News

Cesar-winning French actor Roschdy Zem (“Days of Glory”) and “Fauda” star Laëtitia Eïdo are co-starring in “Fatum,” a timely action film directed by Florent-Emilio Siri (“Hostage”) and scored by Oscar-winning Alexandre Desplat.

“Fatum,” which started filming on July 4 in Morocco, is produced by Mathias Rubin at Récifilms. Orange Studio is co-producing and has French distribution rights, as well as handles international sales. The film is also co-produced by France 2 Cinéma which pre-bought it along with Canal+, Disney+ and Palatine Etoile 21.

Zem, one of France’s most bankable actors who previously won a Cannes prize with “Days of Glory” and recently won a Cesar Award with “Oh Mercy!” stars in “Fatum” as Elyas, a former Special Forces soldier who has become solitary and paranoid since serving Afghanistan. Elyas is recruited to provide the security for Amina (Eido) and her daughter Nour who fled the Emirates and found refuge in a French castle.

Sophie Fatu may only be five but she is brimming with confidence and won over all four “America’s Got Talent” judges with her audition on the June 12 episode. While some may find her precociousness a bit too precious, the panel was captivated by her from the moment she strutted on stage. (Watch her audition video above.)

Fatu shamelessly made a pitch to Cowell, whom she called Mr. Simon, that he give her the golden buzzer before she had even sung a note. Rather than being put off by her, the crusty Cowell’s heart melted, especially after she delivered a surprisingly polished version of the Frank Sinatra classic “My Way.” As he readily admitted, “We weren’t expecting that.”

Watch Howie Mandel presses ‘America’s Got Talent’ Golden Buzzer for 13-year-old singer Courtney Hadwin

Cowell continued, effusive in his praise: “You are hilarious. I want you to date my son.

Season 13 of “America’s Got Talent” reaches the half point of the audition stage of the competition on June 12 with another two-hour episode showcasing the best (and worst) acts. In this phase of “Agt,” an act needs at least three of the four judges to give them a “yes” vote to advance to the next round. If at least two judges buzz the act, it is immediately eliminated. Each judge has one chance to hit the “golden buzzer” and send an act straight through to the live performances Cowell did just that in the second episode for singer Michael Ketterer while host Tyra Banks did likewise in the premiere when she flipped for dance troupe Zurcaroh.

Watch Simon Cowell presses ‘America’s Got Talent’ Golden Buzzer for father of six Michael Ketterer

The format is the same this year as last, with “America’s Got Talent” airing initially just on...

Netflix has released 2 new date announcement trailers for their original series The Crown and Marco Polo Season 2 and a full trailer for Bloodline Season 2. In addition Netflix has also released a cast shot from their upcoming new series Marseille, starring Gérard Depardieu.

You can check out the trailers and photo below.

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The Crown

The Crown, the highly anticipated, new original series will premiere on Netflix, the world’s leading Internet TV network, to a global audience on Friday, November 4, 2016. The 10-episode series will be available in 4K.

The Crown reunites acclaimed writer Peter Morgan (The Queen, Frost/Nixon) with director Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot, The Hours) and producer Andy Harries (The Queen). Based on the award-winning play, The Audience, The Crown tells the inside story...

Netflix taps into local cinema talent for political drama set against backdrop of France’s third largest city.

Netflix has greenlit its first French original series, a political drama set entitled Marseille, set against the backdrop of the southern French port city due to hit screens at the end of 2015.

The eight-part series, described as “a tale of power, corruption and redemption”, revolves around a city election between the long-time mayor Robert Taro and a younger ambitious candidate.

Netflix’s announcement comes on the eve of its highly anticipated arrival in France – a move that prompted alarm in some parts of the local film and TV industry because it is expected to put pressure on the country’s highly regulated release windows and audiovisual financing system.

“Marseille is an ambitious, diabolically smart, fictitious exploration of local politics in one of the world’s most vibrant and fascinating cities.” said Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos.

“We are delighted...

Hollywood's Costner takes home Honorary Award Speaking of Hollywood, the French Academy has frequently given its Honorary César (an equivalent to the Lifetime Achievement Award) to some curious group of Hollywood celebrities. Among those are Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Quentin Tarantino, Hugh Grant, Will Smith, Johnny Depp, Spike Lee, Andie McDowell, and Sylvester Stallone. This year, they've made another curious choice: Kevin Costner, whose Honorary Award was a tribute to his "fabulous contribution to cinematic history." Costner, among whose movie credits as actor and/or director are Dances with Wolves, Bull Durham, JFK, The Bodyguard, The Postman, and Waterworld, thanked the French Academy of Film Arts and Sciences for embracing him "for who I am." Other César winners Among this year's other César winners were, in the supporting categories, Valérie Benguigui and Guillaume de Tonquédec for What's in a Name? / Le Prénom, directed by Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de la Patelliere.

