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Close Protection

Director: Alice Winocour // Writer: Alice Winocour

Premiering her 2012 debut Augustine at Cannes Critics’ Week, which went on to be nominated for Best Debut at the Cesars, Alice Winocour makes a surprising jump from period piece to thriller with her second film, Close Protection (originally titled Maryland). Starring notable names like Schoenaerts and Diane Kruger will surely position a healthy international interest. The story revolves around a former soldier suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, who finds himself tasked with protecting the wife and child of a rich Lebanese businessman while he is away.

Cast: Matthias Schoenaerts, Diane Kruger

Producers: Dharamsala’s Isabelle Madelaine (Illégal) and Darius Films’ Emilie Tisné (Augustine).

U.S. Distributor: Rights Available

Release Date: While Winocour may very well tempt Cannes again, this sounds like genre fare that might have more luck straying into a less competitive realm. With filming set for December, we’ll see...

Belgian director Olivier Masset-Depasse's interest for illegal immigration led him to do his second feature film, Illégal. According to him, "illegal immigrants" deserve a chance to get its host country's citizenship as long as he/she isn't a criminal.

It tells the story of Tania, a Russian illegal immigrant (Anne Coesens). She's been denied by the Belgian government as a political asylum seeker. One day, when she can't produce her papers in front of two Belgian cops, she orders her son to run and she's brought to a detention centre for illegal immigrants.

Political views

His interest came when he saw a news story on TV about a detention centre for illegal immigrants. "I was so shocked, because the centre featured in the story looked like a prison for child. Usually, I forget the news I see on TV." He then decided to investigate for one year with a...

Olivier Masset-Depasse's Illégal, which comes out tomorrow in Montreal, probably won the Sacd Award during the Directors' Fortnight at last year's Cannes International Film Festival more for the issue it addresses than its substance.

We follow Tania (Anne Coesens), an illegal immigrant from Russia who's been living in Belgium for eight years with her 13-year-old son Ivan (Alexandre Gontcharov). This is because the Belgian government denied Tania's political asylum request. Moreover, this former French teacher in Russia burnt her fingerprints.

She wants her son to always speak to her in French in public to avoid rousing suspicion. On her son's birthday, she bends that rule just to please him. Unfortunately, two cops ask Tania to produce her papers, which she doesn't have. She's brought to a detention facility for future deportees and Ivan is on the run.

Although Belgian actress Anne Coesens bent over backwards to sound like a Russian,...

There is perhaps no political issue--aside from health care maybe--that stirs passions more than that of illegal immigration. Regardless of where you stand on the issue, it's undeniable that it's a complex one with ramifications that touch on education, the economy and yes, even the aforementioned health care. It's a thorny topic too, often rooted in personal experience, that it can be difficult to view it from any objective angle. But for director Olivier Masset-Depasse, there is no doubt where his sympathies lie and in "Illégal," Belgium's official foreign film selection for last year's Oscars, he makes his case with…...

Every year the Academy honors five films in the Best Foreign Film category, and in a genre that's already tough to market, an Oscar boost is a blessing for many films that would otherwise face a much tougher road to finding an audience. However, what people often forget is that those five nominees are whittled down from dozens and dozens of submissions from nations around the world and the reality is, most of those films don't see a release on our shores. While Belgium's entry "Illégal" didn't make the cut, the film by Olivier Masset-Depasse is getting a release and…...

Roman Polanski directing The Ghost Writer Best Film Heartbreaker produced by Nicolas Duval Adassovsky, Yann Zenou, Laurent Zeitoun, directed by Pascal Chaumeil Of Gods And Men produced by Pascal Caucheteux, Grégoire Sorlat, Etienne Comar, directed by Xavier Beauvois Gainsbourg (Vie HÉROÏQUE) produced by Marc du Pontavice, Didier Lupfer, directed by Joann Sfar Mammuth produced by Jean-Pierre Guérin, Benoît Delépine, Gustave Kervern, directed by Benoît Delépine, Gustave Kervern The Names Of Love produced by Caroline Adrian, Antoine Rein, Fabrice Goldstein, directed by Michel Leclerc The Ghost Writer produced by Robert Benmussa, Alain Sarde, directed by Roman Polanski TOURNÉE produced by Laetitia Gonzalez, Yaël Fogiel, directed by Mathieu Amalric Best Foreign Film Les Amours Imaginaires, Xavier Dolan Bright Star, Jane Campion The Secret In Their Eyes, Juan José Campanella ILLÉGAL, Olivier Masset-Depasse Inception, Christopher Nolan Invictus, Clint Eastwood The Social Network, David Fincher Best First Film Heartbreaker, Pascal Chaumeil, produced by Nicolas Duval Adassovsky,...

