An annual highlight for French films in Japan, the Yokohama French Film Festival will be opened June 15 by Costa Gavras, President of the 13th edition of the festival, with the presentation of his latest film, "Le Couperet" ("The Ax").

This year's selection includes 18 feature films and a screening of short films (see selection below). Among the feature films to be showcased at the event, six films will be presented by their Japanese distributors, who will release the films in local theaters soon after the festival: "Arsène Lupin," "Banlieue 13" (13th District"), "Clara et moi" ("Clara and I"), "De battre mon cœur s’est arrêté" ("The Beat That My Heart Skipped"), "Genesis" and "Les Poupées russes." Four French films fresh from the Cannes selection will also join the selection this year: "Lemming" by Dominik Moll, "Peindre ou faire l’amour" by Jean-Marie and Arnaud Larrieu, "La Moustache" by Emmanuel Carrère and "La Petite Jérusalem" ("Little Jerusalem") by Karin Albou. And finally, "Peau d’âne" ("Magic Donkey" aka "Donkey Skin") by Jacques Demy will be presented in a special screening for the children of Yokohama.

This year for the first time, the films selected at the festival will be screened twice – in the traditional venue, the Pacifico Yokohama (1,000 seats) and in a commercial theater near the festival's main location.

200 Japanese film buyers and 300 local journalists are expected in Yokohama from June 15 through 19, along with (as has been the case in previous years) around 30 buyers from other Asian countries, who will make the trip to the Japanese city to sound out the latest in French film production and meet with French sales agents.

The French film crews present in Yokohama for the event will meet with Japanese journalists, chat with spectators and several of them will get together with students at universities in the Yokohama region. Along with Hou Hsiao Hsien and Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Costa Gavras will be leading a conference with the theme, "Can We Teach Film at School?"

Two professional meetings will also be held this year: on Friday, June 17, French and Japanese producers will get together to study proposed co-production projects, thus providing a concrete follow-up to the film cooperation agreement signed between France and Japan on May 14 in Cannes; and On Saturday, June 18, Nicolas Seydoux, (President of Gaumont and President of ALPA, the French audiovisual piracy protection association) and Tsuguhiko Kadokawa, (President of the Kadokawa Shoten Group and President of the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan) will chair a seminar on the fight against piracy.

It is worth remembering that Japan is the third biggest international market for French films. French films hold a special place in Japan, representing the second most popular national industry after films from the United States. 49 French productions were released in the country in 2004, and the top 10 box office performers were: "Two Brothers," "Crimson Rivers 2 – Angles of the Apocalypse," "Michel Vaillant," "Swimming Pool," "Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran," "Strange Gardens," "Chaos," "The Man on the Train," "Nathalie..." and "Immortel (Ad Vitam)."


- Click here to see the complete list of shorts and feature films selected

- Click here for the complete delegation present at the 13th Yokohama French Film Festival

- Visit the official website of the 13th Yokohama French Film Festival