News

The French horror film The Animal Kingdom has been making the festival rounds for the last year, and after reaching theatres in its home country last October it ended up earning 12 Nominations at this year’s César Awards, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Actor. We’ll have to wait a couple weeks to find out if it’s going to win those César Awards (the ceremony is set to be held on February 23rd), but in the meantime a trailer for the film’s American release has made its way online and can be seen in the embed above. Magnet Releasing will be giving The Animal Kingdom a theatrical and VOD release on March 15th.

Directed by Thomas Cailley, who also wrote the screenplay with Pauline Munier, The Animal Kingdom, which is described as “a visionary thriller”, drops viewers into an extraordinary world where mutations...

French director Edouard Bergeon, whose Cesar-nominated debut feature “In the Name of the Land” was a box office hit in 2019, has penned another eco-thriller, “The Green Deal.”

The movie, which is partly set in the Indonesian forest, has been boarded by Playtime and will be pitched to buyers at the Toronto Film Festival.

“The Green Deal” explores crimes and colliding interests in the exploitation of a palm oil and the production of biofuels. The movie is produced by Christophe Rossignon and Philip Böeffard at Nord-Ouest Films, the well-established banner behind “Merry Christmas” and more recently Thomas Cailley’s “The Animal Kingdom,” which was produced by Pierre Guyard.

“The Green Deal” stars Alexandra Lamy as Carole, an English professor leading a tranquil life in rural France. Her world crumbles when she learns that her son, Martin, conducting research for his Ph.D. in Indonesia, has been arrested in Borneo on drug...

Local audiences at Cairo Film Festival fell for Nicolas Giraud’s “The Astronaut,” applauding several times during its world premiere on Saturday, even though critics were less enthused. But it wasn’t the only sound that accompanied the screening, frequently interrupted by a cacophony of ringtones.

“What we shared here today was this unique experience of watching a film in a theater, together, an experience we need to protect as it’s endangered all over the world. But what I would like to say to you, people from Egypt…,” started actor Hippolyte Girardot.

“…Turn off your phones in the cinema! Goddamnit!,” added Mathieu Kassovitz during a Q&a that followed, eliciting a hearty laughter from the room.

“The Astronaut”

The film – produced by Christophe Rossignon and Philip Boëffard (Nord-Ouest Films) with Orange Studio handling the sales and Diaphana Distribution on board – is competing in Cairo’s international competition, with its...

“The Black Pharaoh, the Savage and the Princess,” BAFTA-winning French director Michel Ocelot (“Kirikou and the Sorceress”)’s anticipated new animated feature, has been sold by Paris-based Playtime to major territories.

The colorful film is playing at this week’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival where Ocelot is the recipient of the Honorary Cristal Award paying tribute to his laureled career.

Launched at the Cannes film market, “The Black Pharaoh, the Savage and the Princess” has already been acquired for Italy (Movies Inspired), Canada (Axia), Ex-yougoslavie (McF) and Portugal (Leopardo). The company is currently in talks with other buyers in the rest of Europe.

Ocelot’s film, which is produced by Christophe Rossignon’s well-established banner Nord-Ouest Films, tells three tales set in three different eras and worlds. In Ancient Egypt, a young king becomes the first black pharaoh to deserve the hand of his loved one. During the French Middle Ages,...

A former mk2 films sales executive has been brought in to scout for international co-production opportunities.

Nord-Ouest Films, the French production house behind the cult classic Irreversible and more recent Berlinale title The Passengers Of The Night, has hired former mk2 films sales executive Ola Byszuk as a producer to expand its international footprint.

In her new role, Byszuk will focus on forging links with international talent and producers outside of France.

At mk2 films, Byszuk was responsible for Asia and sealed a number of deals that resulted in some of the biggest box office successes for French-language films in the region in recent years,...

Screen profiles the Venice Competition section, which includes new titles from Pedro Almodovar, Paolo Sorrentino, Jane Campion and Pablo Larrain.

Following a physical 2020 edition that triumphantly braved the pandemic, Venice Film Festival (September 1-11) is back on the Lido with a line‑up showcasing major filmmakers including Pedro Almodovar, Paolo Sorrentino, Jane Campion and Pablo Larrain.

America Latina (It-Fr)

Dirs. Damiano D’Innocenzo, Fabio D’Innocenzo

Widely seen as Italian film’s next big things, the 33-year-old twin brothers have so far — among other feats — opened their 2018 debut feature Boys Cry in Berlin’s Panorama section, co-scripted Matteo Garrone’s Dogman, picked...