Michael Haneke’s Amour won five César awards including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Actor and Best original screenplay. The award ceremony was held on Friday night.

Les Invisibles by Sébastien Lifshitz won the Best Documentary and Argo by Ben Affleck won the Best Foreign Film.

2013 César winners:

Best film: Amour

Best director: Michael Haneke, Amour

Best original screenplay: Haneke, Amour

Best actress: Emmanuelle Riva, Amour

Best actor: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Amour

Best foreign film: Argo, Ben Affleck

Best supporting actress: Valérie Benguigui, What’s In A Name

Best supporting actor: Guillaume de Tonquedec, What’s In A Name

Best upcoming actress: Izia Higelin, Mauvaise Fille

Best upcoming actor: Matthias Schoenaerts, Rust And Bone

Best first film: Louise Wimmer, directed by Cyril Mennegun

Best animation film: Ernest And Celestine, directed by Benjamin Renner, Vincent Patar and Stéphane Aubier

Best documentary: Les Invisibles, Sébastien Lifshitz

Best adaptation: Jacques Audiard and Thomas Bidegain,...

The nominations for the César Awards aka the French Oscars were announced. "Farewell, My Queen," "Amour," "Camille Redouble," "In the House," "Rust & Bone," "Holy Motors," and "What's My Name" are competing for the Best Picture category. We'll find out the winners on February 22nd.

Here's the full list of nominees of the 2013 César Awards:

Best Picture

Farewell, My Queen

Amour

Camille Redouble

In The House

Rust & Bone

Holy Motors

What.s In A Name

Best Director

Benoît Jacquot, Farewell, My Queen

Michael Haneke, Amour

Noémie Lvovsky, Camille Redouble

François Ozon, In The House

Jacques Audiard, Rust & Bone

Leos Carax, Holy Motors

Stéphane Brizé, Quelques Heures De Printemps

Best Actress

Catherine Frot, Les Sauveurs Du Palais

Marion Cotillard, Rust & Bone

Noémie Lvovsky, Camille Redouble

Corinne Masiero, Louise Wimmer

Emmanuelle Riva, Amour

Léa Seydoux, Farewell, My Queen

Hélène Vincent, Quelques Heures De Printemps

Best Actor

Jean-Pierre Bacri, Cherchez Hortense

Patrick Bruel, What...

We don't know if we'd call Alexandre Desplat the best working composer -- although an argument could certainly be made for that. But we'd certainly call him one of the most prolific. Since the French composer broke out a decade or so ago with "Girl With A Pearl Earring" and the amazing music for "Birth," he's been in high demand, and ever more so as time goes on. In 2011, for instance, he penned the music for no fewer than Nine films -- "Largo Winch II: The Burma Conspiracy," "The Well Digger's Daughter," "A Better Life," "The Tree Of Life," "Carnage," "The Ides Of March," "Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Pt. 2," "Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close" and "Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir." This year he's kept to the same pace, with scores for "Cloclo," "Max Von Sydow: Dialogues With The Renter," "Moonrise Kingdom,"...

Cloclo; Salmon Fishing in the Yemen; Albert Nobbs; Piranha Dd

The mark of a decent pop biopic is that it should make its subject intriguing even if the viewer has little or no knowledge of (or, indeed, interest in) the music. Something of an icon in France, cheesy, smooth chanteur Claude François is viewed as little more than a pop footnote in the UK, the answer to that always taxing pub quiz question: "Who had a European hit with the French-language song that later formed the basis of the English-language standard My Way?" His death at the age of 39 in a Spinal Tap-style freak bathroom accident in 1978 provoked outpourings of public grief and adulation in François's home country reminiscent of those that attended Elvis's premature death in America the previous year.

Now, with the brashly colourful Cloclo (2012, StudioCanal, 12), director Florent-Emilio Siri attempts to portray the man behind the mask,...

Cloclo (English title: My Way)

Directed by Florent-Emilio Siri

Written by Florent-Emilio Siri and Julien Rappeneau

France/Belgium, 2012

Claude François is not an artist whose name resonates very much in North America, yet his impact on the French music scene was second to none during his envious career, which spanned from the early 60s to the late 70s when he met an unpredictable death while attempting to screw a light bulb back in properly while in the shower. Truth be told, his impact on the North American music scene may be greater than most people even realize. The legendary ‘May Way’ song, most famously sung by crooner Frank Sinatra and from which the film derives its international English language title, was originally a French song written by Claude François, ‘Comme d’habitude.’ Florent-Emilio Siri’s film adaptation of the French icon’s life, Cloclo, was released on the silver screen...

