European Films

Gallic beauty Audrey Tautou, last seen in Les poupées russes (The Russian Dolls) and in the international blockbuster The Da Vinci Code, can next be seen in the romantic comedy Hors de prix for French director Pierre Salvadori (Après vous). She stars as Irène, a girl who uses her charm and good looks to trick rich men into paying for her at swanky hotels. The male lead of the romantic comedy is played by Gad Elmaleh (François Pignon in La doublure/The Valet), who will play a waiter named Jean who tricks Irène into believing he is one of those rich men. When she finds out the truth, she tries to get away, but by then Jean has fallen in love and will not let her get away so easily.

The Venice Days or Giornate degli autori, one of the independent sidebars of the Venice Film Festival besides the International Critics’ Week, has announced its line-up of 12 titles for its 2006 edition. The roster includes seven first films, two second films and a special screening and is dominated by European fare, with 7 European titles plus several more films that were co-produced with partners from the old continent.

 

Brian De Palma’s 1940s crime noir The Black Dahlia will open the Venice Film Festival on August 30, organisers announced today. The new film from the director of The Untouchables (which was presented at Venice in 1987) will not only open the festival but will also compete in the Official Selection and is the first title to have been announced to compete for the coveted Leone d’oro or Golden Lion. Last year's winner of the top prize was Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain. De Palma is expected to attend the gala premiere of his new film with his two stars Scarlett Johansson and Hilary Swank.

 

The 21st International Critics' Week (Settimana Internazionale della Critica) of the Venice Film Festival has announced its full  line-up of seven films, from the four corners of the planet. European titles are three in total: Gyula Nemes' Hungarian feature Egyetleneim (My One and Onlies), Hiena (Hyena) from Poland directed by Grzegorz Lewandowsky and Le pressentiment (lit. The Premonition) from French actor-turned-director Jean-Pierre Darroussin. A special screening of Italian low-budget film La rieducazione (The Re-education) from Amanda Flor is also planned.