Orange Studio has unveiled a first still for “L’astronaute,” a French drama headlined by Nicolas Giraud and Mathieu Kassovitz (“The Bureau”).

The film is produced by Christophe Rossignon and Philip Boëffard at Nord-Ouest Films. It will be distributed in France by Orange Studio and Diaphana Distribution.

Orange Studio is also representing “L’astronaute” in international markets and kicked off sales at the UniFrance Rendez-Vous with French Cinema in January as well as this month’s virtual EFM.

The film follows the journey of Jim, a passionate engineer who has always dreamed of becoming an astronaut, and devotes all his spare time to building a rocket, sacrificing his social and love life and putting himself in danger.

“This tale of transcendence, pursuit of dreams and collective strength is in line with the type of films we aim to produce at Nord-Ouest: films that are meaningful and have a universal humanity,...

Pour le meilleur et pour le pire

Produced by Christophe Rossignon, Philip Boëffard

Directed by Stéphane Brizé

Written by Stéphane Brizé, Olivier Gorce

Starring: Vincent Lindon, Sandrine Kiberlain, Anthony Bajon

Cinematographer: To be announced.

Release Date/Prediction: Insert shooting date and location and prediction. If you used specific links copy and paste and I’ll copy and paste them.

…...

Orange Studio is set to co-produce and represent in international markets a trio of ambitious French movies, “L’astronaute,” “Madame de Sevigné” and “Chien blanc.” All three films will start shooting during the first quarter of 2021 and will be co-distributed by Orange Studio in theaters.

“Chien blanc,” to be directed by Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette, will be headlined by Denis Ménochet and Canadian actress Kacey Rohl (“The Killing”). Produced by Nicole Robert at Go Films, “Chien blanc” is an adaptation of Romain Gary’s novel. Barbeau-Lavalette bought the adaptation rights from Alexandre Diego Gary, the only child of Gary and Jean Seberg.

The film, mainly inspired by Gary’s own life, unfolds in the U.S. in the aftermath of Martin Luther King’s assassination. Gary and his wife, Seberg, welcome in their home an abandoned dog who appears to have been trained to attack Black people. Gary nevertheless refuses to have the dog euthanized,...

Paris-based sales powerhouse to launch new titles by Maïwenn, Stephane Brizé, Louis Garrel and Bruno Podalydès.

Wild Bunch is to launch sales on new films by Maïwenn, Stéphane Brizé, Louis Garrel and Bruno Podalydès at Unifrance’s Rendez-vous with French Cinema in Paris next week (January 16-20).

Drawing on her own complex history, Maïwenn’s fifth feature DNA revolves around a woman with close ties to a beloved Algerian grandfather who protected her from a toxic home life as a child. When he dies, it triggers a deep identity crisis as tensions between her extended family members escalate revealing new depths of resentment and bitterness.

Following this year’s launch of the Cinema Green Lab, Les Arcs Film Festival has created €10,000 cash prize which will reward the most compelling environment-themed fiction project presented at the Co-production Village.

“We have noticed that up until now, very few projects have been tackling environmental issues which are often only dealt with in documentaries. We want to contribute to change this fact,” said the festival in a release.

The festival is joining forces with the Auvergne Rhône Alpes Cinéma, the fond of the region Auvergne Rhône Alpes dedicated to the co-production of films, and with Ads, the org which operates the biggest ski resorts in the French Alps, including Les Arcs, to finance the cash prize.

The winning project will have to deal with the future of our planet, and will have to have a story at least partly set in a mountain region. The grant will be aimed...

British filmmaker Sarah Gavron, whose latest film, “Rocks,” competed at Toronto in the Platform section and won two awards at San Sebastien, will be honored during the 11th edition of Les Arcs Film Festival with the Femmes de Cinema Award.

Created by Les Arcs festival in partnership with Sisley in 2013, Femmes de Cinema is an initiative aimed at boosting the representation of women in the film industry, which remains for the most part male-dominated. The Femmes de Cinema Award celebrates visionary female filmmakers from Europe.

“Rocks” is a heartfelt drama set in East London and developed through workshops and improvisation with newcomers.

The story revolves around a teenager, Shola, and her younger brother, who are abandoned by their mother. Afraid to be separated from her brother if social services find out they are living alone, Shola sets out to evade the authorities’ notice at all costs.

Gavron’s follow up to “Suffragette” and “Brick Lane,...

