18/12/2013 - Diaphana launches the animated film by Grégoire Solotareff and Eric Omond on 256 screens. Also in theatres, Suzanne and The Selfish Giant

As a major asset of the French cinematographic production, diversity appears from a very early age as is beautifully shown with the animated feature Loulou, l'incroyable secret [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by duo Grégoire Solotareff - Eric Omond, distributed today in France by Diaphana on 256 screens. Created in order not to scare younger spectators but still intelligent enough to please older ones, the film takes advantage of very beautiful graphics to narrate the mishaps of Loulou the wolf and his friend, Tom the rabbit, who are travelling to find the former’s mother, while he had always thought he was an orphan. A quest into the secret of birth undertaken by two young “teenagers” which is not without dangers...

Created by Grégoire Solotareff in 1984, Loulou’s character had successfully conquered the screens a first time in 2003 with Loulou, a film made up of four shorts, which attracted 600,000 spectators in France and was distributed in 17 countries. Solotareff, who masterfully followed up in 2006 with U [+see also:
trailer
film profile], was once more loyal to his producers Valérie Schermann and Christophe Jankovic (Prima Linea). Loulou, l'incroyable secret was coproduced by France 3 Cinéma and Belgium (Belvision and the RTBF), pre-purchased by Canal+ and Ciné+, backed notably by Cofanim - Back Up Films, Casa Kafka Pictures, Go West, the Poitou-Charentes region, the Charente department, the CNC and Wallimage. International sales are handled by Films Distribution and there is a possibility that the feature might make a stop at the 64^th Berlinale (from February 6 to 16, 2014), probably in the Generation section.

Two excellent films discovered in Cannes are also being released today: Suzanne [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Katell Quillévéré
film profile]by French director Katell Quillévéré which had opened the Critics’ Week (Mars Distribution on 145 screens approximately) and The Selfish Giant [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Clio Barnard
interview: Clio Barnard
film profile] by British filmmaker Clio Barnard (Label Europa Cinemas at the Directors’ Fortnight - Pyramide Distribution on 82 screens).

Other French productions are also worth mentioning: the family film Belle & Sébastien [+see also:
trailer
making of
film profile] by Nicolas Vanier (read the article - Gaumont on 660 screens), the comedy 16 ans... ou presque [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Tristan Séguéla (with Laurent Lafitte as a man in his thirties going back to adolescence - UGC Distribution on 361 screens), the remake Angélique [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Ariel Zeitoun (EuropaCorp Distribution) and Nesma [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Homeida Behi (Zelig Films Distribution).

As for non-national European films, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by English director Justin Chadwick stands out with his compatriot Idris Elba in the lead (Pathé on 198 screens), the Portuguese majority production The Battle of Tabatô [+see also:
trailer
film profile]by Joao Viana (distribution Capricci Films), The Food Guide To Love by duo Teresa Pelegri - Dominic Harari (a co-production between Spain, the UK and France, distributed by Haut et Court) and the documentary Week-end of a Champion [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Frank Simon (Pathé).

(Translated from French)