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SAN SEBASTIÁN 2006 France

Sensational start for Fougeron

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Following in the footsteps of Claude Chabrol in 1997 and François Dupeyron in 1999, this weekend Martial Fougeron became the third French director to win the Golden Shell for Best Film at the San Sebastian Film Festival thanks to My Son [+see also:
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The title won two awards: Best Debut Feature and Best Actress for Nathalie Baye. "The two awards will help the film, which is hard-hitting but apparently convincing," the director told AFP. "Critics, especially from Spain, were harsh but the audience applauded the film. It reassures me to know that the jury thought like the audience."

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After having directed theatre and dance performances, Fougeron turned to cinema, first spending three years as an assistant to director Aline Issermann. His first work was an acclaimed video feature (Oranges et Pamplemousses), after which he made his first short (Je vois déjà le titre) in 1999, followed by two more shorts (Finie la comédie and Une voix d'homme).

Selected in 2003 for Emergence, the international cinema summer university run by Elisabeth Depardieu, he directed the short Il y a longtemps que je t'aime, voix off, in preparation for his feature-length My Son, made in 2005.

Produced by Frédéric Niedermayer for Moby Dick Films and Pascal Caucheteux for Why Not Productions, My Son carried a €3.22m budget, including €400,000 from France 2 Cinéma (€200,000 in pre-sales, €200,000 in co-production), CNC advances in receipts of €400,000 and pre-sales from Canal+ and TPS.

The title is set for release in early 2007 through Mars Distribution . International sales are being handled by Celluloid Dreams.

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(Translated from French)

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