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The first time Donna Langley came to the Cannes Film Festival she was a junior executive working on 1999’s “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.”

“I had just been promoted and I was fortunate enough to get picked to come on this trip to be part of the support team, and it was great! It was very different to this experience, I will say,” Langley said, eliciting a laugh from the well-heeled crowd at the Kering Women in Motion dinner, held at the Place de la Castre high above the Croisette. “[But] we had the time of our lives. We were just in so much awe to be in the cinema capital of the world.”

Indeed, the chairman of NBC Universal Studio Group no longer needs to share an apartment with four other young women — especially not one situated behind the fancy hotels. After all — and as Cannes president Iris Knobloch...

Dany Boon and Audrey Fleurot are setting sail for See The Sea, Emmanuel Poulain-Arnaud’s family comedy-drama adapted from hit Mexican film Ya Veremos, and Snd will kick off sales in Cannes.

Actor-director Boon, known for box office hits Welcome To The Sticks and Driving Madeleine, and Fleurot play a divorced couple forced to put aside their differences on an oceanside trip when their son begins to go blind.

Currently shooting in southwestern France, the film is the latest in what has been a boom in local language remakes that will take centre stage at the Cannes market. Pedro Pablo Ibarra...

Former French President François Hollande has found a new gig. The Socialist Party leader, who served as the leader of France before current President Emmanuel Macron, has joined the voice cast of Silex & the City – The Movie, a feature-film spinoff of a popular, Simpsons-style short-format animated series.

Hollande will lend his famous voice to the new film, which is currently in production, joining more established French talent including Bruno Solo, Julie Gayet, Stéphane Bern, Léa Drucker, Frédéric Beigbeder, Guillaume Gallienne, Léa Salamé and Amélie Nothomb.

Silex & the City follows a Stone Age family, the Dotcoms who embark on a time-travel adventure into the future. Father Blog, voiced by Franck Ekinci, mother Spam (Noémie De Lattre) and their rebellious children Url (Fabien Limousin) and Web (Camille Serceau) are familiar to French audiences. A short-form series based on the comic of the same name by French cartoonist Jul has been a...

Former French President François Hollande is part of the voice cast for “Silex & the City – The Movie,” a big-screen spinoff of the popular short-format animated series set in the Stone Age.

“Silex & the City” is adapted from the comic book series by the same name created by French cartoonist Jul, which has sold over a million copies. The animated series, meanwhile, has been a hit on Franco-German network Arte, airing on primetime.

Written and co-directed by Jul alongside Jean-Paul Guigue, the film will blend 2D animation with live-action sequences. Besides Hollande, the well-known voice cast includes Bruno Solo, Julie Gayet, Stéphane Bern, Léa Drucker, Frédéric Beigbeder, Guillaume Gallienne, Léa Salamé and Amélie Nothomb. Now in production, the film is expected to be completed by spring 2024.

“Silex & the City – The Movie” follows the adventure of the Dotcom family — which consists of hunting professor Blog, geography teacher Spam and their rebellious children...

Juliette Binoche, Marion Cotillard and Jacques Audiard are among 500 French cinema professionals to have signed an open letter in support of a silent march for peace in Paris this Sunday.

The initiative – created in response to the Israel-Hamas conflict and its ongoing reverberations around the world – is being spearheaded by the newly launched Une Autre Voix (Another Voice) collective.

“This fratricidal war affects us all, and regardless of our reasons or affinities on each side of the wall, we want it to cease and that both peoples finally live in peace,” reads the letter.

“This is why we are organizing a silent, united, humanist and peaceful march that will open with a single long white banner. No political claims nor slogans. White flags, white handkerchiefs are welcome.”

Belgian-Moroccan actress Lubna Azabal presides over the Une Autre Voix collective which also features French...

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...

First footage screening from ’Dominique’, ’My Divorce Comedy’ on November 1.

Film Mode Entertainment has announced at AFM a raft of deals on supernatural horror thriller The Devil Conspiracy, action thriller Dominique, and revenge thriller Outrage in a series of transactions concluded since Cannes.

Nathan Frankowski’s The Devil Conspiracy stars Alice Orr-Ewing, Joe Doyle, Peter Mensah, and Joe Anderson in the story of a Satanic cult which steals the Shroud of Turin.

Deals have closed in Middle East (Eagle Films Middle East), Australia/New Zealand (Eagle Entertainment), the UK (Amcomri Productions), Scandinavia (NonStop), South Korea (Lumix Media Contents Group), Germany...

Film starring Sami Bouajila and Julie Gayet started shooting this week in Northern France.

