LA Asian Pacific Film Festival 2017

33rd Annual Asian Pacific Film Festival
April 27 - May 4, 2017 - Little Tokyo - Koreatown - West Hollywood

VC proudly celebrates 33 years as Southern California’s largest and most prestigious film festival of its kind.  The LAAPFF launches the pre-celebration of Asian Pacific Heritage Month through this year’s slate of over 180 films from both Asian Pacific American and Asian international artists.  For over three decades, the Festival has presented close to 4,000 films by Asian Pacific American and Asian international talent.  This year, a record number 45 feature films and 139 shorts from over 750 submissions will be showcased throughout the eight-day fest.

This year’s Film Festival represents the growing multitude of talent from this diverse creative community, and serves as a reminder of how the Asian American film community continues to thrive and inspire.  With terms like “whitewashing” and “inclusion” being at the forefront of discussions in Hollywood, the festival takes on not only presenting the best of Asian American film, but also the mission of inspiring new filmmakers/storytellers to create, while taking a retro look at the beginnings of a global cinematic genre.   Stories by women, men, LGBTQ artists, seniors, youth, Asian Pacific American, Asian international, and a multitude of ethnicities are all being shared throughout the Festival.

This year’s opening night kicking off the Fest is the 15th Anniversary special gala presentation of director/writer Justin Lin’s uncut 35mm Sundance original version of the landmark film BETTER LUCK TOMORROW.  Director Lin will present this rarely-seen version of the film that launched his career at Sundance 2002, when it was championed by the late iconic film critic, Roger Ebert, and then having MTV FILMS and Paramount Classics pick it up for theatrical distribution nationwide.  The film features Asian American film actors starring in lead roles including John Cho, Sung Kang, Jason Tobin, Roger Fan, Parry Shen, and Karin Anna Cheung. 

Members of the cast and crew will be in attendance for Q/A following the celebratory screening.  BETTER LUCK TOMORROW screens Opening Night April 27 at 7PM at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.

The Festival Centerpiece Presentation features the 2017 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award winning film – GOOK – from actor turned filmmaker JUSTIN CHON.  This vibrant and insightful film takes place on April 29, 1992 in Los Angeles – the day the Rodney King verdict was announced and the infamous L.A. Riots began.  Chon’s film centers on Eli and Daniel, two Korean American brothers, who own a struggling shoe store and have an unlikely friendship with Kamilla, a street-wise 11 year old African American girl.  It’s just another typical day at the store until the Rodney King verdict is read and riots break out through the city. With the chaos moving towards them, the trio is forced to defend the store while contemplating the future of their own personal dreams and the true meaning of family.

GOOK will be presented on Saturday, April 29 at the Aratani Theatre at the JACCC in Little Tokyo – Downtown Los Angeles.  The festival is commemorating the 25^th Anniversary of the L.A. Uprising/Rodney King verdict with this gala screening featuring the filmmaker, crew and cast.  This screening will top off a day of films, events, community discussions and art presentations memorializing this historic Los Angeles event.

Closing out this year’s eight day film celebration is the Los Angeles premiere of the acclaimed 2017 Sundance hit film COLUMBUS from director Kogonada – a proud immigrant, born in Seoul and raised in the Midwest.   This beautiful and engaging feature directorial debut stars John Cho, Haley Lu Richardson, Parker Posey, Rory Culkin and Michelle Forbes.  The film centers on Casey (Richardson) who lives with her mother in a little-known Mid-western town haunted by the promise of modernism. Jin (Cho), a visitor from the other side of the world, attends to his dying father. Burdened by the future, they find respite in one another and the architecture that surrounds them. 

COLUMBUS screens on May 4 at the Directors Guild of America in West Hollywood with the filmmaker along with his cast and crew in attendance for post screening Q/A. 

For the first time ever, the LAAPFF will present a Grand Jury Award for Outstanding Asian International documentary and narrative feature. The line up of these award-nominated documentaries and features include:

Documentary Features

• MOTHERLAND Dir.: Ramona S. Diaz
• PLASTIC CHINA Dir.: Wang Jiu-liang
• SMALL TALK Dir.: Huang Hui-Chen
• TOKYO IDOLS Dir.: Kyoko Miyake

Narrative Features

• BY THE TIME IT GETS DARK Dir.: Anocha Suwichakornpong
• DIAMOND ISLAND Dir: Davy Chou
• KING OF PEKING Dir.: Sam Voutas
• POP AYE Dir.: Kristen Tan
• RESEBA – THE DARK WIND Dir.: Hussein Hassan
• THE ROAD TO MANDALAY Dir.: Midi Z
• SAVING SALLY Dir.: Avid Liongoren
• THE SOUL OF THE TIGER Dir.: François Yang
• THE SOWER Dir.: Yosuke Takeuchi
• TAXI STORIES Dir.: Doris Yeung
• TURN LEFT TURN RIGHT Dir.: Douglas Seok

Further, on the international landscape, the LAAPFF will present spotlight programs on the current wave of important Taiwanese Cinema and Southeast Asian Cinema adding to the ever budding global cinema landscape.

