.

Here is the synopsis from the Cineuropa folks:

This revolves around Barberie Bichette who’s also known as Barbie, and much to her dismay, she might have been beautiful, loved, a good mother to her children, a trustworthy colleague and a great lover, but now her life can be sombre, brutal, and often absurd, and it feels very strange for...

Paris, summer 1942. Irene (Rebecca Marder) is a 19-year-old aspiring actress without a care in the world. Her family watches her discover friends, new love and a passion for the theater, all the while without her realizing that time is running out. Legendary French actress Sandrine Kiberlain makes her directorial debut with this allegorical coming-of-age drama set in Nazi-occupied France, that is in turns enchanting and devastating, anchored by a star-making lead performance by Marder “which more than delivers on the luminous promise of the English title” (Screen Daily). A Radiant Girl shows us both the dangers of complacency in the face of fascism, as well as the moments of beauty that are possible even under the hardest of circumstances.

A Radiant Girl is available on DVD on June 20.

Enter for your chance to win a DVD of A Radiant Girl, courtesy of Film Movement. Five (5) winners will be selected at random.

Leading French producer Michael Gentile’s Paris-based outfit The Film is about to start shooting Julie Delpy’s next directorial outing, “The Barbarians,” and Laurence Arné’s “Les Hennedricks” starring Dany Boon.

Delpy’s comeback to French filmmaking since “Lolo,” “The Barbarians” is a satirical comedy unfolding in a small town in Brittany which is preparing to welcome Ukrainian refugees after voting unanimously to greet them in exchange for subsidies from the government. But instead of seeing Ukrainians come into town, they see Syrian refugees, causing some tensions among locals and testing their liberal beliefs. Delpy will star in the film opposite Sandrine Kiberlain (“Mademoiselle Chambon”), Laurent Lafitte (“Elle”) and Ziad Bakri (“The Weekend Away”), India Hair (“Angry Annie”), Mathieu Demy (“The Bureau”) and Delpy’s father Albert Delpy.

Delpy penned the script with Matthieu Rumani (“Family Business”), in collaboration with Lea Domenech (“Bernadette”). “The Barbarians” will start filming on...

Sandrine Kiberlain and Laurent Lafitte will re-team once again this time as the faces of surprise and dismay representing a small (minded) folk of a Brittany village in Julie Delpy‘s Les barbares. Production on the actress-filmmaker’s eighth feature will take place this June-July. Michael Gentile is producing. In a recent interview with Variety, the filmmaker called the refugee comedy both “funny and dark.”

The municipality of a small Breton village has decided to welcome a family of Ukrainian refugees. To their surprise, the receive Fayad family – coming from Syria. They thwart all the clichés that the French expected: they are friendly, refined, educated… So much so that, in this small, humming village, it is no longer clear which side the barbarians are on…

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The title that saw Riz Ahmed stifle laughter, the press room crack up and Allison Williams murmur “no comment” at Oscar nominations last month hits theaters today as ShortsTV presents Oscar Nominated Short Films at circa 380 locations in 75 markets.

The program, three feature-length presentations of the five nominees for Live Action, Animated and Documentary short films, will expand to 500-600 screens by Academy Awards week. Exhibitors can play any or all of the trio. Some are splitting the doc shorts, at 160 minutes, in two. “We leave that up to theaters,” said ShortsTV founder-ceo Carter Pilcher. My Year Of Dicks is an animation entry.

ShortsTV has been releasing these theatrically for 18 years and they do pretty well, hitting 3.5 million in box office pre-Covid. That fell to 1.8 million in 2021 but Pilcher is hoping for a rebound, calling this year’s crop “absolutely some of the best and most audience-friendly films we’ve...

“A Radiant Girl” is set in Paris in 1942, but you’d hardly know it from spending time with the film’s 19-year-old protagonist, Irene (Rebecca Marder) — at least not to begin with. Irene is, as the title suggests, a lovely young woman, practically vibrating with joie de vivre. An aspiring actor, she spends her days rehearsing for the entrance exam to the prestigious Paris Conservatory, which leaves her just about enough time to argue charmingly but lovingly with her tight-knit French-Jewish family, and tentatively pursue romance with a dishy young doctor. In a nutshell, Irene is somebody thoroughly determined to live every moment to its fullest.

