Philadelphia Film Festival Unveils 2020 Lineup (Exclusive)

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentCéline Petit, a revered French publicist who worked at the Public Systeme Cinema on a number of festivals, died on Friday due to illness. She was 45.Petit’s death was confirmed by Bruno Barde, the managing director of the Public Systeme Cinema, where she worked for 18 years.

Ed Meza @edmezavarSandra den Hamer, president of the Association of European Film Archives and Cinematheques (ACE) and director of the Netherlands’ Eye Filmmuseum, has called on a European framework to facilitate the sharing of European film heritage with the public.In a lively online discussion between several representatives of European film institutes at the Lumière Film Festival’s International Classic Films Market (MIFC) in Lyon, France, on Thursday, den Hamer pointed out that many small

Lise Pedersen While the global pandemic caused cinema theaters in France to close for the first time ever (“Even the war didn’t close down cinemas!” exclaimed Lumière Festival director Thierry Frémaux on opening night), it did mean people had more time to watch movies.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentFilming on French soil will be spared from the nightly curfew that was announced by French president Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday and will go into effect on Saturday for at least six weeks.The 9 p.m.-6 a.m.

Ed Meza @edmezavarThe Lumière Festival’s Classic Film Market (MIFC) in Lyon, France, is spotlighting efforts in Portugal to digitize and preserve the nation’s film heritage as part of this year’s country focus.Portugal is a good representation of what is happening in Europe, according to MIFC program coordinator Gérald Duchaussoy.The Cinemateca Portuguesa has agreements with rights holders and distributors, organizes events, promotes Portuguese cinema at festivals, digitizes and restores films

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentDealing with a surge in COVID-19 cases, France has imposed a nightly curfew in Paris and eight other cities, which could potentially put some film releases and shoots on ice.Announced by President Emmanuel Macron during a televised address on Wednesday, the curfew will kick off on Saturday and remain in place for six weeks, running from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Netflix boss Ted Sarandos has defended Cuties, calling the film “misunderstood”.Following an indictment from a Texas grand jury for the film’s “lewd” depiction of children, Sarandos said Cuties was “very misunderstood” in the US.The film, released last month, focuses on 11-year-old Amy who finds herself caught between the traditional Muslim values of her family and her newfound ambition to join an all-girls dance troupe.Speaking at the virtual Mipcom market, Sarandos said, per Deadline: “It’s a

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentMK2, a family-owned French film company boasting a prominent arthouse cinema chain in Paris and in Spain, is staging various events to turn the spotlight on classics from Charles Chaplin to Claude Chabrol and Abbas Kiarostami which are part of its impressive library of 600 movies.MK2’s CEO Nathanael Karmitz has been invited by Thierry Fremaux, the chief of Cannes Film Festival and the ongoing Lumiere Festival in Lyon, to deliver a masterclass on Tuesday

Dave McNary Film ReporterThe 43rd Denver Film Festival will open on Oct. 22 with a drive-in showing of Chloe Zhao’s “Nomadland,” starring Frances McDormand, at the Red Rocks Park.The festival will be mostly virtual but will also hold drive-in showings of “Nine Days” as its Centerpiece title on Oct.

Playing a 65-year-old New York high-society widow who burns through her savings and moves to Paris with her son in Azazel Jacobs'French Exit, Michelle Pfeiffer sucks the juice from each line like a Louisianan devouring a crawfish. It's a full-on diva turn — a smorgasbord of side-eye and shade, of lacerating one-liners dispatched between drags on cigarettes and slurps of martinis.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentBeta Film has closed multiple pre-sales deals on “Atlantic Crossing,” the prestige Norwegian period drama starring Sofia Helin (“The Bridge”) as Crown Princess Märtha, and Kyle MacLachlan (“Twin Peaks”) as U.S. President Franklin D.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorFollowing a backlash within its membership ranks and the resignation of its board of directors and president earlier this year, France’s Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma has set new leadership. At a general assembly today, the Académie, which hands out the country’s César Awards, elected former CNC and Arte chief Véronique Cayla as president and Intouchables co-director Éric Toledano as vice president.

Cannes Film Festival organizers, after having to cancel this year's physical event due to the coronavirus pandemic, said on Monday that four films from this year's Official Selection will screen in the city in the south of France after all during a "2020 Special" taking place at the end of October. Organizers had focused their efforts this year on Cannes 2020, a branded selection of titles that did not screen in Cannes but at other international fests, including Venice.

The 2020 Cannes Film Festival has risen from the dead. And much like a zombie from a George A.

Andreas Wiseman International EditorGeorgian-French drama Beginning (Dasatskisi) was the big winner at the San Sebastian Film Festival, winning the top prize Golden Shell at last night’s awards ceremony.The buzzed-about arthouse film from first-timer Dea Kulumbegashvili also won Best Director, Best Actress and Best Screenplay awards. We debuted first footage for the film earlier this month.Kulumbegashvili wrote the script with Rati Oneli.

Andreas Wiseman International EditorThe San Sebastian Film Festival has withdrawn the accreditation of U.S.-born French filmmaker Eugène Green for refusing to wear a mask.According to the Spanish festival, Green refused five requests for him to don a mask at last night’s premiere of his film Atarrabi Et Mikelats and he was ultimately asked to leave the auditorium.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentJacques Audiard, the French director of Palme d’Or winning “Dheepan” and Oscar-nominated “A Prophet,” is currently filming his next feature, “Les Olympiades,” near Paris.Audiard, who enjoys working with a mix of rising and well-seasoned talents behind and in front of the camera, wrote the script of “Les Olympiades” with two female auteurs, Léa Mysius (“Ava”) and Celine Sciamma, whose latest film “Portrait of a Young Lady on Fire” won best screenplay at

Not since Jeff Goldblum stocked his penis in a jar or Bryan Cranston tore apart his meth lab has a fly played such a pivotal role on screen as in Mandibles (Mandibules), the latest comic whatchamacallit from French one-man-band Quentin Dupieux.

Ben Croll French outfit Atlas V, the production company behind the critically acclaimed “Gloomy Eyes” and one of the industry leaders in narrative VR, has just launched production on its newest animated project, a 20-minute standalone film called “The Little Mouse.”Sharing details of the project with Variety, Atlas V co-founder Antoine Cayrol called the film “a narrative driven fairy tale” that acts as the origin story for the Gallic equivalent of the tooth fairy (known in French-speaking