• SPOTLIGHT ON TAIWAN The Ministry of Culture, Republic of China (Taiwan) and Taiwan Academy in Los Angeles joins the Festival to present “Spotlight on Taiwan”, a spotlight on Taiwanese cinema offerings programmed during the week.

• TIGERS ROAR The “Tigers Roar” program focuses on Southeast Asian Cinema with film screenings at the Fest and partnering with the two-day ASEAC-SEARCN LA Conference at UCLA.

• FILM – SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS – this amazing selection of special film presentations include award winning features from across the globe highlighting stories, issues and filmmakers that are pushing the boundaries. These include:

ABACUS: SMALL ENOUGH TO JAIL – Dir. Steve James 

JOSHUA: TEENAGER VS. SUPERPOWER – Dir. Joe Piscatella 

RELOCATION: ARKANSAS-AFTERMATH OF INCARCERATION – Dir. Vivienne Schiffer 

RE:ORIENTATIONS – Dir. Richard Fung 

THREE SASSY SISTERS – Dir. Nia Dinata 

YELLOW – Dir. Chris Chan Lee (20th Anniversary Screening) 

• BRONZEVILLE, LITTLE TOKYO 

• FLASH POINT 2017 – TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AFTER THE LOS ANGELES UPRISING 

This year’s 33rd LAAPFF competition line-up for Grand Jury Awards for North American feature films is rich with stories and insights from important and nuanced perspectives from creative talent across the spectrum.

COMPETITION NARRATIVES

• CARDINAL X Dir.: Angie Wang
• CHEE AND T Dir.: Tanuj Chopra
• COLUMBUS Dir.: Kogonada
• GOOK Dir.: Justin Chon
• I CAN I WILL I DID Dir.: Nadine Truong
• THE LOCKPICKER Dir.: Randall Okita
• NORMAN JONES Dir.: Mike Sakamoto
• WEXFORD PLAZA Dir.: Joyce Wong
• WINDOW HORSES Dir.: Ann Marie Fleming

COMPETITION DOCUMENTARIES 

• 95 AND 6 TO GO Dir.: Kimi Takesue
• A TIME TO SWIM Dir.: Ashley Duong
• FINDING KUKAN Dir.: Robin Lung
• GHOST MAGNET ROACH MOTEL Dir.: Shinpei Takeda
• MELE MURALS Dir.: Tadashi Nakamura
• MIXED MATCH Dir.: Jeff Chiba Stearns
• RESISTANCE AT TULE LAKE Dir.: Konrad Aderer
• SAVE MY SEOUL Dir.: Jason Y. Lee
• UNBROKEN GLASS Dir.: Dinesh Sabu
• WHO IS ARTHUR CHU? Dirs.: Yu Gu and Scott Drucker

After Closing Night on May 4 in Los Angeles, the Festival will continue with a Festival Encore Program May 5 through 11 in Buena Park at the brand new CGV Buena Park 8 with encore screenings of select Film Festival films; and a special slate of works by award-winning filmmakers on the recent achievements in Vietnamese cinema. Check the Festival website for this schedule.

For program information, and to purchase tickets, please visit festival.vconline.org. 

CANNES 2017

70th Cannes Film Festival Official Selections

OPENING NIGHT FILM
Ismaël’s Ghosts, dir: Arnaud Desplechin (Out of Competition)

COMPETITION
Loveless, dir: Andrey Zvyagintsev
Good Time, dirs: Benny and Josh Safdie
You Were Never Really Here, dir: Lynne Ramsay
L’Amant Double, dir: François Ozon
Jupiter’s Moon, dir: Kornél Mundruczó
The Killing of a Sacred Deer, dir: Yorgos Lanthimos
The Day After, dir: Hong Sang-soo
Redoubtable, dir: Michel Hazanavicius
Wonderstruck, dir: Todd Haynes
Happy End, dir: Michael Haneke
Rodin, dir: Jacques Doillon
The Beguiled, dir: Sofia Coppola
In the Fade, dir: Fatih Akin
The Meyerowitz Stories, dir: Noah Baumbach
Okja, dir: Bong Joon-ho
120 Battements par Minute, dir: Robin Campillo
Hikari (Radiance), dir: Naomi Kawase
A Gentle Creature, dir: Sergei Loznitsa
The Square, dir: Ruben Östlund

UN CERTAIN REGARD
Barbara, dir: Mathieu Amalric (Opening Film)
La Novia del Desierto (The Desert Bride), dirs: Cecilia Atan & Valeria Pivato
Closeness, dir: Kantemir Balagov
Beauty and the Dogs, dir: Kaouther Ben Hania
L’Atélier, dir: Laurent Cantet
Fortunata (Lucky), dir: Sergio Castellitto
Las Hijas de Abril (April’s Daughters), dir: Michel Franco
Before We Vanish, dir: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Lerd (Dregs), dir: Mohammad Rasoulof
En Attendant les Hirondelles (The Nature of Time), dir: Karim Moussaoui
Apres la Guerre (After the War), dir: Annarita Zambrano
Wind River, dir: Taylor Sheridan
Jeune Femme, dir: Léonor Serraille
Western, dir: Valeska Grisebach
Posoki (Directions), dir: Stephan Komandarev
Out, dir: Gyorgy Kristof
La Cordillera, dir: Santiago Mitre
Walking Past the Future, dir: Li Ruijun

