French films are in the spotlight at this year's San Sebastian International Film Festival (Spain), with, in particular, 6 films featuring in the event's competitive sections.
- 11 French productions presented at the festival
- 30 French movie industry professionals and artists present at the event
The 11 French productions selected are:
- In the Official Competition: "The Story of Marie and Julien" by Jacques Rivette and "Dans le rouge du couchant" by Edgardo Cozarinsky.
- In the Zabaltegui Section: "Eager Bodies" by Xavier Giannoli, "L’Autre" by Benoît Mariage and "Travail d'arabe" by Christian Philibert.
- In the Zabaltegui Specials Section: "Un Rêve algérien" by Jean-Pierre Lledo.
- In the Pearls from Other Festivals Section (Out of Competition): "The Flower of Evil" by Claude Chabrol, "His Brother" by Patrice Chéreau and "Swimming Pool" by François Ozon.
- In the Between Friends and Neighbors Section: "A Thousand Months" by Faouzi Bensaidi and "Le Soleil assassiné" by Abdelkrim Bahloul.
The following artists have confirmed their attendance at the festival:
Directors: Abdelkrim Bahloul ("Le Soleil assassiné"), Faouzi Bensaidi ("A Thousand Months"), Claude Chabrol ("The Flower of Evil"), Patrice Chéreau ("His Brother"), Edgardo Cozarinsy ("Dans le rouge du couchant"), Xavier Giannoli ("Eager Bodies"), Jean-Pierre Lledo ("Un Rêve algérien"), Benoît Mariage ("L’Autre"), Christian Philibert ("Travail d’arabe), François Ozon ("Swimming Pool"), Jacques Rivette ("The Story of Marie and Julien").
Actors: Feodore Atkine ("Dans le rouge du couchant"), Emmanuelle Béart ("The Story of Marie and Julien"), Eric Caravaca ("His Brother"), Marie Denarnaud ("Eager Bodies"), Mélanie Doutey ("The Flower of Evil"), Philippe Grand’Henry ("L’Autre"), Laurent Khunen ("L’Autre"), Marisa Paredes ("Dans le rouge du couchant"), Mohamed Metina ("Travail d’arabe"), Jerzy Radziwilowicz ("The Story of Marie and Julien"), Nehza Rahil ("A Thousand Months"), Bruno Todeschini ("His Brother").
Unifrance is handling international media relations for French films selected at the festival which have not as yet found a distributor in Spain.* The association is also hosting a lunch, bringing together French artists and Spanish media representatives
* "The Story of Marie and Julien" by Jacques Rivette, "Eager Bodies" by Xavier Giannoli, "L’Autre" by Benoît Mariage, "Travail d’arabe" by Christian Philibert, "Un rêve algérien" by Jean-Pierre Lledo, "A Thousand Months" by Faouzi Bensaidi and "Le Soleil assassiné" by Abdelkrim Bahloul.
Additionally, Unifrance and French sales agents are presenting, for the first time this year, a screening of a program of promo reels of new French films, aimed at Spanish theatrical and television buyers as well as exhibitors present at the festival.
Contact:
Magali Montet (+33 6 71 63 36 16)
Alejandro Muñoz (+34 66 04 46 334)
magali.montet@unifrance.org
FRENCH FILMS IN SPAIN
Spain represents one of the five biggest foreign markets for French films.
In 2002, 54 French productions attracted over 5.5 million spectators in Spain, results on a par with the previous year. Not including the end of "Amelie"'s run (400,000 admissions in 2002), 7 French-language films crossed the 100,000 admissions mark: "Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra" (1.56 million admissions), "Vidocq" (587,000), "Belphegor" (461,000), "Euro Pudding" (230,000), "8 Women" (220,000), "Tanguy" (200,000) and "The Travelling Birds" ("Winged Migration") (120,000). As regards French films shot in other languages, "The Pianist" claims the number 1 spot with 530,000 admissions during the year. The film has continued its run into 2003 and looks set to top 1.5 million admissions). "No Man’s Land" and "Intimacy" are next in line, with 138,000 and 102,000 admissions respectively.
In 2003, 40 French productions have been showing in theaters since the beginning of the year (including 9 titles released in 2002). French films have amassed close to 3 million admissions this year, including over 1.1 million for French-language films and 1.8 million for foreign-language productions. "The Pianist" has totaled more than 1.1 million admissions in 2003, followed by "The Transporter" (427,000 admissions), "Taxi 3" (215,000), "Amen" (176,000) and "See How They Run" (143,000 admissions, and still showing in theaters).
These fine figures nonetheless run counter to the currently precarious situation experienced by independent Spanish distributors who, for the past two years have been grappling with an unprecedented crisis in the television market. These distributors are therefore struggling to keep up the circulation of European films (particularly French films) in Spanish theaters.
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