Lux Prize Nomination 2010 - Oliver Masset-Depasse, directorUploaded by Cineuropa. - Interview with Olivier Masset-Depasse, Director and Writer of Illégal (Illegal) Olivier Masset-Depasse became interested in detention centres for illegal immigrants and the plight of those who live there after a television program made him realize that there was such a center just 15 kilometers from his house. He started a year-long investigation with a journalist from the Belgian daily newspaper Le Soir and a lawyer from the Belgian Human Rights League. He also visited one of these centers on several occasions to get an accurate picture of both the…...

Cologne, Germany -- "Illegal," a refugee drama by director Olivier Masset-Depasse, will represent Belgium in the race for the 2011 Foreign Language Oscar.

"Illegal" tells the story of Tania (Anne Coesens), a Russian immigrant living in Belgium illegally with her 13-year-old son Ivan. When Tania is arrested and put in a detention center, she does everything in her power, even risking expulsion, to find Ivan.

"Illegal" debuted in the Directors' Fortnight sidebar in Cannes. It was produced by Jacques-Henri and Olivier Bronckart of Versus Production with Films Distribution handling world sales.

The Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences will pick the five nominees for Best Foreign Language Film on Jan. 25. The winner will be announced on Oscar night, Feb. 27, 2011.

Film Movement have made their second Cannes pick-up. Jury Prize winning A Screaming Man (receiving a release next April) is joined by Olivier Masset-Depasse's prize-winning Illegal - the only picture that has been selected for both premium European film festivals: Cannes (Director's Fortnight) and Venice (Venice Days) section. I missed out on the film during my Cannes coverage, but Anne Coesens looks fierce in the clip below. Film Movement plans a limited theatrical run (probably 2011) and premiere day-and-date on Cable VOD.      Tania and Ivan, her 14 year-old son, are illegal immigrants from Russia, who have been living in Belgium for 8 years. In a permanent state of alert, Tania lives in constant fear of having her identity checked by the police - until the day she is arrested. The mother and the son are separated. Tania is placed in a detention center. She does everything in her power to find her son again,...

The French and Russian language film, "Illegal," from director Olivier Masset-Depasse, which won the Sacd Prize at this year's Cannes Director's Fortnight, has been picked up by Film Movement for North American distribution. The film will have a limited theatrical run, and will show on Cable VOD, based on a deal negotiated between Film Movement’s President Adley Gartenstein and François Yon of Films Distribution. Depasse's drama follows Tania, a former teacher ...

Movies Lily Sometimes and Illegal are the toast of the Cannes Film Festival in France after landing top honours at the 42nd Directors' Fortnight.

French director Fabienne Berthaud's Lily Sometimes, starring Diane Kruger and Ludivine Sagnier, claimed the Art Cinema Award and Belgian Olivier Masset-Depasse's Illegal, featuring Anne Coesens, scored the Society of Dramatic Authors and Composers Prize.

Other Friday winners were Michelangelo Frammartino's Le quattro volte (Europa Cinemas Label Award) and Cautare and Mary Last Seen, which shared the Sfr Prize.

By Steve Pond

“Pieds nus sur les limaces” (“Lily Sometimes”), Fabienne Berthaud’s drama about a pair of sisters trying to cope with the death of their monther, is among the top prize winners in the Directors Fortnight, an independent section of films that runs concurrently with the Cannes Film Festival but is not an official part of the festival.

Olivier Masset-Depasse’s “Illegal,” Michaelangelo Frammartino’s “Le Quattro Volte,” Ionut Piturescu’s Ma“Cautare” and one American short film, Sean Durkin’s “M...

If You Are Not Logged Into IMDbPRO You May Not Be Able To Work All These Links. Films Distribution has Chongking Blues in Competition, Cleveland vs. Wall Street and Illegal, Olivier Masset-Depasse's Belgian-French-Luxembourgian co-production and Love Like Poison (also called Poison Violent), the debut feature of young French female director Katell Quillevere are featured among the 22 features in Directors Fortnight. This is Katell Quillevere's first feature. French singer Lio co-stars with young Gallic talent in the story about a 14-year-old girl getting ready for her confirmation ceremony. It is being sold by Films Distribution. In 1997 Nicolas Brigaud-Robert and…...

With three in the Director's Fortnight and one in the Main Comp for good measure, Films Distribution are making a significant contribution to Cannes this year – my money is on Katell Quillevere's Un Poison Violent (see pic above) but Wang Xiaoshuai, Jean-Stéphane Bron's doc on white collar crimes that hinder the working man and an immigrant tale gone wrong portrait from Olivier Masset-Depasse could make this a great year for the distributor. Something to look forward to in the near future: Yann Samuell's next effort. - With three in the Director's Fortnight and one in the Main Comp for good measure, Films Distribution are making a significant contribution to Cannes this year – my money is on Katell Quillevere's Un Poison Violent (see pic above) but Wang Xiaoshuai, Jean-Stéphane Bron's doc on white collar crimes that hinder the working man and an immigrant...

