Festivals - FCAD 2020 : Films in competition

By Mulder, 21 july 2020

"This edition is unique by the conditions of its realization. To make the festival selection, I had to watch more than 200 films, less than in other years because of the health crisis, but what surprised me the most was the way I looked at the 15 films seen per week, each week of confinement. I admit that sometimes, watching films on small screens like thoughts gives this selection a special colour. The works chosen are strong waters that water our imaginary necessities. The selected films partly retrace current issues and are indeed the reflection of a frantic quest: search for identity, ecological urgency, myths and chimeras, sexuality and uncertainty about the future. The creation places the desire to love beyond all reality, without forgetting to remind us that wars kill all life.
Cinema is ennobled beyond borders and chooses for horizon the pleasure of discovery, beyond any theme other than film grammar. Art, since this is what it is all about, only takes and gives of itself, avatar of the best of ourselves.
Deauville is a land of asylum, a field of possibilities, as its story tells us. This edition will not depart from our editorial will to show the diversity and originality of American cinema. Thus out of 14 films, 7 are first films and 8 are films by women directors. Remember the first award-winning films such as Benh Zeitlin's The Beasts of the Wild South, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris' Little Miss Sunshine, John Cameron Mitchell's Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Spike Jonze's In the Skin of John Malkovich, but also such notable directors as Debra Granik, Kelly Reichardt, Annie Silverstein, Chloe Zhao and Catherine Hardwick, to name but a few.
Cinema questions the being about its nature, violently taking away our inner kingdoms, whose ignorance is the breeding ground of our failures and art the seed of resurrection. Festivals cultivate minds and make us all fruitful, resistant to weeds, fertile in generosity and sterile in selfishness. In Deauville, cinema is coming out of the ground. "Bruno Barde - Director of the festival

First Cow (USA ; 121mns)
Directed by Kelly Reichardt
Produced by Neil Kopp, Vincent Savino, Anish Savjani
Screenplay by Kelly Reichardt, Jonathan Raymond
Based on The Half Life by Jonathan Raymond
Starring John Magaro, Orion Lee, Toby Jones, Ewen Bremner, Scott Shephard, Gary Farmer, Lily Gladstone
Music by William Tyler
Cinematography : Christopher Blauvelt
Edited by Kelly Reichardt
Production companies : FilmScience, IAC Films
Distributed by A24
Release date : August 30, 2019 (Telluride), March 6, 2020 (United States)
Synopsis : A skilled cook has traveled west and joined a group of fur trappers in Oregon, though he only finds true connection with a Chinese immigrant also seeking his fortune. Soon the two collaborate on a successful business.

Giants Being Lonely (USA; 78mns)
Directed by Grear Patterson
Produced by Jake Axelbank, Avivit Bar-Yosef, Eleonore Hendricks
Screenplay by Grear Patterson, Sam Stillman
Starring Jack Irving, Ben Irving, Lily Gavin, Gabe Fazio, Amalia Culp, Alejandro Castro, Larry Miller, Stella Schnabel
Music by Ben Morsberger
Edited by Ismael de Diego, Olmo Schnabel
Release date : 1 september 2019 (Italy)
Synopsis : Adam, Bobby and Caroine are seniors in a high school in a semi-rural town in the southern United States. They are trying to find meaning in their bleak existence, between the ups and downs of love, sex, loneliness, friendship, baseball and death. All are also searching for recognition. But strong tensions are beginning to emerge, which will have to be resolved...

Holler (USA; 90mns)
Written and directed by Nicole Riegel
Produced by Michael Bachochin, Adam Cobb, Rachel Gould, Katie McNeill, Jamie Patricof, Christy Spitzer Thornton
Starring Jessica Barden, Gus Halper, Austin Amelio, Grace Kaiser, Pamela Adlon, Becky Ann Baker
Music by Gene Back
Cinematography : Dustin Lane
Edited by Kate Hickey
Synopsis : In a remote corner of southern Ohio where American manufacturing industries are dying, a determined young woman has the opportunity to change her life the day she gets her ticket to college. To pay her tuition fees, Ruth Avery joins a dangerous gang of scrap metal dealers with her older brother. They work hard during the day and steal precious metals at night from once prosperous factories. Beyond the financial aspect, Ruth will find that the price of higher education is much higher than she thought.

