Cannes 2013: Un Certain Regard

As I Lay Dying (US)

Dir James Franco

It has been a few short months since Franco’s Interior. Leather Bar. premiered at Sundance and the prolific Franco clearly likes to keep up appearances. He directs this adaptation of William Faulkner’s 1930 novel about the family of a deceased southern matriarch, as they honour her wishes to be buried in another town. Franco also adapted the screenplay and stars alongside Beth Grant, Danny McBride, Richard Jenkins and Tim Blake Nelson. Millennium Entertainment is the US distributor.

Contact Nu Image qasem@nuimage.net

Bastards (Fr)

Dir Claire Denis

After presiding over the Un Certain Regard jury in 2010, Denis is now competing in the section with Bastards (Les Salauds). It is the French film-maker’s fourth entry in Cannes, where her debut Chocolat competed for the Palme d’Or in 1988. Vincent Lindon stars as Marco, a ship’s captain called back to Paris after the suicide of his sister’s husband.

Contact Wild Bunch www.wildbunch.biz

Bends (China-HK)

Dir Flora Lau

First-time feature director Lau developed Bends through Binger Lab and Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum, with backing from Distribution Workshop, Tomson Group and Hong Kong Film Development Fund. Carina Lau and Chen Kun star as a Hong Kong housewife and her driver from mainland China. Executive producer Nansun Shi was a member of the jury for the main Competition at Cannes in 2011. Christopher Doyle serves as cinematographer.

Contact Distribution Workshop dw@distributionworkshop.com

The Bling Ring (US)

Dir Sofia Coppola

OPENING FILM: When Somewhere took the Venice Golden Lion in 2010 it reminded people that when she is on form, Coppola will always be a contender. The Bling Ring marks a first return to the Croisette since Marie Antoinette was in Competition in 2006. Critics and fans will be eager to see if she can return to the awards game with this real-life tale of rich kids robbing Hollywood’s wealthy. Emma Watson stars. The US distributor is A24.

Contact FilmNation Entertainment info@wearefilmnation.com

Death March (Phil)

Dir Adolfo Alix Jr

Death March marks prolific Filipino director Alix’s second visit to the Croisette, following an out of 
competition screening in 2009 for Manila, co-directed with Raya Martin. The historical drama is about the fall of Bataan during the Second World War and stars Sam Milby, Jason Abalos, Luis Alandy and Felix Roco.

Contact Versatile Films info@versatile-films.com

Fruitvale Station (US)

Dir Ryan Coogler

The renamed Fruitvale Station (the film premiered in Sundance as Fruitvale) arrives on a wave of adulation and carries the prestige of being one of Harvey Weinstein’s awards-season hopefuls. Coogler’s directorial debut about the last day in the life of a Bay Area resident scored a double whammy in Park City, claiming the dramatic US grand jury prize and the audience award.

Contact The Weinstein Company international.office@weinsteinco.com

Grand Central (Fr-Aust)

Dir Rebecca Zlotowski

Zlotowski’s feature debut Belle Epine screened in Un Certain Regard in 2010 and in the same year won the Prix Louis-Delluc for best first film. She returns with Grand Central, centring on a forbidden love between a young nuclear power station worker and the wife of one of his colleagues. Tahar Rahim and Léa Seydoux star.

Contact Elle Driver sales@elledriver.eu

La Jaula De Oro (Mex)

Dir Diego Quemada-Diez

Immigration drama La Jaula De Oro marks Quemada-Diez’s feature debut and tells the story of two teenagers in search of a better life beyond the Mexican border. Quemada-Diez won prizes for his short film I Want To Be A Pilot including best short at 2006’s Los Angeles Film Festival.

