The 5th Moscow French Film Festival (December 2-5, 2004) will open with “A Very Long Engagement.”
Unifrance and the French Ambassador in Russia are hosting the 5th Moscow French Film Festival from December 2 through 5 this year.
French films have been making their mark in Russia for some years now, with close to 100 French titles currently acquired in the territory each year, whereas prior to 2000, very few distributors showed an interest in French films.
French films attracted 3.17 million Russian spectators in 2003 (against 2.46 million in 2001 and 2.69 million in 2002).
2004 bears witness to the healthy position of French films in Russia: from January 1st to November 30, 2004, 33 new French titles (including 25 French-language productions) hit movie screens. “Double Zéro” by Gérard Pirès, released by Luxor Entertainment, broke release records with 230 prints in circulation, the highest number of prints for a French film released in this territory for 15 years.
In order to accompany this new dynamic and to support the work of Russian distributors, this year’s French Film Festival will present a selection of nine titles that have already been acquired but which have not as yet been released in Russia. Their distributors will take advantage of the presence of French artistic crews to prepare the ground for their films’ commercial release. The nine films are slated for release in the upcoming months following the festival, thus benefiting from the media attention attracted by the event. “A Very Long Engagement,” presented as festival opener and screened in Moscow’s most prestigious theater, the Pouchkinski Theater, will be released December 2 in over 70 theaters in the country.
He eight other films will be screened in the legendary theater at the Central Writers’ Club.
The selection and the artistic delegation present at the 5th Moscow French Film Festival:
As is the case each year, this selection was put together by Russian distributors themselves, with the aim of utilizing the event as a launch-pad prior to the commercial release of films presented.
- A Very Long Engagement in the presence of the director, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, and cast members, Gaspard Ulliel and Dominique Pinon. Distributed by Caro Premier (opening film), and exported by Warner Bros.
- À boire in the presence of the director, Marion Vernoux, and actor Atmen Kelif. Distributed by Partner Video Film and exported by Films Distribution.
- À ton image in the presence of the director, Aruna Villiers, and actor Christophe Lambert. Distributed by CinemaVision/DVD Group and exported by EuropaCorp.
- 5 x 2 by François Ozon, in the presence of its leading actress, Valéria Bruni-Tedeschi. Distributed by Intercinema-Art and exported by Celluloid Dreams.
- Like an Image by Agnès Jaoui, in the presence of actors Marilou Berry and Laurent Grevill. Distributed byWest Video and exported by StudioCanal.
- Genesis in the presence of the directors, Claude Nuridsany and Marie Perennou. Distributed by Soyouz-Video (Ciné-Image) and exported by StudioCanal.
- L’ Incruste in the presence of the directors, Alexandre Castagnetti and Corentin Julius, and actors Agnès Soral and Frédéric Diefenthal. Distributed by Luxor Entertainment and exported by Roissy Films.
- Sansa in the presence of the director, Siegfried, and lead actor, Roschdy Zem. Distributed by Kino Biez Granitz and exported by Films Distribution.
- San-Antonio in the presence of its director, Frédéric Auburtin. Distributed by Central Partnership (closing film) and exported by Pathé Distribution (international sales).
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