70th ANNIVERSARY EVENTS
Top of the Lake: China Girl, dirs: Jane Campion & Ariel Kleiman
24 Frames, dir: Abbas Kiarostami
Twin Peaks, dir: David Lynch
Come Swim, dir: Kristen Stewart
Nos Années Folles, dir: André Téchiné
Djam, dir: Tony Gatlif

SPECIAL SCREENINGS
An Inconvenient Sequel, dirs: Bonni Cohen & Jon Shenk
12 Jours, dir: Raymond Depardon
They, dir: Anahita Ghazinizadeh
Claire’s Camera, dir: Hong Sang-soo
Promised Land, dir: Eugene Jarecki
Napalm, dir: Claude Lanzmann
Demons in Paradise, dir: Jude Ratman
Sea Sorrow, dir: Vanessa Redgrave
Le Vénérable W, dir: Barbet Schroeder
Carré 35, dir: Eric Caravaca

MIDNIGHT SCREENINGS
The Villainess, dir: Jung Byung-gil
The Merciless, dir: Byun Sung-hyun
Prayer Before Dawn, dir: Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire

VIRTUAL REALITY FILM
Carne y Arena (Virtually Present, Physically Invisible), dir: Alejandro G. Iñárritu

OUT OF COMPETITION
Blade of the Immortal, dir: Takashi Miike
How To Talk To Girls at Parties, dir: John Cameron Mitchell
Visages, Villages, dir: Agnès Varda & JR
D'après une histoire vraie, dir: Roman Polanski

SHORT FILM COMPETITION
Ceiling (Finland) - dir: Teppo Airaksinen
Grandpa Walrus (France) - dir: Lucrèce Andreae
A Drowning Man (U.K, Denmark, Greece) - dir: Mahdi Fleifel
Lunch Time (Iran) - dir: Alireza Ghasemi
Across My Land (U.S.) - dir: Fiona Godivier
Time to Go (Poland) - dir: Grzegorz Molda
A Gentle Night (China) - dir: Qiu Yang
Damiana (Colombia) - dir: Andrés Ramírez Pulido
Push It (Sweden) - dir: Julia Thelin

COLCOA 2017 - WORLD CINEMA

World Cinema Produced by France at COLCOA 2017

Each year, several films around the world are developed, produced or co-produced by French producers: COLCOA dedicates an evening to these films to highlight the support of French industry to World Cinema. Italy and Tunisia are under the spot this year with three anticipated films scheduled on Wednesday, April 26 at the Directors Guild of America. Don’t miss this high profile series at COLCOA and be the first to make the buzz!

Wednesday, April 26 - 5:35 PM – Renoir Theater

SWEET DREAMS (Fais de beaux rêves) FAI BEI SOGNI

Drama • Italy, France

In this intensely earnest memoir, Academy Award Nominee Bérénice Bejo (The Artist) sheds daylight on the gloomy existence of a man unable to grieve over the childhood loss of his mother. Based on the bestselling Italian autobiography by Massimo Gramellini, veteran Italian director Marco Bellocchio takes us on a sprawling impressionistic journey beginning in the 1960s. Young Massimo bonds with his mother while dancing the twist, or snuggling on the sofa watching their favorite show Belphégor.  These idyllic moments will come to haunt Massimo’s adult life when, at the age of 9, he is told that his mother has died of sudden heart failure. It doesn’t make sense to him, and although Massimo later finds success as a sports journalist, he remains coolly dispassionate and detached, unable to sustain a romantic relationship. After a particularly intense bout of his frequent panic attacks, Massimo seeks help and meets Elisa (Bejo). As a woman, Elisa’s beauty and emotional generosity reminds him of his mother. As a doctor, Elisa encourages him to confront the truth about his mother’s death. Written and directed by Marco Bellocchio.

 Wednesday, April 26 - 8:00 PM – Truffaut Theater

LIKE CRAZY (Folles de joie) LA PAZZA GIOIA

Drama, Comedy • Italy, France 

Actresses Valerie Bruni Tedeschi and Micaela Ramozzotti are at the height of their games as comically mismatched escapees from a mental institution. The story begins in a stately Tuscan villa converted into a retreat for unstable women. Beatrice (Tedeschi) is an entitled, manically motor-mouthed compulsive liar. Donatella is a withdrawn depressive, deeply damaged by life. As much as Donatella dwells on the past, Beatrice lives for the moment, so when she sees an opportunity to get away from hospital staff, she seizes it, with Donatella in tow. The two hit the road on an outlaw odyssey that includes sexy cars, expensive dinners, fortunetellers, an ex-this and a former-that, and any manner of self-medicating, all without a Euro to scrounge between them. They aim to find happiness, but that turns out to be a tricky thing to nail down. Even a lighthearted jaunt in the Tuscan sun can take you to a deeper, more emotionally resonant destination. Written and directed by Carlo Virzì.