Snd, the film arm of French broadcaster M6, has teamed with prolific French production company Empreinte Cinema for Juan Carlos Medina’s upcoming race-against-the-clock cop thriller The Chase (Abime) starring Sami Bouajila and Julie Gayet.

Snd has international rights for the film and will kick off sales at AFM for the murder mystery meets action film. Snd and Empreinte produce with Paris-based Once Upon A Time on board as co-producer.

The Chase stars Bouajila as a police officer who failed to find the murderer of a young girl 11 years earlier.

Female Film Club (FCC), an online members club for female filmmakers and creatives, has partnered with French production company Sisterland Connect to advocate for women in film on an international scale.

Sisterland Studio and Sisterland Connect bowed at Cannes earlier this week with the launch of an investment fund and production company for women in industry which will target a total of €35 million ($37.5 million) and have already begun the process of curating a selection of films made by women.

Led by producer Sandra Rudich and supported by actor, producer and activist Julie Gayet, Sisterland aims to empower women in film and media in France and worldwide by financially supporting and co-producing over 100 female-driven projects within the next seven years.

This collaboration will unite the Ffc’s 500-strong global member network and the French film community behind Sisterland with the common goal of connecting, championing and financially supporting women and diversity in the global film industry.

Producer Rudich will oversee an investment fund and production company.

French producer Sandra Rudich has launched a €35m investment fund and production company Sisterland to develop, financially support and produce more than 100 female-driven film, TV and media projects over seven years.

Sisterland will oversee two structures, namely a Sisterland Studio investment fund and Sisterland Connect production company. Also on board the ambitious project as its’ godmother’ is actress, producer and activist Julie Gayet.

Citing “the slow evolution of parity for women and diversity in France,” Sisterland aims “to break the glass ceiling by empowering women both in France and internationally.

The letter targets “the political positions displayed by the Cannes Festival” in particular.

More than 123 French actors and actresses have signed an open letter denouncing sexual harassment in the French film industry, calling it “a dysfunctional system that crushes and annihilates”.

On the same day that Cannes welcomed Maïwenn’s Jeanne Du Barry and its star Johnny Depp, and just ahead of the premiere of Catherine Corsini’s Homecoming in competition, the letter targets “the political positions displayed by the Cannes Festival” in particular. “By rolling out the red carpet to men and women who assault, the festival sends the...

French star Julie Gayet (The Perfect Mother) is among an ensemble cast to have has assembled for revenge thriller Outrage alongside Adelaide Kane (The Purge), Jay O. Sanders (The Day After Tomorrow), Clemens Schick (Andor), and Manuel Cauchi (13 Hours).

The now-completed feature directorial debut from French-American filmmaker Mathieu Bonzon, Outrage will be screening at the European Film Market in Berlin, where Film Mode Entertainment is handling global sales.

“We’re excited to be working with the talented Mathieu Bonzon on his feature directorial debut,” said Film Mode’s Clay Epstein. “This is a tight thriller with a fantastic twist, and we can’t wait for audiences to join in on the fun.”

Outrage takes place in a secluded French château, where a group of international media and political personalities gather for a private dinner party. Beneath the glitz and glamor lie dark conspiracies between an extremist group and a burgeoning news media company.

Paris-based banner Loco Films will be hitting the European Film Market with mix of French and international movies, including the Berlinale Panorama title “Property,” as well as “Grand Expectations” and “Like An Actress.”

“Property,” which marks the sophomore outing of Brazilian helmer Daniel Bandeira, is a survival thriller lensed Pedro Sotero, the cinematographer of Kleber Mendonça Filho’s “Bacurau” and “Aquarius.” The sole Brazilian movie competing at the Berlin Film Festival, “Territory” follows Teresa, who flees her family estate in an armored car after rebelling workers start occupying it. She’s trapped, but refuses to negotiate, prompting a collision between two universes.

Laurent Danielou at Loco Films pointed Bandeira was part of the collective Recife alongside Mendonça Filho with whom he teamed on his first short film “Little Cotton Girl.” “Property” is produced by Simio Filmes and Vilarejo Filmes whose credits include other politically minded films such as “Aquarius.”

“‘Property...

It’s Friday, you’re starting to think of the weekend, so it must be Insider time. Join me once again as the Deadline International team cast a critical eye over the big news stories this week. Read on.

