Foreign Language Films

VIDEO: Watch Trailer + Poster for Documentary Fairy Tale SPETTACOLO

Its finally here, the trailer and poster for Spettacolo, the documentary fairy tale about a tiny Italian farming village that turns their lives into a play. The documentary directed by Jeff Malmberg and Chris Shellen will be released in theaters in New York on September 8th. Once upon a time, villagers in a tiny hill town in Tuscany came up with a remarkable way to confront their issues: they turned their lives into a play. Every summer, their piazza became their stage and residents of all ages played a part – the role of themselves. Monticchiello’s annual tradition has attracted worldwide attention and kept the town together for 50 years, but with an aging population and a future generation more interested in Facebook than farming, the town’s 50th anniversary performance just might be its last. Spettacolo tells the story of Teatro Povero di Monticchiello, interweaving episodes from its past with its modern-day process as the villagers turn a series of devastating blows into a new play about the end of their world. Jeff Malmberg is a documentary director and editor based in Los Angeles. In 2017, his feature documentary Spettacolo had it’s world premiere at the 2017 SXSW Film Festival. The film is supported by a Guggenheim Fellowship and grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Sundance Documentary Fund, Creative Capital, and the Tribeca Film Institute. Jeffʼs debut film Marwencol won over two dozen awards, including two Independent Spirit Awards, Best Documentary of the Year from Boston Society of Film Critics and Rotten Tomatoes, and the Grand Jury Prize at the 2010 SXSW Film Festival. Chris Shellen is a writer and filmmaker based in Los Angeles. She produced the award-winning documentary Marwencol and co-authored the companion art book “Welcome to Marwencol,” which was named one of the Best Books of 2015 by Amazon.com. She began her career as a film development executive based at a Paramount Pictures, and has worked in documentary, narrative and new media for over 15 years. Her directorial debut Spettacolo had it’s world premiere at the 2017 SXSW Film Festival.
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BLACK LEVEL is Ukraine’s Entry for 2018 Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film | TRAILER

The Ukraine Oscar Committee has selected Valentyn Vasyanovych’s Black Level, as its candidate in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 2018 Oscars. The film had its world premiere at the 2017 Odesa International Film Festival, where it won the International Federation of Film Critics FIPRESCI prize. “Black Level” is a documentary-feature drama telling the story of a 50-year-old wedding photographer facing the prospect of losing everything he has ever loved.
50-year anniversary is the beginning of a complicated phase in the life of a wedding photographer Kostya. All that he loved and to which had been tied to, permanently disappears. Although there are not so many such things in his life: father, paralyzed by a stroke; girlfriend, working as a stylist in a wedding magazine; an old cat and photographic slides in which Kostya is young and happy. Kostya is photographing someone else’s happiness all of his life. For him, it is a daily routine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0D0CRejU3A
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WOODPECKERS is Dominican Republic’s Entry for 2018 Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film | TRAILER

José María Cabral’s Woodpeckers (Carpinteros) was selected this week as Dominican Republic’s official submission for the 2018 Foreign Language Oscar category. Woodpeckers (Carpinteros) which premiered earlier this year at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival tells the story of handsome Dominican-Haitian Julián (actor Jean Jean in a breakout role) who begins a begins a jail sentence for petty theft inside the notorious Najayo prison just outside Santo Domingo. He becomes immersed in the system of “Woodpecking,” the unique sign language the male prisoners use to communicate with women in the adjacent penitentiary just over 400 feet away. Julián’s entanglement with one female inmate, Yanelly (the astonishing Dominican actress Judith Rodriguez Perez), is the fuse that ignites the events of Woodpeckers, which was shot on location at the actual prison using real inmates for all but the lead roles. Director José María Cabral’s first feature film, Jaque Mate (2011), was selected as the Dominican entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards.
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RACER AND THE JAILBIRD is Belgium’s Entry for 2018 Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film | TRAILER

Michaël R Roskam’s Racer and the Jailbird (Le Fidèle), has been selected as Belgium’s official candidate for the best foreign-language film at the 2018 Oscar. In Racer and the Jailbird, starring Matthias Schoenaerts (Bullhead, Our Souls at Night) and Adèle Exarchopoulos (Blue is the Warmest Color), it’s love at first sight at a racing circuit when gangster Gino (‘Gigi’) meets Benedicte (‘Bibi’), a wealthy and fearless racing driver. Fierce and loyal, Gigi and Bibi fight for their love against fate, but also against reason and their own weaknesses. But how far can endurance be stretched? How far can they go to try and save what may already be lost? Michaël R Roskam’s was previously nominated for the Foreign Language Oscar for his feature debut Bullhead in 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onPQ8MnfZl4
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Can Ulkay’s AYLA is Turkey’s Entry for 2018 Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film | TRAILER

