Isabelle Huppert Remembers Jean-Luc Godard: ‘We’re All a Bit Like Orphans Now That He’s Gone’

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Magnolia Pictures has acquired U.S. rights to “Kompromat,” an action thriller film directed by Jerome Salle (“The Largo Winch” ), starring Gilles Lellouche (“The Stronghold”) and Joanna Kulig (“Cold War”). SND, the commercial arm of M6, is representing the film in international markets. Loosely based on a true story, “Kompromat” stars Lellouche as a French diplomat working in Siberia who is arrested overnight by the Russian authorities. Accused of sexually abusing his own daughter and imprisoned, he realizes he is a victim of a Kompromat. Someone is working with the FSB (Federal Security Service) to frame him. His only way out is to escape.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent IFC Films has bought North American rights to Sebastien Marnier’s thriller “The Origin of Evil” starring “Call My Agent!” star Laure Calamy. The film world premiered at the Venice Film Festival and had its North American premiere at Toronto. The suspense-filled ensemble film also stars Doria Tillier (“La belle époque”), Suzanne Clément (“Mommy”), Dominique Blanc (“Indochine”) and Jacques Weber (“En thérapie”). Marnier’s follow up to “Faultless”and “School’s Out,” “The Origin of Evil” was produced by Caroline Bonmarchand with Kim McCraw and Luc Déry of mirco_scope with Avenue B Productions executive producing. IFC Films will release the film in 2023.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent A trio of French films, the melodrama “A Family for 1640 Days,” political thriller “Goliath” and comedy “Adieu Paris,” are set to be released in the U.S. by the New York-based company Distrib Films. Both Fabien Gorgeart’s “A Family for 1640 Days” (“Une vraie famille”) and Edouard Baer’s “Adieu Paris” are represented in international markets by Le Pacte. “A Family for 1640 Days,” winner of the top prize at last year’s American French Film Festival, revolves around Simon, a six-year old adopted boy who is about to reunite with his biological father. The movie stars Melanie Thierry (“En therapie”) and Lyes Salem. Distrib Films is planning to release the film in early 2023 and have it play at festivals.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Rodolphe Belmer, the former CEO of Canal+ Group, is set to join TF1 and is on track to be appointed managing director of TF1, France’s leading commercial channel. Gilles Pélisson, who is currently the chairman and CEO of TF1 Group, will propose Belmer as CEO at an Oct. 27 board meeting. Belmer would then fully succeed Pélisson as chairman and CEO after the following board meeting on Feb. 13. Pélisson will remain at the company as chairman of the Board of Directors until Feb. 13 and will then join the Bouygues group as senior VP in charge of media and development.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Netflix has unveiled first look images of Darren Star’s Emmy-nominated hit show “Emily in Paris” season three. The show’s third and fourth seasons are currently filming in France. Netflix will be unveiling some special news on “Emily in Paris” on Sept. 24 during its virtual Tudum event. The third season brings back producer and star Lily Collins also returns Lily Collins, Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, Lucien Laviscount, Lucas Bravo, Ashley Park and Camille Razat, among others. Season three follows Emily as she finds herself at a crucial crossroads in every aspect of her life. Faced with two very different paths, Emily will have to decide exactly where her loyalties lie — at work and in her romantic life — and what those decisions mean for her future in France, all while continuing to immerse herself in the adventures and surprising twists and turns that life in Paris provides.  The first images unveiled today suggest Emily will reunite with her British boyfriend, played by Laviscount.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent After “Midnight in Paris,” Woody Allen will return to the French capital for his 50th movie which he’s described as a “poisonous romantic thriller” with a pair of French stars, Valerie Lemercier (“Aline”) and Niels Schneider (“Love Affair(s))”. The untitled film, the plot of which is being kept under wraps, will start filming next month and will be entirely in French with a budget in the $10-million range. Allen has described the film to be similar to “Match Point,” in that it would be “exciting, dramatic and also very sinister.”  Allen sparked headlines earlier this week after Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia ran a story reporting that the New York-based filmmaker had told them he was planning on retiring. Allen’s representative then issued a statement saying that the director had “no intention of retiring.”

