15/03/2006

Among the 12 newcomers to French cinemas today – five of which are French films and one a Swiss documentary – is Philippe Le Guay’s comedy One Fine Day [+see also:
trailer
film profile], which is being distributed on 272 screens by Mars Distribution.

With a cast that includes Constance Dollé and Anne Consigny, the film’s star, however, is Belgian actor Benoît Poelvoorde, who has become a great asset for French films with two consecutive nominations for the Best Actor Cesar (Podium and In His Hands [+see also:
trailer
film profile]). The actor has two films in post-production (Charlie Says by Nicole Garcia and Benoît Mariage’s Cowboy) and is currently shooting Asterix at the Olympic Games.

In One Fine Day, Benoît Poelvoorde plays a man who becomes an overnight success (which doesn’t bring him happiness), in a film laced with the subtle, acerbic humour of Le Guay, whose last feature The Cost of Living was a big theatrical success in 2003. Produced by Les Films de la Suane, with an €8.75m budget, One Fine Day benefited notably from a co-production agreement with Belgian company K2 and an investment from TF1 Films Production (of €1.9m), with Studio Canal handling international sales.

Other releases include Christian Volckman’s highly original, futuristic animated feature Renaissance [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Aton Soumache
interview: Christian Volckman
film profile] (see Focus), launched on 90 screens by Pathé Distribution (FR), and the comedy Try Me [+see also:
trailer
film profile], directed by and starring Pierre-François Martin-Laval, with Julie Depardieu, which is being released on 160 screens by ARP Sélection.

Two more French productions complete the day’s line-up: El cantor [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Joseph Morder (15 prints, Shellac) and When Angels Interfere by Crystel Amsalem (Zelig Films Distribution).

Lastly, the Swiss documentary L'accord, un plan de paix né à Genève (lit "The Agreement: A Peace Plan Born in Geneva") by Nicolas Wadimoff and Béatrice Guelpa is being released in two theatres by Solaris Distribution.

(Translated from French)