Can Ulkay’s debut feature Ayla: The Daughter of War has been selected as Turkey’s official candidate for the best foreign-language film at the 2018 Oscar. The film tells the story of a soldier (played by Ismail Hacioglu as the young soldier, and Cetin Tekindor as an older man) who risks his own life to save a young girl Ayla ( played by Kim Seol as a young girl and Lee Kyung-Jin as an older woman) he finds half-frozen and on the verge of death, smuggling her into his army base. Despite being unable to communicate with each other, the two form a strong bond. When the war ends and the soldier must return home, he cannot bear to abandon the girl but is forced to hand her over to an orphanage, hoping one day to be reunited with her. The pair were finally reunited 60 years later. The film is based on the true story of Korean War veteran Süleyman Astsubay. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PELOIYaEiw
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Ruben Östlund’s THE SQUARE is Sweden’s Entry for 2018 Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film | TRAILER

Ruben Östlund’s The Square, 2017 Palme d’Or winner, has been selected as Sweden’s official entry for the 2018 Foreign Language Oscar category. Claes Bang, Elisabeth Moss, Dominic West and Terry Notary star in the satirical drama set in the art world, about an art museum chief curator whose plans to promote an exhibit spiral out of control. Christian is the respected curator of a contemporary art museum, a divorced but devoted father of two who drives an electric car and supports good causes. His next show is “The Square”, an installation which invites passersby to altruism, reminding them of their role as responsible fellow human beings. But sometimes, it is difficult to live up to your own ideals: Christian’s foolish response to the theft of his phone drags him into shameful situations. Meanwhile, the museum’s PR agency has created an unexpected campaign for ”The Square”. The response is overblown and sends Christian, as well as the museum, into an existential crisis. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcmMYzyVt5Y This is Ruben Ostlund’s third time representing Sweden at the Oscars – Involuntary was the official submission in 2009, and he made the shortlist in 2014 with Force Majeure but was disappointedly not nominated. In response he made the YouTube video “Swedish director freaks out when he misses out on Oscar nomination.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYTWqLmnjt0
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Fatih Akin’s IN THE FADE is Germany’s Entry for 2018 Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film | TRAILER

Fatih Akin’s In the Fade (Aus dem Nichts) will represent Germany as the country’s official submission for the 90th Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. In the film, Katja’s (played by Diane Kruger) life collapses after the death of her husband and son in a bomb attack. The police arrest two suspects: a young neo-Nazi couple. Katja wants justice – for her, there is no alternative. In the Fade world premiere in competition at the 70th Cannes Film Festival, where Diane Kruger won the award for Best Actress. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKBqOE3WNu0
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Three Films on Shortlist for Denmark’s Foreign Language Entry in 2018 Oscar Race

[caption id="attachment_24046" align="aligncenter" width="1176"] Word of God[/caption] The Danish Oscar committee has selected three films as finalists to represent Denmark as the country’s official entry for the 2018 Foreign Language Oscar category. The three films are Peter Schønau Fog’s “You Disappear,” Henrik Ruben Genz’ “Word of God” and Fenar Ahmad’s “Darkland.” The committee will make the final decision on September 20. You Disappear / Du forsvinder Peter Schønau Fog’s second feature film is based on Danish writer Christian Jungersen’s bestselling novel. Mia is married to the successful headmaster Frederik, who is caught embezzling from his own school. But did he do this of his own free will – or has his personality been altered by the tumour lurking in his brain? The film is a story about the challenges we face as neuroscience forces us to rethink what we are as human beings. It will be making its international premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yf4kORjB04w Word of God / Gud taler ud Henrik Ruben Genz’ satirical drama is an adaptation of an autobiographical novel by Jens Blendstrup. The story, set in the late eighties, revolves around Uffe (Søren Malling), a self-appointed almighty God with a mild dependency on alcohol who rules over his family in the detached house where they live. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2lUfAKoFvE&t=13s Darkland / Underverden In Fenar Ahmad’s second feature film, Dar Salim plays a successful surgeon living a comfortable life, who embarks on a one-man mission to avenge the murder of his brother. “Darkland” was selected for competition at the Moscow Film Festival, marking its international premiere, and also screened at Montreal Fantasia Film Festival. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=333cCxNembY
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Ilgar Najaf’s POMEGRANATE ORCHARD is Azerbaijan’s Entry for 2018 Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film | TRAILER

