Road Movie wins over Nanni Moretti
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Fifteen films have been selected in competition at the 26th Turin Film Festival (November 21-29) by filmmaker Nanni Moretti, the event’s famous artistic director.
Among them is debut French feature Road Movie by Pascal-Alex Vincent, who won acclaim for his shorts (including Baby Shark - Official Selection at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival - and Candy Boy - Directors’ Fortnight 2007).
The film stars Victor and Alexandre Carril, Anaïs Demoustier, Katrin Sass, Fernando Ramallo and Samir Harrag.
Co-written by Vincent and Martin Drouot, the title centres on two 18-year-old identical twin brothers who decide to travel on foot to Spain – without telling their father – in order to attend the funeral of a mother they hardly knew. But the crude conditions of their journey complicate matters and taint their relationship.
Their encounters with a service station attendant who becomes a stowaway on their trip, as well as a farm hand, disrupt the harmony. Despite the beauty of the landscapes, their journey is not so idyllic and having a twin brother proves unbearable.
Produced by Nicolas Brevière for Local Films, Road Movie received co-production support from Germany’s Busse & Halberschmidt, pre-sales from Ciné Cinéma and backing from the Poitou-Charentes and Ile-de-France regions. The film is scheduled to be released January 14, 2009 by Bodega Films.
Screening out of competition at Turin is Mateo Falcone (formerly entitled Castigo), the debut directorial feature by Eric Vuillard, who co-wrote Philippe Grandrieux’s A New Life (2002). Adapted from a short story by Prosper Mérimée, the film tells the story of a country-dwelling child who has to hand over a bandit to some soldiers, an act that has serious consequences for his family. Produced by L Films and Mandrake Films, the feature received pre-sales and co-production backing from Arte France Cinéma.
Also showing in the different festival sidebars are Karin Albou’s Le Chant des mariées (“The Brides’ Song”, produced by Gloria Films and France 3 Cinéma - set to be released on December 17 by Pyramide); Raoul Ruiz’s French/Chilean co-production Nucingen House; French/Israeli co-production 7 Days by Ronit and Shlomi Elkabetz; Eran Riklis’ minority co-production Lemon Tree [trailer, making of]; and the documentary May 68: A Fine Piece of Work by Jean-Luc and Loic Magneron.
Fabien Lemercier cineuropa.org