Cannes — Nine years after being named one of Variety’s Directors to Watch, Sean Baker won the Palme d’Or for “Anora,” a rowdy whirlwind romance between an exotic dancer (Mikey Madison) and the obscenely rich son of a Russian oligarch (played by Mark Eydelshteyn). Baker is the first American filmmaker to cinch the festival’s top prize since Terrence Malick earned the Palme for “The Tree of Life” in 2011.
“Anora” is Baker’s third film to debut at Cannes, following “The Florida Project” and “Red Rocket.” He accepted the award from two-time Palme d’Or winner Francis Ford Coppola, whose “Megalopolis” went home empty-handed. Coppola also presented an honorary Palme d’Or to his friend and fellow legend George Lucas, whom he called his “own kid brother.”
Baker dedicated the award to “all sex workers, past, present and future,” underscoring the importance of “making films intended for theatrical exhibition.
“Anora” is Baker’s third film to debut at Cannes, following “The Florida Project” and “Red Rocket.” He accepted the award from two-time Palme d’Or winner Francis Ford Coppola, whose “Megalopolis” went home empty-handed. Coppola also presented an honorary Palme d’Or to his friend and fellow legend George Lucas, whom he called his “own kid brother.”
Baker dedicated the award to “all sex workers, past, present and future,” underscoring the importance of “making films intended for theatrical exhibition.
- 5/25/2024
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
There’s a lot to look forward to in what has been branded a Mexican comedy-thriller musical from the Palme d’Or winner that brought us Dheepan, A Prophet, Rust and Bone, and, more recently, the underseen Western delight that marked his move toward Hollywood, The Sisters Brothers. Or so it seemed.
Writer-director Jacques Audiard is one of the few filmmakers who has been able to, more than once, tell stories from outside their world and capture narrative, character, and culture with a unique foreign perspective that adds meaningful insight without bringing into question the filmmakers’ respect or depiction of the subjects.
Thus it appeared that this cartel-centric, Mexico-set, largely Latina film––about an unsuspecting lawyer being forced to help a violent cartel boss transition into a woman in order to leave her past behind and finally feel like herself––is actually right up the septuagenarian Frenchman’s alley. Unfortunately,...
Writer-director Jacques Audiard is one of the few filmmakers who has been able to, more than once, tell stories from outside their world and capture narrative, character, and culture with a unique foreign perspective that adds meaningful insight without bringing into question the filmmakers’ respect or depiction of the subjects.
Thus it appeared that this cartel-centric, Mexico-set, largely Latina film––about an unsuspecting lawyer being forced to help a violent cartel boss transition into a woman in order to leave her past behind and finally feel like herself––is actually right up the septuagenarian Frenchman’s alley. Unfortunately,...
- 5/20/2024
- by Luke Hicks
- The Film Stage
As the 77th Cannes Film Festival (May 14-25) arrives at its halfway point, here is THR executive editor of awards Scott Feinberg’s assessment of the awards prospects — at the Cannes closing ceremony and later in the fall — of the films that have screened at the fest so far.
The Two That Popped
One cannot know what the specific preferences and priorities of the Greta Gerwig-led main competition jury are, but one can categorically state that two competition films — both of which are so original and out-there that they have to be seen to be believed — have been particularly well received. Both garnered nine-minute standing ovations and rave reviews, including particular praise for their leading lady.
The first is The Substance, a body-horror flick from French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat that might be described as Sunset Blvd. meets Freaks, and an instant classic. Demi Moore, in a gutsy career-best turn...
The Two That Popped
One cannot know what the specific preferences and priorities of the Greta Gerwig-led main competition jury are, but one can categorically state that two competition films — both of which are so original and out-there that they have to be seen to be believed — have been particularly well received. Both garnered nine-minute standing ovations and rave reviews, including particular praise for their leading lady.
The first is The Substance, a body-horror flick from French filmmaker Coralie Fargeat that might be described as Sunset Blvd. meets Freaks, and an instant classic. Demi Moore, in a gutsy career-best turn...
- 5/20/2024
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
His has a longstanding tradition with the Cannes Film Festival this former Palme d’Or winner for Dheepan (2015) moved into a completely different language, backdrop setting and new genre with the musical for a project that was born during the pandemic. Jacques Audiard has been a visitor with Regarde Les Hommes Tomber in the Critics’ Week, 1996’s Un héros très discret (Best Screenplay winner), 2009’s A Prophet (Grand Prix winner), 2012’s Rust & Bone and 2021’s Paris, 13th District. Starring Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldaña, Édgar Ramírez, Adriana Paz and Karla Sofía Gascón as the titular Emilia Pérez.
Gist: Overqualified and undervalued, Rita (Saldana) is a lawyer at a large firm that is more interested in getting criminals off the hook than bringing them to justice.…...
Gist: Overqualified and undervalued, Rita (Saldana) is a lawyer at a large firm that is more interested in getting criminals off the hook than bringing them to justice.…...
- 5/19/2024
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Going into this year’s Cannes Film Festival, expectations soared around a certain go-for-broke, no-guts-no-glory, swing from a Palme d’Or winning auteur, and on Saturday — two days after Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis” fizzled — festivalgoers got all they wanted and more in Jacques Audiard’s gonzo telenovela musical “Emilia Perez.” Turns out we had been looking at the wrong Palme d’Or winner all along.
If for nothing else, the French director’s previous Grand Prize and Palme d’Or wins for tough-guy films “A Prophet” and “Dheepan” feel especially pertinent given the startling (and delightful) swerve he offers with “Emilia Perez,” an Almodóvar-aping melodrama about a cartel kingpin’s transition to the more benevolent woman she was always hiding from the world.
That the Spanish-language film is also a full-blown musical, chock-full of deliriously choreographed numbers and ear-catching ditties about vaginoplasties and tracheal shaves would also reflect Audiard’s high perch.
If for nothing else, the French director’s previous Grand Prize and Palme d’Or wins for tough-guy films “A Prophet” and “Dheepan” feel especially pertinent given the startling (and delightful) swerve he offers with “Emilia Perez,” an Almodóvar-aping melodrama about a cartel kingpin’s transition to the more benevolent woman she was always hiding from the world.
That the Spanish-language film is also a full-blown musical, chock-full of deliriously choreographed numbers and ear-catching ditties about vaginoplasties and tracheal shaves would also reflect Audiard’s high perch.
- 5/18/2024
- by Ben Croll
- The Wrap
You haven’t lived until you’ve seen a movie musical where the words “mammoplasty, vaginoplasty, rhinoplasty” play out in song. Nor have you lived until you’ve seen that same movie musical in which Selena Gomez says the words “My pussy still hurts when I think of you.” And you’ve never seen a movie musical at all about transness that takes as bold of swings as Jacques Audiard‘s “Emilia Pérez,” which is stylistically unforgettable while missing the crucial element that makes any movie musical work: Actually good, memorable songs.
Audiard is the 72-year-old French director known ever for dipping into other worlds and genres that are far from his own as a cis white guy from Europe. His 2015 Palme d’Or winner “Dheepan” was a story of Tamil refugees who’ve fled Sri Lankan civil war for Paris. “The Sisters Brothers” was his attempt at a western...
Audiard is the 72-year-old French director known ever for dipping into other worlds and genres that are far from his own as a cis white guy from Europe. His 2015 Palme d’Or winner “Dheepan” was a story of Tamil refugees who’ve fled Sri Lankan civil war for Paris. “The Sisters Brothers” was his attempt at a western...
- 5/18/2024
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Spoiler Alert: The following review contains some spoilers.
Like a rose blooming amid a minefield, it’s a miracle that Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Pérez” exists: a south-of-the-border pop opera about a most unlikely metamorphosis and the personal redemption it awakens in a stone-cold criminal.