Ilgar Najaf’s Pomegranate Orchard has been selected by Azerbaijan as the country’s entry for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 90th Academy Awards. The film which world premiered in the “East of the West” competition of the 2017 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival stars Qurban Ismayilov, Anar Hasanov, Samimi Farkhadov and Hasan Agayev. In Pomegranate Orchard, Gabil returns home to the humble family farmstead, surrounded by an orchard of venerable pomegranate trees; since his sudden departure twelve years ago he was never once in contact. However, the deep emotional scars he left behind cannot be erased from one day to the next. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVm8N-S0Ma4
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51 Feature Films Selected for 2017 European Film Awards

[caption id="attachment_23985" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] IN TIMES OF FADING LIGHT (IN ZEITEN DES ABNEHMENDEN LICHTS)[/caption] The European Film Academy announced the titles of the 51 films on this year’s 2017 EFA Feature Film Selection, the list of feature fiction films recommended for a nomination for the European Film Awards 2017! With 31 European countries represented, the list once again illustrates the great diversity in European cinema. In the coming weeks, the over 3,000 members of the European Film Academy will vote for the nominations in the categories European Film, Director, Actor, Actress and Screenwriter. The nominations will then be announced on November 4 at the Seville European Film Festival in Spain. A seven-member jury will decide on the awards recipients in the categories European Cinematographer, Editor, Production Designer, Costume Designer, Hair & Make-up Artist, Composer and Sound Designer. The 30th European Film Awards ceremony will take place on December 9 in Berlin.
2017 EFA Feature Film Selection
A CIAMBRA Italy, USA, France, Sweden 120 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Jonas Carpignano PRODUCED BY Jon Coplon A DATE FOR MAD MARY Ireland 82 min DIRECTED BY Darren Thornton WRITTEN BY Darren Thornton & Colin Thornton PRODUCED BY Ed Guiney & Juliette Bonass A GENTLE CREATURE КРОТКАЯ (KROTKAYA) France, Germany, Lithuania, Netherlands 143 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Sergei Loznitsa PRODUCED BY Marianne Slot A JEW MUST DIE UN JUIF POUR L’EXEMPLE Switzerland 73 min DIRECTED BY Jacob Berger WRITTEN BY Jacob Berger, Aude Py & Michel Fessler PRODUCED BY Ruth Waldburger A MONSTER CALLS Spain 107 min DIRECTED BY J.A. Bayona WRITTEN BY Patrick Ness PRODUCED BY Belén Atienza, Ghislain Barrois & Álvaro Augustín AFTERIMAGE POWIDOKI Poland 100 min DIRECTED BY Andrzej Wajda WRITTEN BY Andrzej Mularczyk PRODUCED BY Michał Kwieciński ANA, MON AMOUR Romania, Germany, France 125 min DIRECTED BY Călin Peter Netzer WRITTEN BY Călin Peter Netzer, Cezar Paul Bădescu & Iulia Lumânare PRODUCED BY Călin Peter Netzer & Oana Iancu BIG BIG WORLD KOCA DÜNYA Turkey 101 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Reha Erdem PRODUCED BY Ömer Atay BPM (BEATS PER MINUTE) 120 BATTEMENTS PAR MINUTE France 145 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Robin Campillo PRODUCED BY Marie-Ange Luciani & Hugues Charbonneau BRIGHT SUNSHINE IN UN BEAU SOLEIL INTÉRIEUR France 94 min DIRECTED BY Claire Denis WRITTEN BY Claire Denis & Christine Angot PRODUCED BY Olivier Delbosc BRIMSTONE Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France, Sweden, UK, Hungary 148 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Martin Koolhoven PRODUCED BY Els Vandevorst & Uwe Schott FORTUNATA Italy 103 min DIRECTED BY Sergio