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or winning film “Triangle of Sadness” has been sold by Coproduction Office to major distributors around the world. “Triangle of Sadness,” which was acquired by Neon for North America at the Cannes Film Festival, just had its North American premiere at Toronto and is playing at the San Sebastian Film Festival. Coproduction Office has now sold the movie worldwide to major distributors. Recent deals have been closed with Stay Golden (China), Edko (Hong Kong), Impact (India), Gaga (Japan), Green Narae (South Korea), Catchplay (Taiwan), TBA Studios (Philippines), Sun (Latin America), Frontrow (Middle East), Forefont (South Africa) and Les Films 26 (French-speaking Africa). 

Juliette Binoche has admitted "it wasn't easy" working with late director Jean-Luc Godard on 1985's Hail Mary. The Breathless director passed away at his home in Rolle, Switzerland on 13 September at the age of 91. During a press conference at the San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain on Sunday, his Hail Mary star was asked about working with the French-Swiss filmmaker.

Liza Foreman “You have to know how to reject roles so as not to enter into a system in which women are only seen in a certain way,” said French actor Juliette Binoche on Sunday. Binoche spoke up for women whilst answering questions from the press at the San Sebastián Film Festival where she is a recipient this year of the festival’s Donostia Award, as a tribute to her career. “The English Patient” star is a go-to actress for a slew of auteur directors, including Krzysztof Kieślowski and Claire Denis. Denis joined her on stage to discuss “Both Sides of the Blade,” a love triangle film co-starring Binoche, which will screen at the festival before the award’s presentation.

Juliette Binoche spoke about what she described as the challenging process of working with Jean-Luc Godard during a press conference at the San Sebastian film festival.

Good afternoon Insiders. Max Goldbart here and as the world prepares for Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, which has dominated headlines this week, I’ll take you through the past few days in international TV and film.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Canal+, France’s leading pay TV group, has signed distribution deals with Universal and Sony to ramp up its programming of U.S. movies. Under the pact, Canal+ now has access to the studios’ new films six months after their releases. Sony’s “Spiderman : No Way Home” is currently being broadcast on Canal+’s linear pay TV channels, along with its transactional VOD platform, My Canal. The news was half-revealed by Maxime Saada, Canal+ Group’s chair and CEO, during the company’s upbeat press conference on Sept. 14, which was held at their posh headquarters in Paris. Saada, who recently joined the management board of Vivendi, Canal Plus Group’s parent company, said the outfit already boasts partnerships with Fox, Disney and Warner, as well as Paramount.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent ABC Signature, a part of Disney Television Studios, has acquired English language adaptation rights to TF1’s hit detective show “HIP (High Intellectual Potential).” The U.S. adaptation is currently in development, and a showrunner, writing team and cast will be announced at a later stage. The original series, created by Alice Chegaray-Breugnot, Stéphane Carrié and Nicolas Jean, and starring Audrey Fleurot (“Intouchables”) and Mehdi Nebbou (“Serial (Bad) Weddings”), has been one of the most successful French-language shows on French TV in the last 10 years. Produced by Mediawan-owned Septembre Productions, and Itinéraire Productions, a UGC company, the series has been sold to more than 105 territories and has garnered more than 175 million views globally to date. A Czech and Slovakian version have already been filmed for Nova and Markiza respectively and are expected to launch soon.

