The in-person 14th edition of Les Arcs Film Festival returns to the French Alps from December 10-17 to celebrate European Cinema and present eight films in Official Competition as well as the industry programme.
Official Competition selections vying for the Crystal Arrow award include David Wagner’s Eismayer from Austria (Loco Films handles sales), Macedonian director Teona Strugar Mitevska’s co-production The Happiest Man In The World (distributed by Pyramide Films), and Fulvio Risuleo’s Ghost Night from Italy (Vision Distribution), and Leonor Serraille’s French title Un Petit Frère (Diaphana Distribution).
Rounding out the selection are Floor Van Der Meulen’s Dutch-Slovenian co-production Pink Moon (Urban Sales), Pierre Foldes’ animated Annecy winner Blind Willow, Sleeping Widow (Gebeka Films represents sales), German Alex Schaad’s Skin Deep (Beta Cinema), and Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel’s Austrian title Vera (Be For Films handles sales).
“The festival encompasses all levels of the film industry from works in progress to music composers and talent – everything that happens in the film market all the way to theatrical distribution,” artistic director and Official Selection programmer Frederic Boyer told Screen. “For distributors, having the stamp of having been at les Arcs is important for their films.”
Festival co-founders Guillaume Calop and Pierre-Emmanuel Fleurantin called the features in this year’s competition selection “demanding”, and added that “they deal with serious issues with a light touch”. The co-founders highlighted the diversity of the selection committee, noting that “almost all the decades are represented from 20- to 60-year-olds and there are more women than men. This selection carries the vision of this mix of generations, a modernity on many levels”.
Calop added that the festival’s 14th edition remains true to its mission. “We wanted to create a festival in the mountains where we grew up,” he said. ”Like Sundance, our goal is to defend independent European cinema and showcase the making of a film up until its distribution.”
The festival will host 13 premieres featuring Christian Duguay’s horseback-riding drama Ride Above (Pathe), Marc Fitoussi’s Two Tickets To Greece (Memento Films Distribution) starring Kristin Scott Thomas and Laure Calamy, French actor-turned-director Guillaume Gouix’s Amore Mio (Urban Distribution) starring Alysson Paradis and Elodie Bouchez, and Jean-Paul Salomé’s The Sitting Duck (Le Pacte) with Isabelle Huppert and Yvan Attal.
Three days of industry activity housed at the Industry Village will focus on projects in development and films in post-production, among other areas. The Co-Production Village will run from December 10-13 and showcase around 18 European features in development for potential investors, buyers or co-producers. The Village has become known for highlighting several high-profile projects that have gone on to premiere at festivals and win awards worldwide.
The Work in Progress section runs December 11-12, while the fest’s Le Sommet (The Summit) professional event geared towards French distributors and theatre owners will run from December 13-17. Industry conferences will cover a range of hot topics. The complete Co-production Village and Work in progress line-ups will be revealed in the coming weeks.
“It’s a very intimate atmosphere. We’re amongst ourselves, there are no VIPs, everyone eats in the same restaurants and everyone from major talent to first-timers are on the same level. It’s very particular,” Boyer said, adding that the proximity to the ski slopes added another convivial component. “People can talk to each other on chairlifts.”
The festival will screen several titles from across the continent in the Playtime selection honouring European creativity, the Hauteur section focused on auteur work, a focus on Alpine cinema and a short film competition, among other sidebar categories including a new Oscar Au Ski section of European titles previously nominated for the best international feature film Academy Award.
As always, Les Arcs will highlight female filmmakers with a Les Arcs-Sisley Femme du Cinéma award, in addition to a series of masterclasses and workshops with the Lab Femmes du Cinema think tank that works year-round on issues of parity and gender diversity in the audiovisual industry in partnership with Studiocanal, the 50/50 Collective, and the French Ministry of Culture.
Prolific French actor and director Roschdy Zem heads up a star-powered jury alongside French actress Jeanne Balibar, screenwriter and Call My Agent! showrunner Fanny Herrero, Italian director Filippo Meneghetti, and French actress Nadia Tereszkiewicz, the breakout star of 2022 Cannes selection Forever Young (Les Amandiers) from Valerie Bruni-Tedeschi.
Léa Mysius, the director behind 2022 Cannes title The Five Devils and 2017’s Ava, will preside over the short films jury alongside singer-songwriter-actress Soko, actress Celeste Brunnquell, actor Sofiann Khammes, editor, festival programmer and screenwriter Jacques Kermabon, and Franco-Algerian actress Shirine Boutella.
French director Cedric Klapisch and actress-director-singer Veerle Baetens will give masterclasses and will be the subject of screenings of their films including Klapisch classics Family Resemblances and Good Old Daze, Felix van Groeningen’s Alabama Monroe, and Olivier Masset-Depasse’s Duelles starring Baetens.
After an online 2020 event, the festival returned for an in-person edition in 2021 despite a snowstorm, train cancellations and a new Covid wave. “For a little festival, there are a lot of things happening. It’s never boring,” Boyer said.
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