ARTE France Cinéma have thrown their support behind a quintet of projects and among them we find Lucile Hadzihalilovic re-teaming with Marion Cotillard for La Tour de glace. Set to shoot in January and February next year in both France and Germany, this fourth feature film is set in the 1970s. Cotillard was cast in Hadzihalilovic’s debut back in 2004 (Innocence). By the sounds of the synopsis it looks like the central character will be a young actress. Co-written along with Geoff Cox (who helped with Évolution (2015) and Earwig (2021)), from her high mountain village, 15-year-old Jeanne dreams of leaving her childhood orphanage and discovering the world. Fleeing to the city of lights, she finds refuge in a shed. In the morning, the Snow Queen appears to him, dazzling. The shed turns out to be a studio where a film adapted from the tale is being shot. Cristina, the star, who embodies the Queen, reigns supreme on the set. Fascinated by this cruel woman with a disturbing charm, both powerful and vulnerable, Jeanne becomes her protege and her confidante as the trap closes in on her. Goodfellas are handling international sales. Here are the other four projects receiving funding:
La Petite vadrouille – Bruno Podalydès
Starring Daniel Auteuil, Sandrine Kiberlain, Denis Podalydès
Production Co.: Why Not Productions
Currently filming in Bourgogne
Justine, her husband Albin and all their band of friends find a solution to solve their money problems: organize a fake romantic cruise for Franck, a big investor, who is trying to seduce a woman. Problem: it is to Justine that Franck proposes this weekend “in love”…
Oui – Nadav Lapid [Les Films du Losange]
Production Co.: Les Films du Bal (France), Komplizen Film (Allemagne), Bustan Film (Israël)
April to June of 2024 in Tel Aviv.
Y was a pianist and composer. Now he entertains the powerful with his wife Jasmine. The couple give themselves body and soul. They never say no, always say yes. And it works pretty well for them. Their life is so horrible. We can’t just dance, sing and prostitute ourselves all day.
Bird – Andrea Arnold
Starring Franz Rogowski, Barry Keoghan
Production Co.: Ad Vitam (France)
End of July in Kent.
L’Engloutie – Louise Hémon [Kinology]
Starring Galatea Bellugi, Matthieu Lucci
Writers: Anaïs Tellenne with Maxence Stamatiadis
Production Co.: Take Shelter (France)
2024 January to March in les Hautes-Alpes
1899. Hautes-Alpes. “Suddenly” is a hamlet surrounded by snow on the high plateaus of a remote mountain. On a stormy night, its inhabitants see the arrival of Aimée, a young teacher, secular and republican, who will stay for the winter to teach a handful of children. But shortly after his arrival, an avalanche engulfs a first mountaineer…
Eric Lavallée is the founder, CEO, editor-in-chief, film journalist and critic at IONCINEMA.com (founded in 2000). Eric is a regular at Sundance, Cannes and TIFF. He has a BFA in Film Studies at the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema. In 2013 he served as a Narrative Competition Jury Member at the SXSW Film Festival. He was an associate producer on Mark Jackson's This Teacher (2018 LA Film Festival, 2018 BFI London). In 2022 he served as a New Flesh Comp for Best First Feature at the 2022 Fantasia Intl. Film Festival. Current top films for 2022 include Tár (Todd Field), All That Breathes (Shaunak Sen), Aftersun (Charlotte Wells).