As you’re probably aware at this point, acclaimed filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard passed away earlier this week at the age of 91. The exact details of his passing have been kept private, but it is being reported that he used assisted suicide to end his own life.

passed away on Tuesday (September 13) at the age of 91.Now, his long-time legal adviser, Patrick Jeanneret, has confirmed that the director died by assisted suicide, having suffered from “multiple disabling pathologies”.“He could not live like you and me, so he decided with a great lucidity, as he had all his life, to say, ‘Now, it’s enough,’” Jeanneret told The New York Times, noting that assisted suicide is both legal and tightly regulated in Switzerland.He went on to explain that Godard wanted to die with dignity, and “that was exactly what he did”.The Franco-Swiss director was known for movies such as Breathless (1960) and Contempt (1963), which pushed cinematic boundaries.His films showcased handheld camera work, jump cuts and existential dialogue that revolutionised French cinema and filmmaking in the 1960s.Also known for his witticisms, Godard famously once observed that “a film consists of a beginning, a middle and an end, though not necessarily in that order.”Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs director Quentin Tarantino was said to be heavily influenced by the late filmmaker, having been initiated by Godard and his Paris-based contemporaries.Other filmmakers have since taken to social media to pay tribute to Godard, with Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz, Baby Driver) recently describing him as “one of the most influential, iconoclastic film-makers of them all”.“It was ironic that he himself revered the Hollywood studio film-making system, as perhaps no other director inspired as many people to just pick up a camera and start shooting,” he wrote.Director Asif Kapadia, who has helmed films and documentaries including Senna, Amy and Diego Maradona, also paid tribute to the late filmmaker, simply writing: “The King is Dead.”

died Tuesday at age 91. The Franco-Swiss director, who helped usher in a new era of cinema with titles like “Breathless” (1960) and “A Woman is a Woman” (1961), was mourned and celebrated across social media by scores of fans and fellow artists.Edgar Wright called Godard “one of the most influential, iconoclastic film-makers of them all,” recalling the “Breathless/Godard” spoofs he made while he was in college.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Loco Films has boarded international sales rights to actor-turned-helmer Dinara Droukarova’s feature debut “Woman at Sea” which will world premiere in the New Directors section at the San Sebastian Film Festival. Produced by Marianne Slot and Carine LeBlanc at Paris-based Slot Machine (“Melancholia”), “Woman at Sea” stars Droukarova as Lili, who has left everything behind to travel to the end of the earth to fulfil her dream of fishing in the northern seas, in Iceland. She convinces Ian, a fishing boat skipper, to give her a chance and embarks on the Rebel. She is the only woman in the crew but she will win everybody’s respect thanks to her determination and courage. “We are proud of this first film, shot on the harsh northern seas about a young woman seeking the fresh air of freedom. A beautiful and free film and the birth of a new director,” said Laurent Danielou, founder and president of Loco Films.

Tributes to Jean-Luc Godard, a pioneering leader of French cinema, began to flood in immediately after it was reported that the director died today, aged 91, with figures from the world of cinema, politics, and beyond remembering the director for his powerful, singular work.

confirmed his death on Twitter, calling him a “national treasure” who “invented a resolutely modern, intensely free art.”Godard burst on the international scene with his debut feature, 1960’s “À bout de souffle” (“Breathless”), which revolutionized cinematic storytelling with its fractured unlinear narrative, improvisational choreography and rapid editing.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Immediately after news of French New Wave icon Jean-Luc Godard’s death broke on Tuesday (Sept. 13), tributes have started pouring in from world leaders, fellow filmmakers, artists and cinephiles around the world. French president Emmanuel Macron was among the first to paid tribute to Godard on Twitter, describing Godard as “the most iconoclastic of New Wave filmmakers, had invented a resolutely modern, intensely free art. We are losing a national treasure, a look of genius.” Ce fut comme une apparition dans le cinéma français. Puis il en devint un maître. Jean-Luc Godard, le plus iconoclaste des cinéastes de la Nouvelle Vague, avait inventé un art résolument moderne, intensément libre. Nous perdons un trésor national, un regard de génie. pic.twitter.com/bQneeqp8on Godard, who was internationally revered and whose work paved the way for many filmmakers, was also celebrated by Edgar Wright, the writer-director of “Last Night in Soho,” who wrote on social media that Godard was “one of the most influential, iconoclastic film-makers of them all.”