EnglishFestivals - FCAD 2021 : Discover the films in official competition
By Mulder, 09 august 2021
"To reveal is useless pride, to accompany is the humility that befits the servants of cinema. For the past 25 years, we have hoped to be one of them by transmitting to spectators and professionals our enthusiasm for the best of American cinema, and particularly for the Deauville competition, which draws up an inventory of desire. We measure a tree by its fruits, and we can only love the tree and hope for the works. Our fruits are our Palmarès and the hope of discovery. This 2021 selection reflects the jolts of time and the legitimate and growing concern of filmmakers. This competition is full of laughter, fear, violence, voyeurism, self-seeking, sensuality, and sometimes noble feelings, all of which reflect the genre and the emotions of today. "- Bruno Barde, Director of the festival
Blue bayou 
Written and directed by Justin Chon
Produced by Charles D. King, Kim Roth, Poppy Hanks, Justin Chon
Starring Justin Chon, Alicia Vikander, Mark O'Brien, Linh Dan Pham, Sydney Kowalske, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Emory Cohen
Cinematography : Matthew Chuang, Ante Cheng
Edited by Reynolds Barney
Music by Roger Seun
Production companies : Entertainment One, MACRO
Distributed by Focus Features (United States), Universal Pictures France (France)
Release date : July 13, 2021 (Cannes), September 17, 2021 (United States), September 15, 2021 (France)
Running time : 119 minutes[
Synopsis: Antonio LeBlanc, of Korean-American descent, was adopted and spent his life in a small village in the Louisiana Bayou. Now married to the woman in his life, Kathy, they are raising Jessie, her daughter from a first marriage. As he works hard to provide the best for his family, he is forced to confront the ghosts of his past when he learns that he may be deported from the only country he has ever considered his own.
Catch the fair one 
Written and directed by Josef Kubota Wladyka
Produced by Mollye Asher, Kimberly Parker, Josef Kubota Wladyka
Starring Kali Reis, Daniel Henshall, Tiffany Chu, Michael Drayer, Kimberly Guerrero, Lisa Emery, Kevin Dunn
Cinematography : Ross Giardina ACS
Production companies: Protozoa Pictures, The Population
Distributed by ACE Entertainment Films (France)
Release date : June 12, 2021 (Tribeca)
Running time : 85 minutes
Synopsis : A former boxer is in for the fight of her life when she goes looking for her missing sister.
Down with the king
Directed by Diego Ongaro
Produced by Rob Cristiano, Kim Jackson & Zach LeBeau
Written by Xavi Molia & Diego Ongaro
Starring Freddie Gibbs, Bob Tarasuk, Hernan Orozco, Jared Smith, Cole Tarasuk, Jamie Neumann, David Krumholtz, Sharon Washington
Music by Nathan Halpern
Cinematography : Daniel Vecchione
Edited by Benoit Sauvage
Running time : 100 minutes
Synopsis: Money Merc, a famous rapper, is supposed to compose a new album in a house far from everything. But, tired of his career and the pressure that surrounds him, he discovers an unexpected taste for the life of a farmer.
John and the hole
Directed by Pascual Sisto
Written by Nicolás Giacobone
Based on El Pozo by Nicolás Giacobone
Produced by Michael Bowes, Nicolás Giacobone, Alex Orlovsky, Elika Portnoy
Starring Charlie Shotwell, Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Ehle, Taissa Farmiga
Cinematography : Paul Ozgur
Edited by Sara Shaw
Music by Caterina Barbieri
Production companies : Mutressa Movies, 3311 Productions
Distributed by IFC Films (United States), ACE Entertainment Films (France)
Release date : January 29, 2021 (Sundance), August 6, 2021 (United States)
Running time : 98 minutes
Synopsis: Thirteen-year-old John discovers the remains of an unfinished bunker in the nearby woods that forms a deep hole in the ground. For no apparent reason, he drugs his parents and older sister, then drags their unconscious bodies into the bunker. Held captive, they wait impatiently for John to get them out of the hole, but John prefers to go home where he is finally free to do whatever he wants...