Best known in the UK as the answer to a pub trivia question (who sang the Euro-hit that later became My Way?), pop chanteur Claude François was a French national treasure, whose death in a bizarre "bathing-while-fixing-a-lightbulb" accident in 1978 sparked mass weeping and wailing. This colourfully swoonsome biopic follows "Cloclo" from painful childhood to public adoration, ticking off career landmarks in the brash, finger-popping, broadstrokes style of the underrated Bobby Darin biopic Beyond the Sea. Jérémie Renier is magnetic in the title role: energetic, infuriating, and oddly creepy.

DramaWorld cinemaMark Kermode

guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds...

Silent Souls (15)

(Aleksei Fedorchenko, 2010, Rus) Igor Sergeev, Yuriy Tsurilo, Yuliya Aug. 78 mins

Even by Russian standards, this lyrical road movie is a strange world of its own. It's a journey back in time, as much as across a remote landscape, with a friend helping his boss to give his deceased wife her last rites, according to their ancient tribal ways. Along the drive, we're steeped in strange folklore involving vodka, rivers, small birds and ornamental pubic hair. Is it for real? Or an elaborate joke told with a very straight face? Does it matter?

The Five Year Engagement (15)

(Nicholas Stoller, 2012, Us) Emily Blunt, Jason Segel, Chris Pratt. 124 mins

The obstacle to true love is built into the title of this romcom, but it's at least smartly handled, as high-flyer Blunt keeps her fiance in perpetual limbo.

Where Do We Go Now? (12A)

(Nadine Labaki, 2011, Fra/Leb/Egy/Ita) Claude Baz Moussawbaa,...

This biopic of French singer Claude François almost summons the grandeur of a Scorsese personality opera

Cloclo is Claude François: spring-heeled 70s Gallic disco heartthrob, and now in Florent-Emilio Siri's four-decade survey, another control-freak biopic monster to join Howard Hughes and J Edgar. François penned Comme D'Habitude, the song that became My Way. Siri – a gifted stylist – makes a golden moment of its composition, linking it to the singer's struggle to pull free of a barren childhood, and to his surrogate father, Sinatra. More usually, François was a frenetic piggybacker on Anglo-American trends; Siri does better on this score, with the help of a monumental Jérémie Renier turn, almost summoning the grandeur of the Scorsesian personality opera. Whether the personality deserves it is another matter.

Rating: 3/5

World cinemaPop and rockMartin ScorsesePhil Hoad

guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use...

Frank Sinatra’s timeless hit My Way is one of the most famous and beloved songs of all time. Cloclo is the fascinating story of the artist behind this legendary tune, Claude François (played by Jérémie Renier, The Kid With The Bike, In Bruges), a man whose ambition drove him straight to the top, but ultimately led him to a tragic end.

The legendary French singer, who died at the age of 39, has continued to fascinate fans more than 30 years later. He was a much-loved star and shrewd businessman, great showman and marketing magician, hit machine and magazine publisher, but also family man and ladies’ man.

Director Florent-Emilio Siri’s Cloclo is the portrait of this complex character; always in a hurry, ahead of his time and hungry for love.

On Friday, June 22nd Studiocanal and Ciné Lumière are teaming up to bring quality French cinema to the UK through the French Film First initiative.

A film about French singer Claude François follows a new breed of biopics that are using a well-worn superhero-esque origins narrative about overcoming inner demons

There's a new type of superhero doing the rounds. They don't wear capes; they're less easy to spot, not often being embroiled in CGI scenes of downtown destruction. The latest sighting comes in the guise of an Egypt-born Frenchman with an immaculate blonde feather-cut, obsessive compulsive disorder and propensity for over-zealous disco-dancing. He goes by the name of Claude François: the subject of new biopic Cloclo, released this week in the UK. Come to think of it, François – a titan of 70s Gallic kitsch – wouldn't look out of place in a cape, and at the centre of director Florent-Emilio Siri's epic treatment, he is the embodiment of the new breed: the cultural superhero.

Cloclo follows in the path of The Iron Lady or J Edgar; The Lady,...