Castellitto WRITTEN BY Margaret Mazzantini PRODUCED BY Nicola Giuliano, Francesca Cima, Carlotta Calori & Viola Prestieri FRANTZ France, Germany 117 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY François Ozon PRODUCED BY Eric Altmayer, Nicolas Altmayer, Stefan Arndt & Uwe Schott FROST Lithuania, France, Poland, Ukraine 120 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Sharunas Bartas PRODUCED BY Janja Kralj GODLESS БЕЗБОГ (BEZBOG) Bulgaria, Denmark, France 99 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Ralitza Petrova PRODUCED BY Rossitsa Valkanova, Eva Jakobsen & Laurence Clerc HAPPY END France, Germany, Austria 107 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Michael Haneke PRODUCED BY Margaret Menegoz, Stefan Arndt, Veit Heiduschka & Michael Katz HEARTSTONE HJARTASTEINN Iceland, Denmark 129 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson PRODUCED BY Anton Máni Svansson, Lise Orheim Stender, Jesper Morthorst & Guðmundur Arnar Guðmundsson HOME Belgium 103 min DIRECTED BY Fien Troch WRITTEN BY Fien Troch & Nico Leunen PRODUCED BY Antonino Lombardo ICE MOTHER BÁBA Z LEDU Czech Republic, Slovakia, France 106 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Bohdan Sláma PRODUCED BY Pavel Strnad & Petr Oukropec IN TIMES OF FADING LIGHT IN ZEITEN DES ABNEHMENDEN LICHTS Germany 101 min DIRECTED BY Matti Geschonneck WRITTEN BY Wolfgang Kohlhaase PRODUCED BY Oliver Berben & Sarah Kirkegaard INDIVISIBLE INDIVISIBILI Italy 104 min DIRECTED BY Edoardo De Angelis WRITTEN BY Nicola Guaglianone, Barbara Petronio, Edoardo De Angelis PRODUCED BY Attilio De Razza & Pierpaolo Verga INSYRIATED Belgium, France 86 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Philippe Van Leeuw PRODUCED BY Guillaume Malandrin ISTANBUL RED ISTANBUL KIRMIZISI Turkey, Italy 110 min DIRECTED BY Ferzan Ozpetek WRITTEN BY Ferzan Ozpetek, Gianni Romoli & Valia Santella PRODUCED BY Tilde Corsi, Gianni Romoli & Necati Akpinar JUPITER’S MOON JUPITER HOLDJA Hungary, Germany 123 min DIRECTED BY Kornél Mundruczó WRITTEN BY Kata Wéber PRODUCED BY Viktória Petrányi, Michael Weber, Viola Fügen & Michel Merkt LADY MACBETH UK 89 min DIRECTED BY William Oldroyd WRITTEN BY Alice Birch PRODUCED BY Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly LAYLA M. Netherlands, Jordan, Belgium, Germany 98 min. DIRECTED BY Mijke de Jong WRITTEN BY Jan Eilander & Mijke de Jong PRODUCED BY Frans van Gestel, Arnold Heslenfeld & Laurette Schillings LOVELESS НЕЛЮБОВЬ (NELYUBOV) Russia, Belgium, Germany, France 127 min DIRECTED BY Andrey Zvyagintsev WRITTEN BY Oleg Negin & Andrey Zvyagintsev PRODUCED BY Alexander Rodnyansky, Sergey Melkumov & Gleb Fetisov MY GRANDMOTHER FANNY KAPLAN МОЯ БАБУСЯ ФАНІ КАПЛАН (MOYA BABUSYA FANI KAPLAN) Ukraine 110 min DIRECTED & PRODUCED BY Olena Demyanenko WRITTEN BY Dmytro Tomashpolskiy & Olena Demyanenko ON BODY AND SOUL TESTRŐL ÉS LÉLEKRŐL Hungary 116 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Ildikó Enyedi PRODUCED BY Mónika Mécs, András Muhi & Ernö Mesterházy PARADISE РАЙ (RAI) Russia, Germany 131 min DIRECTED BY Andrei Konchalovsky WRITTEN BY Andrei Konchalovsky & Elena Kiseleva PRODUCED BY Andrei Konchalovsky & Florian Deyle REQUIEM FOR MRS. J. REKVIJEM ZA GOSPOĐU J. Serbia, Bulgaria, FYR Macedonia, Russia, France 94 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Bojan Vuletić PRODUCED BY Nenad Dukić RETURN TO MONTAUK Germany, France, Ireland 105 min DIRECTED BY Volker Schlöndorff WRITTEN BY Volker Schlöndorff & Colm Tóibìn PRODUCED BY Regina Ziegler, Volker Schlöndorff, Francis Boespflug, Sidonie Dumas, Hartmut Köhler, Stéphane Parthenay, Conor Barry, Til Schweiger, Tom