19/04/2016 - The majority French production Diamond Island is also in competition with four minority productions; In Bed with Victoria will open the Week

Standing out among the seven features in competition in the 55th Critics’ Week (12-20 May, as part of the 69th Cannes Film Festival) is Raw [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Julia Ducournau
film profile] by Julia Ducournau, a Franco-Belgian co-production that swings between comedy, drama and horror, and boasts a cast including Garance Marillier, Ella Rumpf, Joana Preiss, Rabah Naït Oufella, Laurent Lucas, Bouli Lanners and Marion Vernoux. Written by the director, the story revolves around a 16-year-old woman who strays dramatically from her family’s vegetarian principles when she eats meat from her very first day at vet school, an act that subsequently reveals her true nature.... Produced by Jean des Forêts for Petit Film, Raw had a budget of €3.48 million, including co-productions by Rouge International and Belgian outfit Frakas Productions, pre-purchases by Canal+, Ciné+, the RTBF and VooTV, an advance on receipts from the CNC, the Belgian tax shelter via Casa Kafka, and backing from Ezekiel Film Productions, Wallimage-Bruxellimage, the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, Arte/Cofinova, the TorinoFilmLab, the Media programme and Ciclic. French distribution will be handled by Wild Bunch, which is also in charge of the international sales.

Another majority French production will be in the running for the 2016 Critics’ Week Grand Prix: Diamond Island [+see also:
film review
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film profile] by Franco-Cambodian director Davy Chou. For his fiction feature debut, the filmmaker who rose to fame with the documentary Le Sommeil d'Or [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (Berlinale Forum in 2012) has written a screenplay that recounts the misfortunes of Bora, who leaves his home village to go and work on the building sites on Diamond Island, an ultra-modern island that is under construction. There, he meets up with his charismatic and mysterious big brother, who introduces him to the exciting world of the country’s young upper classes... Produced by Charlotte Vincent for Aurora Films, Diamond Island was co-produced by Arte France Cinéma and Vicky Films, Cambodia’s Anti-Archive and German outfit Vanderstatic, with backing from the Franco-German co-production mini-treaty, contributions from the CNC’s world cinema support, the Asian Cinema Fund, the Lower Normandy region and the Hubert Bals Fund. Distribution in France and international sales will be handled by Les Films du Losange.

Also of note in competition are four minority French co-productions: Albüm [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mehmet Can Mertoglu
film profile] by Turkish director Mehmet Can Mertoglu (co-produced by France with Turkey and Romania, via ASAP Films and Arte France Cinéma, and with backing from Eurimages; distributed in France by Le Pacte and international sales managed by The Match Factory), Tramontane [+see also:
film review
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film profile] by Lebanon’s Vatche Boulghourjian (co-produced by Le Bureau - Le Petit Bureau, which is also in charge of the international sales), Mimosas [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Oliver Laxe
film profile] by Spanish director Oliver Laxe (co-produced by Rouge International) and A Yellow Bird [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Singaporean director K. Rajagopal (co-produced by Acrobate Films; international sales: Alpha Violet).

Out of competition, France will be represented by the opening film, In Bed with Victoria [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Justine Triet
film profile] by Justine Triet. Having risen to fame with her feature debut, Act of Panic [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], the director has now assembled a cast including Belgium’s Virginie Efira, Vincent Lacoste, Melvil Poupaud and Laurent Poitrenaux and tells a story revolving around a criminal lawyer and single mother who is striving to strike a complicated balance between her professional life and her love life. Produced by Emmanuel Chaumet for Ecce Films, In Bed with Victoria benefited from a budget of €3.99 million, including a co-production by France 2 Cinéma, an advance on receipts from the CNC, and pre-purchases by Canal+ and Ciné+. The French distribution will be entrusted to Le Pacte, while the international sales are being managed by Indie Sales. 

Another Ecce Films production will be shown as a special screening: Apnée [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Jean-Christophe Meurisse. Produced on a budget of €820,000, including a pre-purchase by Ciné+, this feature debut is a nonconformist comedy led by the troupe of the Les Chiens de Navarre theatre company. Starring Céline Fuhrer, Thomas Scimeca, Maxence Tual and Thomas de Pourquery, the film, which was penned by the director, follows Céline, Thomas and Maxence, who have all decided to get married to one another. This will turn out to be an enormous civil and religious endeavour for our lost and rebellious heroes who find themselves forced to conform, and who travel the length and breadth of the country in search of their dream... French distribution will be handled by Shellac.

Interestingly, Shellac also co-produced and will take care of the French distribution for another film selected as a special screening: Happy Times Will Come Soon [+see also:
film review
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film profile] by Italy’s Alessandro Comodin (who shot to fame with Summer of Giacomo [+see also:
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film profile]).

(Translated from French)