Rock Of Ages (12A)

(Adam Shankman, 2012, Us) Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand, Paul Giamatti, Catherine Zeta-Jones. 123 mins

Doing for 1980s hair metal what Mamma Mia! did for Abba, this glossy musical gives you the broad pleasures of pantomime rather than rock'n'roll danger, with theatrical star turns and a playlist of power ballads hung around an archetypal tale of a smalltown girl and a wannabe rock star boy on La's Sunset Strip. You can stop believin' now.

Cosmopolis (15)

(David Cronenberg, 2012, Fra/Can/Por/Ita) Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, Sarah Gadon. 109 mins

Don De Lillo's prescient novella makes for a cool Manhattan odyssey, centred on Pattinson's jaded banker and the Occupy zeitgeist.

Polisse (15)

(Maïwenn, 2011, Fra) Karin Viard, Joey Starr, Marina Foïs. 128 mins

A Wire-like approach to a French child protection unit reaps dividends for this docu-style procedural.

Red Lights (15)

(Rodrigo Cortés, 2012, Us/Spa) Cillian Murphy, Robert De Niro,...

On 22 June Cloclo, the portrait of France’s acclaimed icon, Claude François and his striking life on the stage, makes its debut.

He may not be familiar household name, but Francois’ unusual life is the intriguing subject of this new French biopic, and you can view an exclusive poster of the film right here.

In 1967 Francois wrote the song Comme d’habitude which was later translated into Frank Sinatra’s classic My Way. But Barely 10 years after Francois’ song became an international success, he died in a freak accident trying to fix a light whilst in the bath.

Director Florent-Emilio Siri (Hostage, L'ennemi intime) takes on the mysterious and complex life of the singer played here by Jérémie Renier (The Kid with the Bike, In Bruges). François was a much-loved star and shrewd businessman, great showman and marketing magician, hit machine and magazine publisher, but also a family man and...

Omar Sy, François Cluzet, The Intouchables Among the three dozen or so films screening at the City of Lights / City of Angels (Colcoa) French film festival currently being held in Los Angeles, you'll find a couple of restored classics, several César nominees, and one of the biggest box-office hits in French history. Georges Méliès' 1902 short Le voyage dans la lune / A Trip to the Moon, inspired by Jules Verne's novel, is one of the restored classics to be screened at Colcoa. Méliès' short will be accompanied by Serge Bromberg and Eric Lange's Le Voyage extraordinaire / The Extraordinary Voyage, about the making and the restoration of A Trip to the Moon. The festival's other classic presentation is Marcel Carné's 1938 drama Hôtel du Nord, with Arletty, Louis Jouvet, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Tyrone Power's future wife Annabella, the recently deceased Paulette Dubost, and Bernard Blier. Those ignorant about the...

The 16th Annual City of Lights, City of Angels (Col•Coa) film festival will run April 16-23 in Los Angeles . Sponsored by The Franco-American Cultural Fund (Facf), the festival will present 34 features and 21 shorts, including 10 North American and U.S. Premieres, and 14 West Coast Premieres. “The historic triumph of The Artist (Isa:Wild Bunch) reflects a remarkable year for French cinema and we are glad to introduce a broad spectrum of new films to Hollywood that reveal both the quality and diversity of recent French productions,” stated François Truffart, Col•Coa Executive Director and Artistic Director.

Col•Coa will open with the North American Premiere of My Way (CloClo) (Isa:lgm), a biopic about French pop star icon Claude François, directed by Florent-Emilio Siri, co-written by Siri and Julien Rappeneau and starring Jérémie Renier. Recently released in France , My Way is already a critical and commercial success.

Several U.S. distributors will present their films at Col•Coa before their U.S. release: Cinema Guild – Step up to the Plate (Isa:Jour2Fete); The Cohen Media Group – Farewell My Queen (Isa:Elle Driver): Kino Lorber –The Well Digger’s Daughter (Isa:Pathe); Mpi Media – Americano (Isa:Bac Films); Sundance Selects – Goodbye First Love! (Isa:Films Distribution) and Polisse (Isa:Wild Bunch); Strand Releasing - 17 Girls (Isa:Films Distribution); The Weinstein Company – The Intouchables (Isa:Gaumont), A Gang Story (Isa:Gaumont) and War of the Buttons (Isa:Wild Bunch); and Screen Media for A Happy Event (Isa:Gaumont) from co-writer-director Remi Bezançon, also in competition at Col·Coa for his animated feature Zarafa (Isa:Pathe).