Wednesday, April 26 – 10:20 PM – Truffaut Theater

HEDI (Hedi, un vent de liberté) نحبك هادي

Drama • Tunisia, France • Los Angeles Premiere • After 10 series

Winner of the Best First Feature at 2016’s Berlinale, this sensitive, absorbing drama is set in the historic Islamic city of Kairouan, in contemporary Tunisia. Hedi is a dutiful young man working as a car salesman. Apart from his passion for drawing and comics, Hedi is passively going through the motions of a life that his domineering mother Baya has laid out for him. This includes an impending arranged marriage to the docile, incurious Khedija.  Then, on a business trip he meets Rim, an activities coordinator for a resort hotel. Rim is everything Khedija is not: independent, ambitious, worldly, free-spirited. For the first time in his life, Hedi sees a possibility to escape the suffocating dictates of his mother, and to pursue his passions on his own terms. But can he turn his back on deep-seated tradition and family obligation?  Like an entire generation of post-revolution Tunisians, Hedi is torn between the old forces of social convention and the heady, seductive pull of liberation. Majd Mastoura won Berlinale’s Silver Bear for his portrayal of the conflicted Hedi. Written and directed by Mohamed Ben Attia.

COLCOA 2017 - FRENCH NEWAVE 2.0

FRENCH NeWave 2.0 SERIES at COLCOA 2017

On Saturday, April 29 from 11:00 AM to Midnight, save your day for an exclusive program of five features putting the new French New Wave under the spotlights at the Directors Guild of America Theatre.

Saturday, April 29 - 11:00 PM – Truffaut Theater

WILLY 1 (Willy 1er)

Drama, comedy • North American Premiere

(Followed by a discussion with writer/directors Ludovic and Zoran Boukherma) 

This tragicomic feature debut from no fewer than four co-directors casts non-actor Daniel Vannet as the hero in the story of his own life. Stocky, disheveled, illiterate and inarticulate, Willy has lived a humdrum existence; all 50 years of it with his parents in a provincial northern backwater. When his twin brother dies, Willy takes it upon himself to become a fully independent member of greater society, a journey that will take him as far and wide as the neighboring village. If Willy endures, it is not because he is extraordinary, but because he struggles so sincerely to become ordinary -- an apartment, a scooter, and some friends -- Willy wants it all. Thus begins this sweetly melancholic social misfit’s late initiation into adulthood. Along the way he encounters another Willy, a young man also living on the margins, but for very different reasons. At once cruel and sensitive, sentimental and squalid, Willy I emerges finally as a delicate rumination on otherness and social conformity.

Saturday, April 29 – 1:20 PM – Truffaut Theater

A TASTE OF INK (Compte tes blessures)

Drama • Los Angeles Premiere

(Followed by a discussion with writer/director Morgan Simon)

This punchy but sensitive drama set in the underground music scene marks the debut of a filmmaker to watch. On stage, post-punk singer Vincent (Azaïs) is an explosion of animal furies convulsing with emotional intensity. But back at home, with the mic unplugged, Vincent is more inclined to let his tattoos do all the talking. Since his mother died, Vincent’s feelings of alienation and disorientation have only increased. At 24, with a day job that won’t pay for his upkeep, he lives like roommates with his father Hervé. Everything changes when Hervé shacks up with a new girlfriend only a few years older than Vincent. Vincent’s anger, jealousy, and grief are soon roiling in a potent brew. But when his new “mother” becomes the object of his desire, the mix is ready to blow. Kévin Azaïs, who made an indelible impression with Love at First Fight (COLCOA 2015), brings a searing charisma to the role of Vincent.

Saturday, April 29 – 4:00 PM – Truffaut Theater

LATEST NEWS FROM THE COSMOS (Dernières nouvelles du cosmos)

Documentary • Special Presentation • COLCOA.Doc

At the age of 8, Hélène Nicolas was diagnosed with severe autism and placed in an institution. But this 2017 Best Documentary César nominated film is not about disability, but rather the discovery of a special ability. Dissatisfied with Hélène’s progress, her mother Véronique quits her job so that she can devote herself full time to Hélène’s care. Up to this point Hélène had been completely unable to communicate, but Véronique is astonished to discover that Hélène is able to place letters in a sequence, like a scrabble game, in order to make words. Not only that, but Hélène has a gift for language, creating surreal and playful poems with wit and insight. In the decade since Véronique made the discovery, Hélène has fashioned an alter ego for herself called Babouillec and published several books of poetry. These works, adapted to the stage by the prestigious Avignon International Theater Festival, are a window into a mischievous mind reveling in a liberated inner world, yet capable of striking observations about the outer world. While Hélène’s creative process is explored, it’s the glimpses of her relationship with her patient and dedicated mother that touch us most.

Saturday, April 29 – 7:30 PM – Truffaut Theater

HEAVEN WILL WAIT (Le Ciel peut attendre) 

Drama  •  West Coast Premiere

(followed by a discussion with writer, director Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar) 

With so many terrorist attacks in France over the last decade, radicalization has become the hot-button issue. Heaven Will Wait takes the topic head on with two disturbing stories about teenage girls heeding the siren call of ISIS. Sonia is just 17 when she is arrested for involvement in a planned jihadist attack. Angry at being prevented from joining her confederates in Syria, Sonia is placed under house arrest. A deprogrammer is called in to reintegrate her, but her shocked and devastated family fears she is lost forever. Then there’s Melanie, the studious, aspiring cellist, picture-perfect daughter. Her single-parent mother has no idea that she has fallen for her “prince”, an online ISIS recruiter posing as a trusted advisor and promised husband. A timely drama mixed with documentary-like sequences of deprogramming conducted by real-life indoctrination expert Dounia Bouzar, who heads an organization dedicated to the prevention and treatment of radical Islamic recruitment in France.