The Night House
Directed by David Bruckner
Written by Ben Collins, Luke Piotrowski
Produced by David S. Goyer, Keith Levine, John Zois
Starring Rebecca Hall, Sarah Goldberg, Evan Jonigkeit, Stacy Martin, Vondie Curtis-Hall
Cinematography : Elisha Christian
Edited by David Marks
Music by Ben Lovett
Production companies : Anton, Phantom Four Films
Distributed by Searchlight Pictures (United States), The Walt Disney Company (France)
Release date : January 24, 2020 (Sundance), August 20, 2021 (United States), September 15, 2021 (France)
Running time : 110 minutes
Synopsis: Torn apart by the brutal death of her husband, Beth finds herself alone in the lake house he built for her. She struggles to cope, but inexplicable nightmares begin to appear. An elusive presence seems to call to her in disturbing visions... Against the advice of her friends, Beth begins to go through her husband's belongings, searching for answers. She will discover secrets as strange as they are disturbing, and a mystery that she will try to solve, despite the risks...
Pig
Written and directed by Michael Sarnoski
Story by Michael Sarnoski, Vanessa Block
Produced by Vanessa Block, Dimitra Tsingou, Nicolas Cage, Steve Tisch, David Carrico, Adam Paulsen, Thomas Benski, Ben Giladi, Dori Rath, Joseph Restanio
Starring Nicolas Cage, Alex Wolff, Adam Arkin
Cinematography : Patrick Scola
Edited by Brett W. Bachman
Music by Alexis Grapsas, Philip Klein
Production companies : AI Film, Endeavor Content, Pulse Films, BlockBox Entertainment, Valparaiso Pictures, Saturn Films
Distributed by Neon (United States),
Release date : July 16, 2021 (United States), Metropolitan FilmExport (France)
Running time : 92 minutes
Synopsis: A truffle hunter lives as a hermit in the Oregon wilderness. The day his truffle pig is kidnapped, he must go to Portland to investigate, where the demons of the past will resurface.
Pleasure
Directed by Ninja Thyberg
Written by Ninja Thyberg, Peter Modestij
Produced by Eliza Jones, Markus Waltå, Erik Hemmendorff
Starring Sofia Kappel, Revika Anne Reustle, Evelyn Claire, Chris Cock, Dana DeArmond, Kendra Spade
Cinematography : Sophie Winqvist Loggins
Edited by Amalie Westerlin Tjellesen, Olivia Neergaard-Holm
Production company : Plattform Produktion
Distributed by A24 (United States), The Jokers Films (France)
Release date : February 1, 2021 (Sundance), October 20, 2021 (France)
Running time : 105 minutes
Synopsis: Bella, a 20 year old Swedish girl, arrives in Los Angeles with the goal of making a career in the porn industry. Her determination and ambition propel her to the top of a world where pleasure quickly gives way to risk, toxicity and misogyny.
Potato dreams of America 
Written and directed by Wes Hurley
Produced by Mischa Jakupcak & Wes Hurley
Starring Marya Sea Kaminski, Tyler Bocock, Dan Lauria, Sera Barbieri, Hersh Powers, Lea DeLaria, Jonathan Bennett, Sophia Mitri Schloss
Music by Catherine Joy & Joshua Kohl
Cinematography : Vincent Pierce
Edited by Wes Hurley
Release date : February 1, 2021 (Sundance),
Running time : 96 minutes
Synopsis: Lena and her 9-year-old son, affectionately known as Potato, try to escape the harsh reality of their native Vladivostok after the fall of the Soviet Union by watching American movies. Carried away by the fantasy of a better life, Lena decides to marry an American by mail order so that she and Potato can move to the United States. When they arrive in Seattle to live with Lena's new husband John, Potato and Lena realize that America is full of surprises.
Red Rocket
Directed by Sean Baker
Written by Chris Bergoch, Sean Baker
Produced by Sean Baker, Alex Coco, Samantha Quan, Alex Saks, Shih-Ching Tsou
Starring Simon Rex, Bree Elrod, Suzanna Son
Cinematography : Drew Daniels
Production company : FilmNation Entertainment
Distributed by A24 (United States), Le Pacte (France)
Release date : July 14, 2021 (Cannes)
Running time : 128 minutes
Synopsis: Mikey Saber returns to his hometown in Texas after years of being a porn star in Los Angeles. But he's not really welcome there. With no money and no job, he has no choice but to move back in with his ex-wife and mother-in-law. While he resumes his little schemes to pay his rent, an encounter will give him hope for a new start.