Closing film on Sunday, April 22nd will be a special presentation, in association with The Weinstein Company, of the already third most successful French box office success: The Intouchables (Isa:Gaumont) Starring François Cluzet and César winner for Best Actor Omar Sy, this hit comedy marks the fourth film from writer-directors Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano presented at Col•Coa Cannes Jury Special Prize winner and 13 César-nominated drama, Polisse (Isa:Wild Bunch) co-written and directed by Maïwenn, will be presented at Col•Coa, one day after its U.S. Premiere at Tribeca. Berlin International Film Festival opening film, Farewell My Queen (Isa:Elle Driver) co-written and directed by Col·Coa 2011 Critics Award-winner Benoit Jacquot, will have a special presentation at Col·Coa before opening the San Francisco International Film Festival. Other highlights include César multi-nominated and critically acclaimed film, The Minister (Isa:Doc & Film Interntional), written and directed by Pierre Schoeller; the 3D presentation in English of A Monster in Paris (Isa:EuropaCorp), an animated feature co-written and directed by Bibo Bergeron, starring Sean Lennon and Vanessa Paradis, and produced by Luc Besson; the anticipated thriller, 38 Witnesses (Isa:Films Distrubution), written and directed by Lucas Belvaux; as well as The Art of Love (Isa:Kinology), the new comedy from writer-director Emmanuel Mouret.

Several French high-profile titles will also be introduced in the U.S, such as Early One Morning, (Isa:Les Films Du Losange) written and directed by Jean-Marc Moutout; Cesar winner for Best Documentary Leadersheep (Isa:MK2 S.A.) by writer-director Christian Rouaud Silence of Joan, from writer-director Philippe Ramos; as well as the North American Premiere of Another Woman’s Life (Isa:Kinology), co-written and directed by Sylvie Testud and starring Juliette Binoche.

The program will feature several directorial debut films, including the North American Premieres of Love Lasts Three Years (Isa:Eurocorp), co-written and directed by novelist Frédéric Beigbeder; The Adopted (Isa:Studio Canal), co-written and directed by actress and freshman filmmaker Mélanie Laurent; Freeway (Isa:Sesame), co-written and directed by Christopher Sahr; the West Coast Premiere of Louise Wimmer (Isa:Films Distribution), written and directed by Cyril Mennegun; and Americano (Isa:Bac Films), starring Salma Hayek and co-starring writer-director Mathieu Demy, the son of Agnes Varda and Jacques Demy.

Five popular series will return in 2012, Col•Coa docs will include Michel Petrucciani (Isa:Wild Bunch) written and directed by Michael Radford. After 10 will highlight Best Adaptation César winner Guilty (Isa:Films Distribution), co-written and directed by Vincent Garenq. Col•Coa Classics will pay tribute to actor Yves Montand with a rare presentation of the restored Call me Savage from co-writer-director Jean-Paul Rappeneau. For this year’s Carte Blanche program, writer-director Alexander Payne selected Hotel du Nord directed by Marcel Carné, screenplay by Jean Aurenche and Henri Jeanson. The Film Noir series will include the West Coast Premiere of Paris by Night (Isa:TF1), co-written and directed by Philippe Lefebvre. The Focus on a Filmmaker, this year honoring actress writer-director Julie Delpy, will take place on Thursday, April 19th and will include her new film, Le SkyLab (Isa:Films Distribution).

Col•Coa Educational Program will offer four High School Screenings, one student screening and one Master Class in association with Elma (European Languages and Movies in America). The program will host 3,500 students from over 70 high schools, colleges and universities in California .

To celebrate the announcement and recipients of the 2012 Col•Coa Awards, the festival will close on Monday, April 23rd with the screening of two winning features and two winning shorts.

City of Lights, City of Angels is funded by the Facf, a unique partnership of the Directors Guild of America, the Motion Picture Association, France’s Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music and the Writers Guild of America, West with the vital support of L’Arp (France’s Association of Authors, Directors and Producers), the Los Angeles Film and TV Office of the French Embassy, and Unifrance.

All screenings are in French with English subtitles or, in the case of the family-oriented animated films, dubbed in English. Tickets are available for advance purchase online at www.colcoa.org (cash or checks only). Please visit www.colcoa.org for box office hours. Ticket prices are $10 for adults; $7 tickets for seniors (62+), disabled, and members of American Cinematheque, Asc, Icg, Film Independent, Lacma, SAG or Women in Film; $3 for students and under 21. Tickets are complimentary for DGA and Wgaw guild members. The Happy Hour Talks are free on a first come, first served basis.

For film and press information, including hi-res photos, log onto www.colcoa.org. For public information, call (310) 289-5346.

City of Lights, City of Angels (Col•Coa) was created in 1996 by The Franco-American Cultural Fund, a unique collaborative effort of the Directors Guild of America, the Motion Picture Association, the Writers Guild of America West, and France’s Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music (Sacem). Col•Coa is also supported by l’Association des Auteurs-réalisateurs-Producteurs (Arp), the Film and TV Office of the French Embassy in Los Angeles and Unifrance.