Saturday, April 29 – 10:20 PM – Truffaut Theater

OPEN BY NIGHT (Ouvert la nuit)

Comedy  • West Coast Premiere • After 10 Series

Taking flight where Martin Scorcese’s After Hours touched down, this jubilant comic vehicle for Édouard Baer doubles as an affectionate homage to the timeless allure of the City of Light. Baer’s swaggering buffoon persona is unleashed as Luigi: theater impresario by trade, irresistible charmer by aspiration, and inexhaustible scoundrel by nature. Over the next 24 hours, he’ll need to call on his most dubious qualities. On the eve of opening night, Luigi’s new play is teetering on financial collapse. His cast and crew threaten a walkout if they don’t get paid, and his temperamental Japanese director demands a live chimpanzee for the performance. Even his faithful assistant Nawal (Tautou) has deserted him, leaving Luigi to set off into the Parisian night with his no-nonsense intern Faeza.  Their quest for a chimp and a chump takes them on a delirious tour of the city’s most absurdly charming offerings, from Bollywood shoots to African communes. When Luigi’s deeper fragilities surface, his recklessness escalates into a quixotic high wire act. But who will be there to catch him when he falls?

Also Recommended from the COLCOA TELEVISION competition : MANON 20 YEARS 

COLCOA 2017 - FILM NOIR SERIES

FILM NOIR SERIES AT COLCOA 2017
Friday, APRIL 28 - Directors Guild of America Theatre

Friday is dedicated to thrillers at COLCOA. This year, four films represent the Film Noir genre, symbol of the mutual influence of French and American cinemas.

Friday, April 28 - 1:20 PM – Renoir Theater

LE CERCLE ROUGE 

Film Noir • Special Presentation • Colcoa Classic Series

In celebration of the 100th anniversary of Jean-Pierre Melville, the filmmaker who transformed the crime thriller into high art, COLCOA is proud to present his most acclaimed picture, Le Cercle Rouge (1970). With a formidable cast including Alain Delon, Yves Montand, and Bourvil, the boilerplate plot involves a suave criminal mastermind, a vicious escaped convict, a washed-out ex-cop with a knack for hitting bulls-eyes before he started hitting the bottle, and a relentlessly nasty, cat-loving detective methodically hunting them down before they can knock off a prominent jewelry store on Place Vendome. Ostensibly a heist movie, what elevates it is the Melvillian flourishes – finely-honed visuals, poignant fatalism, and an explicit code of honor and loyalty. In Melville’s universe, a Gauloise cigarette is as essential as a gun, and which side of the law you’re on is less important than whether or not you betray trust. Another signature touch, balletic precision, is on glorious display in the film’s 20-minute show-stopping robbery sequence. Presented with the World Premiere of Melville’s restored first film, 24 hours of a Clown’s Life.

Friday, April 28 - 5:30 PM – Truffaut Theater

THE EAVESDROPPER (La Mécanique de l’ombre) 

Thriller • North American Premiere

Cleverly evoking the era of analogue espionage while referencing more recent political events in France, this slow burning thriller takes a man wallowing on the outskirts of society and plunges him deep into the murky heart of power politics, high intrigue, and murder. François Cluzet plays Duval, former accountant, former alcoholic, current burnout with no job prospects. Desperate to get his life back on track, he accepts an unusual offer of employment. Everyday he is to come to a non-descript room, where he will transcribe cassette tapes of intercepted phone calls using an old typewriter. His mysterious employer Clément explains that this ensures that there will be no chance for the material to be digitally compromised. Most of the work is dehumanizing drudgery, but when the tapes reveal something Duval knows he shouldn’t know, he suddenly understands why he has been sworn to secrecy. It’s clear he’s a cog in someone’s machinations, but whose? As the walls begin to close in, Duval’s own paranoia is the only thing of which he can be certain. Co-written and directed by Thomas Kruithof.

Friday, April 28 - 7:30 PM – Truffaut Theater

CORPORATE 

Drama, Thriller • North American Premiere

This tightrope thriller takes a deep dive into the murky waters of corporate hierarchy to expose a high stakes game where the profit motive is eclipsed only by the prime directive : saving your own skin.Céline Sallette plays it cool as Emilie Tesson-Hansen, a woman who knows the rules of the game. As the head of Human Resources of a major conglomerate, she has mastered a calibrated femininity to match the ruthlessness and cold ambition expected from the higher-ups. When executive Stéphane Froncart (Lambert Wilson) devises a secret cost-cutting plan, he knows he can count on Emilie to implement it. What he doesn’t count on are the deadly consequences, and the resulting formal investigation into company practices launched by labor inspector Marie Borrel. Emilie recognizes herself in Marie, but where Emilie is guarded, Marie is spontaneous, even provocative. This spurs Emilie to question her role as a good company soldier, but as Stéphane tries to direct Marie’s probe in Emilie’s direction, she is torn between the welfare of her fellow employees and the prime directive. Co-written and directed by Nicolas Silhol. Screening followed by a discussion with actor Lambert Wilson.  