Kajillionaire (USA; 106mns)
Directed by Miranda July
Produced by Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Youree Henrley
Written by Miranda July
Starring Evan Rachel Wood, Richard Jenkins, Debra Winger, Gina Rodriguez
Music by Emile Mosseri
Cinematography : Sebastian Winterø
Edited by Jennifer Vecchiarello
Production companies ; Plan B Entertainment, Annapurna Pictures
Distributed by Focus Features (United States), Universal Pictures (International)
Release date : January 25, 2020 (Sundance), September 18, 2020 (United States)
Synopsis : A woman's life is turned upside down when her criminal parents invite an outsider to join them on a major heist they're planning.

Last Words (Italy, France and USA ; 126mns)
Written and directed by Jonathan Nossiter
Produced by Serge Lalou
Starring Kalipha Touray, Nick Nolte, Charlotte Rampling, Alba Rohrwacher, Stellan Skarsgard
Cinematography : Clarissa Cappellani
Synopsis : It is 2085.A young man, one of the few survivors of the human community of old, embarks on a long voyage to find others.

Lorelei (USA ; 111mns)
Written and Directed by Sabrina Doyle
Produced by Kevin Chinoy, Jennifer Radzikowski, Francesca Silvestri
Starring Pablo Schreiber, Jena Malone, Amelia Borgerding, Parker Pascoe-Sheppard, Chancellor Perry
Music by Jeff Russo
Cinematography : Stephen Paar
Edited by Daniel Myers
Release date : April 15, 2020(United States)
Synopsis : A man is released from prison after 15 years. He reunites with his high school girlfriend, now a single mother of three. What follows is a story of love, regret and second chances.

Love is Love is Love (USA; 88mns)
Directed by Eleanor Coppola
Produced by Anahid Nazarian, Adriana Rotaru
Written by Eleanor Coppola, Karen Leigh Hopkins
Starring Maya Kazan, Joanne Whalley,, Chris Messina, Kathy Baker, Marshall Bell, Cybill Shepherd, Rita Wilson, Rosanna Arquette, Polly Draper, Alyson Reed, Valarie Pettiford, Elea Oberon, Nancy Carlin
Music by Laura Karpman
Cinematography : Hiro Narita, Toby Irwin, Mihai M?laimare Jr.
Edited by Robert Schafer
Production companies ; American Zoetrope
Synopsis : Three stories that evoke love, commitment and loyalty in couples and among friends. Two for Dinner in which a married couple who temporarily live farther away from each other is more distant than they think. Saiing Lesson in which an old couple decides to spend a day on a sailboat to rekindle their love but finds themselves in an unexpected situation. Late Lunch in which a young woman who has just lost her mother invites the friends of the deceased to lunch to evoke her memory. Revelations are about to break out.

Minari (USA; 115mns)
Directed by Lee Isaac Chung
Produced by Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Christina Oh
Written by Lee Isaac Chung
Starring Steven Yeun, Han Ye-ri, Youn Yuh-jung, Will Patton, Alan Kim, Noel Kate Cho
Music by Emile Mosseri
Cinematography : Lachlan Milne
Edited by Harry Yoon
Production companies : A24, Plan B Entertainment
Distributed by A24
Release date ; January 26, 2020 (Sundance)
Synopsis : An American family of South Korean origin settles in Arkansas where the father wants to become a farmer. His little boy will have to get used to this new life, and to the presence of a Korean grandmother he did not know.

Shiva Baby (USA; 77mns)
Written and Directed by Emma Seligman
Produced by Kieran Altmann, Katie Schiller, Lizzie Shapiro
Starring Rachel Sennott, Molly Gordon, Polly Draper, Danny Deferrari, Fred Melamed, Dianna Agron
Music by Ariel Marx
Cinematography : Maria Rusche
Edited by Hanna A. Park
Synopsis : Danielle is a senior and has a paid sex relationship with Max, a married man. Today, she must join her neurotic parents to participate in a Shiva, a Jewish ritual that is performed after the death of a loved one. When she arrives, her casual attitude and lack of interest in higher education leads to derogatory remarks from some members of her family. That particular day takes an unexpected turn when Max makes an appearance with his wife and their whining baby...