With a Palme d’Or to his name and the cojones to tackle his third movie in a culture and language that are not his own (after “Dheepan” and “The Sisters Brothers”), the director of “A Prophet” takes audiences into the macho realm of Mexican cartels, where Manitas del Monte — a fearsome drug lord with a silver grill and a voice like gravel — wants out, not because he’s had a crisis of conscience, but because he’s decided to embrace his true self … as a woman.
Pardon me if I’ve mixed up the pronouns there. Audiard’s dazzling and instantly divisive film — which...
Like a rose blooming amid a minefield, it’s a miracle that Jacques Audiard’s “Emilia Pérez” exists: a south-of-the-border pop opera about a most unlikely metamorphosis and the personal redemption it awakens in a stone-cold criminal.
With a Palme d’Or to his name and the cojones to tackle his third movie in a culture and language that are not his own (after “Dheepan” and “The Sisters Brothers”), the director of “A Prophet” takes audiences into the macho realm of Mexican cartels, where Manitas del Monte — a fearsome drug lord with a silver grill and a voice like gravel — wants out, not because he’s had a crisis of conscience, but because he’s decided to embrace his true self … as a woman.
Pardon me if I’ve mixed up the pronouns there. Audiard’s dazzling and instantly divisive film — which...
- 5/18/2024
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Are we headed for a bon marché?
A new class of finished films and packages (unmade movies with big stars and a director attached) will travel to Cannes this week in search of cash and homes with the studios, streamers and global indie players.
The 2024 Cannes market comes equipped with some interesting contradictions. Stateside, the content buying machine is fraught. Major media stock prices are getting hammered day by day, and a new age of austerity has gripped the once free-spending tech giants. At the same time, distributors paralyzed by the 2023 Hollywood labor strikes need content to fill their slates for the end the year and the top of 2025.
“We’d agree that finished film volume isn’t as high due to the strikes, but Cannes is a much better setting for packages to begin with,” one top sales agent told Variety. “These movies can get financed out of the international marketplace,...
A new class of finished films and packages (unmade movies with big stars and a director attached) will travel to Cannes this week in search of cash and homes with the studios, streamers and global indie players.
The 2024 Cannes market comes equipped with some interesting contradictions. Stateside, the content buying machine is fraught. Major media stock prices are getting hammered day by day, and a new age of austerity has gripped the once free-spending tech giants. At the same time, distributors paralyzed by the 2023 Hollywood labor strikes need content to fill their slates for the end the year and the top of 2025.
“We’d agree that finished film volume isn’t as high due to the strikes, but Cannes is a much better setting for packages to begin with,” one top sales agent told Variety. “These movies can get financed out of the international marketplace,...
- 5/14/2024
- by Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
We’re just two weeks away from the 77th Cannes Film Festival, and this morning the august French institution revealed who will determine the winners of this year’s awards. A cross-section of international talent will join “Barbie” and “Lady Bird” director Greta Gerwig, who will lead the panel, in an effort to undoubtedly compare apples to oranges and try to make sense of a diverse slate of films from directors like David Cronenberg, Francis Ford Coppola, Sean Baker, Ali Abbasi, and many others.
Lily Gladstone, who won several Best Actress awards last year (but not the Oscar!) for her revolutionary turn in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” is the other American joining Gerwig. The actress, currently seen on FX/Hulu’s “Under the Bridge,” is returning to Cannes one year after Martin Scorsese and Apple Original Films brought “Flower Moon” to the French Riviera festival for its out-of-competition debut.
Lily Gladstone, who won several Best Actress awards last year (but not the Oscar!) for her revolutionary turn in “Killers of the Flower Moon,” is the other American joining Gerwig. The actress, currently seen on FX/Hulu’s “Under the Bridge,” is returning to Cannes one year after Martin Scorsese and Apple Original Films brought “Flower Moon” to the French Riviera festival for its out-of-competition debut.
- 4/29/2024
- by Jordan Hoffman
- Gold Derby
The lineup for the 77th Cannes Film Festival has officially been unveiled. As of right now, 19 films will be competing for the prestigious top prize, the Palme d’Or. The festival will be running from May 14 through the closing ceremony on May 25 in the small town on the French Riviera. This year’s jury will be led by Greta Gerwig, fresh off of her success writing and directing “Barbie,” which earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. The remaining members of the jury have yet to be announced.
Having an idea of a filmmaker’s history at the festival can sometimes help give us an insight as to who could be in the best position to take home the Palme. For example, two of this year’s entries come from filmmakers who have previously claimed the Palme. Another five are from directors who have won prizes in official...
Having an idea of a filmmaker’s history at the festival can sometimes help give us an insight as to who could be in the best position to take home the Palme. For example, two of this year’s entries come from filmmakers who have previously claimed the Palme. Another five are from directors who have won prizes in official...
- 4/18/2024
- by Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
Acclaimed auteurs Francis Ford Coppola, Yorgos Lanthimos, Paolo Sorrentino and Andrea Arnold are among the filmmakers set to compete for the coveted Palme d’Or at the 77th Cannes Film Festival.
A total of 19 features were revealed today (April 11) that will play in Competition at the festival, set to run May 14-25.
Rarely a festival to veer far from familiar names, the Competition line-up is dominated by directors who have been selected multiple times for Cannes.
They include US filmmaker Coppola with sci-fi epic Megalopolis, which stars Adam Driver and is set in a future version of New York City following a disaster.
A total of 19 features were revealed today (April 11) that will play in Competition at the festival, set to run May 14-25.
Rarely a festival to veer far from familiar names, the Competition line-up is dominated by directors who have been selected multiple times for Cannes.
They include US filmmaker Coppola with sci-fi epic Megalopolis, which stars Adam Driver and is set in a future version of New York City following a disaster.
- 4/11/2024
- ScreenDaily
‘Chicken for Linda!’ Review: A Touching Coming-of-Age Cartoon Caper Made With the Finest Ingredients
A throwback, of sorts, to the kinds of animated kids flicks that existed before the advent of Pixar and CGI, Chicken for Linda! (Linda veut du poulet !) is a lovingly hand-drawn ode to the whims and wills of capricious children: specifically, one very stubborn little French girl who won’t take no for an answer when it comes to her favorite meal.
This new collaboration from directors Chiara Malta (Simple Women) and Sébastien Laudenbach (The Girl Without Hands) is a simple and even silly story on the surface, following an action-packed day in the life of its titular heroine as she tries to get her mom to cook a family poultry recipe for dinner. But as the plot — or is that the sauce? — thickens, the film begins to probe deeper, exploring how kids and adults can be affected by the death of a loved one, and how they can eventually try to move on.
This new collaboration from directors Chiara Malta (Simple Women) and Sébastien Laudenbach (The Girl Without Hands) is a simple and even silly story on the surface, following an action-packed day in the life of its titular heroine as she tries to get her mom to cook a family poultry recipe for dinner. But as the plot — or is that the sauce? — thickens, the film begins to probe deeper, exploring how kids and adults can be affected by the death of a loved one, and how they can eventually try to move on.
- 4/10/2024
- by Jordan Mintzer
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Noé Debré, the co-writer of “Dheepan” and “Stillwater” and creator of the European Parliament sendup series “Parlement,” marks his feature directorial debut with the bittersweet comedy “A Nice Jewish Boy.”
Produced by Moonshaker, sold by Charades and making its world market premiere at this year’s Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Paris, the freewheeling film follows a 27-year-old man-child Bellisha (Michael Zindel) and his ailing mother, Giselle (Agnès Jaoui), who together make up the last remaining Jews living in a working class neighborhood that all of their friends and family have long since fled.
At first that’s just as well for the easy-going Bellisha, but health concerns, prejudice and most of all an acute sense of alienation soon begin to creep in. Below, Variety catches up with Debré at this year’s Rendez-Vous.
How did this feature idea come about?
I saw a short film called “Masel Tov Cocktail,” about a Russian-Jewish teenager living in Germany.