Friday, April 28  – 10:30 PM – Truffaut Theater

ARÈS (Le Convoi)

Fantasy, Thriller • North American Premiere • After 10

This testosterone-fueled dystopian thriller is set in a demi-apocalyptic Paris of 2035. Disillusioned masses huddle in polluted shantytowns at the feet of monuments. Multi-national conglomerates control the government, including the police. As a diversion from the misery and poverty, much of the population turns to the Arena, a televised spectacle of ultraviolent gladiatorial contests. Competing pharmaceutical companies openly dope Arena fighters as a means of advertising their performance enhancing products. Ares, played by hunky Swede Ola Rapace (Skyfall), is a former contender long past his prime, but when his sister is arrested on trumped up charges, this badass with a heart of gold agrees to be a guinea pig for the latest wonder drug. If it works, he might win enough fights to buy her freedom. Only trouble is, no one has ever taken the drug and lived. Co-written and directed by Jean-Baptiste Benes.

Also Recommended in the COLCOA TELEVISION program : THE FROZEN DEAD, BARON NOIR, MIDNIGHT SUN, TRANSFER 

COLCOA 2017

21st Annual ColCoa French Film Festival in Los Angeles

COLOCA 2017 - CITY OF LIGHTS, CITY OF ANGELS

The Franco-American Cultural Fund announced today the program for the 21st COLCOA FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL, which will run April 24-May 2 at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles. The event will showcase a record 82 films, television series and, for the first time, web series. 70 of these will be in competition for the COLCOA Awards, including several World, International, North American, and U.S. Premieres. COLCOA is now considered the largest festival dedicated to French films and series worldwide.

“COLCOA will reach a new level in 2017 with two new categories – a virtual reality program and web series competition - added to the Cinema, Television, and Shorts competitions,” stated François Truffart, COLCOA Executive Producer and Artistic Director. “These two new popular formats offer more opportunities to showcase the creativity of French producers and filmmakers as well as the diversity of French production. While entertainment is still the key word for the program, with a balanced mix of comedies and dramas, several topical issues will cover the program this year, including the environment, discrimination, racism, terrorism, and the role of the artist in society. More than ever, COLCOA will offer a unique opportunity to see these universal topics from different angles.”

COLCOA CINEMA

In addition to the Classic Series, which includes the previously announced Carte Blanche to Academy Award® winner Writer/Director Damien Chazelle and an homage to the legendary filmmaker Jean-Pierre Melville, an exclusive lineup of 34 new features and documentaries will compete for the COLCOA CINEMA AWARDS, starting on April 24 with the North American Premiere of Academy Award®-winning Writer/Director Claude Lelouch’s Everyone’s Life (Chacun sa vie). Celebrating 50 years of cinema, this ensemble film offers a high profile cast of 50 French actors, including Johnny Hallyday and Academy Award® winner Jean-Dujardin.

The cinema competition will close on Tuesday, May 2, with the North American Premiere of Eric Lavaine’s new romantic comedy, You Choose (L'Embarras du choix), starring Alexandra Lamy.

The line-up mixes new features from established Writer/Directors, including: Marco Bellocchio (Sweet Dreams), Nicolas Boukhrief (The Confession), Stephane Brizet (A Woman’s Life), Bruno Dumont (Slack Bay), Lisa Azuelos (Dalida), Philippe Lioret (A Kid) Edouard Baer (Open at Night), Marie-Camille Mansion-Chaar (Heaven Will Wait), Hugo Gelin (Two is a Family), Philippe Lachaud (Alibi.com), and Dany Boon (R.A.I.D. Special Unit).

The festival will also present the work of newcomers such asWriter/Director Nicolas Bedos (Mr. & Mrs. Adelman), Writer/Director Grand Corps Malade and Director Mehdi Idir (Step by Step), Writer/Director Morgan Simon (Taste the Ink), Writer/Director Anne-Gaëlle Daval (Ladies), Writer/Director Emmanuel Courcol (Ceasefire), as well as Writer/Directors Ludovic and Zoran Boukherman (Willy 1).

Actors Patrick Bruel (A Bag of Marbles), Lambert Wilson (The Odyssey, Corporate), Alexandra Lamy (You Choose), Dora Tillier (Mr. & Mrs. Adelman), and Sveva Alviti (Dalida) will also be in attendance at the festival.

The popular COLCOA High School screening program will run for five days during the festival. More than 3,000 Southern California students and teachers are invited to attend free screenings and conversations, as well as participate in a student film critic contest. Celebrating its 10 year, this program is produced in partnership with ELMA (European Languages and Movies in America), with the support of AATF-SC (American Association of Teachers of French – Southern California).