Col•Coa is committed to promoting new French films in the U.S. and to showcasing the vitality and the diversity of French cinema in Hollywood: comedies and dramas, box office hits in France and specialty films, first features and films from established writer-directors, art house movies as well as mainstream films.

In 15 years, 231 new feature films and 140 new shorts have been selected. Col•Coa has constantly developed to become a showcase of at least 50 films, with a capacity of 20,000 in 2011 and an occupancy rate of 88%.

Its exclusive program has made of Col•Coa an anticipated date in the industry calendar and one of the largest French film festivals in the world. Scheduled a few weeks after the Academy Awards® and one month before the Cannes Film Festival, Col•Coa has become a prestigious event in Los Angeles.

Since 2004, the selection is exclusively composed of premieres. Several high-profile features are presented at Col•Coa for the first time in North America or in the U.S. Col•Coa is also known for presenting successful films a year before their commercial release in the U.S., raising the event’s profile among U.S. distributors who now use the event as a platform to launch and promote their film in Hollywood.

Col•Coa has substantial representation by leading industry professionals, including distributors, exhibitors, directors, writers, producers, Academy members, agents, press members or public filmgoers, as part and parcel to the festival is the cultural exchange involved, as well as the introduction of films that may not have been available to the industry. Col•Coa has developed partnerships with organizations like Ifta, The Cannes Film Market, Film Independent, Women in Film, The American Cinematheque, SAG, and since 2008, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Col•Coa “A Week Of French Film Premieres In Hollywood”

Col•Coa is more than a film industry event. Many screenings are reserved early due to the festival’s reputation and increased visibility.In 2008, an educational program was also launched to promote foreign films among young American audiences in association with E.L.M.A (European Languages & Movies in America). Close to 7,500 high school students and 70 high schools in Los Angeles County have participated in the program since 2008. In 2010, a master class was introduced for colleges, film schools and universities.

More than 100 French writers, directors and producers have presented their film(s) at Col•Coa. Among them are Costa-Gavras, Alain Corneau, Claire Denis, Michel Hazanavicius, Claude Lelouch, Claude Miller, Bertrand Tavernier, Olivier Assayas, Laurent Cantet, Arnaud Desplechin, Anne Fontaine, Bertrand Blier and Mathieu Kassovitz.

Whereas Col•Coa is not a celebrity-driven event, many artists attend as it is a showcase for their work, a chance to mingle with other artists in a professional, yet relaxed and cordial environment, the true basis of cultural exchange. Among past Col•Coa guests are actors and actresses Rosanna Arquette, Nathalie Baye, Bérénice Bejo, Marion Cotillard, Julie Delpy, Jimmy Jean Louis, Helen Mirren, Gena Rowlands, Sharon Stone, Charlize Theron and Lambert Wilson, as well as prominent American writers and directors: Wes Craven, Taylor Hackford, John Landis, Michael Mann and Alexander Payne.

The 16th Annual City of Lights, City of Angels (Col•Coa) film festival will run April 16-23 in Los Angeles . Sponsored by The Franco-American Cultural Fund (Facf), the festival will present 34 features and 21 shorts, including 10 North American and U.S. Premieres, and 14 West Coast Premieres. “The historic triumph of The Artist (Isa:Wild Bunch) reflects a remarkable year for French cinema and we are glad to introduce a broad spectrum of new films to Hollywood that reveal both the quality and diversity of recent French productions,” stated François Truffart, Col•Coa Executive Director and Artistic Director.

Col•Coa will open with the North American Premiere of My Way (CloClo) (Isa:lgm), a biopic about French pop star icon Claude François, directed by Florent-Emilio Siri, co-written by Siri and Julien Rappeneau and starring Jérémie Renier. Recently released in France , My Way is already a critical and commercial success.

Several U.S. distributors will present their films at Col•Coa before their U.S. release: Cinema Guild – Step up to the Plate (Isa:Jour2Fete); The Cohen Media Group – Farewell My Queen (Isa:Elle Driver): Kino Lorber –The Well Digger’s Daughter (Isa:Pathe); Mpi Media – Americano (Isa:Bac Films); Sundance Selects – Goodbye First Love! (Isa:Films Distribution) and Polisse (Isa:Wild Bunch); Strand Releasing - 17 Girls (Isa:Films Distribution); The Weinstein Company – The Intouchables (Isa:Gaumont), A Gang Story (Isa:Gaumont) and War of the Buttons (Isa:Wild Bunch); and Screen Media for A Happy Event (Isa:Gaumont) from co-writer-director Remi Bezançon, also in competition at Col·Coa for his animated feature Zarafa (Isa:Pathe).