NATPE And Edinburgh In Turmoil

Nasty news from NATPE: This month was supposed to be all about people getting back together at industry events. Certainly, in the international TV industry, everyone we speak to is – genuinely, for once – excited about returning to Mipcom later this month. However, October has started horribly for fans of travelling to entertainment industry confabs: On Monday, NATPE filed for bankruptcy instead collecting its things from Miami and moving them to the Bahamas as planned, and then it emerged the Edinburgh International Film Festival has gone the same way. Napte, which has been hosting execs, producers, syndicators and distributors for decades,...

More than 1,000 industry professionals also sign letter in solidarity with Iranian women.

The French film industry has rallied together in support of women in Iran who are protesting the death of Mahsa Amini while in police custody.

More than 50 of France’s most famous stars, including Juliette Binoche, Marion Cotillard, Isabelle Adjani, Berenice Bejo, Julie Gayet, Isabelle Huppert and Charlotte Gainsbourg, have cut off locks of their hair in a video captioned #Hairforfreedom.

Meanwhile, more than 1,000 French film industry professionals and organisations have signed a strongly-worded letter in solidarity with Iranian women.

The #Hairforfreedom video begins with an image of...

More than 50 French female artists from the worlds of cinema and music have symbolically cut their hair in a video campaign showing support for the ongoing protests in Iran calling for more freedom for women following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, reports ‘Deadline’.

French actresses Isabelle Adjani, Berenice Bejo, Juliette Binoche, Laure Calamy, Marion Cotillard, Julie Gayet, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Isabelle Huppert and Alexandra Lamy were among those sharing images of themselves cutting off their hair.

According to ‘Deadline’, Amini died in police custody on September 16 after being arrested for not wearing her hijab properly in accordance with the country’s strict religious laws and allowing some locks of hair to escape.

Police say she died of a heart attack but eyewitnesses and people who were detained with the young woman said she was severely beaten. ‘Deadline’ further states that women around the world have been cutting a lock of...

Update: French actors Juliette Binoche, Marion Cotillard, Melanie Laurent, Isabelle Huppert and Charlotte Gainsbourg are among those who have cut off locks of their hair in support of the Iranian protests against the death of Mahsa Amini.

In a video posted to Instagram, the actors are among a number of French industry members who are seen trimming locks of their hair. In Binoche’s case, the “Both Sides of the Blade” actor defiantly lobs off entire inches of her dark hair, while declaring “For freedom!”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Soutien Femmes Iran (@soutienfemmesiran)

The video campaign, which uses the hashtag #HairForFreedom, was organized by Richard Sedillot, with Julie Couturier and Christiane Feral Schuhl.

“It is impossible not to denounce again and again this terrible repression,” reads a statement posted with the video. “There are already dozens of dead men and women, including children. The arrests only swell,...

More than 50 French female artists from the worlds of cinema and music have symbolically cut their hair in a video campaign showing support for the ongoing protests in Iran calling for more freedom for women following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.

French actresses Isabelle Adjani, Berenice Bejo, Juliette Binoche, Laure Calamy, Marion Cotillard, Julie Gayet, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Isabelle Huppert and Alexandra Lamy were among those sharing images of themselves cutting off their hair.

Amini died in police custody on September 16 after being arrested for not wearing her hijab properly in accordance with the country’s strict religious laws and allowing some locks of hair to escape.

Police say she died of a heart attack but eyewitnesses and people who were detained with the young woman said she was severely beaten.

Women around the world have been cutting a lock of hair and posting the act on social networks around...

Loco Films has boarded international sales rights to actor-turned-helmer Dinara Drukarova’s feature debut “Woman at Sea” which will world premiere in the New Directors section at the San Sebastian Film Festival.

Produced by Marianne Slot and Carine LeBlanc at Paris-based Slot Machine (“Melancholia”), “Woman at Sea” stars Drukarova as Lili, who has left everything behind to travel to the end of the earth to fulfil her dream of fishing in the northern seas, in Iceland. She convinces Ian, a fishing boat skipper, to give her a chance and embarks on the Rebel. She is the only woman in the crew but she will win everybody’s respect thanks to her determination and courage.

“We are proud of this first film, shot on the harsh northern seas about a young woman seeking the fresh air of freedom. A beautiful and free film and the birth of a new director,” said Laurent Danielou,...

Matt Dillon (“The House That Jack Built”) and Charlotte Gainsbourg are attached to star in Fred Garson’s “An Ocean Apart,” a period drama about the romantic affair between French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir and American writer Nelson Algren.