Other exciting programs offered throughout the festival include: After 10 Series (April 25~29); COLCOA Classics (April 25~29); COLCOA.Doc (April 25~30); World Cinema Produced by France, including two French-Italian co-productions (April 26); Focus on a Filmmaker, dedicated to Writer/Director Stephane Brizé(April 27); Film Noir Series (April 28); French NeWave 2.0, exploring the work of a new generation of filmmakers (April 29); and the Happy Hour Talks, a series of panels presented in association with Variety (April 25~29) that is free to the general public. The final panel will be dedicated to the famous French film composer, Jean-Claude Petit, who will meet the audience on April 29.

COLCOA TELEVISION

In its third year, the TV competition expands with a very exclusive program of 11 World, North American, and U.S. Premieres, in association with TV France International and TITRAFILM. After the success of Call My Agent (Season 1) at COLCOA 2016 (winner of the Best TV Series Award and TV Series Audience Special Prize), the popular series about a talent agency in Paris will be back at the festival with the World Premiere of Season 2, presented in association with France TV Distribution, before its French broadcast.

This year's lineup offers several other high profile TV Series, including: the fantasy thriller Transfer (Season 1); thriller The Frozen Dead (Glacé) (Season 1); political thriller Baron Noir (Season 1); drama Manon 20 Years (mini series); comedy Beautiful Loser (Season 1); and thriller Midnight Sun (Season 1).

To round out COLCOA TELEVISION, the category will also include four recently awarded TV Dramas: Box 27, Plessis’ Girls, Nadia, and Marion Forever 13.

COLCOA WEB SERIES

As a symbol of the globalization of production and the venue of a new generation of producers and filmmakers, the web series has become a format in its own right for the industry, involving both independent and studio creators. COLCOA is proud to introduce, in association with TITRAFILM, its first competition of six programs to close the festival on May 2, including documentaries, fantasies, dramas, and comedies. Similar to the Short Film Competition, audience members will have access to free screenings of the competing web series and will vote for the COLCOA BEST WEB SERIES AWARDS. (See attached program.)

COLCOA VIRTUAL REALITY

For the first time at COLCOA, audience members will have the opportunity to attend the VR Corner at the festival during the weekend (April 29 from 11am-5 pm and April 30 from 12-6 pm), presented in association with SAMSUNG and the French Embassy in the U.S. Five films will be available to watch, offering a very eclectic program for all ages.

The complete recipient list of the 2017 Awards for the four competitions (Cinema, Television, Shorts, and Web series) will be announced on May 3, 2017 by the Franco-American Cultural Fund. For the tenth year, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) will partner with COLCOA Cinema for the Critics Awards.

This year, for the first time, a student jury will vote for the COLCOA AMERICAN STUDENTS AWARD, including Cinema and TV programs.

The COLCOA AWARDS are presented in association with KPCC-89.3, TITRAFILM, TV5 Monde USA, and AIR TAHITI NUI.

COLCOA FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL is funded by the Franco-American Cultural Fund, a partnership of the Directors Guild of America, the Motion Picture Association, France’s Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music, and the Writers Guild of America, West with the vital support of L’ARP (France’s Association of Authors, Directors, and Producers), the CNC, the Los Angeles Film and TV Office of the French Embassy, TV France International, and Unifrance.

COLCOA FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL is sponsored by Air Tahiti Nui,Dailymotion.com, TV5MONDE, Variety (Official Sponsors); Airstar,KPCC 89.3,Barnstormer, Los Angeles Times (Premier Sponsors); Barnes International Realty,Club Culinaire of Southern California, ELMA,Gaumont, Indiewire, LA Weekly, Sunset Marquis,TITRAFILM (MajorSponsors); Alliance Française de Los Angeles,Champagne de L’Argentaine, Cinando, Gayot.com, Laemmle Theatres, Les Macarons Duverger, Marché du Film, Miraval Provence Wines, Office de Tourisme Epernay, Vineyard Brands (Platinum Sponsors); and, Cinelife, La Chouquette, Gitane Rhapsody, La Grenouille, J. Lohr, La Vieille Ferme, Lycée International Los Angeles, Famille Perrin, Rosenthal The Malibu Estate, Stem & Wine, Tix (Supporting Sponsors).

All screenings are in French with English subtitles or in English. Tickets are available for advance purchase online at www.colcoa.org until April 20 and during the festival at the COLCOA Box Office at the Directors Guild of America, 7920 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90046. Please visit colcoa.org for box office hours. Ticket prices are $14 for adults (ages 22+); $11 tickets for seniors (62+), disabled, and members of American Cinematheque, ASC, ICG, Film Independent, SAG, and Women in Film; $5 for students and ages 21 and under. Tickets are complimentary for DGA and WGAW guild members. Several screenings and events are free on a first-come, first-served basis, with no reservation needed. Please visit www.colcoa.org for details.

