24/10/2008

The explosive and entertaining Cannes prize-winner Il divo [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nicola Giuliano
interview: Paolo Sorrentino
interview: Philippe Desandre
film profile] (“The Deity”) by Italian director Paolo Sorrentino (to be launched in theatres by Studio Canal on December 31) will this evening open the 30th Montpellier Mediterranean Film Festival (October 24-November 2). The event will showcase a broad panorama of recent productions from countries that are often under-represented in French movie theatres.

Eleven features will screen in competition. These include Italian director Gianni di Gregorio’s Pranzo di ferragosto [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (“August Bank Holiday Lunch”, to be released by Le Pacte on March 18, 2009), which was selected at Venice; Karin Albou’s French/Tunisian co-production Le Chant des mariées [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (“The Brides’ Song”, Pyramide - December 17); Romanian director Nicolae Margineanu’s Change; Irene Cardona’s Spanish/Moroccan film Un fiancé pour Yasmina [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (“A Boyfriend for Yasmina”); Dalibor Matanic’s Croatian/Bosnian-Herzegovinian title Kino Lika [+see also:
trailer
film profile]; Goran Markovic’s Serbian/Bosnian co-production The Tour; and Cannes award-winner Three Monkeys [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Zeynep Ozbatur
film profile] by Turkey’s Nuri Bilge Ceylan.

The impressive line-up of avant-premieres includes Manoel de Oliveira’s Magic Mirror (to be released by Les Films du Paradoxe on January 7, 2009); and three French titles: Jean-François Richet’s Public Enemy Number One (Part 2) [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (Pathé - November 19); Pascal Laëthier’s La Différence, c'est que c'est pas pareil [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (“The Difference Is that It’s Not the Same”; and French/Italian co-production 8th Wonderland [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Jean Mach and Nicolas Alberny (Help Distribution - February 25, 2009).

There will also be a selection of features fresh from Cannes, including Spanish director Albert Serra’s Birdsong, French/Lebanese co-production I Want to See [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige (Shellac Distribution - December 3), Portuguese director Miguel Gomes’ Our Beloved Month of August [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and Boogie [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dragos Vîlcu
interview: Radu Muntean
film profile] by Romania’s Radu Muntean.

Spanish films will take pride of place in the Panorama section, with six titles: Ventura Pons’ Barcelona, A Map, Belén Macías’ My Prison Yard [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], Orlando Bosch’s Retratando, Max Lemcke’s Casual Day, Under the Snow by Candela Figueira and Maitena Muruzabal and Xavier Bermúdez’s Raphael.

Greece will be represented by Thanos Anastopoulos’ Correction, Slovenia by Damjan Kozole’s Forever [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Portugal by Bruno de Almeida’s The Lovebirds and Croatia by Goran Kulenovic’s Play Me a Love Song.

The festival will present three Italian titles: Claudio Cupellini’s Lezioni di cioccolato [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (“Chocolate Lessons”), Mirko Locatelli’s Il primo giorno d'inverno (“The First Day of Winter”) and Federico Bondi’s Mar nero [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (“Black Sea”, co-produced with Romania and France).

Also screening is Hüseyin Karabey’s Turkish/Dutch/UK co-production My Marlon and Brando.

The Montpellier festival also hosts sections devoted to documentaries, shorts and experimental films. The event will this year pay tribute to Italian brothers Paolo and Vittorio Taviani (15 films will be shown), French filmmaker Philippe Faucon (11 features will be presented) and Spain’s Jaime Camino.

(Translated from French)