European cinema-focused Alpine festival pushes on with efforts to improve female representation.

UK filmmaker Sarah Gavron and French actress and filmmaker Julie Gayet are set to participate in the Les Arcs Film Festival’s Femmes de Cinéma initiative aimed at boosting the representation of women in the film industry.

The 11th edition of the Alpine, European-cinema focused festival, runs December 14-21.

Gayet will give a masterclass about her career as an actress, director and producer as part of the festival’s third Femmes de Cinéma lab which consists of two workshops and a masterclass exploring what can be done to...

The director of Rocks will take centre stage at the 11th Les Arcs Film Festival, alongside Guillaume Canet, Édouard Bergeon and Christophe Rossignon for In The Name Of The Land. Created in response to the observation that women are still under-represented in certain areas of the filmmaking industry, the aim of the Sisley/Les Arcs Women in Film award, founded in 2013, is to raise awareness of this disparity among sector professionals, the media and the public at large. The prize will be presented on Sunday 15 December, on the occasion of the 11th Les Arcs Film Festival (running 14 - 21 December), to British director Sarah Gavron, whose film Rocks (screened in competition in both Toronto and San Sebastian) is set to be shown in competition at the Alpine resort. The Women in Film Lab, moreover, which was initiated in 2017 and which is the only event to reflect on...

The festival, held in the French Alps, will have a timely ecological angle for the first time.

The Les Arcs Film Festival has unveiled the line-up for its 11th edition, which will unfold in the French Alps Dec 14-21, with a timely ecological angle for the first time.

Artistic director Frédéric Boyer has selected 120 films, which will play across six sections, including the Competition, Playtime, Hauteur and Avant-Premieres sidebars. Some 22,000 public and professional attendees are expected to attend in line with 2018.

Dutch actor-turned-director Halina Reijn’s psychological thriller Instinct, Fyzal Boulifa’s UK tragic female friendship tale Lynn + Lucy and...

In today’s film news roundup, J.K. Simmons’ “I’m Not Here” and French animated movie “Dilili in Paris” get releases and Andrea Friedman nabs a film role.

Acquisitions

Gravitas Ventures has acquired worldwide rights to the J.K. Simmons drama “I’m Not Here” for a March 8 release, Variety has learned exclusively.

The film also stars Sebastian Stan, Maika Monroe, Mandy Moore, and Max Greenfield. It’s directed by Michelle Schumacher, who wrote the film alongside Tony Cummings.

Simmons portrays a man haunted by his past as every object in his home, every sound he hears, reminds him of a specific event in his life as he attempts to move past the pain and forgive his trespassers, and more importantly, forgive himself.

Schumacher said, “Tony and I wanted to explore the idea of understanding one’s life by connecting the dots of meaningful events and viewing them through the lens of quantum mechanics.

Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired U.S. rights to Michel Ocelot’s animated Dilili in Paris, which is part of Sgf’s plan to expand into distributing more family entertainment films. A 2019 theatrical release is in the works.

Dilili centers on a young girl who becomes caught up in a mystery plot that will take her through the upper reaches and lower depths of Belle Époque-era Paris. In the course of her investigation, she visits incredible places and encounters a series of extraordinary characters, each providing her with clues that will help in her quest to save the women of Paris. Prunelle Charles-Ambron, Enzo Ratsito and Natalie Dessay voice the cast.

Ocelot, whose credits include the animated Kirikou and the Sorceress, Princes and Princesses and Azur & Asmar: The Princes’ Quest, wrote and directed Dilili, which opened the 2018 Annecy animation festival, bowed in French theaters last fall and was nominated for a César Award.

Exclusive: Paris-based company reshuffles sales team as Carole Baraton steps down as head of sales.

Wild Bunch will launch sales on new films by Jean-Luc Godard, Christian Carion, Michel Ocelot, Raymond Depardon as well as a feel-good, Senegal-set drama starring Omar Sy at Unifrance’s upcoming Rendez-vous with French Cinema in Paris (Jan 12-16).

The event will also mark the first outing for the company’s reconfigured sales team following Carole Baraton’s decision to step down as head of sales to set-up her own company.

Baraton’s long-time territories the Us, France and the UK will be carved up between the sales team, now consisting of Silvia Simonutti, Emilie Serres, Olivier Barbier, recent hire Fanny Beauville and Esther Devos for festivals.