Zickler, Marc Gabizon, Christoph Liedke, John Keville, Mike Downey, Sam Taylor & Rainer Kölmel SAMI BLOOD SAMEBLOD Sweden, Denmark, Norway 110 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Amanda Kernell PRODUCED BY Lars G Lindström SON OF SOFIA O GIOS TIS SOFIAS Greece, Bulgaria, France 111 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Elina Psykou PRODUCED BY Giorgos Karnavas & Konstantinos Kontovrakis SPOOR POKOT Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, Sweden, Slovakia 128 min DIRECTED BY Agnieszka Holland & Katarzyna Adamik WRITTEN BY Olga Tokarczuk & Agnieszka Holland PRODUCED BY Krzysztof Zanussi, Janusz Wąchała, Johannes Rexin, Pavla Janoušková Kubečková, Tomáš Hrubý, Fredrik Zander & Jakub Viktorín STEFAN ZWEIG – FAREWELL TO EUROPE VOR DER MORGENRÖTE Germany, Austria, France 106 min DIRECTED BY Maria Schrader WRITTEN BY Maria Schrader & Jan Schomburg PRODUCED BY Stefan Arndt, Uwe Schott, Pierre-Olivier Bardet, Denis Poncet, Danny Krausz & Kurt Stocker SUMMER 1993 ESTIU 1993 Spain 96 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Carla Simón PRODUCED BY Valérie Delpierre THE CONSTITUTION USTAV REPUBLIKE HRVATSKE Croatia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, FYR Macedonia 93 min DIRECTED BY Rajko Grlić WRITTEN BY Ante Tomić & Rajko Grlić PRODUCED BY Ivan Maloča, Mike Downey, Rudolf Biermann, Maja Vukić, Dejan Miloševski, Jani Sever & Sam Taylor THE FURY OF A PATIENT MAN TARDE PARA LA IRA Spain 88 min DIRECTED BY Raúl Arévalo WRITTEN BY Raúl Arévalo & David Pulido PRODUCED BY Beatriz Bodegas THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER Ireland, UK 121 min. DIRECTED BY Yorgos Lanthimos WRITTEN BY Yorgos Lanthimos & Efthimis Filippou PRODUCED BY Ed Guiney & Yorgos Lanthimos THE KING’S CHOICE KONGENS NEI Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Ireland 130 min DIRECTED BY Erik Poppe WRITTEN BY Jan Trygve Røyneland & Harald Rosenløw Eeg PRODUCED BY Finn Gjerdrum & Stein B. Kvae THE LAST FAMILY OSTATNIA RODZINA Poland 123 min DIRECTED BY Jan P. Matuszyński WRITTEN BY Robert Bolesto PRODUCED BY Leszek Bodzak & Aneta Hickinbotham THE NOTHING FACTORY A FÁBRICA DE NADA Portugal 177 min DIRECTED BY Pedro Pinho WRITTEN BY Pedro Pinho, João Matos, Luisa Homem, Leonor Noivo & Tiago Hespanha PRODUCED BY João Matos THE OTHER SIDE OF HOPE TOIVON TUOLLA PUOLEN Finland, Germany 100 min WRITTEN, DIRECTED & PRODUCED BY Aki Kaurismäki THE PARTY UK 71 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Sally Potter PRODUCED BY Christopher Sheppard THE SQUARE Sweden, Germany, France, Denmark 145 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Ruben Östlund PRODUCED BY Erik Hemmendorff & Philippe Bober THE TEACHER UČITEĽKA Slovakia, Czech Republic 103 min DIRECTED BY Jan Hřebejk WRITTEN BY Petr Jarchovský PRODUCED BY Zuzana Mistríková, Ľubica Orechovská, Ondřej Zima & Jan Prušinovský TOM OF FINLAND Finland, Germany, Sweden, Denmark 116 min DIRECTED BY Dome Karukoski WRITTEN BY Aleksi Bardy PRODUCED BY Aleksi Bardy, Annika Sucksdorff & Miia Haavisto WESTERN Germany, Bulgaria, Austria 119 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Valeska Grisebach PRODUCED BY Jonas Dornbach, Janine Jackowski, Maren Ade, Valeska Grisebach & Michel Merkt WILD MOUSE WILDE MAUS Austria 103 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Josef Hader PRODUCED BY Michael Katz & Veit Heiduschka YOU DISAPPEAR DU FORSVINDER Denmark, Sweden 117 min WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY Peter Schønau Fog PRODUCED BY Louise Vesth
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WHITE SUN is Nepal’s Entry for 2018 Oscar Race for Best Foreign Film | TRAILER

