Directed by Stéphanie MURAT (Victoire)

Synopsis

Max is an urban romantic comedy, the story of a 6 years old little girl who never got to know her mum and who lives together with her childish father Toni, who loves her above everything. His goal is to spoil Max no matter what it takes but without using too much effort. Everyday he tells her how great life is despite their marginality, and he almost gets to believe it. Max does the same by plunging him permanently into the eternel world of childhood.Everything changes the day Max meets hooker Rose and she decides to make a special christmas gift to her father… and herself: a woman for Christmas eve. So that “she can take care of him” because “he needs it”.  By doing so the little girl also gets a feminine presence around that she badly needs in their harsh environment. For the first time in her life Rose feels that she means something to somebody. She needs this little girl and her love badly.Toni sees the arrival of this woman in their lives as an intruder at first but he slowly realizes that it makes his daughter feel good and he starts having feelings for her too.Will these characters, broken and deceived by life, be able to start a new life with one another?

POST PRODUCTION

2012 /// France /// French /// Comedy Drama

CAST Mathilde Seigner, Joey Starr, Jean-Pierre Marielle /// PRODUCERS Lisa Azuelos (Director: Comme t’y es belle, Lol, lol: made in US), Julien Madon, Thierry Ardisson /// WRITER Stéphanie Murat, Vincent Cappello, Based on an original idea of Thierry Ardisson /// FRENCH DISTRIBUTOR WARNER

Directed by Cherien DABIS (Amreeka)

Synopsis

At the center of the tangled family in MAY IN THE SUMMER is thirty-something Palestinian American May whose stubborn pride and fear of making herself vulnerable stand in her way of having honest relationships with the people closest to her. As the story opens, May travels to Amman where she’s reunited with her divorced mother Nadine and younger twenty-something sisters. In the midst of planning her summer wedding, May has one slight problem: Nadine, a devout Christian, disapproves of her Muslim fiancé. Convinced that a mixed marriage is doomed, she plans to boycott the wedding. As if that’s not bad enough, there’s trouble in paradise. But May is too busy trying to prove her mother wrong to take her relationship troubles to heart.
Meanwhile, May and her sisters attempt to reconcile with their estranged father only to learn that his new wife suspects he’s having an affair. Faced with family secrets and the fallout of her parents divorce, May starts to come apart at the seams. But only in facing the reality of what she’s lost can she discover the freedom of letting go. And ultimately, she and her mother learn to accept one another for who they truly are – differences and all.

SHOOTING: SUMMER 2012

2013 /// Qatar/Lebanon/US/JORDAN  /// English/Arabic /// Drama Comedy

CAST Hiam ABBASS (The Visitor, Lemon Tree, The Syrian Bride, Munich), Alia SHAWKAT (Arrested Development, Cedar Rapids, Amreeka, The Runaways) /// WRITER Cherien DABIS (Amreeka, L word) /// PRODUCERS Alix MADIGAN (Winter’s bone by Debra Granik ,Smiley Face by Gregg Araki), Cherien DABIS, Sabine SIDAWI

Directed by Vasan BALA

Synopsis

PEDDLERS follows the intersecting lives of three social outcasts in Mumbai, leading eventually to love and its destruction. The first is aNarcotics Control Bureau officer who is forced to live a lie due to intimacy issues arising from physical problems. Determined to be seen as a playboy in spite of his condition, he is in love with his married neighbor but a relationship seems impossible and this leads to an explosion of frustration…
The second is a terminally ill Bangladeshi immigrant who has come to Mumbai to work as a “mule” (human carrier) to make enough money to pay for medical treatment and take care of her child back home. For her too, the question of love arises, but will she give in or betray it? Whatever it takes to survive …
The last is a young boy whose mistaken notions of rebellion and freedom have driven him from the comforts of his upper middle-class home into Mumbai’s dark and dangerous underbelly. An innocent, he drifts without purpose until he meets the woman – frail, lost, mysterious yet beautiful. She’s not his type at all, he’s sure of that, but he can’t let her go …

CRITIC’S WEEK 2012 / COMPETITION

2012 /// India  /// Hindi  ///  Thriller Drama /// 116’

CAST Gulshan DEVAIAH, Siddharth MENNON /// SCREENPLAY Vasan BALA (Associate Director Trishna by Michael Winterbottom) /// PRODUCERS EROS International, Guneet MONGA, Anurag KASHYAP

Directed by Anurag KASHYAP (Dev D, Gulaal)

Synopsis

GOW, a film in two parts, tells a story of vengeance between two families that spans more than 60 years. It begins towards the end of colonial rule in India. Shahid Khan loots British trains, impersonating his rival, the legendary Sultana Daku. He becomes an outcast, and starts working at Ramadhir Singh’s colliery, only to set in motion a revenge battle that passes from generation to generation. Shahid’s son, the philandering Sardar Khan, vows to regain father’s honor, becoming the most feared man in Wasseypur. In contemporary times, the weed-addicted grandson, Faizal Khan, wakes up to this vengeance that his family has inherited. Staying true to its real-life roots, the film explores its revenge saga through the socio-political dynamic of erstwhile Bihar, North India, amongst the coal mining and scrap trade mafia of Wasseypur, a place obsessed with mainstream ‘Bollywood’ cinema.