Sophie Jones (USA; 85mns)
Written and directed by Jessie Barr
Produced by Jessie Barr, Joe Dinnen, Lindsay Friedman
Starring Jessica Barr, Skyler Verity, Claire Manning, Charlie Jackson, Dave Roberts, Tristan Decker, Sam Kamerman, Elle Layne, Chase Offerle
Music by Nate Heller
Cinematography : Scott Miller
Edited by Naomi Sunrise Filoramo
Synopsis : Sophie Jones, seize ans, n’arrive pas à faire le deuil récent de sa mère. Le seul moyen qu’elle a trouvé pour ressentir encore quelque chose est de partager son intimité avec une autre personne. Elle interagit ainsi avec les autres dans l’espoir de se sentir encore en vie et de se créer des moments d’égarement. Elle va finalement apprendre que ces rencontres charnelles ne procurent qu’un apaisement de courte durée et que le seul véritable remède à sa détresse est l’amour.

Sound of Metal (USA;130mns)
Directed by Darius Marder
Produced by Bert Hamelinck, Sacha Ben Harroche, Bill Benz, Cathy Benz
Written by Darius Marder, Abraham Marder
Starring Riz Ahmed, Olivia Cooke, Mathieu Amalric
Music by Nicolas Becker, Abraham Marder
Cinematography : Daniël Bouqet
Edited by Mikkel E.G. Nielsen
Production company : Caviar, Ward Four
Distributed by Amazon Studios
Release date : September 6, 2019 (TIFF), August 14, 2020 (United States)
Synopsis : Ruben and Lou live on the edge of town in their caravan, criss-crossing the United States between concerts. While his girlfriend screams into the microphone, Ruben sets his drums on fire. But one day all he could hear was a muffled hum. The doctor's diagnosis is irrevocable: Ruben suffers from a hearing loss and will soon be deaf. Anxiety and depression lurk as his past addictions resurface. The couple will have to make a difficult decision that will jeopardize their future.

The Assistant (USA;87mns)
Directed by Kitty Green
Produced by Kitty Green, James Schamus, Scott Macaulay, P. Jennifer Dana, Ross Jacobson
Written by Kitty Green
Starring Julia Garner, Matthew Macfadyen, Makenzie Leigh, Kristine Froseth, Noah Robbins Jon Orsini
Music by Tamar-kali
Cinematography : Michael Latham
Edited by Kitty Green, Blair McClendon
Production companies : Symbolic Exchange, 3311 Productions, Level Forward, Cinereach, Forensic Films
Bellmer Pictures, JJ Homeward Productions
Distributed by Bleecker Street
Release date : August 30, 2019 (Telluride), January 31, 2020 (United States)
Synopsis : Jane, a young graduate who dreams of becoming a producer, has just been hired as an assistant to a powerful executive, an entertainment mogul. Her typical day is like any other assistant's: making coffee, putting paper back in the photocopier, ordering lunch, making travel arrangements, taking messages. But as the day progresses, Jane gradually becomes aware of insidious abuses that arise from every aspect of her position and that she hadn't anticipated ...

The Violent Heart (USA;107mns)
Written and Directed by Kerem Sanga
Produced by Shawn Levy, Dan Cohen, Ed McDonnell, Tobey Maguire
Starring Grace Van Patten, Jovan Adepo, Mary J. Blige, Lukas Haas, Jahi Di'Allo Winston, Kimberly Williams-Paisley
Cress Williams
Cinematography : Ricardo Diaz
Edited by Joshua Raymond Lee
Production companies : 21 Laps Entertainment, Material Pictures, 3311 Productions
Synopsis : Cassie, a spirited student on the verge of graduation, begins a love affair with Daniel, a taciturn mechanic. Daniel is also dreaming of a better future and joining the army. But Daniel's tragic and violent past catches up with the young couple.