08/10/2021 - The 22nd edition of the event will unspool between 5 and 14 November, with over 100 films on the agenda and a myriad of artists in attendance

After a 2020 edition which was cancelled on account of the pandemic and re-arranged into a pared down version for the juries’ eyes only in Paris (news), the team behind the Arras Film Festival, steered by Nadia Paschetto and Éric Miot, will soon be reunited with their loyal and extensive public (having drawn in upwards of 50,000 viewers in 2019) on the occasion of a 22nd edition scheduled to unfold between 5 and 14 November. This year’s guests of honour will be Fanny Ardant (set to deliver a film masterclass, as well as toplining Carine Tardieu’s The Young Lovers [+see also:
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film profile]) and Claude Lelouch (whose new opus Love Is Better Than Life is slated to close the festival) in an event which will also welcome the likes of Audrey Diwan, Arnaud Desplechin, Roschdy Zem, Laure Calamy, Mélanie Thierry, Sandrine Kiberlain, Emmanuelle Bercot, François Cluzet, Laurent Cantet, Nicole Garcia, Grégory Gadebois, etc.

Nine feature films yet to be seen in France will be fighting for the 2021 Golden Atlas: the Dutch-Belgian co-production Becoming Mona [+see also:
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interview: Sabine Lubbe Bakker and Nie…
film profile] by Sabine Lubbe Bakker and Niels van Koevorden (which scooped the Best Direction Golden Calf in 2021), The Fam [+see also:
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interview: Fred Baillif
film profile] by Swiss director Fred Baillif (which nabbed the Generation 14Plus Grand Prize in Berlin), Erna at War [+see also:
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interview: Henrik Ruben Genz
film profile] by Denmark’s Henrik Ruben Genz (which won its protagonist the Best Actor accolade in Tallin), four films unveiled in Venice (Leave No Traces [+see also:
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interview: Jan P Matuszyński
film profile] by Poland’s Jan P. Matuszynski, which screened in competition, Vera Dreams of the Sea [+see also:
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interview: Kaltrina Krasniqi
film profile] by Kosovar director Kaltrina Krasniqi and Miracle [+see also:
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interview: Bogdan George Apetri
film profile] by Romania’s Bogdan George Apetri, which graced the Orizzonti line-up, and The Blind Man Who Did Not Want To See Titanic [+see also:
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interview: Teemu Nikki and Jani Pösö
interview: Teemu Nikki, Jani Pösö an…
film profile] by Finland’s Teemu Nikki, which walked away with the Orizzonti Extra Audience Award) and two titles discovered in San Sebastián’s New Directors section: Inventory [+see also:
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interview: Darko Sinko
film profile] by Slovenia’s Darko Sinko and Kadir (Between Two Dawns) [+see also:
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interview: Selman Nacar
film profile] by Turkish director Selman Nacar.

Screening within the Eastern selection are three films unveiled in Cannes (the mind-blowing Evolution [+see also:
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interview: Kornél Mundruczó and Kata W…
film profile] by Hungary’s Kornel Mundruczo, competitor Petrov’s Flu [+see also:
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film profile] by Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov and the Swiss-French production Olga [+see also:
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interview: Elie Grappe
film profile] by Elie Grappe), alongside In the Dusk [+see also:
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interview: Sharunas Bartas
film profile] by Lithuania’s Sharunas Bartas and three Ukrainian feature films: My Thoughts Are Silent [+see also:
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film profile] by Antonio Lukich (awarded the Special Jury Prize within Karlovy Vary’s East of the West line-up), Blindfold by Taras Dron and The Forgotten by Daria Onyshchenko. Added to these works are six films hailing from last year’s competition which will be screened in the presence of their directors, battling it out for an audience award: Spiral [+see also:
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film profile] by Hungary’s Cecilia Felméri, Rounds [+see also:
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interview: Stephan Komandarev
film profile] by Bulgarian director Stefan Komandarev, Tereza37 [+see also:
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film profile] by Croatia’s Danilo Serbedzija, Shadow Country [+see also:
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film profile] by Czech filmmaker Bohdan Slama, I Never Cry [+see also:
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interview: Piotr Domalewski
film profile] by Poland’s Piotr Domalewski and The Campaign [+see also:
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interview: Marian Crişan
film profile] by Romania’s Marian Crisan.

Stealing focus in the European Discoveries category are Ali & Ava [+see also:
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film profile] by English helmer Clio Barnard, Adventures of a Mathematician [+see also:
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film profile] by Germany’s Thorsten Klein, Nobody Has To Know [+see also:
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interview: Bouli Lanners
film profile] by Belgium’s Bouli Lanners, the documentary For a Fistful of Fries [+see also:
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interview: Jean Libon and Yves Hinant
film profile] by his compatriots Jean Libon and Yves Hinant, Luzzu [+see also:
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interview: Alex Camilleri
film profile] by Maltese director Alex Camilleri, Besties [+see also:
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film profile] by France’s Marion Desseigne Ravel, The Castle [+see also:
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film profile] by Lithuanian filmmaker Lina Luzyte, Apples [+see also:
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interview: Christos Nikou
film profile] by Greece’s Christos Nikou, The Racer [+see also:
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interview: Kieron J Walsh
film profile] by British director Kieron J. Walsh, three titles from Cannes (Small Body [+see also:
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interview: Laura Samani
film profile] by Italy’s Laura Samani, La Traviata, My Brothers and I [+see also:
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film profile] by French filmmaker Yohan Manca and Mi iubita mon amour [+see also:
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film profile] by his compatriot Noémie Merlant), My Heart Goes Boom [+see also:
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interview: Nacho Álvarez
film profile] by Spain’s Nacho Alvarez, The Best Years [+see also:
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film profile] by Italy’s Gabriele Muccino and Nowhere Special [+see also:
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interview: Uberto Pasolini
film profile] by fellow Italian Uberto Pasolini.

Finally, among the 100-plus films gracing the programme (of which 80 are brand-new), stand-out movies will include those gracing the World Cinema section, multiple French premières (including that of Clovis Cornillac’s C’est magnifique [+see also:
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film profile] in the festival’s opening slot), Golden Lion winner Happening [+see also:
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interview: Anamaria Vartolomei
film profile] by Audrey Diwan, Undercover [+see also:
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interview: Thierry de Peretti
film profile] by Thierry de Peretti, The Kitchen Brigade [+see also:
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film profile] by Louis-Julien Petit, Arthur Rambo [+see also:
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interview: Laurent Cantet
film profile] by Laurent Cantet, La vraie famille [+see also:
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film profile] by Fabien Gorgeart, Lifelines [+see also:
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film profile] by Fabienne Godet, Her Way [+see also:
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film profile] by Cécile Ducrocq and Cyril Dion’s documentary Animal [+see also:
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film profile], to name just a few films screening in this highly abundant showcase.

Also worth a mention are the professional Rencontres du Nord meetings (running 9 – 11 November) and the pitching sessions linked to Arras Days’ Development Grant, scheduled for 13 and 14 November.

(Translated from French)