40 films, including 20 feature films released in France in the past 12 months and 20 new short films make up the program for the 11th City of Lights, City of Angels (COL COA) festival, an annual showcase of French films in Hollywood, to be held from April 16 through 22, 2007, at the Directors Guild of America (DGA).
All the feature films presented are programmed for the first time in public in Los Angeles, and titles include US and North American premieres. One quarter of the selection is composed of films already acquired in the United States, with their American distributors taking advantage of the event to promote their upcoming release and organize meetings with the press.
Picturehouse will present the opening film, La Vie en Rose by Olivier Dahan, one month after the film’s inclusion in the Rendezvous with French Cinema in New York and in the lead-up to its release on June 8. Priceless by Pierre Salvadori, recently acquired by Samuel Goldwyn, will be screened for the first time in the United States. Paris, je t’aime will be presented prior to its release in May, in association with First Look Pictures. COL COA will also be supporting the distributor International Film Circuit for the promotion of The Right of the Weakest by Lucas Belvaux and Flanders by Bruno Dumont, which is slated for release in the USA on June 8.
With an audience composed of 80% American movie professionals, there will be ample opportunities to appreciate the diversity and vitality of current French filmmaking. Other films featured at the event are: Hunting and Gathering by Claude Berri; The Colonel by Laurent Herbiet; Tell No One by Guillaume Canet; On Fire Claire Simon; Change of Address by Emmanuel Mouret; Could This Be Love? by Pierre Jolivet; Bad Faith by Roschdy Zem; Counter Investigation by Frank Mancuso; Fair Play by Lionel Bailliu; The Singer by Xavier Giannoli; The Snake by Eric Barbier; Twice Upon A Time by Antoine de Caunes; Family Hero by Thierry Klifa; Michou d’Auber by Thomas Gilou, and The General Store by Chantal Briet. For the third year running, an Audience Choice Award will be presented at the close of the event.
As is the case each year, the feature films presented will be accompanied by a selection of short films: Water Closed, Judas, The Professionals, Regards libres, Coup de foudre, Big Family, Cut!, Dérives, Gratte papier, Infrarouge, Décroche!, Même les pigeons vont au paradis, Ming d'or, Nyaman' gouacou, Quelques instants avec vous, Qui sommes-nous?, La porte, A l'ombre du voile, Absence, and Kaléïdoskop.
As a sign of industry interest in the festival Variety Magazine has joined forces with the event in presenting a series of panel discussions ( “The Happy Hour Talks”), as a sidebar to screenings. Two of these discussions will be devoted to the distribution of foreign films in the United States, with the participation of companies including Netflix, Strand Releasing, Picturehouse, First Look Studio, and Laemmle Theaters.
The artistic delegation will include Marion Cotillard, Chantal Briet, Olivier Assayas, Guillaume Canet, Antoine de Caunes, Wes Craven, Olivier Dahan, Bruno Dumont, Thomas Gilou, Simon Michael, and Pierre Salvadori.
COL COA is produced by the Franco-American Cultural Fund, a unique collaborative effort between the Directors Guild of America, the Motion Picture Association of America, the Writers Guild of America, West, and France’s Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music (SACEM). COL COA is also strongly supported by the Association of French Directors/Producers (ARP), the Los Angeles Film and TV Office of the French Embassy and Unifrance.
For further information: www.colcoa.org
CONTACTS:
In Paris: Alejandra Norembuena Skira – Franco-American Cultural Fund
alejandra.norambuena.skira@SACEM.fr
In Los Angeles: François Truffart, director and programmer
francois.truffart@colcoa.org