Produced by Moonshaker, sold by Charades and making its world market premiere at this year’s Unifrance Rendez-Vous in Paris, the freewheeling film follows a 27-year-old man-child Bellisha (Michael Zindel) and his ailing mother, Giselle (Agnès Jaoui), who together make up the last remaining Jews living in a working class neighborhood that all of their friends and family have long since fled.
At first that’s just as well for the easy-going Bellisha, but health concerns, prejudice and most of all an acute sense of alienation soon begin to creep in. Below, Variety catches up with Debré at this year’s Rendez-Vous.
How did this feature idea come about?
I saw a short film called “Masel Tov Cocktail,” about a Russian-Jewish teenager living in Germany.
- 1/18/2024
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
Palme d’Or winner ‘Anatomy Of A Fall’ opens in 160 cinemas.
Nia DaCosta’s The Marvels heads the new films in UK-Ireland cinemas this weekend, looking to boost the fortunes of the long-running superhero franchise.
The Marvels opens in 665 cinemas through Disney. This is slightly fewer than recent Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) titles Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 (708), Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania (680) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (704); the last MCU film to open on fewer screens was Chloe Zhao’s Eternals in 2021 (646).
Running for 15 years and counting, the MCU is still the highest-grossing film franchise both in UK-Ireland and worldwide.
Nia DaCosta’s The Marvels heads the new films in UK-Ireland cinemas this weekend, looking to boost the fortunes of the long-running superhero franchise.
The Marvels opens in 665 cinemas through Disney. This is slightly fewer than recent Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) titles Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 (708), Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania (680) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (704); the last MCU film to open on fewer screens was Chloe Zhao’s Eternals in 2021 (646).
Running for 15 years and counting, the MCU is still the highest-grossing film franchise both in UK-Ireland and worldwide.
- 11/10/2023
- by Ben Dalton
- ScreenDaily
Hengameh Panahi, the celebrated French-Iranian producer who founded Celluloid Dreams and forged long-standing bonds with auteurs around the world, has died. She was 67.
Panahi, who worked with the likes of Jafar Panahi, Jacques Audiard, Hirokazu Kore-eda and Jia Zhangke, died on Nov. 5 after battling a long illness, according to a statement sent by a film publicist who worked with Panahi for many years.
Panahi was born in Iran and lived in Belgium from the age of 12 before moving to France in 1993. That’s where she founded the sales company Celluloid Dreams and played a major role in co-producing, co-financing and selling international rights to a number of politically minded films, such as Panahi’s Berlinale Golden Bear-winning “Taxi Tehran”; Audiard’s “A Prophet” and his Palme d’Or winning “Dheepan”; Ramin Mohseni’s ”From Afar”; Marjane Satrapi’s “Persepolis” and “Chicken With Plums”; and Iranian master Abbas Kiarostami’s “Where...
Panahi, who worked with the likes of Jafar Panahi, Jacques Audiard, Hirokazu Kore-eda and Jia Zhangke, died on Nov. 5 after battling a long illness, according to a statement sent by a film publicist who worked with Panahi for many years.
Panahi was born in Iran and lived in Belgium from the age of 12 before moving to France in 1993. That’s where she founded the sales company Celluloid Dreams and played a major role in co-producing, co-financing and selling international rights to a number of politically minded films, such as Panahi’s Berlinale Golden Bear-winning “Taxi Tehran”; Audiard’s “A Prophet” and his Palme d’Or winning “Dheepan”; Ramin Mohseni’s ”From Afar”; Marjane Satrapi’s “Persepolis” and “Chicken With Plums”; and Iranian master Abbas Kiarostami’s “Where...
- 11/9/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Groundbreaking French-Iranian sales agent and producer Hengameh Panahi, who represented a myriad of renowned Cannes and Venice prize-winning auteur directors, has died at the age of 67.
Paris-based press attaché Viviana Andriani, who handled press campaigns for a number of Panahi’s films, announced the news in a short communiqué.
She said Panahi had died on November 5 after bravely battling a long illness.
Panahi was a force to be reckoned with on the international film industry circuit, who launched dozens of renowned arthouse directors at the beginning of their careers and accompanied them as they won awards and fame.
Born in Iran, Panahi was sent to Belgium to complete her education as teenager.
She got her first big break in the film industry as head of international at Brussels-based animation studio Graphoui.
In an early sign of her flare for scouting promising talent, Panahi connected with John Lasseter and Tim Burton...
Paris-based press attaché Viviana Andriani, who handled press campaigns for a number of Panahi’s films, announced the news in a short communiqué.
She said Panahi had died on November 5 after bravely battling a long illness.
Panahi was a force to be reckoned with on the international film industry circuit, who launched dozens of renowned arthouse directors at the beginning of their careers and accompanied them as they won awards and fame.
Born in Iran, Panahi was sent to Belgium to complete her education as teenager.
She got her first big break in the film industry as head of international at Brussels-based animation studio Graphoui.
In an early sign of her flare for scouting promising talent, Panahi connected with John Lasseter and Tim Burton...
- 11/9/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
France TV Distribution has scored a raft of deals across its slate of flagship shows, notably Noé Debré’s political satire “Parliament,” whose second season was picked up by Topic in the U.S.
“Parliament,” produced by Paris-based Cinétévé, was created by Debré, whose screenwriting include Jacques Audiard’s Palme d’Or winning “Dheepan.” The series is set at the European parliament in Strasbourg and follows a young assistant working for a newly elected member, juggling his ethics, job and love life. The 10-episode series features a young cast from across Europe, including Xavier Lacaille, Liz Kingsman and Philippe Duquesne. The daring show shot partly on location in both French and English languages.
Sky Italia, meanwhile, has acquired “The King’s Favorite” starring Isabelle Adjani, as well as season 1 and 2 of the detective series “Criminal Games.”
“The King’s Favorite” is a prestige period series starring Adjani as Diane de Poitiers, King Henri II’s favorite.
“Parliament,” produced by Paris-based Cinétévé, was created by Debré, whose screenwriting include Jacques Audiard’s Palme d’Or winning “Dheepan.” The series is set at the European parliament in Strasbourg and follows a young assistant working for a newly elected member, juggling his ethics, job and love life. The 10-episode series features a young cast from across Europe, including Xavier Lacaille, Liz Kingsman and Philippe Duquesne. The daring show shot partly on location in both French and English languages.
Sky Italia, meanwhile, has acquired “The King’s Favorite” starring Isabelle Adjani, as well as season 1 and 2 of the detective series “Criminal Games.”
“The King’s Favorite” is a prestige period series starring Adjani as Diane de Poitiers, King Henri II’s favorite.
- 4/4/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Jacques Audiard, the Oscar-nominated French director (“A Prophet”), is finally getting ready to shoot his next film, “Emilia Perez,” this spring with a cast led by Karla Sofia Gascón, Selena Gomez and Zoe Saldaña.
After “Paris, 13th District,” an intimate black-and-white film about millennial love, Audiard is aiming to build a larger canvas for “Emilia Perez,” a musical crime comedy which Audiard tells Variety will lense in a studio near Paris instead of Mexico, as originally planned.
Gascón, a rising Argentinian trans actor, will play a feared Mexican cartel leader who undergoes a sex change to get away from the law, becoming the woman he’s always wanted to be.
Audiard says the idea for “Emilia Perez” came to him more than two years ago as “an opera libretto in four acts,” and that’s how he wrote the treatment.
“It was the first time that an idea [for a film] came to...
After “Paris, 13th District,” an intimate black-and-white film about millennial love, Audiard is aiming to build a larger canvas for “Emilia Perez,” a musical crime comedy which Audiard tells Variety will lense in a studio near Paris instead of Mexico, as originally planned.
Gascón, a rising Argentinian trans actor, will play a feared Mexican cartel leader who undergoes a sex change to get away from the law, becoming the woman he’s always wanted to be.
Audiard says the idea for “Emilia Perez” came to him more than two years ago as “an opera libretto in four acts,” and that’s how he wrote the treatment.