These kinds of bright-eyed lead characters, whose defining trait is their insistent need to seize each and every single day in a keen and vice-like grip, are a long-standing staple of indie film. Where exactly they land on the spectrum from endearing to annoying,...

Irène, the vibrant center of Sandrine Kiberlain’s impressive debut feature, is indeed radiant. Beaming with youth, she’s an 18-year-old aspiring actor, awakened to first love and to the vision of who she wants to be. Irène is also Jewish, living with her family in occupied Paris, and the awful paradox of her blossoming during the summer of ’42 while a hateful and murderous world is closing in is suggested by the movie’s original title, Une Jeune Fille Qui Va Bien: She’s “a young girl who’s doing just fine.” Her zest for life sustains her, and it’s also a dangerous kind of tunnel vision.

Played to awkward/graceful perfection by Rebecca Marder, in her first lead film role, Irène is almost always in exuberant motion, well captured by Guillaume Schiffman’s nimble, unobtrusive cinematography. When the camera lingers for a moment on her anklets and oxfords,...

Games of Hate & Chance: Kiberlain Curates Characterization with Tragic Wartime Portrait

In the eye of a swiftly gathering storm in the summer of 1942, when German-occupied France began to experience the disastrous reality of the Nazi party, a young French Jewish woman finds herself on the cusp of adulthood in Sandrine Kiberlain’s handsome directorial debut Une jeune fille qui va bien (A Radiant Girl). Written by the actor, who is a renowned French screen presence, Kiberlain follows in the footsteps of her own teen daughter Suzanne Lindon, whose 2020 directorial debut Spring Blossom also featured Rebecca Marder, this time the titular central force in a strong (if familiar) portrait of a vibrant life cut short by the onslaught of Hitler.…...

’Rise’ and ’Pacifiction’ are also strong contenders.

Louis Garrel’s crime-infused romantic comedy The Innocent and Dominik Moll’s investigative drama The Night Of The 12th are the frontrunners for France’s 48th annual Cesar Awards with 11 and 10 nominations respectively.

Scroll down for full list of nominations

Cédric Klapisch’s dance drama Rise and Albert Serra’s political thriller Pacifiction follow with nine nominations each.

The titles are all selected in the best film category alongside Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi’s Forever Young.

Despite a strong showing from French female directors at both the box office and festivals, the best director category is all-male this year.

A Radiant Girl Trailer — Sandrine Kiberlain‘s A Radiant Girl / Une jeune fille qui va bien (2021) movie trailer has been released by Film Movement. The A Radiant Girl trailer stars Rebecca Marder, André Marcon, Anthony Bajon, and Françoise Widhoff. Crew Sandrine Kiberlain wrote the screenplay for A Radiant Girl. Plot Synopsis A Radiant Girl‘s plot synopsis: [...]

Continue reading: A Radiant Girl (2021) Movie Trailer: Aspiring Actress Rebecca Marder endures Nazi-occupied France...

"One must never fear." Film Movement has revealed an official US trailer for an indie drama from France titled A Radiant Girl, which is the US release title for the film originally known as Une jeune fille qui va bien. It's the feature directorial debut of a famous French actress / singer named Sandrine Kiberlain, and it first premiered at the 2021 Film Festival in the Directors' Fortnight section. The film is set in Paris, during the summer 1942. Irène is Jewish and French. She is 19 and living a life of passions – her friendships, her new love, her desire to be an actress – nothing suggests her time is running out. A Radiant Girl shows us both the dangers of complacency in the face of fascism, as well as the moments of beauty that are possible even under the hardest of circumstances. The film stars Rebecca Marder as Irène, along with André Marcon, Anthony Bajon,...

French director Cédric Jimenez’s thriller November has drawn one million spectators in France in its first two weeks on release, bucking the trend of the country’s recent lackluster box office, co-producer and distributor Studiocanal has announced.