Closing film on Sunday, April 22nd will be a special presentation, in association with The Weinstein Company, of the already third most successful French box office success: The Intouchables (Isa:Gaumont) Starring François Cluzet and César winner for Best Actor Omar Sy, this hit comedy marks the fourth film from writer-directors Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano presented at Col•Coa Cannes Jury Special Prize winner and 13 César-nominated drama, Polisse (Isa:Wild Bunch) co-written and directed by Maïwenn, will be presented at Col•Coa, one day after its U.S. Premiere at Tribeca. Berlin International Film Festival opening film, Farewell My Queen (Isa:Elle Driver) co-written and directed by Col·Coa 2011 Critics Award-winner Benoit Jacquot, will have a special presentation at Col·Coa before opening the San Francisco International Film Festival. Other highlights include César multi-nominated and critically acclaimed film, The Minister (Isa:Doc & Film Interntional), written and directed by Pierre Schoeller; the 3D presentation in English of A Monster in Paris (Isa:EuropaCorp), an animated feature co-written and directed by Bibo Bergeron, starring Sean Lennon and Vanessa Paradis, and produced by Luc Besson; the anticipated thriller, 38 Witnesses (Isa:Films Distrubution), written and directed by Lucas Belvaux; as well as The Art of Love (Isa:Kinology), the new comedy from writer-director Emmanuel Mouret.

Several French high-profile titles will also be introduced in the U.S, such as Early One Morning, (Isa:Les Films Du Losange) written and directed by Jean-Marc Moutout; Cesar winner for Best Documentary Leadersheep (Isa:MK2 S.A.) by writer-director Christian Rouaud Silence of Joan, from writer-director Philippe Ramos; as well as the North American Premiere of Another Woman’s Life (Isa:Kinology), co-written and directed by Sylvie Testud and starring Juliette Binoche.

The program will feature several directorial debut films, including the North American Premieres of Love Lasts Three Years (Isa:Eurocorp), co-written and directed by novelist Frédéric Beigbeder; The Adopted (Isa:Studio Canal), co-written and directed by actress and freshman filmmaker Mélanie Laurent; Freeway (Isa:Sesame), co-written and directed by Christopher Sahr; the West Coast Premiere of Louise Wimmer (Isa:Films Distribution), written and directed by Cyril Mennegun; and Americano (Isa:Bac Films), starring Salma Hayek and co-starring writer-director Mathieu Demy, the son of Agnes Varda and Jacques Demy.

Five popular series will return in 2012, Col•Coa docs will include Michel Petrucciani (Isa:Wild Bunch) written and directed by Michael Radford. After 10 will highlight Best Adaptation César winner Guilty (Isa:Films Distribution), co-written and directed by Vincent Garenq. Col•Coa Classics will pay tribute to actor Yves Montand with a rare presentation of the restored Call me Savage from co-writer-director Jean-Paul Rappeneau. For this year’s Carte Blanche program, writer-director Alexander Payne selected Hotel du Nord directed by Marcel Carné, screenplay by Jean Aurenche and Henri Jeanson. The Film Noir series will include the West Coast Premiere of Paris by Night (Isa:TF1), co-written and directed by Philippe Lefebvre. The Focus on a Filmmaker, this year honoring actress writer-director Julie Delpy, will take place on Thursday, April 19th and will include her new film, Le SkyLab (Isa:Films Distribution).

Col•Coa Educational Program will offer four High School Screenings, one student screening and one Master Class in association with Elma (European Languages and Movies in America). The program will host 3,500 students from over 70 high schools, colleges and universities in California .

To celebrate the announcement and recipients of the 2012 Col•Coa Awards, the festival will close on Monday, April 23rd with the screening of two winning features and two winning shorts.

City of Lights, City of Angels is funded by the Facf, a unique partnership of the Directors Guild of America, the Motion Picture Association, France’s Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music and the Writers Guild of America, West with the vital support of L’Arp (France’s Association of Authors, Directors and Producers), the Los Angeles Film and TV Office of the French Embassy, and Unifrance.

All screenings are in French with English subtitles or, in the case of the family-oriented animated films, dubbed in English. Tickets are available for advance purchase online at www.colcoa.org (cash or checks only). Please visit www.colcoa.org for box office hours. Ticket prices are $10 for adults; $7 tickets for seniors (62+), disabled, and members of American Cinematheque, Asc, Icg, Film Independent, Lacma, SAG or Women in Film; $3 for students and under 21. Tickets are complimentary for DGA and Wgaw guild members. The Happy Hour Talks are free on a first come, first served basis.