The award-winning film White Sun (Seto Surya), directed by Deepak Rauniyar has been selected by Nepal as the country’s entry for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 90th Academy Awards. In the film a former Maoist rebel struggles to reintegrate with his unwelcoming community and move beyond a painful past. When his father dies, anti-regime partisan Chandra must travel to his remote mountain village after nearly a decade away. Little Pooja is anxiously awaiting the man she thinks is her father, but she’s confused when Chandra arrives with Badri, a young street orphan rumored to be his son. Chandra must face his brother Suraj, who was on the opposing side during the Nepali civil war. The two brothers cannot put aside political feelings while carrying their father’s body down the steep mountain path to the river for cremation. Suraj storms off in a rage, leaving Chandra with no other men strong enough to help. Under pressure from the village elders, Chandra must seek help from outside the village to obey the rigid caste and discriminatory gender traditions he fought to eliminate during the war. Chandra searches for a solution in neighboring villages, among the police, guests at a local wedding, and rebel guerrillas… White Sun, executive produced by Danny Glover, had it’s world premiere at the 2016 Venice Film Festival, where it won the INTERFILM Award, and went on to win numerous awards at other film festivals. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMiGofqtfFg
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Acclaimed Music Biopics DALIDA and DJANGO to be Released in US | Trailer

[caption id="attachment_19318" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Dalida[/caption] The award-winning music biopics Dalida and Django, have been acquired by Under The Milky Way for theatrical releases commencing in Fall 2017 and Early 2018 respectively. Accomplished filmmaker Lisa Azuelos’ much-anticipated Dalida biopic goes backstage with the enchanting Egyptian-born Italian singer who became France’s reigning pop star from the 1950s to the 1980s. On the acquisition of Dalida, company co-founder Alexis Derendinger commented: “Quite simply, we were blown away by Sveva Alviti’s performance in Dalida. In her time, Dalida sold more records than Madonna and inspired generations of music lovers around the world. We are thrilled to bring Lisa Azuelos’s masterful interpretation of her story to US audiences.” Recording in more than five languages, Dalida sold a record-breaking 170 million albums during her lifetime, with chart-topping hits spanning Edith Piaf-esque classics to emotional disco numbers. Following Dalida’s extraordinary rise from beauty pageant contestant to cabaret artist to international superstar, this visually stunning new film tells a captivating story of professional success and personal tragedy in exquisite period detail. Italian-model-turned actress Sveva Alviti paints a nuanced portrait of the star in her breakthrough role. Dalida is directed by Lisa Azuelos (LOL, Quantom Love) and stars Sveva Alviti, Riccardo Scamarcio, Jean-Paul Rouve and Nicolas Duvauchelle. Opening Film of the 2017 Berlin Film Festival and an official selection of Rendez-vous With French Cinema, Django is a powerful biopic which will immerse viewers in a tumultuous chapter in the life of one of the 20th century’s greatest musical geniuses: the legendary Romani jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGgtO0WP9KU Derendinger continued: “We were also astonished by first time filmmaker Etienne Comar’s Django, with Reta Kateb giving a powerhouse performance as the beloved musician and exceptional artist Django Reinhardt, fighting against Nazi-occupied France and the treatment of his community. In this time of political uncertainty worldwide, we believe the film will strike a chord with a wide audience domestically.” Django is the much anticipated wartime biopic of the world-famous jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, elegantly interpreted by Reda Kateb (A Prophet, Zero Dark Thirty). As the toast of 1943 Paris, Django thrilled audiences with his distinctive brand of “hot jazz” and charmed a league of admirers including his muse “Chinese Puzzle,” played by Cécile de France. But even as the rise of Nazism forces Reinhardt- whose music is considered degenerate under the Third Reich- to make a daring escape from Paris, he refuses to be silenced, using his music as a form of protest. Kateb’s powerful performance leads this spirited biopic that will keep audiences on their tapping toes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lw5DvTAVomA Django is directed by writer/producer of “Of God and Men” Etienne Comar and stars Reda Kateb (“A Prophet”) and Cecile de France (“Hereafter”).
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Foreign Language Films

2017 EFA Feature Film Selection