The film is being developed by French producer Olivier Delbosc at Curiosa Films, which is presenting Xavier Giannoli’s Venice competition player “Lost Illusions” and Yvan Attal’s “Les choses humaines,” and Matthew Gledhill at Wheelhouse Prods. Dillon is at Venice with “Land of Dreams,” screening in the Horizons section, and Gainsbourg stars in “Les choses humaines,” unspooling out of competition.

Set during the late 1940s in Paris and Chicago, “An Ocean Apart” was written by Ron Riley in collaboration with Garson and Claire Barré. The film charts the fiery yet mostly letter-based relationship between Beauvoir and Algren that spanned from 1947 to 1964. Algren, who was Jewish, is best known for the...

The actress will star with Philippe Katerine in Sébastien Bailly’s feature debut, a La Mer à Boire production which will be sold by Loco Films and will soon begin filming. The first clapperboard will slam on 12 January for Comme une actrice, the first feature film by Sébastien Bailly who previously turned heads with Féminin plurielles (a programme released in cinemas in 2018 and consisting of three short films), Où je mets ma pudeur (in competition in Sundance 2014) and Douce (selected for Clermont-Ferrand’s national competition in 2012), to name a few. In terms of his cast, the director will rely on lead performances from Julie Gayet and Philippe Katerine (the winner of the 2019 Best Supporting Role César for Sink or...

The annual 16 Days 16 Films short film competition has revealed a heavyweight jury including James Bond producer Barbara Broccoli, Emmy-winning actor Anna Friel (“Marcella”) and award-winning “Blue Story” producer Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor.

This jury also includes actor and political activist Ashley Judd (“Berlin Station”), directors Phyllida Lloyd (“Herself”) and Sarah Gavron (“Rocks”), writer Abi Morgan (“Suffragette”), actor Stacy Martin (“Nymphomaniac”), actress and producer Julie Gayet (“Raw”), stunt performer and intimacy coordinator Teniece Divya Johnson (“Succession”), actor Jasmine Trinca (“The Goddess of Fortune”), and director and actor Tamara Yazbek Bernal (“After Lucia”).

The short film competition platforms female filmmakers and their films, which “explore, emote, and educate” on forms of violence against women. Inspired by the Un Women campaign 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence, the initiative will run online from Nov. 25 – Dec. 10, between the International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women and International Human Rights Day.

Sixteen finalists have been chosen...

Variety has been given exclusive access to the trailer for “The Squad #Notheretodance,” which will have its world premiere at the Cannes virtual film market. Be For Films, headed by Pamela Leu, is handling international sales.

The documentary feature centers on the Olympique Lyonnais women’s soccer team, which is one of the best women’s soccer teams in the world. From training sessions to competitive matches, from moments of doubt to the joy of victories, the film takes an up-close look at the players and their daily lives.

According to a statement, the film is “an invitation to see women’s sports and the place they hold in professional sports in a new light; a universe where the values of respect and open-mindedness are indispensable mainstays in working toward equality.”

The film is directed and written by Stéphanie Gillard, and the cinematographer is Jean-Marc Bouzou. It is produced by Julie Gayet,...

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...

Winners in the International Competition also included Atlantis, Just 6.5, Only The Animals and Chaogtu With Sarula.

Danish filmmaker Frelle Petersen’s Uncle won the Tokyo Grand Prix Award at the close of the Tokyo International Film Festival (November 5), while Summer Knight, directed by China’s You Xing, took best film in the Asian Future section.

Set in rural Denmark, Uncle follows a girl caring for her disabled uncle who dreams of becoming a veterinarian and faces a heart-breaking choice. Summer Knight is also a coming-of-age story, set in China in the summer of 1997, about two boys attempting to recover a stolen bicycle.

Snd, the commercial arm of the French TV network M6, will be launching sales on “Appearances” (“Valses de Vienne”), a psychological thriller headlined by Karin Viard.

“Appearances” is adapted from Swedish author Karin Alvtegen’s bestselling crime novel “Betrayal.” The film revolves around a couple of successful French expats, Eve and Henri, who live in Vienna. Their perfect life spins out of control after Eve discovers her husband’s infidelity and has a revenge one-night stand with a young Austrian man, pulling them into an irreversible spiral.

Viard stars in the film opposite French singer-turned-musician Benjamin Biolay (“On a Magical Night”) and Laetitia Dosch (“Montparnasse Bienvenue”). Now in post, “Appearances” is produced by Thelma Films and Scope Pictures. Snd will be unveiling a promo reel at the Afm, and will be distributing the film in France.

Snd’s Afm roster also includes Gabriel Le Bomin’s “De Gaulle,” a historical...