“It was the first time that an idea [for a film] came to...
- 1/23/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
Fabian: Going to the Dogs (Dominik Graf)
In the first hour of Dominik Graf’s Fabian: Going to the Dogs, we see the title character running around 1920s Berlin, bumping into eccentric characters at bars and nightclubs while the camera moves and cuts at a whirlwind pace. It’s a time of indulgence and recklessness for Fabian and other young people in Germany, and then he finds himself standing face to face with a young woman in the back of a club. The camera cuts to a rapid-fire montage of both characters together and in love, scenes from later in the film we haven’t gotten to yet. Up to this point, Fabian was living in the present; without warning he begins to see a future,...
Fabian: Going to the Dogs (Dominik Graf)
In the first hour of Dominik Graf’s Fabian: Going to the Dogs, we see the title character running around 1920s Berlin, bumping into eccentric characters at bars and nightclubs while the camera moves and cuts at a whirlwind pace. It’s a time of indulgence and recklessness for Fabian and other young people in Germany, and then he finds himself standing face to face with a young woman in the back of a club. The camera cuts to a rapid-fire montage of both characters together and in love, scenes from later in the film we haven’t gotten to yet. Up to this point, Fabian was living in the present; without warning he begins to see a future,...
- 4/15/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Perhaps you’ve heard the news: The big-screen sex scene is dead. Finished. Kaput. Or, if it’s not completely shuffling off this mortal coil, you could say that it’s on life support and being prepped for last rites. This death certificate has been issued before, of course, but given that recent think pieces have performed critical autopsies on carnal cinema — and that appreciations for erotic thrillers now double as eulogies — it feels as if the days of steamy movie hook-ups have been put indefinitely on hold. Blame the infantilization of audiences,...
- 4/14/2022
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
Many directors are wary of working outside of their native language, but Jacques Audiard is learning to embrace it. In 2018, he made his English-language debut with the Western “The Sisters Brothers,” and while he followed that up with a return to France for the anthology drama “Paris, 13th District,” even as that movie opens in the U.S. he has another international project on the horizon.
“I think it was Truffaut who said that our current films are always working against the previous films we’ve made,” Audiard said in a recent interview with IndieWire. “I’m not sure I agree with that.”
Earlier this year, Audiard went to Mexico to scout for “Emilia Perez,” a Spanish-language musical-comedy written with French singer-songwriter Camille about a drug mule who changes their gender. That may sound like a big gamble for the director of muscular redemption stories like “A Prophet,” “Rust and Bone,...
“I think it was Truffaut who said that our current films are always working against the previous films we’ve made,” Audiard said in a recent interview with IndieWire. “I’m not sure I agree with that.”
Earlier this year, Audiard went to Mexico to scout for “Emilia Perez,” a Spanish-language musical-comedy written with French singer-songwriter Camille about a drug mule who changes their gender. That may sound like a big gamble for the director of muscular redemption stories like “A Prophet,” “Rust and Bone,...
- 4/13/2022
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Jacques Audiard, known for his superb thrillers, became the supreme purveyor of French outlier cinema, chronicling gritty immigrant experiences in an increasingly diverse nation with such films as The Prophet, Dheepan and even to some extent Rust and Bone, comes out with a slight, sexy romance film based on Adrian Tomine's graphic novels called Paris, 13th District. With its diverse cast and unusual setting, Audiard is upending the typical notion of romantic French film taking place in Paris. He also introduces us his new ingénue, Lucie Zhang, a 21 year old French actress of Chinese descent, giving a star making performance as...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 4/12/2022
- Screen Anarchy
As a writer and director, Jacques Audiard is known for muscular crime dramas, including “The Beat That My Heart Skipped,” “A Prophet,” “Rust and Bone,” and 2015’s Palme d’Or winner “Dheepan.” His work has largely had an air of seriousness to it that doesn’t leave much room for comedy or frivolity of any sort. His films are dark looks into the souls of characters struggling to exist in a world that isn’t often built for the majority to thrive — magnificent achievements, no doubt, but also tough to crack a smile while watching.
In 2018, Audiard made his English-language debut alongside his frequent co-writer Thomas Bidegain with the western “The Sisters Brothers,” taking a more comedic bent to his fascination with masculinity to explore a quartet of buffoons seeking gold in 1850s Oregon.
Continue reading Jacques Audiard On Sex, Comedy, & Computers In ‘Paris, 13th District’ [Interview] at The Playlist.
In 2018, Audiard made his English-language debut alongside his frequent co-writer Thomas Bidegain with the western “The Sisters Brothers,” taking a more comedic bent to his fascination with masculinity to explore a quartet of buffoons seeking gold in 1850s Oregon.
Continue reading Jacques Audiard On Sex, Comedy, & Computers In ‘Paris, 13th District’ [Interview] at The Playlist.
- 4/12/2022
- by Mitchell Beaupre
- The Playlist
Last week seemed like something of a lull; there wasn’t an overwhelming amount of terrific new television. That was a fluke. We’re back in full force. This we’ve got a genre-bending new series starring Josh Brolin (it only looks like a western), a documentary about the potential dangers of the beauty industry, and we say goodbye to “Killing Eve” while welcoming back “The Kardashians.” There is a season turn, turn, turn!
On with the television!
“Outer Range”
Friday, April 15, Prime Video
Prime Video
Sure, “Outer Range” looks like a straight up Xerox of Paramount’s rough-and-tumble hit “Yellowstone” (you can practically imagine the board meeting where the edict was forged). But “Outer Range” is considerably weirder and more mysterious. In fact, it might be your new Wtf-worthy obsession, along the lines of “Lost” or (more recently) “Severance.” Josh Brolin stars as Royal Abbott, a gruff rancher trying...
On with the television!
“Outer Range”
Friday, April 15, Prime Video
Prime Video
Sure, “Outer Range” looks like a straight up Xerox of Paramount’s rough-and-tumble hit “Yellowstone” (you can practically imagine the board meeting where the edict was forged). But “Outer Range” is considerably weirder and more mysterious. In fact, it might be your new Wtf-worthy obsession, along the lines of “Lost” or (more recently) “Severance.” Josh Brolin stars as Royal Abbott, a gruff rancher trying...
- 4/9/2022
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
Never one to be boxed into a corner, Jacques Audiard is following up his Palme d’Or-winning Dheepan and his English-language debut, the western The Sisters Brothers, with Paris, 13th District, a black-and-white tale of young love between four individuals. Scripted by Audiard, Léa Mysius, and Céline Sciamma, based on Adrian Tomine’s short stories, the Cannes premiere will now arrive in theaters next month and the new trailer has debuted via IFC Films.
Luke Hicks said in his review, “Audiard’s career-spanning desire to jump from story to story has landed him some new, noteworthy co-writers. The wandering narrative was penned by Léa Mysius, Portrait of a Lady on Fire writer-director Céline Sciamma, and Audiard himself. It’s an interwoven adaptation of three black-and-white Adrian Tomine short stories––“Amber Sweet,” “Summer Blonde,” and “Hawaiian Getaway”––from his graphic novel collection Killing and Dying (pulled from his popular New Yorker cartoon series,...
Luke Hicks said in his review, “Audiard’s career-spanning desire to jump from story to story has landed him some new, noteworthy co-writers. The wandering narrative was penned by Léa Mysius, Portrait of a Lady on Fire writer-director Céline Sciamma, and Audiard himself. It’s an interwoven adaptation of three black-and-white Adrian Tomine short stories––“Amber Sweet,” “Summer Blonde,” and “Hawaiian Getaway”––from his graphic novel collection Killing and Dying (pulled from his popular New Yorker cartoon series,...
