Morris dances in UK, France opens The Hurt Locker

France:

Merry Christmas (Joyeux Noel) director Christian Carion’s Farewell (L’Affaire Farewell) was released on Wednesday (September 23) on 457 screen. Pathé released the film, which stars Emir Kusturica and Guillaume Canet, which is set during the Cold War in 1980s Russia where a young French engineer finds himself embroiled in one of the biggest espionage scandals of the 20^th century.

Le Dernier Pour La Route, from director Philippe Godeau, stars Francois Cluzet, Melanie Thierry and Michel Vuillermoz. The film chronicles a man’s alcoholism and his recovery. Wild Bunch released the film on 201 screens from September 23.

SND released Kathryn Bigelow’s US indie The Hurt Locker on 121 screens. The film, which has been generating Oscar buzz for months, stars Jeremy Renner as the head of an Army bomb unit in Iraq. Reviews in France have been hugely positive across the board.

UK:

Lucy Akhurst’s directorial debut Morris: A Life With Bells On takes a satirical look at the quintessentially English pastime of Morris dancing. The comedy, on limited release through Twist Films, follows a band of dancers whose attempts to update the traditional dance are put into jeopardy when the group is thrown out of competition by the hobby’s governing body.

Metrodome Distribution has two films out this weekend, Heart Of Fire and Management, both on limited releases from September 25. Director Luigi Falorni’s war drama Heart Of Fire focuses on the true story of a young female soldier during the Eritrean civil war, and will play exclusively at the ICA cinema in London. US indie Management stars Jennifer Aniston as a saleswoman who tries to rebuff the advances of an infatuated motel manager.

Local production White Lightnin’, directed by Dominic Murphy, gets a West End release through Momentum Pictures. Set in West Virginia, the film follows ‘dancing outlaw’ Jesco White (played by Edward Hogg), who struggles to deal with the murder of his father.

Germany:

Sherry Hormann’s Desert Flower has opened nationwide in over 200 towns and cities throughout Germany by Majestic Filmverleih. Starring Liya Kebede, Sally Hawkins and Timothy Spall, the adaptation of former supermodel Waris Dirie’s autobiography received its world premiere at this year’s Venice Film Festival.

Veteran filmmaker Margarethe von Trotta’s latest collaboration with actress Barbara Sukowa, Vision, about the 12th century Benedictine abbess Hildegard von Bingen received a nationwide release by Concorde Filmverleih. The world premiere of the Euro5.2m biopic had been held at the Toronto Film festival.

Gustava de Kervern and Benoit Delépine’s anarchic comedy Louise Hires A Contract Killer (Louise-Michel) opens for Kool in nine German towns, with subtitled prints showing at Frankfurt’s Mal seh’n Kino and Berlin’s Central.

Spain:

Alta Films will release Juan Jose Campanella’s criminal romantic drama The Secret In Their Eyes in Spanish cinemas this weekend following its great reception in official selection at the San Sebastian film festival this week. Hotly tipped to be Argentina’s entrant for the Oscars, Secret tells the story of a retired criminal court investigator, played by Argentinean superstar Ricardo Darin,  who decides to delve into an unsolved crime from 25 years earlier. The film is currently number one at the box office in Argentina.

Oscar award-winning director Ang Lee’s musical drama Taking Woodstock, also at San Sebastian, will be released by Universal Pictures nationwide. The film is inspired by the true story of Eliot Tiber, who was working for his parents running a dilapidated hotel, when he decided to set up a music event in his neighbour’s farm to drum up business, which became the world renowned Woodstock.

Jean-Jacques Mantello’s documentary OceanWorld 3D about a turtle’s journey through the seas was very well received earlier this week in a special screening at the San Sebastian film festival. Now Wanda Films will be looking to follow that up with its theatrical release in Spain.