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VENICE 2014 Competition

Could Benoît Jacquot and François Ozon be in the running for the Golden Lion?

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- The two filmmakers seem to be in pole position to take part in the upcoming competition at Venice with 3 Hearts and The New Girlfriend

Could Benoît Jacquot and François Ozon be in the running for the Golden Lion?
The New Girlfriend by François Ozon

Rumours are rife in Paris about the identity of the French films that may be setting their sights on the Golden Lion at the 71st Venice Film Festival (27 August-6 September 2014), which will see Alexandre Desplat chairing the jury (read the news). According to Cineuropa’s sources, Benoît Jacquot and François Ozon may be in with a very strong chance of getting back into the finest showcase on the Lido, with 3 Hearts and The New Girlfriend, respectively. On the other hand, the race is apparently still very much open for a possible third French title to battle it out in the competition.

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Benoît Jacquot has already taken part in the competition at Venice three times (in 1997 with Seventh Heaven, in 1999 with No Scandal and in 2006 with The Untouchable [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
). He also put up a fight for the Cannes Palme d'Or in 1998 and the Berlinale Golden Bear in 2012 (Farewell My Queen [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Benoît Jacquot
film profile
]
). 3 Hearts (read the article) stars Belgian actor Benoît Poelvoorde, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Chiara Mastroianni and Catherine Deneuve. Produced by Edouard Weil and Alice Girard for Rectangle Productions, the feature was co-produced by Arte France Cinéma, German firm Pandora Film and Belgian outfit Scope Pictures. Distribution in France will be handled by Wild Bunch on 17 September 2014, and international sales are headed by Elle Driver

Twice selected in competition at Venice (in 2004 with 5x2 [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
and in 2010 with Potiche [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
), François Ozon has also been in the running at the Berlinale four times (in 2000, 2002, 2007 and 2009) and twice at Cannes (in 2003 and in 2013 with Young and Beautiful [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: François Ozon
film profile
]
). He also won the TVE Otra Mirada Award at San Sebastian in 2012. Adapted from a short story by Ruth Rendell, his new opus, The New Girlfriend, stars Anaïs Demoustier, Romain Duris, Raphaël Personnaz and Isild Le Besco. Produced by Eric and Nicolas Altmayer for Mandarin Cinéma, and co-produced by FOZ, among others, the feature film will be released in French theatres on 5 November via Mars Distribution and is sold internationally by Films Distribution.

Alberto Barbera, the artistic director of the Venice Film Festival, will unveil his selection at the end of July.

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(Translated from French)

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