- 3/21/2022
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
"Why are you so unsure of yourself?" IFC Films has revealed a new official US trailer for the French film known as Paris, 13th District in English, originally titled Les Olympiades, which is the French name for the "13 District" neighborhood this takes place in. This is the latest film from award-winning French filmmaker Jacques Audiard and it premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival last year. The film is a black and white story of young love in modern Paris - following three different stories of people living in the 13th district of Paris. Technically this is an adaptation of the graphic novel" Killing and Dying" by Adrian Tomine, a modern tale of love and friendship, co-written with Léa Mysius and Céline Sciamma. The film stars Lucie Zhang, Makita Samba, Noémie Merlant, Jehnny Beth, Camille Léon-Fucien, Oceane Cairaty, and Anaïde Rozam. I wasn't a huge fan of this film, though ...
- 3/18/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
With “Paris, 13th District,” Jacques Audiard found himself back at Cannes in 2021 for the first time since he won 2015’s Palme d’Or with “Dheepan.” The director skipped the festival for his slightly more mainstream-skewing “The Sisters Brothers,” which went to Venice in 2018, and with this black-and-white ode to love and sex in the City of Lights, found himself back in his rightful place on the Croisette. Now, IFC Films is set to release the movie April 15 in stateside theaters. Exclusive to IndieWire, watch the trailer for the film below.
For this love quadrangle involving three women and one man, Audiard co-writes the film with “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” filmmaker Céline Sciamma as well as screenwriter Léa Mysius. The cast includes “Portrait” star Noémie Merlant as Nora, Lucie Zhang as Emilie, Makita Samba as Camille, and Jehnny Beth as Amber, all moving pieces in a chessboard of erotic entanglements.
For this love quadrangle involving three women and one man, Audiard co-writes the film with “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” filmmaker Céline Sciamma as well as screenwriter Léa Mysius. The cast includes “Portrait” star Noémie Merlant as Nora, Lucie Zhang as Emilie, Makita Samba as Camille, and Jehnny Beth as Amber, all moving pieces in a chessboard of erotic entanglements.
- 3/18/2022
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Warner Bros.’ “The Batman” continued its sway over the U.K. and Ireland box office for the second weekend in a row with £7.4 million ($9.6 million), according to numbers released by Comscore. The dark brooder starring Robert Pattinson and Zoë Kravitz now has a total of £26.5 million.
In second place, Sony’s “Uncharted” collected £1.05 million on its fifth weekend and has a total of £21.7 million.
Trafalgar Releasing’s concert film “BTS Permission to Dance on Stage – Seoul,” featuring K-pop sensation BTS, debuted in third place with £899,127. In fourth position, on its seventh weekend, was Universal’s animated sequel “Sing 2” with £819,153. The film now has a robust total of £31.3 million.
Rounding off the top five was Warner Bros.’ “The Duke” with £500,749, which now has £3.8 million after three weekends.
In its 13th weekend, Sony’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home” collected £203,906. With a total of £95.7 million, is fourth on the all time U.
In second place, Sony’s “Uncharted” collected £1.05 million on its fifth weekend and has a total of £21.7 million.
Trafalgar Releasing’s concert film “BTS Permission to Dance on Stage – Seoul,” featuring K-pop sensation BTS, debuted in third place with £899,127. In fourth position, on its seventh weekend, was Universal’s animated sequel “Sing 2” with £819,153. The film now has a robust total of £31.3 million.
Rounding off the top five was Warner Bros.’ “The Duke” with £500,749, which now has £3.8 million after three weekends.
In its 13th weekend, Sony’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home” collected £203,906. With a total of £95.7 million, is fourth on the all time U.
- 3/15/2022
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Italy’s “The Impossible She,” Spain’s “Detective Touré,” South Africa’s “Paradys” and France’s “Hormones” feature among 15 drama series projects selected for the Series Mania Forum’s 2022 Co-Pro Pitching Sessions.
One of Europe’s most prestigious TV competitions, with titles competing for a €50,000 grand prize, this year’s Sessions form part of the Forum, which runs March 22-24.
The lineup is rich in projects backed by top-tier producers and sales forces, while sluiced by large themes, such as racial and gender equality.
The latest from top Italian company Fandango, producer of “Gomorrah” and “My Brilliant Friend,” “The Impossible She” turns on young Neapolitan aristocrat Maria Teresa de Filippis, the first female Formula 1 driver.
Co-produced by Academy Award winner Tornasol (“The Secret in My Eyes”), “Detective Touré” features Touré a sub-Saharan immigrant settled in Bilbao who will become the best detective of the city, despite no badge, nor papers.
One of Europe’s most prestigious TV competitions, with titles competing for a €50,000 grand prize, this year’s Sessions form part of the Forum, which runs March 22-24.
The lineup is rich in projects backed by top-tier producers and sales forces, while sluiced by large themes, such as racial and gender equality.
The latest from top Italian company Fandango, producer of “Gomorrah” and “My Brilliant Friend,” “The Impossible She” turns on young Neapolitan aristocrat Maria Teresa de Filippis, the first female Formula 1 driver.
Co-produced by Academy Award winner Tornasol (“The Secret in My Eyes”), “Detective Touré” features Touré a sub-Saharan immigrant settled in Bilbao who will become the best detective of the city, despite no badge, nor papers.
- 2/17/2022
- by John Hopewell and Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
"She drives me stupid crazy. I'm obsessed." Madman Films in Australia has unveiled an official trailer for the film Paris, 13th District, originally known as Les Olympiades. This is the latest film from award-winning French filmmaker Jacques Audiard and it originally premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. The film is a black & white story of young love in modern Paris - following three different stories of people living in the 13th district of Paris. Technically this is an adaptation of the graphic novel" Killing and Dying" by Adrian Tomine, a modern tale of love and friendship, co-written with Léa Mysius and Céline Sciamma. The full cast includes Lucie Zhang, Makita Samba, Noémie Merlant, Jehnny Beth, Camille Léon-Fucien, Oceane Cairaty, and Anaïde Rozam. This wasn't my favorite film from Cannes, but it does have some wonderfully modern takes on intimacy and sex and love that are nice ...
- 10/18/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
There is no such thing as a typical Jacques Audiard film. Take his last three as examples: in 2012 he captured the trauma-induced romance between a wayfaring father and killer-whale trainer in rural seaside France in Rust and Bone; in 2015 he won the Palme d’Or for Dheepan, a film about a Sri Lankan freedom fighter who seeks refuge in Paris with the involuntary help of two strangers fronting as his wife and daughter; in 2018 he cast Joaquin Phoenix and John C. Reilly as bickering, sharp-shooting brothers hunting down Jake Gyllenhaal and Riz Ahmed in frontier-era Oregon in The Sisters Brothers. His newest, Paris, 13th District, is something entirely different.
Audiard’s career-spanning desire to jump from story to story has landed him some new, noteworthy co-writers. The wandering narrative was penned by Léa Mysius, Portrait of a Lady on Fire writer-director Céline Sciamma, and Audiard himself. It’s an interwoven...
Audiard’s career-spanning desire to jump from story to story has landed him some new, noteworthy co-writers. The wandering narrative was penned by Léa Mysius, Portrait of a Lady on Fire writer-director Céline Sciamma, and Audiard himself. It’s an interwoven...
- 7/26/2021
- by Luke Hicks
- The Film Stage
What impact does the Palme d’Or really have on a film’s awards chances?
In the 73 years of Cannes, there have only been three winners of the Palme d’Or and the Oscar for best picture – “The Lost Weekend” (1945), “Marty” (1955) and “Parasite” (2019), the latter two were unanimous wins among the jury.
With “Titane,” Julia Ducournau became just the second female director to win the prestigious prize, and the first woman to achieve a solo win, as Jane Campion’s “The Piano” tied with Chen Kaige’s “Farewell My Concubine” in 1993.
It’s uncertain that the film, which will be distributed by Neon, will be able to muster much Academy support in this dense and cinematically populated upcoming season.
Aside from “Parasite,” in the last 20 years, only three other Palme winners have gone on to Academy notoriety – “The Pianist” (2002), “The Tree of Life” (2011) and “Amour” (2012). The truth is for every...