Notably, Beauville will co-handle Canada and the Us in partnership with La’s Creative Artist Agency (CAA), working closely with the agency’s film finance and sales group co-chief Roeg Sutherland and his team.

Bilingual...

Eternité

Director: Tran Anh Hung

Writer: Tran Anh Hung

Vietnamese auteur Tran Anh Hung had a smoldering early career, snagging the Camera d’Or at Cannes for his 1993 debut Scent of the Green Papaya and nabbing the Golden Lion in Venice for his 1995 sophomore film, Cyclo. A five year break brought The Vertical Ray of the Sun in 2000, and then nine years later Hung premiered his ill received English language debut, I Come With the Rain, which starred Josh Hartnett. An adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s celebrated novel Norwegian Wood was better received, though received a delayed and limited theatrical run in the Us. He’s back with an exciting new project, his French language debut Eternité (Eternity), set to star three French beauties, Melanie Laurent, Beatrice Bejo, and Audrey Tautou, based on Alice Ferney’s celebrated novel which concerns a story from the late 19th century to the end...

Éternité

Director: Tran Anh Hung // Writer: Tran Anh Hung

Vietnamese auteur Tran Anh Hung had a smoldering early career, snagging the Camera D’or at Cannes for his 1993 debut Scent of the Green Papaya and nabbing the Golden Lion in Venice for his 1995 sophomore film, Cyclo. A five year break brought The Vertical Ray of the Sun in 2000, and then nine years later Hung premiered his ill received English language debut, I Come With the Rain, which starred Josh Hartnett. An adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s celebrated novel Norwegian Wood was better received, though received a delayed and limited theatrical run in the Us. He’s back with an exciting new project, his French language debut Eternity, set to star three French beauties, Melanie Laurent, Beatrice Bejo, and Audrey Tautou, based on Alice Ferney’s celebrated novel which concerns a story from the late 19th century to the end of...

Atiq Rahimi’s Nocturne Afghan (working title) and Stéphane Brizé’s A Simple Man to both shoot this winter.

MK2 has announced that new films from Atiq Rahimi and Stéphane Brizé will shoot this winter.

Nocturne Afghan (working title) is the third feature from Rahimi, following The Patience Stone and Earth and Ashes. It will begin shooting in January 2015 in Paris and is produced by Marin, Elisha and Nathanaël Karmitz for Mk Productions. MK2 handles all rights.

The film follows a young Afghan who, after his friend leaves for London without a trace, finds himself rushing around Paris to find the money needed to pay the smuggler who is bringing his younger brother into the city.

Having won the César for Best Screenplay for Mademoiselle Chambon, Stéphane Brizé will shoot his sixth feature A Simple Man in the outskirts of Paris this month.

Starring Vincent Lindon, the film is produced by Christophe Rossignon and Philip Boeffard for Nord-Ouest...

Feature revolving around womanhood set to shoot in France late summer.

Vietnamese director Tran Anh Hung is set to work with Mélanie Laurent, Audrey Tautou and Bérénice Bejo on his first French-language feature, which is due to start shoot this summer.

Entitled Eternité (Eternity), the feature is an adaptation of Alice Ferney’s novel L’élégance des Veuves, revolving around the theme of motherhood and three women who face up to tragedy and unhappiness with dignity.

Tran has adapted the novel for the big screen. The director adapted Japanese writer Haruki Marakumi’s Norwegian Wood for his last film.

The €10m ($14m) production, due to start shooting at the end of this summer, is produced by Christophe Rossignon of Paris-based Nord-Ouest with the support of Canal+ and co-producers Samsa Film in Luxembourg and Artemis in Belgium.

Pathé will distribute in France and Pathé International will handle sales.

Tran won the Camera d’Or with his debut film The Scent of Green Papaya...

Feature revolving around womanhood set to shoot in France late summer.

Vietnamese director Tran Anh Hung is set to work with Mélanie Laurent, Audrey Tautou and Bérénice Bejo on his first French-language feature, which is due to start shoot this summer.

Entitled Eternité (Eternity), the feature is an adaptation of Alice Ferney’s novel L’élégance des Veuves, revolving around the theme of motherhood and three women who face up to tragedy and unhappiness with dignity.

Tran has adapted the novel for the big screen. The director adapted Japanese writer Haruki Marakumi’s Norwegian Wood for his last film.

The €10m ($14m) production, due to start shooting at the end of this summer, is produced by Christophe Rossignon of Paris-based Nord-Ouest with the support of Canal+ and co-producers Samsa Film in Luxembourg and Artemis in Belgium.