The fast-paced drama feature, which is inspired by the five-day manhunt for the perpetrators of the November 15 terror attacks in Paris, world premiered Out of Competition in Cannes in May.

Seven years on from the attacks, they remain a raw and sensitive memory in the French psyche. The film, however, focuses on the investigation and state of heightened tension in the aftermath, rather than the actual events of November 15.

Studiocanal said the film had exceeded one million admissions in France within 15 days, sitting at number one at the French box office since the theatrical release on October 5. This marks a new record for a Studiocanal film in France.

Jimenez has prior box office form at home,...

Novembre Trailer — Cédric Jimenez‘s Novembre (2022) movie trailer has been released by Studio Canal. The Novembre trailer stars Anais Demoustier, Sandrine Kiberlain, Jeremie Renier, Lyna Khoudri, Cedric Kahn, Sofian Khammes, Sami Outalbali, Stephane Bak, Annabelle Lengronne, and Raphael Quenard. Crew Olivier Demangel wrote the screenplay for Novembre. “Produced by Mathias Rubin and Hugo Sélignac.” Plot Synopsis Novembre‘s [...]

Continue reading: November (2022) Movie Trailer: Jean Dujardin leads an Anti-Terrorism Investigation following an Attack in Paris...

"Where were you on November 13?" An official French trailer (with English subtitles included) has debuted for the film Novembre, also known as just November, a reference to the November 13th, 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris. The film premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival playing Out of Competition, the latest from French director Cédric Jimenez. The intense thriller follows the Anti-Terrorism unit's attempt to hunt down anyone involved in the attacks in the days following the terror. The film stars Jean Dujardin as the leader of the police division, with an ensemble cast featuring Anaïs Demoustier, Sandrine Kiberlain, Jérémie Renier, Lyna Khoudri, Cédric Kahn, Sofian Khammes, Sami Outalbali, Stéphane Bak, Annabelle Lengronne, and Raphaël Quenard. This isn't the most impressive trailer overall, but it does have an intense build up as they send more police out to arrest and interrogate. Will they find all the guys? ›››

View the Post: Jean Dujardin in...

Kinology (“Annette”) has closed a raft of deals on two highlights from its slate, “Argonuts,” an animated feature produced by Tat Productions, the banner behind “The Jungle Bunch,” and Emmanuel Mouret’s “Diary of a Fleeting Affair” which premiered at Cannes.

A Pixar/Dreamworks-style family film, “Argonuts” is a comedy adventure set in a magical yet hostile world of Greek mythology. It follows the journey of Pathie, a young, smart and daring mouse, and her mate Sam who set off to fight the most bizarre and dangerous creatures in Ancient Greece, including Poseidon himself.

“Argonuts” reunites “The Jungle Bunch” director, David Alaux, and producer, Jean-François Tosti at Tat Productions. It will be distributed by Apollo Films in France.

The Paris-based company sold “Argonuts” to Italy and Spain (Notorious), Middle East (Front Row), Scandinavia (Selmer Media), Eastern Europe (Blitz and Aqs), Poland (New Horizons)Poland (New Horizons), Cis (Volgafilm), Portugal...

The likeable lead pairing of Sandrine Kiberlain and Vincent Lacoste manage to extract considerably more mileage from this comedy crime drama than Nicholas Pariser's muddled and derivative script deserves. The writer/director seems to be aiming for some sort of hybrid between an Agatha Christie whodunnit, a Hitchcock innocent abroad and a Seventies caper but in the end it reminded me of Tintin more than anything else, which given that is targeting adults, means that this mix is not a match made in heaven.

Just as well then that Lacoste and Kiberlain have a decent amount of spark - although it takes a while for Pariser to heft the plot together before they meet. Lacoste is theatre actor Martin Rémi, who, in one of many coincidences that add up to a lot of lazy plotting, spots a woman, who the camera follows, walking briskly through his theatre. What he doesn't see is the way she.

Jean Dujardin, best known for his roles in light-hearted films such as the Oscar-winning “The Artist,” plays the fierce boss of a highly-secretive police brigade that tracked down the assailants of the 2015 Paris attacks in Cedric Jimenez’s “November.”

