Top 100 Most Anticipated Foreign Films of 2016: #19. Bertrand Bonello’s Paris is Happening

Paris is Happening

Director: Bertrand Bonello
Writer: Bertrand Bonello

Following the horrific bombings in Paris which occurred in late November, Bertrand Bonello’s latest, Paris is Happening, sounds like risky business, indeed. With a plot concerning youths planting bombs around the City of Lights, the subject matter may hit too close to home for most tastes, though it will also lead to significant anticipation if/when the title is eventually programmed. Bonello has built an impressive filmography, with titles like the Pasolini inspired Tiresia (2003) and 2011’s exquisite House of Pleasure courting equal parts critical praise and derision. He’s yet to score the international attention he deserves, even though his last title was the unauthorized YSL bio, Saint Laurent (2014).

Cast: Vincent Rottiers, Laure Valentinelli, Jamil McCraven

Production Co.: Pandora Filmproduktion, Rectangle Productions

U.S. Distributor: Rights Available. TBD (domestic) Wild Bunch (international).

Release Date: Currently in post-production (and with a tentative French theatrical release listed in July), we’re hoping to see Bonello’s provocative new film snag a slot in the main competition, where both House of Pleasure and Saint Laurent played in 2011 and 2014.