Contact Films Boutique www.filmsboutique.com

Miele (Fr-It)

Dir Valeria Golino

Miele marks the feature directorial debut of Golino, who won the best actress prize at Venice in 1986 for A Tale Of Love and a 2006 David di Donatello award for best actress for Mario’s War. Miele is based on Angela Del Fabbro’s Vi Perdono and focuses on Irene, who helps terminally ill people die with dignity until she meets Grimaldi, a healthy man who wants her help. BIM Distribuzione released the film in Italy on May 1.

Contact Cité Films contact@citefilms.com

The Missing Picture (Camb-Fr)

Dir Rithy Panh

The Missing Picture (L’Image Manquante) is a hybrid documentary in which Panh pieces together his adolescence in a Khmer Rouge labour camp. Panh’s Rice People played in Competition at Cannes in 1994, while his last film Duch, Master Of The Forges Of Hell received a special screening in 2011.

Contact Films Distribution info@filmsdistribution.com

My Sweet Pepperland (Fr-Ger)

Dir Hiner Saleem

Iraqi-Kurdish film-maker Saleem, who won a prize in Venice in 2003 with Vodka Lemon, tells the story of a Kurdish border guard who meets a beautiful teacher. The film is set in a town on the border of Iran, Iraq and Turkey.

Contact Films Distribution www.filmsdistribution.com

Norte, The End Of History (Phil)

Dir Lav Diaz

One of two Filipino films selected for Un Certain Regard, Norte, The End Of History (Norte, Hangganan Ng Kasaysayan) is the latest feature from the acclaimed Diaz, whose Melancholia won the Orrizonti Grand Prize at Venice in 2008. Norte marks Diaz’s Croisette 
debut, and is about a man wrongly imprisoned.

Contact Wacky O Productions

Nothing Bad Can Happen (Ger)

Dir Katrin Gebbe

Gebbe’s debut feature, Nothing Bad Can Happen (Tore Tanzt), is inspired by true events and follows a man in Hamburg who joins a religious group, the Jesus Freaks. The film is produced by Verena Gräfe-Höft at Junafilm and backed by Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein and Nordmedia, in co-operation with ZDF/Das Kleine Fernsehspiel.

Contact Celluloid Dreams/uConnect uconnect@umedia.eu

Omar (Pal)

Dir Hany Abu-Assad

In 2005 Abu-Assad brought Paradise Now to Cannes and it went on to win best foreign-language film at the 2006 Golden Globes. Omar is a drama centring on three childhood friends and a young woman who are torn apart in their fight for freedom. It is billed as the first entirely Palestinian-financed production and received support from Dubai Film Festival’s post-production support programme, Enjaaz. Waleed Zuaiter (Homeland) stars.

Contact The Match Factory info@matchfactory.de

Sarah Prefers To Run (Can)

Dir Chloé Robichaud

Robichaud’s short Chef De Meute screened in Cannes last year and she returns with her feature debut. Sarah Prefers To Run (Sarah Préfere La Course) tells the story of a student athlete (Sophie Desmarais) who moves with her boyfriend to Montreal, and the subsequent pressure placed on their relationship. It is produced by La Boite a Fanny, while Les Films Séville will release in Canada.

Contact eOne Entertainment International cmickie@entonegroup.com

Stranger By The Lake (Fr)

Dir Alain Guiraudie

Produced by Sylvie Pialat for Les Films du Worso, Guiraudie’s Stranger By The Lake (L’Inconnu Du Lac) centres on Franck, who falls in love with a murderer. It marks Guiraudie’s third visit to Cannes, following Directors’ Fortnight slots for No Rest For The Brave and The King Of Escape in 2003 and 2009 respectively. Les Films du Losange will release in France on June 12.

Contact Les Films du Losange info@filmsdulosange.fr

Wakolda (Arg-Sp)

Dir Lucia Puenzo

The third film from Argentina’s Puenzo tells the story of an Argentinian family who unwittingly befriend a Nazi war criminal. The film was produced by Historias Cinematograficas and Wanda Films. Puenzo’s XXY won Critics’ Week 
in 2007.

Contact Pyramide International www.pyramidefilms.com