The Fondation Gan pour le Cinéma (Gan Film Foundation) who have been supporting first and second feature film projects for over 30 years, have unveiled their list of selected works for 2021. Shining bright among them is No Love Lost [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Erwan Le Duc
scheda film], which will be Erwan Le Duc’s second feature film after The Bare Necessity [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Erwan Le Duc
scheda film] (discovered in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight in 2019). Filming is planned for spring of next year, with a cast toplined by Nahuel Pérez-Biscayart and Maud Wyler. Written by the filmmaker, the story revolves around Étienne who is barely twenty when he falls in love with Valérie, and hardly any older when their daughter Rosa is born. When Valérie subsequently ups and leaves them, Étienne decides to not make a big deal about it, and the father and daughter build a happy life together. Sixteen and a half years later, just as they’re going their own separate ways to live their own lives, the past comes back to haunt them… Production is steered by Stéphanie Bermann and Alexis Dulguerian on behalf of Domino Films.

Hounds [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Kamal Lazraq
scheda film] – the first feature film project by Kamal Lazraq, who graduated from La Fémis and won second prize within Cannes’ Cinéfondation competition in 2011, by way of his graduate short Drari Belfort – has also been selected for support. Having already scooped the Arte Kino International Award at the 2019 Atlas Workshops, Hounds’ story is set in the working-class suburbs of Casablanca where father and son Hassan and Issam try to get by on a day-to-day basis, involving themselves in a string of petty dealings for the local mob. One evening, a man they were supposed to kidnap dies accidentally in their car. Hassan and Issam find themselves with a body they need to get rid of. Thus begins a long night traversing the city’s slums … Production is entrusted to Saïd Hamich Benlarbi on behalf of Barney Production.

The Gan Foundation is also throwing its weight behind Vincent Must Die [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Stéphan Castang
scheda film], which is the first feature film by Stephan Castang (who turned countless heads with his shorts films, especially Jeunesses françaises and Panthéon Discount) and whose cast includes Karim Leklou and Vimala Pons. Written by Mathieu Naert, the story follows Vincent who, from one day to the next, finds himself attacked, for no particular reason, by people who lose their minds and try to kill him whenever he comes near them. He tries to carry on with his normal life but when the situation escalates and starts affecting those he loves, Vincent realises he needs to get away and change the way he lives. Recently awarded an advance on receipts from the CNC, the project is produced by Thierry Lounas on behalf of Capricci Production, alongside Bobi Lux and Arte France Cinéma.

Likewise jostling among the lucky few is Dalva [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Emmanuelle Nicot
intervista: Emmanuelle Nicot, Julie Es…
scheda film] by Belgium’s Emmanuelle Nicot, which was shot in the summer and notably stars Alexis Manenti in its cast. This first feature film is produced by Delphine Schmit on behalf of French firm Tripode Productions, in co-production with Julie Esparbes for Belgium’s Hélicotronc.

Last but not least, the Gan Film Foundation has awarded its special 2021 prize to the animated feature in production Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Pierre Földes
scheda film], which is directed by Pierre Földes (born in the USA to Hungarian and British parents) and adapted from six novellas penned by Japanese writer Haruki Murakami. The winner of 2019’s Grand Screenplay Prize 2019 (read our news), the film homes in on a lost cat, a giant, chatty toad and a tsunami which help an ambitionless sales rep, his frustrated wife and a schizophrenic accountant to save Tokyo from an earthquake, and restore a sense of meaning to their lives… The film is produced by Emmanuel-Alain Raynal on behalf of Miyu Productions, alongside Tom Delcourt for Cinéma Defacto. Co-producers include Arte France Cinéma, Studio Ma and Auvergne Rhône-Alpes Cinéma, Canadian firms micro_scope and Production l’Unité Centrale, Luxembourg’s Doghouse Films and Dutch outfit An Original Picture. The movie enjoys support from the CNC (in the form of an advance on receipts), as well as the Film Fund Luxembourg, the Netherlands Film Fund, and the Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Île-de-France, and Sud regions of France. International sales are entrusted The Match Factory.