The Criminals
by Serhat Karaaslan, France-Romania-Turkey, fiction, 23 mn, Turkish, in coproduction with Castalia Pictures
Synopsis: Late at night, a young Turkish couple tries to find a hotel to spend a romantic night. They are continually turned away for not having a marriage certificate. When they think they have found a way, the situation gets out of hand.
Supported by: CNC aide avant réalisation, ARTE France. Serhat Karaaslan is a Cinéfondation residency alumni.
Festival strategy & sales: Lights On
VoD platforms:
Those who Remain
by Ester Sparatore, France-Italie-Belgium, documentary, 89 mn, in coproduction with Kino Produzioni, High Sea, Scope Pictures
Synopsis: Om El Khir is a real fighter. Her husband has disappeared. One morning, he left on a boat for Europe and she has since received no evidence on whether he is dead or alive. Alone with her three children, in her empty and white apartment in the surroundings of Tunis, she bravely takes charge of a day-to-day life changed forever by the absence of her husband. But Om El Khir does not give up. Alongside 503 other Tunisian women (mainly the mothers of the disappeared), she is in search for the truth, fighting so that these men do not fall into oblivion and rallying for justice to be done. The account of Om El Khir's story by Ester Sparatore oscillates between her private life and her fight alongside the other women, two aspects of her life that have become interdependent. By constantly staying as close as possible to this dramatic figure, the filmmaker documents the birth of a new problematic and political space of protest. The story of these Tunisian women, present-day Antigone, shifts our perspective and reveals that the disappeared are now the victims of a Europe that has become a fortress. Madeline Robert, programmatrice à Visions du réel
Supported by: La Scam, Women Make Movies, MIBACT, CNC, Institut Français (Aide aux cinémas du monde) and Eurimages
World Premiere at Visions du réel 2019 in International Compétition, Yoga Prize for Best Film at Biografilm Festival
Distribution : Centre audiovisuel Simone de Beauvoir (FR), Kino Distribution (IT) Télescope (Benelux)
VoD platforms:
https://dafilms.com/film/11620-those-who-remain
Clark's
by Adrien L’Hommedé, fiction, 17 mn, in coproduction with Pleine Image
Synopsis: Alan, a withdrawn and solitary young man, usually finds solace in his inner world. Today is the big day: he’s leaving the family home to enter working life.
Supported by: Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, Charente Maritime, CNC, Adami, Fenwick-Linde
Rest in Piece
by Antoine Antabi, France-Germany-Syria, animation, 7 mn
Synopsis: Midyan is on the run from his war-torn country. His unbearable hunger forces him to start eating his beloved possessions. The side effects are monstrous but keep him going.
Supported by: Doha Film Institute, fondation Robert Bosch, BKM, KdFS, SLM and région Ile-de-France.
Die Blaue Sophia
by Philipp Klinger, Germany-France, fiction, 10 mn
Synopsis: A bitter-sweet black comedy about one man's obsessive attempt to get a rare and valuable stamp known as the "Blue Sophia." It is the one stamp missing from his recently deceased wife's stamp collection and he's hoping that procuring it will help him overcome his grief. When he asks the members of his brass band for help, the story takes an unexpected turn, and he becomes increasingly desperate, resorting to ever crazier schemes to find the money to purchase the stamp.
Supported by: Filmakademie Bade-Würtemberg, La Fémis, ARTE/SWR
Festivals: Max Ophuls, Films Femmes Créteil, Durban International Film Festival...
In post-production
Warrior Princess
by Florian Richaud, documentary, 52 mn
Synopsis: Claire is my step-sister. She has Down's syndrome. Today, she is 28 years old, she lives a full life, with its joys and worries. Like any woman of her generation, she is looking for a balance between work and life. For some time now, she has been trying to improve her body image and to regain the freedom she had found through theater work. We have known each other for a long time, and yet we don’t know each other intimately. I ask her to tell her story in this film. It is the opportunity for us to finally connect.
Supported by: Corse region, Occitanie region, Les Petites Caméras/La Scam, DOC ! and Les Rencontre d’août de Lussas
A Quiet Summer
by Sis Gürdal, Turkey-France, fiction, 12 mn
Synopsis : Ada, a 17yo teenager faces social pressures from her conservative society while she pursues her first summer romance. Things take a turn for the worst when her care-free cousin arrives in town.
In development
Ruta Contemporánea
by Alessia Chiesa, France-Argentina, fiction, 90 mn
Synopsis: Florida, Summer ‘87. An Argentinean family sets off on an exciting road trip. Recently separated, Victor (40s) embarks alone with his children, Julia, Nicolas and Paula (7, 14, 16) from different marriages. The chaotic journey brings to light the family’s deep-rooted dysfunctionalities as the adventure escalades towards disaster.
Supported by: Encuentro de Cine (BAFilms), Script Station pitch (Berlinale 2020).
Emma La Rouge
by Macha Ovtchinnikova, fiction, 15 mn, in coproduction with avec Groupe A
Synopsis : Emma Goldman, a feminist anarchist, is called in the middle of the night to assist the delivery of a baby in a poor family, with many mouths to feed. She tries to alleviate the suffering of the woman in labour. Back home, she is confronted by her partner Ed, exhausted by her absences. Forced to choose between her love for him and her activism, she writes the influencial speech "The Tragedy of Female Emancipation" (1906).
Supported by: Pictanovo, la DRAC, département de La Somme and Le Fresnoy.
Jodla
by Willy Rollé, fiction, 20 mn, France-Germany, in coproduction with Reynard Films
Synopsis: After a recent sentimental breakup, Franz, German by his mother's side, arrives from Stuttgart to reconnect with the Guyana of his childhood, his father and to find perhaps a new meaning to his life. When he arrives, he finds none of this, but he will go through a particular night in the middle of a carnival.
Supported by: CTG Guyane
Anthropologie de famille
by Alessia Chiesa, France-Argentina, documentary, 59 mn
Supported by: Mecenazgo cultural Buenos Aires
La Décharge
by Willy Rollé, France, fiction, 20 mn, in coproduction with Reynard Films