Written by Olivier Demangel (“Atlantics”), the fast-paced and tense thriller world premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and is being represented in international markets by Studiocanal. Jimenez, who was at Cannes last year with another action-packed police thriller, “The Stronghold,” sat alongside Dujardin with Variety during the festival to discuss the genesis of “November,” how the ensemble cast — including Dujardin, Sandrine Kiberlain, Anais Demoustier and a flurry of fresh faces — worked together, and what it meant for them to tackle this recent tragedy.

“November” is one of the few recent movies alluding to, or set against the backdrop of the Paris terror attacks of 2015, for instance Alice Winocour’s “Paris Memories...

Notebook is covering the Cannes Film Festival with an ongoing correspondence between critics Leonardo Goi and Lawrence Garcia, and editor Daniel Kasman.Stars at Noon.Dear Leo and Danny,Danny, I’m glad you brought up Three Thousand Years of Longing, a film whose conceptual explorations of myth and storytelling sustained my interest for quite some time. The fundamental question it raises—and which is studied by narratologists and students of comparative religion the world over—is whether there is a finite number of narrative patterns and character archetypes, whether there is a theoretically enumerable list of story structures which we simply repeat again and again. In Three Thousand Years, the basic idea, voiced by Tilda Swinton's academic, is whether it is possible to tell a story about wish-granting that is not a cautionary tale? In its exploration of this, the film played, for a time, a bit like...

Jean Dujardin and Cédric Jimenez, the star and director of French Paris terror attack film Novembre, have said they did not want to portray the police who caught the attackers as “heroes” but were aiming for an uber-realistic representation of a “deeply secret” department.

Speaking at a Cannes press conference the day after Novembre’s premiere, Jimenez said his mission was to show how the anti-terrorist unit experienced five “awful days” during which officers were tasked with a “huge responsibility.”

“The idea was not to turn them into heroes,” he added, flanked by cast and crew. “Even though the situation was resolved, there are only losers: the many people who died, the witnesses who are upset forever, the police officers who resigned because it was such a terrible hardship. In this kind of event, there are no winners.”

Dujardin, who also led Jimenez’s 2014 pic The Connection, concurred with his...

Understandably, the terrorist attacks in Paris on the night of November 13, 2015 have been treated with great sensitivity by the French film industry, and the only other film in the Cannes Film Festival’s lineup this year to touch on those events — Alice Winocour’s Paris Revoir — is a lightly fictionalized drama set in the aftermath of the night 130 people were killed, most of them at a rock concert at the city’s Bataclan nightclub. Though many names have been changed, for obvious security reasons, Cedric Jimenez’s Novembre is, by contrast, a heavy-artillery just-the-facts-ma’am police procedural detailing the manhunt that followed in the next five days.

The Cannes out-of-competition film starts in a quite surprisingly low-key way, following a woman jogging the banks of the Seine as David Bowie’s mournful early 1970s cover “Sorrow” plays. The events of the night play out on screen, and though, quite rightly,...

It took the French police just five days to track down the men responsible for the Nov. 13, 2015, attacks on Paris. In the meantime, the country was put on high alert: President François Hollande declared war on Daesh (Isis), and police were given carte blanche to bring the terrorists to justice. For those five days in November — the same period dramatized in French director Cedric Jimenez’s ticking-clock thriller “November” — the terrorists seemed to have achieved their purpose.

On Nov. 13, the terrorists attacked the Stade de France, where Hollande was attending a match; they opened fire on innocent Parisians eating at street cafés in the 10th arrondissement; and they turned a concert at the Bataclan theater into a death trap, killing 90 in that venue alone. France was traumatized. I know because I was there, ordered to stay indoors, afraid that this might be just the beginning. Like nearly everyone I spoke to,...

Deadline’s annual group of Ones to Watch in Cannes is made up of actors and filmmakers who are all bringing something fresh to the festival. The distinction isn’t always reserved for brand new faces; rather, we’ve selected people who are branching out, or who find themselves in waters where they are liable to make waves. Cannes can be a place of reinvention, after all.