Competition to screen 14 titles including the world premieres of Japanese films Tezuka’s Barbara and A Beloved Wife.

Tokyo International Film Festival (Tiff) has announced the full line-up for its 32nd edition, including the 14 titles selected for its International Competition.

In addition to previously announced Japanese titles Tezuka’s Barbara from Macoto Tezka and Shin Adachi’s A Beloved Wife, the competition will screen five other world premieres including Chinese director Wang Rui’s Chaogtu With Sarula, Food For A Funeral from Turkey’s Reis Celik and Uncle from Danish director Frelle Petersen.

Asia premieres in this section include Jayro...

The Tokyo International Film Festival will this year give over most of its competition section to films from outside East Asia. This contrasts to previous editions with a strong presence from the region.

The festival, which will hold its 32nd edition next month, announced its lineup Thursday. Of the 14 announced films for competition, only two – Wang Rui’s “Chaogtu With Sarula” (China) and Paul Soriano’s ”Mananita” (Philippines) – are from East Asia.

Korean films are noticeably absent this year, a situation that may reflect the acute political tensions between Tokyo and Seoul.

Others in the competition are Valentyn Vasyanovych’s “Atlantis” and Jorunn Myklebust Syversen’s “Disco,” which both screened at Toronto. The competition also includes Saeid Rustai’s “Just 6.5,” Jayro Bustamante’s “La Llorona,” Nunzia De Stefano’s “Nevia” and Dominik Moll’s “Only the Animals,” which were all pickups from Venice.

The two Japanese films in the competition...

Cannes — Women in Animation (Wia) and Les Femmes s’Animent (Lfa) have announced the program lineup and initial list of speakers for the third Women in Animation World Summit, which will take place June 10 in conjunction with the Annecy Intl. Animation Festival and Mifa.

The summit will feature a day-long symposium of panels and discussions spotlighting top executives, filmmakers and artists from around the world covering a wide range of topics affecting women working in the animation industry today. Julie Ann Crommett, vice president of multicultural audience engagement at the Walt Disney Studios and Wia secretary, will kick off the summit and introduce the day’s theme of “Belonging.”

One of the program’s highlights will be a presentation by Dr. Stacy L. Smith, who will announce the results of the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative’s landmark study focused on women in the animation industry, entitled “Increasing Inclusion in Animation.

Women in Animation, Les Femmes s’Animent announce June 10 date, programme line-up.

Celebrated academic and inclusion expert Stacy Smith and French actor and women’s activist Julie Gayet will be among the speakers at the Women in Animation World Summit in Annecy, France, on June 10.

Organised by Women in Animation (Wia) and Les Femmes s’Animent (Lfa), the third summit takes place in conjunction with the Annecy International Animation Festival and Mifa 2019 and has chosen the notion of belonging as this year’s theme.

The Walt Disney Studios vice-president of multicultural audience engagement and Wia secretary Julie Ann Crommett will kick off the day-long,...

Lille, France — Leading French independent production-finance-distribution sales company Federation Entertainment has secured international sales rights on upcoming French psychological thriller “Torn.”

The series was created and written by director Lionel Bailliu (“Innocente”)and Yann Le Gal and world premieres in the official French competition on March 25 at France’s Series Mania TV festival. Attending the series’ premiere will be French actress – producer Julie Gayet, Bailliu, Le Gal, as well as Elephant producers Gaëlle Cholet and Guillaume Renouil.

Elephant Story and At-Production co-produced with participation from France Télévisions. France 3, Belgian public broadcaster Rtbf and TV5 Monde are already set to broadcast.

In the series, a school teacher named Victoire moves to a small village in rural France with her young family. There, she runs into Florent, her first love from a lifetime ago, and their long-dormant feelings for one another reignite. Unable to suppress their desires for one another, the...

Chile’s Parox, one of the country’s foremost TV companies, is teaming with France’s Rouge Intl. to develop “Evasion” (Escape), the latest feature film from Cristian Jiménez, director of 2011’s Cannes-selected “Bonsai” and co-director of 2017 Sundance player “Family Life.”

Parox founder-producer Sergio Gándara is attending Guadalajara Festival’s Co-production Meeting to seek a co-producer from Mexico or North America.

“For us, it’s very important that one of the stars is a recognized name in the biggest industry in the world,” he commented.

Jiménez, Parox and Rouge Intl. are at an exploratory phase, considering the use of a hybrid style mixing live-action, animation and documentary, Gandara added.

In “Escape,” Miguel, a combatant against Augusto Pinochet’s bloody dictatorship, plans an escape from jail with other political prisoners while imagining a film with a Hollywood star made in the future about his feat.