In the 73 years of Cannes, there have only been three winners of the Palme d’Or and the Oscar for best picture – “The Lost Weekend” (1945), “Marty” (1955) and “Parasite” (2019), the latter two were unanimous wins among the jury.
With “Titane,” Julia Ducournau became just the second female director to win the prestigious prize, and the first woman to achieve a solo win, as Jane Campion’s “The Piano” tied with Chen Kaige’s “Farewell My Concubine” in 1993.
It’s uncertain that the film, which will be distributed by Neon, will be able to muster much Academy support in this dense and cinematically populated upcoming season.
Aside from “Parasite,” in the last 20 years, only three other Palme winners have gone on to Academy notoriety – “The Pianist” (2002), “The Tree of Life” (2011) and “Amour” (2012). The truth is for every...
- 7/20/2021
- by Clayton Davis
- Variety Film + TV
Playtime has nearly sold out Jacques Audiard’s “Paris, 13th District,” one of the critical highlights of this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
The black-and-white relationship drama has been applauded for breakthrough performances by newcomer Lucie Zhang, Makita Samba and Noemie Merland (“Portrait of a Lady on Fire”), as well as a sharp and modern script penned by Audiard, Léa Mysius (“Ava”) and Celine Sciamma.
Lighthearted, bold and profound, the movie tackles the issues of sexuality, love and dating through the story of Emilie, Camille, Nora and Amber, four young adults who are friends and sometimes lovers in Paris’s 13th arrondissement. The film is loosely based on New Yorker cartoonist Adrian Tomine’s collection of graphic short stories “Killing and Dying.”
Playtime has closed a raft of deals on “Paris, 13th District” for Latin America (California Filmes), Spain (Avalon), Germany/Austria (Neue Visionen), Italy (Cineone/Europictures), Israel (Lev Cinema...
The black-and-white relationship drama has been applauded for breakthrough performances by newcomer Lucie Zhang, Makita Samba and Noemie Merland (“Portrait of a Lady on Fire”), as well as a sharp and modern script penned by Audiard, Léa Mysius (“Ava”) and Celine Sciamma.
Lighthearted, bold and profound, the movie tackles the issues of sexuality, love and dating through the story of Emilie, Camille, Nora and Amber, four young adults who are friends and sometimes lovers in Paris’s 13th arrondissement. The film is loosely based on New Yorker cartoonist Adrian Tomine’s collection of graphic short stories “Killing and Dying.”
Playtime has closed a raft of deals on “Paris, 13th District” for Latin America (California Filmes), Spain (Avalon), Germany/Austria (Neue Visionen), Italy (Cineone/Europictures), Israel (Lev Cinema...
- 7/20/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy and John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
Out of Cannes, “Parasite” marks the most notable example of a Palme d’Or winner that went on to win big not only at the global box office but also subsequent awards, including four Oscars: Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, and International Film. (Only “Marty” in 1955 has also followed a Palme d’Or win with a Best Picture Oscar.) Cannes is a mighty marketing platform, but winning the top prize did little to turn such films as Jacques Audiard’s “Dheepan” (2015) or Ken Loach’s “The Wind That Shakes the Barley” (2006) and “I, Daniel Blake” (2016) into Oscar contenders. France didn’t submit “Dheepan” that year, sending Paul Verhoeven’s more popular Cannes entry “Elle” into contention instead; French star Isabelle Huppert went on to score a Best Actress Oscar nomination.
Truth is, outside of the Best International Film category, it takes some success at the box office to push a...
Truth is, outside of the Best International Film category, it takes some success at the box office to push a...
- 7/17/2021
- by Anne Thompson
- Thompson on Hollywood
Out of Cannes, “Parasite” marks the most notable example of a Palme d’Or winner that went on to win big not only at the global box office but also subsequent awards, including four Oscars: Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, and International Film. (Only “Marty” in 1955 has also followed a Palme d’Or win with a Best Picture Oscar.) Cannes is a mighty marketing platform, but winning the top prize did little to turn such films as Jacques Audiard’s “Dheepan” (2015) or Ken Loach’s “The Wind That Shakes the Barley” (2006) and “I, Daniel Blake” (2016) into Oscar contenders. France didn’t submit “Dheepan” that year, sending Paul Verhoeven’s more popular Cannes entry “Elle” into contention instead; French star Isabelle Huppert went on to score a Best Actress Oscar nomination.
Truth is, outside of the Best International Film category, it takes some success at the box office to push a...
Truth is, outside of the Best International Film category, it takes some success at the box office to push a...
- 7/17/2021
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Audiard established himself in Cannes with Regarde Les Hommes Tomber in the Critics’ Week, and then he saw 1996’s Un héros très discret land him Best Screenplay, his Cannes offerings of the last two decades include the 2009’s Grand Prix winning A Prophet, 2012’s Rust & Bone and a Palme d’Or winner in Dheepan. His latest project Paris, 13th District (Les Olympiades) stars quartet Lucie Zhang, Makita Samba, Noémie Merlant and Jehnny Beth all navigating matters of the heart and job/apartment prospects.
Call this Cannes edition a year of hate it or love it extremes, some critics dismissed the film and some have given it a rent free space in their hearts.…...
Call this Cannes edition a year of hate it or love it extremes, some critics dismissed the film and some have given it a rent free space in their hearts.…...
- 7/16/2021
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
European film-tv powerhouse Studiocanal has clinched major territory sales across a powerful slate of new movies, led by Jake Gyllenhaal and Vanessa Kirby survival thriller “Suddenly,” and “Baghead” with “The Witcher’s” Freya Allan.
“Boldangles” and “Cat Person,” starring “Succession’s” Nicholas Braun and “Coda’s” Emilia Jones, are also finding trading traction, as is Cannes Festival player “Peaceful,” headlining Catherine Deneuve, also has deal momentum.
Multiple deals are in advanced negotiations, and will close by festival end, said Chloé Marquet, Studiocanal head of international film sales as she drilled down on deals done.
“Suddenly” will be put through Studiocanal direct distribution operations in the U.K., Germany, France and Australia/New Zealand. In major deals, it has now closed distribution in half the biggest film markets in the world, adding Latin America (California) and Italy (Leone).
Other key sales take in Eastern Europe (Prorom), Blitz (ex-Yugoslavia), Turkey (Tanweer), Portugal...
“Boldangles” and “Cat Person,” starring “Succession’s” Nicholas Braun and “Coda’s” Emilia Jones, are also finding trading traction, as is Cannes Festival player “Peaceful,” headlining Catherine Deneuve, also has deal momentum.
Multiple deals are in advanced negotiations, and will close by festival end, said Chloé Marquet, Studiocanal head of international film sales as she drilled down on deals done.
“Suddenly” will be put through Studiocanal direct distribution operations in the U.K., Germany, France and Australia/New Zealand. In major deals, it has now closed distribution in half the biggest film markets in the world, adding Latin America (California) and Italy (Leone).
Other key sales take in Eastern Europe (Prorom), Blitz (ex-Yugoslavia), Turkey (Tanweer), Portugal...
- 7/13/2021
- by John Hopewell and Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
After jumping into English-language work with the star-studded western The Sisters Brothers, Jacques Audiard is returning to his native country with a new drama Paris, 13th District aka Les Olympiades. Marking his first trip back to Cannes Film Festival since his Palme d’Or-winning Dheepan, the drama will premiere soon at the festival and now the first trailer has arrived.
Co-written by Celine Sciamma and starring Portrait of a Lady on Fire‘s Noémie Merlant, along with Lucie Zhang, Makita Samba, and Jehnny Beth, the black-and-white drama follows three girls and a boy who are friends, sometimes lovers, and often both. Set for a November release in France, we’re awaiting a U.S. release date from IFC Films, but in the meantime, this trailer hints at an exciting return to form for Audiard.
Watch the trailer below and we’ll update when a subtitled version arrives.
The post Jacques...