DIRECTOR’S FORTNIGHT 2012 / COMPETITION

2012 /// India  /// Hindi  ///  Epic Gangster Film /// 2 x 160’

CAST Manoj Bajpayee, Richa Chaddha, Reema Sen, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Jaideep Ahlawat /// PRODUCERS Viacom 18, Guneet Monga, Sunil Bohra, Anurag Kashyap (Udaan) /// WRITER Zeeshan Qadri,  Akhilesh, Sachin Ladia, Anurag Kashyap (Satya)

Directed by Katie ASELTON (The Freebie)

Synopsis

A trio of childhood friends reunite for a camping trip on a woodsy getaway off the coast of Maine. Sarah, the group’s peacekeeper, tricks Abby and Lou into spending time together after a tricky romantic mishap drove a wedge between them. Bad blood appears to subside, but its relevance dissolves in the face of a much larger problem: when the group runs into a war veteran they know from high school, a nighttime hangout session turns sour and the women of «black rock» have to confront something far more dangerous-and heavily armed- than their feelings.

SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL 2012 / MIDNIGHT SCREENING

The Hollywood Reporter: «…Effectively flipping the action from drama to thriller…»

Indiewire: «…Black Rock offers a clever take on the Girls-in-Danger story…» «…Black Rock contains a nice twist on the genre by dividing the ‘final girl’ archetype among three strong women as they dodge a pair of murderers on a remote island…» «…familiar scenario with impressively tense results…» «…the run-and-gun pacing takes on an added dimension thanks to the advanced character development preceding it…»

2011 /// USA  /// English  ///  Thriller /// 83’

CAST Kate BOSWORTH, Lake BELL, Katie ASELTON /// PRODUCERS Katie ASELTON, Mark DUPLASS, Adele ROMANSKI /// WRITER Mark DUPLASS (Actor Your Sister’s Sister, Humpday) /// US DISTRIBUTOR LD Distribution

Directed by Matt ROSS

Synopsis

While traveling for work in a city far from their homes, a novelist and a corporate accountant find themselves in bed together. Although she’s married, and he’s seeing someone, their intense attraction turns a one-night stand into an unexpected relationship and a respite from the obligations of daily life. Through a series of moments—some profound, some silly, some intensely intimate—we see a portrait of an evolving relationship that could become the most significant one of their lives.
The film adeptly illustrates how seemingly inconsequential moments and actions can often mean more than we suspect.

SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL 2012 / NEXT
The Hollywood Reporter: «…Stimulating all the way…»

Screendaily: «…endlessly intruiging drama» «a smart incisive way to illustrate how every love affair eventually comes with strings attached…»
«…Messina and Ireland are terrific playing people who only slowly start to reveal their true natures…»
«…28 hotel rooms feels quite realistic in portraying the ebb and flow of an affair initially based around excitement and freedom…»
«…28 hotel rooms is incredibly moving in its depiction of the challenges of making love last…»

2012 /// USA  /// English  ///  Drama /// 82’

CAST Marin IRELAND (Revolutionary Road, Great Hope Springs), Chris MESSINA (Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Away we go) /// PRODUCERS Lynette HOWELL (Blue Valentine, Half Nelson), Louise RUNGE, Samantha HOUSMAN /// CO-PRODUCERS Crystal POWELL /// EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS Chris MESSINA, Joey CAREY, Stefan NOWICKI, Alex SAGALCHIK

Directed by Stefano SOLLIMA

Inspiredby the book ACAB by Carlo BONINI

Synopsis

The film is inspired by the book ACAB by Carlo Bonini – published in Italy by Giulio Einaudi Editore – which tells a true story. ACAB stands for « All Cops Are Bastards », a slogan first used in England in the 1970’s by skinheads and which quickly become a universal call to urban guerrillas, both in the stadiums and in the streets.

Cobra (Piefrancesco Favino), Nero (Filippo Nigro) and Mazinga (Marco Giallini) are three “bastard riot cops” who, confronting violence on a daily basis, have learned to be targets. The violence in which they are immersed mirrors a chaotic society ruled by hate.  Their only aim is to restore social order and make people respect rules, even if through the use of force.
In the most difficult moment of their own private lives, they meet the young recruit Adriano (Domenico Diele), who’s just joined their unit and needs to be trained. Educating him on legality and order and even on violent law enforcement becomes a means to telling the stories of the controversial riot cops unit, as seen from the inside, set against the background of several of the most shocking episodes of urban violence in contemporary Italian society, from the death of a protestor at the G8 Summit in Genoa in 2001, to the death of a soccer fan, by a police officer’s gun, in 2007.

