07/11/2018 - The Les Arcs Film Festival has unveiled the programme for its tenth edition, which will unspool from 15-22 December

An undeniable success story in the European cinema event landscape, which has over the years established itself as a prominent rendezvous and a benchmark gathering for all European film professionals, the Les Arcs Film Festival will this year be celebrating its tenth birthday from 15-22 December.

The ten features (six of which will be having their French premieres) in the running for the 2018 Crystal Arrow will be judged by a jury chaired by Sweden’s Ruben Ostlund, who will be aided by Bosnian director Jasmila Žbanić, French actresses Clémence Poésy and Charlotte Le Bon, their counterpart Alex Lutz, Polish DoP Łukasz Żal and composer Jean-Benoît Dunckel (from the group Air). The competition cooked up by artistic director Frédéric Boyer will contain at least five titles directed by women: Joy [+see also:
film review
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interview: Sudabeh Mortezai
film profile] by Austria’s Sudabeh Mortezai (Europa Cinemas Label in the Giornate degli Autori at Venice) and L’animale [+see also:
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interview: Katharina Mückstein
film profile] by her fellow countrywoman Katharina Mückstein (popular in the Berlinale Panorama), Mug [+see also:
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interview: Małgorzata Szumowska
film profile] by Poland’s Malgorzata Szumowska (Grand Jury Prize at Berlin), Real Love [+see also:
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interview: Claire Burger
film profile] by France’s Claire Burger (winner of the Giornate degli Autori) and ANIARA [+see also:
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film profile] by Sweden’s Pella Kågerman (who co-directed this Toronto-premiered movie with Hugo Lilja). Also vying for the top prize will be In Fabric [+see also:
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interview: Peter Strickland
film profile] by Brit Peter Strickland (screened at Toronto and in competition at San Sebastián), Smuggling Hendrix [+see also:
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interview: Marios Piperides
film profile] by Cyprus’ Mario Piperides (crowned at Tribeca) and two more pictures that were unveiled at Toronto: Her Job [+see also:
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interview: Nikos Labôt
film profile] by Greece’s Nikos Labôt and The Factory [+see also:
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film profile] by Russia’s Yury Bykov. The final title in competition will be announced at a later date.

Featuring on the "Playtime" programme are Mothers’ Instinct [+see also:
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interview: Olivier Masset-Depasse
film profile] by Belgium’s Olivier Masset-Depasse, Jellyfish [+see also:
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interview: James Gardner
film profile] by Brit James Gardner and Only You [+see also:
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film profile] by his fellow countryman Harry Wootliff, the Hungarian animated film Ruben Brandt, Collector [+see also:
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film profile] by Milorad Krstić, Lucia’s Grace [+see also:
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film profile] by Italy’s Gianni Zanasi, That Time of Year [+see also:
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film profile] by Denmark’s Paprika Steen, The Saint Bernard Syndicate [+see also:
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film profile] by her fellow countryman Mads Brügger and the documentary The Raft [+see also:
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interview: Marcus Lindeen
film profile] by Sweden’s Marcus Lindeen.

The "Heights" section will allow audiences to savour Our Wonderful Lives [+see also:
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interview: Fabienne Godet
film profile] by France’s Fabienne Godet, Styx [+see also:
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interview: Wolfgang Fischer
film profile] by Germany’s Wolfgang Fischer, The Load [+see also:
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interview: Ognjen Glavonić
film profile] by Serbia’s Ognjen Glaonic and the European co-production The Mercy of the Jungle [+see also:
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interview: Joël Karekezi
film profile] by Rwanda’s Joël Karekezi.

The Focus at this year’s festival will be turned on Poland, with a dozen features from the country on the line-up, including the recent titles Another Day of Life [+see also:
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interview: Raul de la Fuente
film profile] by Raul de la Fuente and Damian Nenow, Fugue [+see also:
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interview: Agnieszka Smoczyńska
film profile] by Agnieszka Smoczynska, Silent Night [+see also:
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interview: Dawid Ogrodnik
interview: Piotr Domalewski
film profile] by Piotr Domalewki, Tower. A Bright Day [+see also:
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interview: Jagoda Szelc
film profile] by Jagoda Szelc, Over the Limit [+see also:
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film profile] by Marta Prus and Wild Roses [+see also:
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interview: Anna Jadowska
film profile] by Anna Jadowska.

The French premieres include A Faithful Man [+see also:
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interview: Louis Garrel
film profile] by Louis Garrel, which will have the honour of opening the gathering, Le Mystère Henri Pick by Rémi Bezançon, Moi, maman, ma mère et moi [+see also:
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film profile] by Christophe Le Masne, School’s Out [+see also:
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interview: Sébastien Marnier
film profile] by Sébastien Marnier, The Summer House [+see also:
film review
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interview: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi
film profile] by Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, Les Invisibles [+see also:
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interview: Liza Benguigui
film profile] by Louis-Julien Petit and Conviction [+see also:
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film profile] by Antoine Raimbault.

Of particular interest on the menu aimed at school children are Funan [+see also:
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interview: Denis Do
film profile] by France’s Denis Do, Ailo's Journey [+see also:
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film profile] by his fellow countryman Guillaume Maidatchevsky, and the British productions Strike [+see also:
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film profile] by Trevor Hardy and Old Boys [+see also:
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film profile] by Toby MacDonald.

Romain Duris and Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi will be the guests of honour at this edition, which will also welcome a huge number of other filmmakers and actors, who will come to celebrate the tenth birthday of an event that this year will inaugurate a “Slope of Fame” that will dot the path running through the Arc 1950 village with signs paying tribute to the great artists of European cinema.

Interestingly, the short-film jury will be chaired by French actor Ramzy Bedia (aided by Croatian filmmaker Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović and actor-director Félix Moati, among others).

And that’s not to mention the professional events (which will be outlined in more detail soon), including the Industry Village, which will bring together almost 500 professionals to check out the 20 projects in the Coproduction Village (15-18 December), the 14 films in Work in Progress (16 December), the new Talent Village (see the news – sponsored this year by Danish filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg) and the Music Village, as well as the Distributors/Exhibitors Summit (18-22 December, with the screening of 12 features, various workshops and the Initiative Lab all on the agenda).

(Translated from French)