Unifrance and Hennessy are to host the 11th "French Cinema Today" Festival in Russia. The event will be held in Novossibirsk from November 11-14 and in Krasnoyarsk from November 15-17, 2010.
The festival selection was put together by Russian distributors, who will present their latest French film acquisitions to Russian audiences. Films will be presented in premiere screenings in the two cities selected to host the festival this year. This event has met with consistent success in all of the Russian cities in which it has been held.
A French delegation will be led by Unifrance President Antoine de Clermont-Tonnerre and this year's festival patron Carole Bouquet, who graciously offers her support to French cinema in this region.
To complement the selection of nine feature films, the director Nathan Miller has also chosen two recent films, which he will present to audiences.
The festival line-up also includes four French short film programs.
After two exceptionally successful years in 2007 and 2008, in which attendance to French films in Russia reached heights not registered since Perestroika (reaching close to 7 million admissions), 2009 suffered a sharp decline. This was partly due to the economic recession, which led distributors to scale down their advertising budgets, but also to the absence of major popular titles in the likes of past hits Taxi 4 and
Nonetheless, 2010 clearly marks an upturn, with the total number of spectators estimated to be higher than last year. Furthermore, the wide variety of Russian distributors who have acquired French titles this year (17 distributors) ensures a range of genres offered to audiences, with the overall number of French films released commercially in Russia in 2010 reaching 50 titles, a red-letter occasion for French films in this territory!
Distributors' selection
- Arthur and the War of the Two Worlds by Luc Besson, presented as festival opener, national premiere (distributor: Central Partnership)
- Gigola by Laure Charpentier, national premiere (distributor: CP Digital/Premium)
- The Last Flight by Karim Dridi, national premiere (distributor: RWS)
- The Pimp by Pascal Bourdiaux, national release (distributor: Luxor Entertainment)
- Film socialisme by Jean-Luc Godard, regional premiere (distributor: CP Digital/Premium)
- Regrets by Cédric Kahn, regional premiere (distributor: Russian Report)
- The Villain by Albert Dupontel, regional premiere (distributor: Russian Report)
- I'm Glad that My Mother Is Alive by Claude and Nathan Miller, regional premiere (distributor: Ruscico)
- Lourdes by Jessica Haussner, regional premiere (distributor: LeopArt)
Nathan Miller's selection
- Queen to Play by Caroline Bottaro
- Une exécution ordinaire by Marc Dugain
Artistic delegation
- Nathan Miller and Christine Citti for I'm Glad that My Mother Is Alive
- Cédric Kahn for Regrets
- Pascal Bourdiaux for The Pimp
- Laure Charpentier and Denise Petitdidier (producer) for Gigola
- Caroline Bottaro for Queen to Play
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