Los Angeles: 2005 City of Lights, City of Angels

24 MARCH 2005

17 feature films and as many short films make up the program of the 9th City of Lights, City of Angels (Col-Coa) festival, an annual celebration of French cinema in Los Angeles, to be held at the Directors' Guild Theater from April 11 through 17.

"Le Couperet" ("The Ax"), "Holy Lola," "Vénus & Fleur," "L'Equipier" ("The Light"), "Mensonges et trahisons et plus si affinité..." ("The Story of My Life"), "10e Chambre instants d'audiences" ("10th District Court"), "La première fois que j’ai eu 20 ans" ("The First Time I was Twenty"), "Men and Women," "Victoire," "Aaltra," "Atomik Circus," "36 Quai des Orfèvres" ("36"), "Arsène Lupin," "Chok-Dee," "Le Dernier Trappeur" ("The Last Trapper"), "Les Sœurs fâchées" ("Me and My Sister") and "Je préfère qu’on reste amis" ("Just Friends"), as well as 17 short films will offer a taste of the vitality and diversity of current French filmmaking to the Hollywood movie industry (including directors, screenwriters, distributors, exhibitors, producers and agents).

This rich tapestry of productions is highlighted by a program including 35% first films, as well as a selection of new short films, all eagerly awaited by industry professionals. This year's event will throw the spotlight on new comedies, with a special evening devoted to black humor. A new focus will also be placed on documentary films, and audiences will be invited to select a film to be re-screened at the close of the week-long event, as part of the newly created Audience Choice Award.

All of the films presented are to be screened for the first time to the Los Angeles public, and eight titles are United States premieres. The week will open with a world premiere of the latest film by Claude Lelouch, "Men and Women" ("Le Courage d’aimer"), which groups together the first two parts of the director's trilogy devoted to the human race.

An artistic delegation will accompany the films presented, and includes Costa Gavras, Bertrand Tavernier, Claude Lelouch, Philippe Lioret, Jean-Paul Salomé, Lorraine Lévy, Dida Diafat and Laurent Tirard. Film screenings will be followed by discussions with American filmmakers and screenwriters, including Taylor Hackford ("Ray").

Close to 7,000 movie enthusiasts turned out at the Col-Coa festival in 2004. In 2005, 8,000 people are expected to attend the event, for the most part members of the Hollywood movie industry.

Col-Coa is sponsored by the Franco-American Cultural Fund, whose partners in France include the SACEM (France’s Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music), and American partners include the Directors' Guild of America (DGA), the Writers' Guild of America (WGA West) and the Motion Picture Association (MPA). The event benefits from support from L’ARP (France’s Association of Authors, Directors and Producers), Unifrance and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (the French Consulate in Los Angeles' Film Office).

The complete program is available at: www.colcoa.com