With three in the Director's Fortnight and one in the Main Comp for good measure, Films Distribution are making a significant contribution to Cannes this year – my money is on Katell Quillevere's Un Poison Violent (see pic above) but Wang Xiaoshuai, Jean-Stéphane Bron's doc on white collar crimes that hinder the working man and an immigrant tale gone wrong portrait from Olivier Masset-Depasse could make this a great year for the distributor. Something to look forward to in the near future: Yann Samuell's next effort. Chongqing Blues (Rizhao Chongqing) by Wang Xiaoshuai - Completed Cleveland Vs Wall Street by Jean-Stéphane Bron - Completed Illegal by Olivier Masset-depasse - Completed L'amour Fou by Pierre Thoretton - Completed With Love... From The Age Of Reason (L'ÂGE De Raison) by Yann Samuell - Completed A Cat In Paris (Une Vie De Chat) by Alain Gagnol - Production Family Tree (L'arbre Et La FORÊT...

Love Like Poison is the debut feature of young French female director Katell Quillevere (one of five featured among the 22 features in Directors Fortnight) with her first feature, also called Poison Violent. French singer Lio co-stars with young Gallic talent in the story about a 14-year-old girl getting ready for her confirmation ceremony.

Illegal, Olivier Masset-Depasse's Belgian-French-Luxembourgian co-production will be showing in Directors' Fortnight.

It is being sold by Films Distribution.  In 1997 Nicolas Brigaud-Robert and François Yon began the company and visited every player in Los Angeles as they explored the terrain.  I was honored that they visited me at FilmFinders in West Hollywood and felt Francois and I would become the best of friends.  Since then, the company has made a name for itself in the marketplace as a highly-specialized outfit.  They seem to have grown quickly into quite a large outfit launching 15 to 20 new titles a year...

Sorry, we're a day late on this one, been busy, but there's some great stuff coming our way, that is if you like arthouse fare.

Among other things will be a story about two violent teenage girls in France called Des filles en noir, along with Christoffer Boe's incredible looking Everyting will be fine (trailer).

There's a couple more gems we'll be reporting on shortly.

Full list after the break.

Directors' Fortnight

"All Good Children," U.K., Alicia Duffy

"Benda Bilili!," France, Renaud Barret, Florent de la Tullaye (opening film)

"Cleveland vs. Wall Street," Switzerland-France, Jean-Stephane Bron

"Des filles en noir," France, Jean-Paul Civeyrac

"Everything Will Be Fine," Denmark-Sweden-France, Christoffer Boe

"Illegal," Belgium-Luxembourg-France, Olivier Masset-Depasse

"The Invisible Eye," Argentina-France-Spain, Diego Lerman

"Joy," Brazil, Marina Meliande, Felipe Braganca

"Le quattro volte," Italy-Germany-Switzerland, Michelangelo Frammartino

"Leap Year," Mexico, Michael Rowe

"The Light Thief," Kyrgyzstan, Aktan Arym Kubat

"Lily Sometimes," France, Fabienne Berthaud...

The lineup for the 2010 edition of Directors’ Fortnight has been announced. There are eleven first films in the lineup which will compete for the Camera d’Or prize which goes to a first film from across all the sections.

In 2010 Directors’ Fortnight, the Carrosse d’Or award will be awarded to Agnes Varda, the celebrated woman auteur-director of the french independant cinema. The Carrosse d’or (Golden Coach) Prize is a tribute to a director chosen from the international filmmaking community for the innovative qualities, courage and independent-mindedness of his or her work. Since its creation in 2002, this prize has been given to Jacques Rozier, Clint Eastwood, Nanni Moretti, Sembene Ousmane, David Cronenberg, Alain Cavalier, Jim Jarmusch and Naomie Kawasé in 2009.

Directors’ Fortnight will run from May 13 to 23 on the sidelines of the official selection at Cannes International Film festival.

Feature films

(* denotes films competing for Caméra d'Or Prize)

Alegria,...

Paris -- Cam Archer's sophomore film, "Shit Year," starring Ellen Barkin will be among the films screening in the 42nd annual Directors' Fortnight during the Festival de Cannes.

The sidebar's new artistic director, Frederic Boyer, announced the eclectic lineup Tuesday in Paris.

In "Shit Year," Barkin plays a has-been Hollywood actress who has an affair with a much younger actor, played by Luke Grimes. Alistair Banks Griffin will also represent the U.S. in the sidebar with his first feature, "Two Gates of Sleep," starring Brady Corbet, about two brothers who embark on a difficult journey to honor their dying mother's final request.

The Directors' Fortnight will open and close with a French accent this year. Renaud Barret and Florent de la Tullaye's documentary about an orchestra made up of disabled people "Banda Bilili!" was picked as the opening-night film. The sidebar will close with a more glitzy red carpet premiere,...