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“NY84” will have a gala opening and theatrical release this October 14 at the Arena Theater in Hollywood.

A unique venue for a unique film written and directed by Cyril Morin and starring Sam Quartin, Chris Schellenger and Davy J. Marr, “NY84” follows the adventures of three young artists in the downtown New York art scene in the early 1980s. Young and carefree, Kate, Anton, and Keith party, photograph, paint, sing, and play their way through the clubs and lofts of Alphabet City.

The party ends in 1984 when Anton and Keith contract a mysterious illness known as the “gay cancer.” We gain an intimate glimpse into their creative and emotional lives as the three lose their youth and innocence.

Cyril Morin

This is a lyrical poetic paen to those times some of us were lucky enough to have lived through. The sexual revolution and its sexual freedom in effect then for the newly liberated homosexual community, also opened the way for Kate to express herself. And it opened a door for transexuals, women and the whole diversity of humanity to assert itself today.

Director: Eric Schaeffer Writer: Eric Schaeffer Starring: Eric Schaeffer, Lizzie Brocheré Sophie (Lizzie Brocheré) is a 25-year old nurse who helps take care of terminally ill people in their final days; she also moonlights as a dominatrix. The two careers describe Sophie very well. She can be gentle and kind, yet she also enjoys control and power; in either scenario she displays the utmost strength and fortitude. Despite her natural beauty, Sophie has never had a boyfriend; perhaps because feeling love for someone would exude weakness. Sophie is used to taking care of elderly people who are dying, but then she is assigned a 13-year old gypsy girl -- Anais -- who is dying of leukemia. Being around Anais changes Sophie and she begins to soften just enough to be receptive to a pushy American author, Michael (Eric Schaeffer). Michael has come to Paris to hide from his dying career and crippling amount of debt.

Quickcard Review

The Wedding Song

Directed by: Karin Albou

Cast: Lizzie Brochere, Olympe Borval

Running Time: 1 hr 40 mins

Rating: PG-13

Complete Coverage – 33rd Portland International Film Festival

Plot: When the Nazis occupy Tunisia, it strains the friendship of Myriam (Brochere), a young Jewess, and Nour (Borval), a traditional Muslim. It’s called The Wedding Song, because they are both in the process of marrying horrible a-holes.

Who’S It For? If you’re happy Solely with beautiful cinematography, then knock yourself out.

Overall

In one scene that lasts around ten minutes long, Myriam is getting waxed for her pervert husband because he prefers her “Oriental-style” on their wedding night…hold on…okay, had to go throw up, but I’m back now. The wax appears to be some sort of tree sap that tears out her pubic hair as she screams and cries and we get an extreme close up...

César nominee writer/director Karin Albou summons a genie with this pair of love stories, set in the worst of times, that challenge loyalties to the limit Writer/director Karin Albou follows up her César nominated .La petite Jérusalem. from three years ago with this high pitched anti-war, pro-woman statement set in dangerous and turbulent WWII Tunisia. Emerging actress Lizzie Brocheré plays Jewish Myriam and Olympe Borval plays the Islamic Nour. At the time of WWII the French and the Jews were the intellectual and economic elite of the country. Their girls attended school in the European style while Islamic girls like Nour were married and became household slaves as early as 13 or 14 years of age. Although Myriam has...

The friendships of adolescent girls are often defined by an explosive level of emotional intensity that makes every miscommunication, petty resentment, and everyday betrayal feel like a matter of profound importance. But what happens when that miscommunication, resentment, and betrayal play out against a backdrop of actual life-and-death urgency? That question is posited in Karin Albou’s The Wedding Song, which examines the friendship of a Muslim adolescent and a Jewish girl through the filter of World War II and a violent skirmish that grows closer with each passing day. Doe-eyed Lizzie Brocheré stars as a young Jewish woman in ...

Elliot Grove, the founder of the Raindance Film Festival, will be awarded an honorary doctorate by Plymouth College of Art on July 16.

L.A.-based film vet Peter Marai (who goes back to Media Home Entertainment days) has created a new Buenos Aires-based arthouse distributor, Mirada Distribution.

The first release from Mirada is Andrzej Wajda's "Katyn", which Marai bought from Germany's Betafilm. Pic will open in July.

Marai aims to bow 10-12 films a year, releasing them in Buenos Aires through Marcelo Morales' Arteplex 10-screen arthouse chain.

Other early buys include Nuri Bilge Ceylan's "Distant" and "Three Monkeys", both from France's Pyramide; the Match Factory's "Grbavica," and the Steve Buscemi-Sienna Miller 's "Interview" from Cinemavault.

In early Cannes trading, Marai also acquired Edgar Keret's "Jellyfish" and Karin Albou's "La Petite Jerusalem".

Mirada's launch comes as arthouse audiences are contracting in some territories, such as Spain.

PARIS -- The drums were pounding in Gaul on Monday night as scribe Alain Monne received France's 21st annual Grand Prize for best screenplay for "Percussions" at a ceremony held at Paris' Cinema de L'Arlequin theater.

The award is funded by state film body the CNC and given to writers who have had no more than three of their screenplays produced.

The 2007 jury was presided over by actress Marianne Basler and included last year's prize-winner, Martin Provost, along with industry execs Sophie Dulac, Pierre Heros, Jean Labadie and Geraldine Gendre.

"Percussions", an adaptation of Eric Holder's novel "L'Homme de Chevet", is the story of an unexpected encounter between a former boxer and the young quadriplegic woman he looks after.

The film is produced by Cine Nomine and Thelma Films. Honorable mention went to Reza Serkanian for her "Ephemeral Wedding", an Overlap Films production.

This year's other finalists included: Karin Albou for "The Brides' Song", Valerie Gaudissart for "I'm a Terrorist", Annemarie Jacir for "Salt of This Sea" and Jean-Claude Jean for "Cendrine".

CANNES -- Three films, including Tommy Lee Jones' Competition entry The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, have been disqualified from competing for the Camera d' Or, a spokesperson from the Camera d' Or office confirmed Saturday. James Marsh's Un Certain Regard entry The King and Karin Albou's Critics' Week entry La Petite Jerusalem also have been taken out of the running for the prize for best first feature film after it was confirmed that all three of the helmers have directed films for the small screen, which violates qualification rules. "They were withdrawn because the directors have previously done films for television," the spokesperson said. "Verification was ongoing when the festival started, and then we realized these weren't first films."...