30 years later, Miguel remembers his past as Michael,...

The French Academy feted its 2019 Cesar Awards nominees Sunday afternoon, with its traditional luncheon at the famed Fouquet's restaurant in Paris.

Stars including Adele Haenel, Leila Bekhti and Vincent Lacoste turned out, after the lunch had been moved a day later than its traditional berth due to the ongoing “yellow vest” protests that are now a Saturday staple on the Champs Elysees. But the city's most famous road was closed to traffic for pre-planned “car-free” day, leaving extra room for the rows of fans to greet the actors.

Melanie Thierry, Virginie Efira, Elodie Bouchez, Sandrine Kiberlain ...

Rosa Attab

Producer, Why Not Productions

Although she likes to keep a low profile, Attab is a key producer at Parisian outfit Why Not Prods., where she works with top filmmakers such as Cristian Mungiu, Arnaud Desplechin and Jacques Audiard, whose latest film “The Sisters Brothers” played at Venice and will screen next at Toronto. Attab’s first experience as a full-on producer was on Lynne Ramsay’s “You Were Never Really Here,” which world premiered in competition at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival and won prizes for actor (Joaquin Phoenix) and screenplay. Attab is developing an English-language feature with BAFTA-nominated helmer Yann Demange, who recently directed “White Boy Rick,” which unspooled at Telluride, and the feature debut of actor Samir Guesmi (“The Returned”).

Stephanie Bermann (pictured center)

Co-Founder, Domino Films

Bermann founded Domino Films with Alexis Dulguerian six years ago after heading acquisitions at leading independent distribution company Mars Films for eight years.

Red carpet protest highlighted fact only 82 women have been honoured in Official Selection over 71 editions of festival.

Cate Blanchett and Agnes Varda led 82 female industry figures in a silent ascent of the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday protesting the lack of female representation at the event over its 71 editions.

Moving, historic, 82 women from all countries and professions in cinema have just made the red carpet entrance for Les Filles Du Soleil (Girls Of The Sun) by Eva Husson. #Cannes2018 #Competition pic.twitter.com/0YY9SNbRqg

— Festival de Cannes (@Festival_Cannes) May 12, 2018

Other stars joining the protest...

Documentary reconstructs historic trial resulting in Nelson Mandela’s life sentence.

Paris-based company Versatile has snapped up world sales rights for feature documentary The State Against Mandela And The Others, ahead of its Special Screening premiere in Cannes next month.

The documentary reconstructs the Rivonia Trial, which took place in the suburbs of the South African city of Johannesburg from October 1963 to June 1964 and resulted in anti-apartheid campaigner Nelson Mandela being imprisoned for 27 years and eight months.

But rather than focusing on Mandela, it puts the spotlight on the stories of the other people who stood in the dock alongside the world-famous activist,...

Following the black dresses at the Golden Globes and BAFTAs, the French Academy has launched a white ribbon campaign, #NowWeAct, for this Friday’s Cesar Awards to combat violence against women.

In response to the #MeToo movement in the U.S., the French Academy is partnering with the Foundation for Women, which will hand out the ribbons to every one of the 1,700 guests entering the ceremony, and will use donations to fund its anti-violence activities.

One hundred industry players signed a letter of support for the campaign in the newspaper Liberation, including actresses Diane Kruger, Julie Gayet, Adele Haenel, Tonie Marshall, Chiara...

In the spirit of the TimesUp movement, a group of French actors, directors and producers has launched the #MaintenantOnAgit (Now We Act) campaign. The aim is to facilitate access to justice for female victims of violence by giving various associations the means to support them through donations. Venus Beauty filmmaker Tonie Marshall and actress and producer Julie Gayet (above) are among the women behind the project. The group, which has aligned itself with La Fondation…...

Exclusive: Sales company adds films from Alejandro Fadel, Ísold Uggadóttir.

Midway through this year’s Cannes Film Festival market, The Match Factory has acquired two titles - And Breathe Normally by Ísold Uggadóttir and Die, Monster, Die by Alejandro Fadel.

Die, Monster, Die, the latest film from the Argentinean director Alejandro Fadel, is soon to start shooting in the Argentinean province of Mendoza.

The project was developed at Cannes’ Cinéfondation Résidence and is Fadel’s second feature as a writer and director.

Fadel co-directed Love (First Part) which premiered in Venice’s Critic’s Week. As a writer, he has worked with Pablo Trapero, Damián Szifrón, Walter Salles, Adrian Caetano and Peter Weber, among others.