French director, writer and producer Cédric Jimenez is known for his gritty crime thrillers inspired by real-life stories involving specific police departments. They include 2014 Toronto Film Festival debut The Connection (La French) about magistrate Pierre Michel, who waged an obsessive six-year battle to bring down Marseille’s infamous ‘French Connection’ drug ring; and last year’s box office hit The Stronghold (Bac nord), based on a 2012 police corruption case, also in Marseille.

The latter was acquired by Netflix outside France where it was the No.

Francois Ozon, whose latest film, “Peter von Kant,” opened the Berlinale, is already shooting his next movie, “Madeleine,” with a flurry of stars including Isabelle Huppert, Dany Boon and Fabrice Luchini.

The project, which is believed to be his most ambitious since “8 Women,” is being introduced to buyers at Cannes by Playtime and has already sparked strong interest. The plot is being kept under wraps, but Playtime is presenting the script to select buyers.

Ozon is one of the few bankable European directors whose films have opened at major festivals and traditionally sell around the world, including in the U.S.

“Madeleine” reteams Ozon with his regular producers, Eric and Nicolas Altmayer at Mandarin Cinema. Gaumont will be distributing the film in France, according to Satellifacts.

The cast also includes Rebecca Marder, the rising French star of Arnaud Desplechin’s “Tromperie” and Sandrine Kiberlain’s “Une jeune fille qui va bien.

Anaïs (Anaïs Demoustier) with Daniel (Denis Podalydès) in Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet’s Anaïs In Love (Les Amours d'Anaïs)

Anaïs Demoustier has been busy recently with Quentin Dupieux’s Incroyable Mais Vrai premiering in Berlin and now in Cannes she has Dupieux’s Fumer Fait Tousser and Cédric Jimenez’s Novembre coming up.

Anaïs Demoustier with Anne-Katrin Titze: “I like having to act with sensations and elements of gaze and all of that was something I enjoyed.”

Flowers, lots of them, in manic speed fill the screen. Anaïs, played by Anaïs Demoustier in a whirlwind performance in Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet’s Anaïs In Love (Les Amours d'Anaïs) is working on her thesis in literature. Demoustier told me about her work to find the physical intensity of the role and noted that she knew from being in Charline’s Pauline asservie, that the character would be an intersection of the director, herself, and the...

The Cannes Film Festival has added two more films to the Official Selection of the 75th edition, which will kick off on May 17.

Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s “As Bestas,” a French-Spanish movie, has been added to Cannes Première, the new section dedicated to world premieres for movies that are slightly more mainstream, similarly to the out-of-competition strand. Sorogoyen previously earned an Oscar nomination with his 2017 short film “Madre.”

Denis Ménochet and Marina Foïs star as a middle-aged French couple moves to a local village, seeking closeness with nature and end up sparking outright hostility and shocking violence with the small community.

“Salam,” a documentary directed by Mélanie Georgiades aka Diam’s, Houda Benyamina (“The Eddy”) and Anne Cissé (“Buck”), is set to play in the Special Screenings section.

Following its April 14 presser, the festival also added three movies competition: Léonor Serraille’s “Un Petit Frere,” Albert Serra’s “Tourment sur les iles...

New titles join 47 unveiled at April 14 press conference and previously announced Elvis and Top Gun: Maverick.

Cannes Film Festival has added a flurry of new titles to its 2022 Official Selection, as promised by delegate general Thierry Frémaux at last week’s press conference unveiling the bulk of the titles due to premiere at its 75th edition, running May 17-28.

A total of 17 fresh additions were announced, joining the 47 films unveiled on April 14 as well as Elvis and Top Gun: Maverick, which were announced earlier. This brings the total number of films in selection so far to 66 against 83 in last year’s special July edition.

The Cannes Film Festival has added a string of new titles to its Official Selection, including three movies in competition: Léonor Serraille’s “Un Petit Frere,” Albert Serra’s “Tourment sur les iles” and “Le Otto Montagne” by Charlotte Vandermeersch and Felix Van Groeninge.