COLCOA CINEMA 

A BAG OF MARBLES - Christian Duguay

A KID - Philippe Lioret

A TASTE OF INK - Morgan Simon

A WOMAN’S LIFE - Stéphane Brizé (Focus on a Filmmaker)

ALIBI.COM - Philippe Lacheau

ARÈS - Jean-Patrick Benes

CEASEFIRE - Emmanuel Courcol

CORPORATE - Nicolas Silhol

DALIDA - Lisa Azuelos

ELEMENTARY - Hélène Angel

EVERYONE’S LIFE - Claude Lelouch

HEAVEN WILL WAIT - Marie-Camille Mention-Schaar

HEDI - Mohamed Ben Attia

LADIES - Anne-Gaëlle Daval

LIKE CRAZY - Paolo Virzi

MR AND MRS ADELMAN - Nicolas Bedos

OPEN AT NIGHT - Edouard Baer

POLINA - Angelin Preljocaj

R.A.I.D. SPECIAL UNIT - Dany Boon

SLACK BAY - Bruno Dumont

STRUGGLE FOR LIFE - Antonin Peretjatko

SWEET DREAMS - Marco Bellocchio

THE CONFESSION - Nicolas Boukhrief

THE EAVESDROPPER - Thomas Kruithof

THE ODYSSEY - Jérôme Salle

TWO IS A FAMILY - Hugo Gélin

YOU CHOOSE - Eric Lavaine

STEP BY STEP - Grand Corps Malade & Mehdi Idir

TOUR DE FRANCE - Rachid Djaïdani

WILLY I - Hugo P. Thomas

DOCUMENTARIES

LATEST NEWS FROM THE COSMOS - Julie Bertuccelli

LITTLE GEMS - Xavier de Lauzanne

THE PARIS OPERA - Jean-Stéphane Bron

WHY DO THEY HATE US ? - Lucien Jean-Baptiste

CLASSIC FILMS (HORS COMPETITION)

A DAY IN A CLOWN’S LIFE - Jean-Pierre Melville (100th Birthday celebration)

FAREWELL BONAPARTE - Youssef Chahine

LE CERCLE ROUGE - Jean-Pierre Melville (100th Birthday celebration)

NOT HERE TO BE LOVED - Stéphane Brizé (Focus on a Filmmaker)

PLAYTIME - Jacques Tati

THE LOVERS ON THE BRIDGE - Léos Carax (Carte Blanche to Academy Award® winner Damien Chazelle)

COLCOA TELEVISION

TV DRAMAS

BOX 27 - Arnaud Sélignac

MARION FOREVER 13 - Bourlem Guerdjou

NADIA - Léa Fazer

PLESSIS’ GIRLS - Bénédicte Dumas

TV SERIES

BARON NOIR (S.1), directed by Ziad Doueiri, developped by Eric Benzekri, Jean-Baptiste Delafon

BEAUTIFUL LOSER (S.1) created and directed by Fréderic Rosset

CALL MY AGENT (S.2), directed by Laurent Tirard, created by par Fanny Herrero

MANON 20 YEARS (mini-séries) created and directed par Jean Xavier Delestrade

MIDNIGHT SUN (S.1) created and directed par Björn Stein & Måns Mårlind

THE FROZEN DEAD (S.1), directed by Laurent Herbiet, created by Gérard Carré, Pascal Chaumeil and Caroline Van Ruymbeke

TRANSFER (S.1) created and directed by Olivier Guignard et Antoine Charreyron

COLCOA WEBSERIES

AMNÊSIA written and directed by par Patrick de Ranter et Jérôme Fansten

DEEP, INTO THE HEART OF THE OCEAN directed by Jean–Francois Julian, created by Jean-Charles Felli & Pierre-Marie Losconi

LIFER written and directed by par Franck Khalfoun

T.A.N.K. written and directed par Samuel Bodin

TOUCHE FRANCAISE directed par Jean-François Tatin

URBAN JUNGLE réalisée par Nicolas Duval

COLCOA VIRTUAL REALITY (Writer/Director)

KINOSCOPE - Philippe A. Collin et Clément Leotard

ON SET : SLACK BAY - Fouzi Louahem

OUT OF THE BLUE - Sophie Ansel

I PHILIP - Pierre Zandrowicz

SERGEANT JAMES - Alexandre Perez

COLCOA SHORTS (writer/director)

ANGER - Kahina Hasnoun

AT HOME - François Raffenaud

BASED ON A TRUE STORY - Cédric Prevost

BIRTH OF A LEADER - Antoine de Bary

BLUE LIKE THE SEE - Sarah-Laure Estragnat

CHASSE ROYALE réalisé par Romane Gueret, Lise Akoka

GARDEN PARTY réalisé par: Florian Babikian, Vincent Bayoux, Victor Caire, Théophile Dufresne, Gabriel Grapperon, Lucas Navarro

LAW OF LAMB - Lotfi Achour

LEAD IN THE HEAD - par Aurore Peuffier

LUNCH BREAK - Bastien Bernini

PANTHEON DISCOUNT réalisé par Stéphane Castang

RESISTANCE - Anna Ledanois, Quentin Foulon, Juliette JeanClaude, Julie Narat, Fabien Glasse, Alex Chauvet

ROSE & POENY réalisé par Sebastien Azzopardi

THANK YOU MISTER IMADA - Sylvain Chomet

THE FISHERMAN AND THE BUSINESSMAN - Simon François

THE LAST DATE réalisé par Thibaud Lomenech

THE STRANGER - Jérémie Guez

UNLEAVENED BREAD - Wilfried Méance

WHAT TEARS US APART - Wei Hu

WILD HOPE - Audrey Bauduin