Co-written by Celine Sciamma and starring Portrait of a Lady on Fire‘s Noémie Merlant, along with Lucie Zhang, Makita Samba, and Jehnny Beth, the black-and-white drama follows three girls and a boy who are friends, sometimes lovers, and often both. Set for a November release in France, we’re awaiting a U.S. release date from IFC Films, but in the meantime, this trailer hints at an exciting return to form for Audiard.
Watch the trailer below and we’ll update when a subtitled version arrives.
The post Jacques...
- 7/13/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Having been a mainstay of the Croisette for years and a Palme d’Or winner in 2015 for “Dheepan,” French filmmaker Jacques Audiard, is no stranger to the Cannes Film Festival. Since 2005, all of his films have debuted at Cannes save one (2018’s “The Sisters Brothers” that went to Venice).
Continue reading ‘Les Olympiades’ Trailer: Jacques Audiard Redefines Modern Love & Sex In Paris’ 13th District at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘Les Olympiades’ Trailer: Jacques Audiard Redefines Modern Love & Sex In Paris’ 13th District at The Playlist.
- 7/13/2021
- by Rodrigo Perez
- The Playlist
IFC Films will be out in force at the Cannes Film Festival with three highly-anticipated films set for the competition: Jacques Audiard’s black-and-white drama “Paris, 13th District,” Mia Hansen-Løve’s English-language melodrama “Bergman Island” and Paul Verhoeven’s subversive period drama “Benedetta.” This comeback Cannes edition will also mark Arianna Bocco’s first year on the ground as IFC president. Ahead of the festival’s start, Bocco spoke to Variety about the company’s titles, dealmaking prospects at the festival and the industry’s evolution post-covid.
You have some of the most exciting films competing this year, did you know they would be playing in competition when you acquired them?
We didn’t and we’re very excited! All three films are very different from one another, so it will be really interesting to see how they play. Audiard’s film will likely surprise audiences because it’s unlike anything he’s done before.
You have some of the most exciting films competing this year, did you know they would be playing in competition when you acquired them?
We didn’t and we’re very excited! All three films are very different from one another, so it will be really interesting to see how they play. Audiard’s film will likely surprise audiences because it’s unlike anything he’s done before.
- 7/5/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
The lead-up to Cannes always means hot projects are coming out of the Cannes virtual market. One of the biggest of all the announcements thus far is “Suddenly,” a survival thriller starring two heavyweight Oscar nominees, Jake Gyllenhaal (“Brokeback Mountain”) and Vanessa Kirby (“Pieces Of A Woman”).
Read More: Summer 2021 Preview: Over 50 Movies To
Watch
The movie comes from Studio Canal and screenwriter Thomas Bidegain, known for working with French auteur Jacque Audiard and penning celebrated films such as “A Prophet,” “Rust And Bone,” and “Dheepan,” which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes.
Continue reading Jake Gyllenhaal & Vanessa Kirby To Star In Survival Thriller From Jacques Audiard’s Screenwriter Thomas Bidegain at The Playlist.
Read More: Summer 2021 Preview: Over 50 Movies To
Watch
The movie comes from Studio Canal and screenwriter Thomas Bidegain, known for working with French auteur Jacque Audiard and penning celebrated films such as “A Prophet,” “Rust And Bone,” and “Dheepan,” which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes.
Continue reading Jake Gyllenhaal & Vanessa Kirby To Star In Survival Thriller From Jacques Audiard’s Screenwriter Thomas Bidegain at The Playlist.
- 6/22/2021
- by The Playlist
- The Playlist
Exclusive: In some powerhouse two-hander casting, we can reveal that Oscar nominees Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain) and Vanessa Kirby (Pieces Of A Woman) have been set to lead survival thriller Suddenly, which quickly becomes one of the must-have packages at the Cannes virtual market. The movie will be the sophomore directorial outing for acclaimed screenwriter Thomas Bidegain, known for scripting films such as A Prophet, Rust And Bone and Dheepan, which won the Palme d’Or. Bidegain is also scripting the English-language project.
The feature is based on Isabelle Autissier’s French-language novel Soudain Seuls, which follows a couple who become stranded on an island in the South Atlantic and must fight for survival when their dream journey becomes a nightmare. The novel shines a light on the dynamics of their relationship and also holds a mirror up to modern society.
Studiocanal is launching world sales this week and is...
The feature is based on Isabelle Autissier’s French-language novel Soudain Seuls, which follows a couple who become stranded on an island in the South Atlantic and must fight for survival when their dream journey becomes a nightmare. The novel shines a light on the dynamics of their relationship and also holds a mirror up to modern society.
Studiocanal is launching world sales this week and is...
- 6/22/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
After the Covid-19 pandemic forced last year’s in-person festivities and competition to be cancelled, the Cannes Film Festival will be returning in full force this year, running from July 6 until July 17. The top prize there is the coveted Palme d’Or, and this will be the first time it’s awarded since 2019 when Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite” claimed it. That film would go on to win the Oscar for Best Picture, becoming the first to claim both prizes since “Marty” did it in 1955. This year’s jury will be headed by Oscar winner Spike Lee, who won the Grand Prix in 2018 for “BlacKkKlansman,” which went on to win him the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar.
The track record of a filmmaker at Cannes can sometimes offer tea leaves as to who might be in a good position to take the Palme. Eight of the entries this year come from...
The track record of a filmmaker at Cannes can sometimes offer tea leaves as to who might be in a good position to take the Palme. Eight of the entries this year come from...
- 6/13/2021
- by Charles Bright
- Gold Derby
The Cannes Film Festival has delayed its highly anticipated press conference by one week, to June 3, Variety has learned.
The reason for the date change is an abundance of movies that have been submitted to the festival, according to an industry source. The Official Selection, in particular the competition, is expected to be larger than usual.
In a normal year, when the festival takes place in May, the lineup is unveiled one month before its start.
Cannes is still on track to open on July 6 with the world premiere of Leos Carax’s musical romance “Annette” with Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard. The 2021 edition should be in no shortage of major auteurs and stars. So far, two titles have been confirmed for the competition by Cannes chief Thierry Fremaux — “Annette” and Paul Verhoeven’s subversive period thriller “Benedetta.”
Some of the movies being considered for this edition include Sean Penn...
The reason for the date change is an abundance of movies that have been submitted to the festival, according to an industry source. The Official Selection, in particular the competition, is expected to be larger than usual.
In a normal year, when the festival takes place in May, the lineup is unveiled one month before its start.
Cannes is still on track to open on July 6 with the world premiere of Leos Carax’s musical romance “Annette” with Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard. The 2021 edition should be in no shortage of major auteurs and stars. So far, two titles have been confirmed for the competition by Cannes chief Thierry Fremaux — “Annette” and Paul Verhoeven’s subversive period thriller “Benedetta.”
Some of the movies being considered for this edition include Sean Penn...
- 5/14/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Audiard co-wrote screenplay with Celine Sciamma.
IFC Films has acquired US rights to Jacques Audiard’s Paris, 13th District, which the filmmaker co-wrote with Celine Sciamma whose Petite Maman just premiered at the Berlinale.
The film stars newcomer Lucie Zhang, Makita Samba, Jehnny Beth and Noémie Merlant from Sciamma’s Portrait Of A Lady On Fire.
Paris, 13th District is adapted from cartoonist Adrian Tomine’s collection of graphic short stories Killing And Dying and centres on three girls and a boy who redefine modern love. Émilie meets Camille who is attracted to Nora, who crosses the path of Amber.
IFC Films has acquired US rights to Jacques Audiard’s Paris, 13th District, which the filmmaker co-wrote with Celine Sciamma whose Petite Maman just premiered at the Berlinale.
The film stars newcomer Lucie Zhang, Makita Samba, Jehnny Beth and Noémie Merlant from Sciamma’s Portrait Of A Lady On Fire.
