Europe in French cinemas

03/12/2003

Eight European films are being released today in French cinemas and will contend for audiences withe three American films and one Japanese one. This is pretty good odds for a time of year that producers really count on. Among the new arrivals in showcase: the British blockbuster Love actually [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Richard Curtis, the original Reconstruction by the Dane, Christoffer Boe, winner of the Caméra d’Or at the last Cannes festival, as well as two eagerly awaited French films like Pas sur la bouche by Alain Resnais, and the full-length animation La prophétie des grenouilles by Jacques-Rémy Girerd. All in all they total almost 900 copies, which demonstrates the diversity now availabile in European cinematographic production.

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Already a box office hit, Love actually [+see also:
trailer
film profile] features a star-studded cast with Hugh Grant, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, and Emma Thompson and counts a 350 copies distributed by Mars Distribution. This is a guaranteed success produced by Working Title and has also gained footing thanks to ample media coverage.
The more modest full-length Danish creation byNordisk FilmNordisk Film, Reconstruction and directed by Christoffer Boe. Just 19 copies have been distributed by Equation, but is has already sparked a lively debate among French critics.

Another European in the running is the French-British co-production Merci…Dr Rey! by Andrew Litvak and starring Jane Birkin and Stanislas Mehrar. Produced by Merchant Ivory Productions France in collaboration with EatYourSoup Productions, ten copies of the film have been distributed by Pan Européenne. In observance of the International Day of Disabled Persons, there is also the full-length Swiss opus Amour secret by Christoph Schaub (produced by T&C Film), with the hearing disabled Emanuelle Laborit among the actors. This film will be distributed by Est-Ouest Distribution.
Finally, the release of the French-Italian co-production Les semeurs de peste by Christian Merlhiot and of Jacques-Rémy Girerd’s film (La prophétie des grenouilles), produced by Folimages and co-produced by Studio Canal StudioCanal, France 2 Cinéma and Rhône-Alpes Cinéma and distributed by Bac Films su 250 copie.