The last son
Directed by Tim Sutton
Produced by Andre Relis, Jib Polhemus, Luke Schuetzle & Todd Lundbohm
Written by Greg Blake Johnson
Starring Sam Worthington, Colson Baker/Machine Gun Kelly, Thomas Jane, Kim Delonghi, Danny Bohnen, Scotty Bohnen, Emily Marie Palmer, Heather Graham
Music by Phil Mossman
Cinematography : David Gallego
Edited by Kate Abernathy
Distributed by ACE Entertainment Films (France)
Running time : 96 minutes
Synopsis: At the end of the 19th century, Isaac LeMay, a ruthless outlaw, learns that he is the object of a sinister prophecy: he will be murdered by one of his children. To prevent his doom, he sets out to find his offspring, who bears the same birthmark as he does. Although pursued by bounty hunters and the mysterious Sheriff Solomon, LeMay eventually tracks down his son Cal, who is on a killing spree of his own...
The Novice
Written and directed by Lauren Hadaway
Produced by Ryan Hawkins, Steven Sims, Zack Zucker, Kari Holland
Executive producers: Al Engemann, Michael Tennant, Christopher Hines, Ryan Bartecki, Steve Toll, Randy Toll, Jeff Handel
Starring Isabelle Fuhrman, Dilone, Amy Forsyth, Jonathan Cherry, Kate Drummond, Jeni Ross, Eve Kanyo, Nikki Duval, Charlotte Ubben, Sage Irvine, Chantelle Bishop
Music by Alex Weston
Cinematography : Todd Martin
Edited by Lauren Hadaway, Nathan Nugent
Production companies : Picture Movers, H2L Media Group, ZNZ
Release date : June 14, 2021 (Tribeca)
Running time : 97 minutes
Synopsis: Alex Dall, a young lesbian woman in her first year of college, joins her school's rowing club and begins an obsessive physical and psychological journey to make the best crew. Determined to outdo all of her teammates, Alex pushes herself to the limit - and beyond, alienating everyone she meets along the way to personal success.
We are living things 
Directed by Antonio Tibaldi
Produced by Fan He, Andrew K. Li, Alex Lora & Antonio Tibaldi
Written by Antonio Tibaldi & Alex Lora
Starring Jorge Antonio Guerrero, Xingchen Lyu, Zao Wang, O-Lan Jones, Paul Cooper
Music by Alex Lora
Cinematography : Luca Bigazzi
Edited by Alex Lora
Production companies : EnMaze Pictures Inc
Running time : 94 minutes
Synopsis: Solomon, an undocumented Mexican immigrant, lives and works in a New York City recycling center. Convinced that his missing mother has been abducted by aliens, he has built himself a radio telescope to intercept possible communications from outer space. He meets by chance the attractive Chuyao, a fetishist employee of a nail salon in an irregular situation, who also shares a personal interest in UFOs. After a violent altercation with her thuggish boyfriend, the two left-behind escape to the West in search of the truth.
We burn like this 
Written and directed by Alana Waksman
Produced by Alana Waksman, Marshall Granger & Jeri Rafter
Starring Madeleine Coghlan, Devery Jacobs, Kendra Mylnechuk, Casidee Riley, Angelo Rizzo, Megan Folsom
Music by H. Scott Salinas & Logan Stahley
Cinematography: B. Rubén Mendoza
Edited by Marshall Granger
Running time : 81 minutes
Synopsis: The traumatic legacy of 22-year-old Rae's family, a descendant of Holocaust survivors, resurfaces when she is attacked by neo-Nazis in Billings, Montana, where she lives. On the verge of a toxic relationship with an older man that drives her to drugs, Rae decides to move back in with her mother. As anti-Semitism gains ground, Rae must learn to forgive herself, her mother and the broken world around her.
(Source : press release)