Paris, 13th District is adapted from cartoonist Adrian Tomine’s collection of graphic short stories Killing And Dying and centres on three girls and a boy who redefine modern love. Émilie meets Camille who is attracted to Nora, who crosses the path of Amber.
- 3/5/2021
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
IFC Films has acquired U.S. rights to Jacques Audiard’s upcoming film “Paris, 13th District” (Les Olympiades) during the virtual European Film Market. The movie was shot in the French capital during the pandemic.
Playtime, which represents the film in international markets, has also closed sales in most major territories around the world, including U.K. (Curzon), Canada (MK2 Mile End), Scandinavia (Scanbox), Japan (Longride), South Korea (Challan), Benelux (Cineart), Switzerland (Filmcoopi), Ex-Yugoslavia (McF), Poland (Gutek Film), as well as Czech Republic and Slovakia (Aerofilms). Both EFM and the Berlin Film Festival have gone online this year as a concession to Covid-19.
IFC previously worked with Audiard on his last French-language film, the Palme d’Or winning “Dheepan.” The movie was penned by Audiard, Léa Mysius (“Ava”) and Celine Sciamma, whose latest film “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” won best screenplay at Cannes 2019 and earned a Golden Globe nomination.
Playtime, which represents the film in international markets, has also closed sales in most major territories around the world, including U.K. (Curzon), Canada (MK2 Mile End), Scandinavia (Scanbox), Japan (Longride), South Korea (Challan), Benelux (Cineart), Switzerland (Filmcoopi), Ex-Yugoslavia (McF), Poland (Gutek Film), as well as Czech Republic and Slovakia (Aerofilms). Both EFM and the Berlin Film Festival have gone online this year as a concession to Covid-19.
IFC previously worked with Audiard on his last French-language film, the Palme d’Or winning “Dheepan.” The movie was penned by Audiard, Léa Mysius (“Ava”) and Celine Sciamma, whose latest film “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” won best screenplay at Cannes 2019 and earned a Golden Globe nomination.
- 3/5/2021
- by Elsa Keslassy and Brent Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Alexandra Lamy and Philippe Katerine topline this production staged by 24 25 Films, which is being sold overseas by Charades. The last clapperboard slammed yesterday to mark the end of the shoot for Le Test, the second feature by Emmanuel Poulain-Arnaud, following Les Cobayes (French release date Tbc). After kicking off on 21 September, principal photography for the helmer’s new effort took place in Marseille, Sète, Agde, Frontignan and Montpellier. The cast includes Alexandra Lamy, Philippe Katerine (César Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2019 for Sink or Swim and set to grace screens from 10 February next year in Old Fashioned), and young actors Chloé Barkoff-Gaillard, Matteo Perez and Joaquim Fossi.The story, written by Emmanuel Poulain-Arnaud himself and Noé Debré (nominated for the César Award for Best Screenplay in 2016 for Dheepan and for the equivalent Ensor Award in 2018 for Racer...
Deepa Mehta’s latest film, an adaptation of Shyam Selvadurai’s Sri Lanka-set coming-of-age novel “Funny Boy,” has been picked up by Ava DuVernay’s Array Releasing, and will land on Netflix this December, Variety can reveal.
The Oscar-nominated “Earth” and “Midnight’s Children” director wrote the screenplay for the film alongside Selvadurai, whose debut 1994 novel is set in Sri Lanka during the 1970s and 1980s and was ground-breaking in its discussion of identity politics against the backdrop of escalating conflict between the island nation’s Sinhalese majority and Tamil minority.
Shot on location in Colombo, the film explores Tamil protagonist Arjie’s (Arush Nand/Brandon Ingram) sexual awakening from a young boy, deemed “funny” by disapproving family, to a teenager enamoured by a male classmate, just as political tensions escalate between the Sinhalese and Tamils in the years leading up to the 1983 uprisings — violence that led into a 26-year civil war.
The Oscar-nominated “Earth” and “Midnight’s Children” director wrote the screenplay for the film alongside Selvadurai, whose debut 1994 novel is set in Sri Lanka during the 1970s and 1980s and was ground-breaking in its discussion of identity politics against the backdrop of escalating conflict between the island nation’s Sinhalese majority and Tamil minority.
Shot on location in Colombo, the film explores Tamil protagonist Arjie’s (Arush Nand/Brandon Ingram) sexual awakening from a young boy, deemed “funny” by disapproving family, to a teenager enamoured by a male classmate, just as political tensions escalate between the Sinhalese and Tamils in the years leading up to the 1983 uprisings — violence that led into a 26-year civil war.
- 10/15/2020
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
Following the Cannes prize-winning film “Bpm (Beats per Minute),” Playtime and Memento are re-teaming on Jacques Audiard’s “Paris, 13th District” (Les Olympiades) which is currently filming in the French capital.
Audiard, whose credits include the Palme d’Or winning “Dheepan” and Oscar-nominated “A Prophet,” penned the script with two female auteurs, Léa Mysius (“Ava”) and Celine Sciamma, whose latest film “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” won best screenplay at Cannes 2019 and earned a Golden Globe nomination.
Playtime will handle worldwide sales on the movie, while Memento will distribute in France. Both banners previously partnered on Robin Campillo’s “Bpm (Beats per Minute),” which won Cannes’ Grand Jury Prize, six Cesar awards, and went on to have a successful commercial run.
Produced by Audiard and Valérie Schermann through their Paris-based banner Page 114, “Paris, 13th District” is in its second week of shooting in Paris and could be delivered as...
Audiard, whose credits include the Palme d’Or winning “Dheepan” and Oscar-nominated “A Prophet,” penned the script with two female auteurs, Léa Mysius (“Ava”) and Celine Sciamma, whose latest film “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” won best screenplay at Cannes 2019 and earned a Golden Globe nomination.
Playtime will handle worldwide sales on the movie, while Memento will distribute in France. Both banners previously partnered on Robin Campillo’s “Bpm (Beats per Minute),” which won Cannes’ Grand Jury Prize, six Cesar awards, and went on to have a successful commercial run.
Produced by Audiard and Valérie Schermann through their Paris-based banner Page 114, “Paris, 13th District” is in its second week of shooting in Paris and could be delivered as...
- 10/8/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Jacques Audiard, the French director of Palme d’Or winning “Dheepan” and Oscar-nominated “A Prophet,” is currently filming his next feature, “Les Olympiades,” near Paris.
Audiard, who enjoys working with a mix of rising and well-seasoned talents behind and in front of the camera, wrote the script of “Les Olympiades” with two female auteurs, Léa Mysius (“Ava”) and Celine Sciamma, whose latest film “Portrait of a Young Lady on Fire” won best screenplay at Cannes 2019 and earned a Golden Globe nomination.
“Les Olympiades” is based on New Yorker cartoonist Adrian Tomine’s “”Killing and Dying,” a collection of graphic short stories. Although the plot is under wraps, the story is expected to deal with adolescence and revolve around female protagonists.
The movie will mark Audiard’s follow-up to “The Sisters Brothers,” a period crime film starring Joaquin Phoenix, John C. Reilly and Jake Gyllenhaal. “The Sisters Brothers” won Audiard the...
Audiard, who enjoys working with a mix of rising and well-seasoned talents behind and in front of the camera, wrote the script of “Les Olympiades” with two female auteurs, Léa Mysius (“Ava”) and Celine Sciamma, whose latest film “Portrait of a Young Lady on Fire” won best screenplay at Cannes 2019 and earned a Golden Globe nomination.
“Les Olympiades” is based on New Yorker cartoonist Adrian Tomine’s “”Killing and Dying,” a collection of graphic short stories. Although the plot is under wraps, the story is expected to deal with adolescence and revolve around female protagonists.
The movie will mark Audiard’s follow-up to “The Sisters Brothers,” a period crime film starring Joaquin Phoenix, John C. Reilly and Jake Gyllenhaal. “The Sisters Brothers” won Audiard the...
- 9/23/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
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