His first feature The Wild Ones (Los Salvajes) [pictured] premiered in Cannes’ Critic’s Week in 2012.

In Die, Monster, Die, the body of a woman is found brutally beheaded by a remote meadow at the foot of the snowy Andes. In this isolated...

Exclusive: The company has also come onboard as a producer.

Paris-based mk2 films has boarded sales on Romanian director and Cannes regular Corneliu Porumboiu’s upcoming black comedy Gomera.

The film, set on the Canary Island of La Gomera, stars long-time Porumboiu collaborator Vlad Ivanov as a Romanian policeman on a mission to free a crooked businessman from prison which involves learning the local coded whistled language, known as El Silbo.

The company has also come on board the $3.87m project as a co-producer alongside Sylvie Pialat’s Les Films du Worso, Julie Gayet and Nadia Turincev’s joint company Rouge International, and Apaches in Spain. Porumboiu was last in Cannes in 2015 with The Treasure, which premiered in Un Certain Regard.

Gomera is among a trio of titles boarded by mk2 films on the eve of Cannes, including Mikhaël Hers’ third film Amanda and directorial duo Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel’s debut feature Jessica Forever.

[link...

France has never had a first lady like this before.

Brigitte Macron will be the nation’s first premiere dame in nearly five years following her husband Emmanuel Macron’s election, stepping into the international spotlight last captivated by Carla Bruni-Sarkozy.

Macron – the school teacher who took up with a student, the glamorous mother of three and grandmother to seven – is an atypical first lady, to say the least. Here’s everything you need to know about her.

1. She has chocolate in her blood

Brigitte Marie-Claude Trogneux Auzière Macron is the youngest of six children and the only girl.

Katell Quillévéré on Steven Spielberg's E.T. - The Extra Terrestrial: "For me it was something from my childhood ..." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

The danger of living is lurking at every corner at the start of Katell Quillévéré's medical thriller Heal The Living (Réparer Les Vivants), co-written with Gilles Taurand, based on a novel by Maylis De Kerangal, starring Emmanuelle Seigner, Kool Shen (Catherine Breillat's Abus De Faiblesse with Isabelle Huppert), Tahar Rahim, Gabin Verdet, Théo Choldbi, and Finnegan Oldfield (Thomas Bidegain's Les Cowboys).

I first met Katell Quillévéré when she was presenting her film Suzanne, which stars Sara Forestier, Adèle Haenel, François Damiens, and Paul Hamy. Katell also participated, along with Julie Gayet, Axelle Ropert, Isabelle Giordano, Rebecca Zlotowski, Stacie Passon, Ry Russo-Young, Deborah Kampmeier, and Justine Triet, in activities at the French Institute Alliance Française on International Women’s Day during the 2014 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema in New York.

Exclusive: Gaumont unveils Lemercier comedy Homecoming [pictured] and Kev Adams’s feelgood drama To The Top.

Gaumont has launched sales on Valérie Lemercier’s comedy Homecoming about a woman in her 50s who goes through a second youth when a change in professional and personal fortunes forces her to move back in with her parents.

It marks a fifth time in the director’s chair for popular French actress Lemercier after comedies including Palais Royal! and The Ultimate Accessory.

Lemercier also stars as the central character of Marie-Francine who has to contend with her over-bearing parents while rebuilding her life.

Edouard Weil’s Rectangle Productions is producing the film which began shooting April 20 for delivery in the second half of 2017.

Gaumont has also taken on sales of Serge Hazanavicius’s To The Top starring box office draw Kev Adams as a champion snowboarder with aspirations of taking on Mount Everest.

He heads to the French snowboarding Mecca Chamonix...

The Ride director Stéphanie Gillard at an Amanda Parer Intrude rabbit Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

Executive produced by Rouge International's Nadia Turincev and Julie Gayet (of The French Minister (Quai D’Orsay), directed by Bertrand Tavernier, based on Antonin Baudry's graphic novels), Stéphanie Gillard's The Ride with expansive cinematography by Martin de Chabaneix and atmospheric sound recording by Erwan Kerzanet (Léos Carax's unholy Holy Motors and Catherine Breillat's unflinching Fat Girl) takes us on the 300 mile pilgrimage on horseback of the Lakota people through the Badlands of South Dakota.

The Ride

Jim Harrison's novels, Arthur Penn's Little Big Man with Dustin Hoffman, Misty Upham and Arnaud Desplechin's Jimmy P: Psychotherapy Of A Plains Indian, William Heise and William K.L. Dickson's Sioux Ghost Dance for Thomas Edison, and how the filming of The Ride became a personal journey are explored in my conversation with the...