Pathé will distribute in France and Pathé International will handle sales.

Tran won the Camera d’Or with his debut film The Scent of Green Papaya...

Justice or Chaos

Director: Vincent Gaenq

Writer: Vincent Garenq

Producers: Nord Ouest Films’ Christophe Rossignon and Philip Boëffard

U.S. Distributor: Rights Available

Cast: Gilles Lelouche, Charles Berling, Florence Loiret Caille

His 2011 sophomore feature Guilty made the pedophilic accusations of The Hunt seem like a cake walk (and is also based on a true story). The acclaimed reception of that film sees him returning to real life injustice, snagging more French notables like Lelouche and Berling to head his cast. If it’s anything like his last film, look forward to a distraught and distressing reenactment.

Gist: A look at the Clearstream case, a politico-financial conspiracy that shook the French Republic in the years 2000.

Release Date: Filming took place last August, so we’re assuming that due to the attention his last film received as well as the subject matter should see this as a prime candidate for a Cannes sidebar,...

In 1995, Mathieu Kassovitz’s exceptional debut, La Haine, was a shocking realization of the unjust ghettoizing of immigrants taking place in France, and the violent abuse of power by police forces, but its surprising how relevant the subject remains today, even outside of French borders. Not only does it still carry cultural significance, but the film continues to awe with its striking black and white long takes, and bold encapsulation of what living in the public housing projects is like for people growing up in them. The film places us in the bombed out cities where people burned their own businesses in protest, and graffiti covered neighborhood playgrounds where teens stagnantly talk about nothing all day long. By getting to know the area, and its residents, Kassovitz was able to make an important film, with both political and technical merits that stand side by side with outstanding performances by Vincent Cassel,...

No surprises at the 35th Cesars, as A Prophet cleaned up in all major categories it was nominated in: Best Film, Best Director (Audiard), Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography (Stephane Fontaine), Best Editing (Juliette Welfling), Best Art Direction (Michel Barthelemy) and last but not least, one of my top 5 performance of the year, Niels Arestrup won for Best Supporting... - No surprises at the 35th Césars, as A Prophet cleaned up in all major categories it was nominated in: Best Film, Best Director (Audiard), Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography (Stephane Fontaine), Best Editing (Juliette Welfling), Best Art Direction (Michel Barthelemy) and last but not least, one of my top 5 performance of the year, Niels Arestrup won for Best Supporting -- he of course won best supporting in The Beat that My Heart Skipped. The revelation of the year Tahar Rahim won a pair of awards...

Tahar Rahim in A Prophet (Roger Arpajou / Sony Pictures Classics) The Cesar winners will be announced on Feb. 27. Meilleur Film / Best Film A L’Origine / In The Beginning, Edouard Weil and Pierre-Ange Le Pogam; directed by Xavier Giannoli Le Concert / The Concert, Alain Attal; directed by Radu Mihaileanu Les Herbes Folles / Wild Grass, Jean-Louis Livi; directed by Alain Resnais La JOURNÉE De La Jupe / Skirt Day, Bénédicte Lesage and Ariel Askénazi; directed by Jean-Paul Lilienfeld Rapt, Patrick Sobelman, Diana Elbaum et Sébastien Delloye; directed by Lucas Belvaux * Un PROPHÈTE / A Prophet, Pascal Caucheteux, Grégoire Sorlat et Marco Cherqui; directed by Jacques Audiard Welcome, Christophe Rossignon; directed [...]...

Paris – French Academy members got serious on Friday with two politically charged dramas heading the major categories for the 35th annual Cesar Awards that will see Jacques Audiard's "A Prophet" go head to head with Philippe Lioret's "Welcome." The nominees were announced Friday at a press conference in Paris.

While no one can foresee the winners, "A Prophet" looks bound to triumph with Jacques Audiard's prison drama nominated for 13 awards including best film, best director and a best actor and most promising male newcomer nod for the film's breakout star Tahar Rahim.

Academy voters also gave a hearty reception to Phillipe Lioret's "Welcome" with 10 nods and Xavier Giannoli's "In the Beginning" with 11 nominations.

Radu Mihaileanu's "The Concert" was also music to voters' ears with the tragicomedy about a washed-up former conductor of the Bolshoi orchestra who travels to Paris to make his career comeback scoring six nominations.