For film and press information, including hi-res photos, log onto www.colcoa.org. For public information, call (310) 289-5346.

City of Lights, City of Angels (Col•Coa) was created in 1996 by The Franco-American Cultural Fund, a unique collaborative effort of the Directors Guild of America, the Motion Picture Association, the Writers Guild of America West, and France’s Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music (Sacem). Col•Coa is also supported by l’Association des Auteurs-réalisateurs-Producteurs (Arp), the Film and TV Office of the French Embassy in Los Angeles and Unifrance.

Col•Coa is committed to promoting new French films in the U.S. and to showcasing the vitality and the diversity of French cinema in Hollywood: comedies and dramas, box office hits in France and specialty films, first features and films from established writer-directors, art house movies as well as mainstream films.

In 15 years, 231 new feature films and 140 new shorts have been selected. Col•Coa has constantly developed to become a showcase of at least 50 films, with a capacity of 20,000 in 2011 and an occupancy rate of 88%.

Its exclusive program has made of Col•Coa an anticipated date in the industry calendar and one of the largest French film festivals in the world. Scheduled a few weeks after the Academy Awards® and one month before the Cannes Film Festival, Col•Coa has become a prestigious event in Los Angeles.

Since 2004, the selection is exclusively composed of premieres. Several high-profile features are presented at Col•Coa for the first time in North America or in the U.S. Col•Coa is also known for presenting successful films a year before their commercial release in the U.S., raising the event’s profile among U.S. distributors who now use the event as a platform to launch and promote their film in Hollywood.

Col•Coa has substantial representation by leading industry professionals, including distributors, exhibitors, directors, writers, producers, Academy members, agents, press members or public filmgoers, as part and parcel to the festival is the cultural exchange involved, as well as the introduction of films that may not have been available to the industry. Col•Coa has developed partnerships with organizations like Ifta, The Cannes Film Market, Film Independent, Women in Film, The American Cinematheque, SAG, and since 2008, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Col•Coa “A Week Of French Film Premieres In Hollywood”

Col•Coa is more than a film industry event. Many screenings are reserved early due to the festival’s reputation and increased visibility.In 2008, an educational program was also launched to promote foreign films among young American audiences in association with E.L.M.A (European Languages & Movies in America). Close to 7,500 high school students and 70 high schools in Los Angeles County have participated in the program since 2008. In 2010, a master class was introduced for colleges, film schools and universities.

More than 100 French writers, directors and producers have presented their film(s) at Col•Coa. Among them are Costa-Gavras, Alain Corneau, Claire Denis, Michel Hazanavicius, Claude Lelouch, Claude Miller, Bertrand Tavernier, Olivier Assayas, Laurent Cantet, Arnaud Desplechin, Anne Fontaine, Bertrand Blier and Mathieu Kassovitz.

Whereas Col•Coa is not a celebrity-driven event, many artists attend as it is a showcase for their work, a chance to mingle with other artists in a professional, yet relaxed and cordial environment, the true basis of cultural exchange. Among past Col•Coa guests are actors and actresses Rosanna Arquette, Nathalie Baye, Bérénice Bejo, Marion Cotillard, Julie Delpy, Jimmy Jean Louis, Helen Mirren, Gena Rowlands, Sharon Stone, Charlize Theron and Lambert Wilson, as well as prominent American writers and directors: Wes Craven, Taylor Hackford, John Landis, Michael Mann and Alexander Payne.

Taylor Kitsch in Disney's John Carter Mars Movie Directed by Wall-e's Andrew Stanton, and starring Taylor Kitsch in the title role, Disney's $250 million-budgeted sci-fi/adventure John Carter opened on Wednesday in France. Though by far the biggest new release that day, John Carter sold a relatively modest 66,583 tickets at 505 sites according to Cbo-Box Office — placing it in the sixth slot among the year's top opening-day movies, smack between Clint Eastwood's J. Edgar, starring the internationally popular Leonardo DiCaprio, and the 3D adventure Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, which stars Josh Hutcherson, Dwayne Johnson, and Vanessa Hudgens. According to France Soir, John Carter doesn't have much time to continue its box-office dominance among the new releases in France. Opening next Wednesday is Florent-Emilio Siri's Cloclo, starring Jérémie Renier as '60s and '70s singing sensation Claude François and Benoît Magimel as François' manager, Paul Lederman. The biopic,...