Other movies that have been added to the lineup include Serge Bozon’s “Don Juan” and Emmanuel Mouret’s “Chronique d’une liaison passagère,” which have been added to Cannes Premiere, a new section launched last year; while actor-director Louis Garrel’s “L’innocent,” a drama starring Garrel, Anouk Grinberg and Noémie Merlant, will play out of competition.

“Don Juan” is a musical romantic comedy with Tahar Rahim and Virginie Efira, who will also be at Cannes to emcee the opening and closing ceremonies.

“Chronique d’une liaison passagere” is also a romantic comedy-drama revolving around an adulterous relationship, starring Sandrine Kiberlain and Vincent Macaigne.

With the new additions,...

Orange Studio has unveiled a first still of Nicolas Pariser’s adventure thriller “The Green Perfume” which will close Directors’ Fortnight, the strand running alongside the Cannes Film Festival.

Starring Sandrine Kiberlain (“Nine-Month Stretch”) and Vincent Lacoste (“Lost Illusions”), “The Green Perfume” takes place following the death of a poisoned actor in the middle of a performance at la Comédie Française. Martin, a member of the troupe and friend of the victim, becomes the prime suspect and is also being hunted down by a mysterious organization, the Green Perfume. While leading his own investigation, Martin receives the unexpected help of Claire, an eccentric cartoonist seeking some adventure.

Orange Studio is handling international sales on the movie and will co-distribute it in France with Diaphana. “The Green Perfume” is produced by Bizibi.

“The Green Perfume” is one of the three movies on Orange Studio’s Cannes slate. The Paris-based company is...

Directors’ Fortnight, the sidebar running alongside the Cannes Film Festival, has unveiled a strong lineup for its 54th edition, which will be the last one for outgoing artistic director Paolo Moretti.

The sidebar has landed a pair of movies from A24, Alex Garland’s horror film “Men” with Jessie Buckley which will play in the Special Screening section, and “God’s Creatures,” a psychological thriller directed by Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer, the filmmaking duo who made their feature debut with the Sundance film “The Fits.” Set in an Irish fishing village, “God’s Creatures” stars Aisling Franciosi, Emily Watson and Paul Mescal. Other elevated genre films on the roster include British helmer Mark Jenkin’s anticipated “Enys Men.”

Directors’ Fortnight will showcase films by 11 female directors and eight feature debuts. By comparison, Cannes Film Festival’s competition currently has only three films helmed by women.

Several French female helmers who...

Cedric Jimenez’s action thriller “The Stronghold” won the Cesar Award which was voted on by nearly 2,000 students from French high schools in France, the U.K., Mayotte and Japan.

The Studiocanal film, which was produced by Hugo Sélignac at Chi-Fou-Mi Productions, a Mediawan company, was nominated for seven Cesar Awards, including best film and two actor nods. Both Jimenez and Selignac were honored at the ceremony which was attended by the Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer and Veronique Cayla, the president of the Cesar Academy.

Headlined by a French cast comprising Gilles Lellouche, Francois Civil, Karim Leklou, Adele Exarchopoulos (“Blue Is the Warmest Color”) and Kenza Fortas, “The Stronghold” is inspired by a true story and follows a police brigade in a crime-ridden neighborhood of Marseille.

After world premiering at the Cannes Film Festival, the film was released in French theaters by Studiocanal and became one of 2021’s rare local box office hits,...

Exclusive: Film Movement has acquired U.S. rights to the dramedy Queen of Glory, written, directed by and starring Nana Mensah, from Magnolia Pictures International, with plans to release it in theaters and on digital and VOD later this year.

In her debut feature, Mensah plays Sarah, a Ghanaian-American doctoral student at Columbia University who is weeks away from following her very married boyfriend to Ohio when her mother dies suddenly, leaving her as the owner of the small, Bronx-based Christian bookstore, King of Glory. Tasked with planning a culturally respectful funeral befitting the family matriarch, Sarah is forced to juggle the expectations of her loving, yet demanding family while also navigating the reappearance of her estranged father. Aided by an only-in-New York ensemble of Eastern European neighbors, feisty African aunties and a no-nonsense ex-con co-worker, she faces her new responsibilities while figuring out how to remain true to herself.