The Anil D. Ambani led Reliance Entertainment has now announced a unique Indo-French partnership with Julie Gayet's Rouge International, and Elisa Soussan's my Family, to produce Serge Hazanavicius's directorial venture Nomber One, in which Kev Adams will be playing the lead role. The film has been written by Serge Hazanavicius, Stephane Dan, Mary-Noelle Dana, and Alexis Galmot. Nomber One is about a quest, and of the ascension of a uniquely talented young man, in a world gone mad, a world of commerce and mercantile deals. It is also the tale of a father-son relationship between two men who share the same passion, of how events tear them apart, and of how a love of the snow, and quite simply love itself, brings them back together again. The movie is a story of riders, the daring last action heroes who risk their lives for a beautiful run, for...

India’s Reliance Entertainment is teaming with two French production companies – Julie Gayet’s Rouge International and Elisa Soussan’s myFamily – to co-produce Serge Hazanavicius’ mountaineering drama nOmber One.

Hazanavicius, the brother of The Artist director Michel Hazanavicius, is best known as an actor (The Monuments Men, I’ve Loved You So Long) and TV director.

He has co-written and will direct nOmber One, a father-son relationship story, which is set to star French actor Kev Adams. Co-writers also include Stephane Dan, Mary-Noelle Dana and Alexis Galmot.

The film will start shooting in February 2016 in France before moving to the Indian Himalayas in March and April.

“nOmber One is the story of a quest, and of the ascension of a uniquely talented young man in a world gone mad – a world of commerce and mercantile deals,” said Reliance in a statement.

A major investor in DreamWorks, Reliance also recently became a co-founder of Steven Spielberg’s [link...

India’s Reliance Entertainment is teaming with two French production companies – Julie Gayet’s Rouge International and Elisa Soussan’s myFamily – to co-produce Serge Hazanavicius’ mountaineering drama nOmber One.

Hazanavicius, the brother of The Artist director Michel Hazanavicius, is best known as an actor (The Monuments Men, I’ve Loved You So Long) and TV director.

He has co-written and will direct nOmber One, a father-son relationship story, which is set to star French actor Kev Adams. Co-writers also include Stephane Dan, Mary-Noelle Dana and Alexis Galmot.

The film will start shooting in February 2016 in France before moving to the Indian Himalayas in March and April.

“nOmber One is the story of a quest, and of the ascension of a uniquely talented young man in a world gone mad – a world of commerce and mercantile deals,” said Reliance in a statement.

A major investor in DreamWorks, Reliance also recently became a co-founder of Steven Spielberg’s [link...

Exclusive: Slate also includes new films by Alain Guiraudie and Raymond Depardon.

Wild Bunch will launch a new biopic of legendary sculptor Auguste Rodin at Unifrance’s January event Rendez-vous with French Cinema in Paris.

Vincent Lindon (The Measure Of A Man) will star in the film entitled Rodin, which will shoot in 2016 for a 2017 release to coincide with the centenary of the sculptor’s death in November 1917.

French director Jacques Doillon (Love Battles) will direct from his own screenplay.

It is Lindon’s first major role since his Palme d’Or-winning performance in social drama The Measure Of A Man at Cannes last May.

Casting is currently underway for the role of Rodin’s tragic collaborator and lover Camille Claudel and his long-suffering, life-long companion Rose Beuret.

The picture will start as Rodin turns 40 and enters one of the most productive periods of his artistic career in which he created works such as The Thinker and The...

Hot projects on Screenbase this week include German-Canadian co-production In The Lost Lands, twin brothers Mohammed Abou Nasser and Ahmad Abou Nasser’s Dégradé, spy-thriller Damascus Cover and documentary Tomorrow.

Fantasy adventure In The Lost Lands

Milla Jovovich will star alongside Justin Chatwin in this new feature based on short stories from the creator of Game Of Thrones. The German-Canadian co-production is directed by Constantin Werner.

The story revolves around a series of magical and fantastic tales centring on a sorceress in search of a spell, a warrior girl on a quest and a young barbarian who encounters a witch in a spacecraft.

Steve Hoban, Oliver Luer and Nico Bruinsma produce. Myriad Pictures chief Kirk D’Amico will serve as an executive producer.

Terrence Malick’s Voyage Of Time

Malick’s documentary features the voices of Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. Dede Gardner, Nicolas Gonda, Sarah Green, Grant Hill, Brad Pitt, Bill Pohlad and [link...