• Yann Samuell has come full circle and he is only three feature films into his filmmaking career. Samuell's first film, Love Me If You Dare trickled into several markets including the U.S. and made a name for the director. Starring Guillaume Canet and Marion Cotillard, Lmiyd featured love coming late in life in a flash-back mode going back and forth between adulthood and childhood with the two characters. Seems like his next directing gig will visit similar themes of regret. Samuell is set to start filming L'âge de Raison (“The Age of Reason”) next month with Sophie Marceau toplining the fantasy comedy. Also starring players Jonathan Zaccaï, Marton Csokas and Michel Duchaussoy, this centres on Margaret (Marceau), a career girl who on her 40th birthday, receives the visit from a provincial solicitor who sends her some old, forgotten letters she wrote to herself when she was seven, the age of reason.

...

PARIS -- French director Christian Carion and actor Guillaume Canet are back in the holiday spirit after their 2005 hit "Merry Christmas" with a new collaborative effort, "Farewell", a spy thriller based on the eponymous novel by Serguei Kostine.

After "Christmas" nabbed a foreign-language Oscar nomination in 2006 and sold nearly 2 million tickets at the Gallic boxoffice, the actor-director team is heading from World War I to the Cold War for the story of a lieutenant-colonel from the KGB who chose to betray the former USSR for France.

Set in Moscow in 1981, the film is set to start shooting in early 2008. Russian actor Nikita Mikhalkov will co-star opposite Canet in the project co-produced by Christophe Rossignon's Nord-Ouest Prods. with Bertrand Faivre's Le Bureau.

Carion, who co-wrote the script with Eric Raynaud, also is in development on Nord-Ouest's "La Guerre de l'Eau", starring Mathilde Seigner and Danny Boon.

PARIS -- Director-writer Christian Carion's World War I drama Merry Christmas will represent France in the race for a foreign-language Oscar nomination, the Center National de la Cinematographie said Monday. The $22 million co-production, produced by Christophe Rossignon's Nord Ouest Prods. and a host of European companies, is based on a true story about French, German and British soldiers on the front lines who temporarily put aside the political differences of their countries to celebrate a joyous Christmas. Starring Diane Kruger, Benno Furmann and Guillaume Canet, Merry Christmas will be released by UGC in France on Nov. 9 and unspooled during this year's Festival de Cannes. Sony Pictures Classics has U.S. theatrical rights and will release the film in the U.S. next spring.

PARIS -- Director-writer Christian Carion's World War I drama Merry Christmas will represent France in the race for a foreign-language Oscar nomination, the Center National de la Cinematographie said Monday. The $22 million co-production, produced by Christophe Rossignon's Nord Ouest Prods. and a host of European companies, is based on a true story about French, German and British soldiers on the front lines who temporarily put aside the political differences of their countries to celebrate a joyous Christmas. Starring Diane Kruger, Benno Furmann and Guillaume Canet, Merry Christmas will be released by UGC in France on Nov. 9 and unspooled during this year's Festival de Cannes. Sony Pictures Classics has U.S. theatrical rights and will release the film in the U.S. next spring.

PARIS -- Christian Carion's World War I drama Merry Christmas, one of the highlights of this year's Festival de Cannes, will be released on a single screen in northern France on Sept. 21 in order to qualify for a foreign-language Oscar, the producer said Thursday. Christmas will play for seven consecutive days at a theater in St. Pol-sur-Ternoise, located in the Nord Pas de Calais region, which coughed up a significant chunk of the film's €18 million ($23 million) budget. "Under the rules, that makes it eligible for a foreign-language Oscar entry, so that's what we're doing," Christophe Rossignon of Paris-based Nord-Ouest said.

PARIS -- Mention French cinema, and most people would think of quirky auteur delights like Amelie, the flashy action antics of recent Luc Besson productions (the Taxi franchise) or the heavyweight intellectual style of such surviving New Wave stalwarts as Eric Rohmer, Jacques Rivette or Jean-Luc Godard. But on home turf, a new genre is emerging as one of the biggest boxoffice draws, capable of topping out all but the mightiest of Hollywood blockbusters. Some have dubbed the family-friendly genre "films du terroir," a reference to the land, which also has echoes of tradition and old values. "In 'terroir, ' there is the word 'terre' (earth), which implies roots. But it's also about the past, nostalgia. These are all very rich words, but I'd prefer to say these are films about humanity," says Christophe Rossignon, whose company Nord-Ouest Prods. made the pastoral hit Une Hirondelle a fait le Printemps (One Swallow Makes a Spring), directed by Christian Carion.