2011 /// Italy-France ///  Italian  ///  Drama /// 112′

CAST Pierfrancesco FAVINO, Filippo NIGRO, Marco GIALLINI, Andrea SARTORETTI, Domenico DIELE/// SCREENPLAY Daniele CESARANO, Barbara PETRONIO, Leonardo VALENTI /// PRODUCERS Riccardo TOZZI, Giovanni STABILINI, Marco CHIMENZ /// EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Gina GARDINI /// PRODUCTION COMPANY CATTLEYA in association with FASTFILM and in collaboration with RAI CINEMA /// AN ITALY-FRANCE COPRODUCTION WITH BABE FILMS

Directed by Marialy RIVAS

Synopsis

Daniela is a 17 year old girl, raised in the bosom of a very strict Evangelic family. Rebel by nature she will try to follow the « right path » after being unmasked as a fornicator by her shocked parents. On her way towards salvation she will discover a devastating obstacle in order to obtain her so desired spiritual harmony; her sexual drives unreconciled by the orders of her religion.

SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL 2012 / WORLD CINEMA SCREENWRITING AWARD, DRAMATIC

BERLIN – GENERATION 2012

2011 /// CHILE  ///  Spanish  ///  Drama /// 100’

CAST Alicia RODRIGUEZ, María Gracia OMEGNA, Felipe PINTO, Aline KUPPEINHEIM /// PRODUCERS Juan
de Dios LARRAIN, Pablo LARRAIN /// EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS Juan Ignacio CORREA, Mariane HARTARD /// PRODUCTION COMPANY FABULA /// SCREENPLAY Marialy RIVAS, Camila GUTIERREZ, Pedro PEIRANO, Sebastián SEPULVEDA

Directed by Steffen HAARS & Flip VAN DER KUIL

MORE SPECTACULAR, MORE RUDE, MORE FUNNY !

«After New Kids Turbo’s record breaking success in the Netherlands and Germany and it’s unqualified success at Fantastic Fest 2011, what more could the New Kids ask for? A sequel of course!
It features the New Kids battling a rival town full of idiots, drag racing, zombies, and really bad hair.
The film is the sequel to New Kids Turbo and directed by the creators and protagonists Steffen Haars and Flip van der Kuil.»

2011 /// The Netherlands /// Dutch /// Action/Comedy

CAST Steffen HAARS, Flip VAN DER KUIL, Wesley VAN GAALEN, Tim HAARS, Huub SMIT  ///  WRITTEN BY Steffen HAARS, Flip VAN DER KUIL /// DOP Joris KERBOSCH /// PRODUCTION COMPANY EYEWORKS FILM & TV DRAMA B.V. /// PRODUCERS Hans DE WEERS, Reinout OERLEMANS

Directed by Juan Carlos MEDINA

SYNOPSIS

Spain, 1931. Somewhere in the Pyrénées near the French border, children were born with an unknown disease. They are insensitive to physical pain and grow up with a deranged perception of human values and the world around them. These children are aggressive and violent, going as far as to even hurt themselves. They are an uncontrollable danger, not only for themselves but for everybody around them as well.

Spain, 2000. David, a brilliant neurosurgeon, and his soon to be wife Anais have a terrible car accident. As sole survivor David doesn’t seem to be hurt, however, medical exams show the presence of an advanced lymphoma. His only chance of survival is a bone marrow transplantation.

Just before the civil war, hate and evil are spreading throughout the country. The children suffering from the mysterious syndrome are locked up in an isolated psychiatric asylum where a medical team tries to rehabilitate them. The horrors of the war added to a strange therapy of «learning pain» come to an end but one of the children does not respond to the treatment as expected and turns out to become a living nightmare: Berkano.

When David asks his parents for the bone marrow transplant, they have to confess the truth about him : he was adopted. All questions about his origins are blocked by a wall of silence and terror. On his search for his biological parents, David crosses Berkano’s path, the only survivor of the insensitive children. His life will change forever.

2011 ///  FRANCE, SPAIN, PORTUGAL /// Catalan /// IN POST PRODUCTION

CAST Tomas LAMARQUIS, Alex BRENDEMÜHL, Derek DE LINT, Juan DIEGO, Silvia BEL /// PRODUCERS Antoine SIMKINE, François CONGNARD, Miguel Angel FAURA /// COPRODUCERS Adolfo BLANCO, Luis GALVAO TELES. /// PRODUCTION COMPANIES LES FILMS D’ANTOINE, TOBINA FILMS, ROXBURY PICTURES /// COPRODUCTION COMPANIES ACONTRACORRIENTE FILMS, FADO FILMES /// SCREENPLAY Juan Carlos MEDINA, Luiso BERDEJO