Festivals - Gerardmer 2022 : Films in competition

By Mulder, 13 january 2022

Ego (Hatching) (Pahanhautoja) (Finland & Sweden)


Directed by Hanna Bergholm
Produced by Nima Yousefi 
Written by Ilja Rautsi 
With Siiri Solalinna, Sophia Heikkilä, Ejani Volanen, Reino Nordin, Oiva Ollila, Ida Määttänen, Saija Lentonen
Music: Stein Berge Svendsen
Director of photography: Jarkko T. Laine
Editor: Linda Jildmalm
Production companies: Silva Mysterium Oy
Distributed by The Jokers Films (France)
Release date: March 2, 2022 (France, DVD)
Running time: 86 minutes
Synopsis : Tinja is 12 years old. Her mother pushes her to do gymnastics, exerting on her an unhealthy perfectionism. One night, the young girl discovers a very strange egg, which she hides and then incubates. Until a disturbing creature hatches...
Notes : Born in Finland, Hanna Bergholm graduated in directing from the University of Art and Design of Helsinski in 2009. She went on to make several international festival-winning short films, including the horrific fantasy film Puppet Master (2018) and the successful children's series Reetta ja Ronja on Finnish public broadcaster YLE. Egō is his first feature film.

Eight for Silver (USA)
Written and directed by Sean Ellis
Produced by Pete Shilaimon, Mickey Liddell, Sean Ellis 
Starring Boyd Holbrook, Kelly Reilly, Alistair Petrie, Roxane Duran, Nigel Betts, Stuart Bowman, Simon Kunz 
Music: Robin Foster
Director of Photography: Sean Ellis
Editing: Yorgos Mavropsaridis, Richard Mettler
Production companies: LD Entertainment
Distributed by Focus Features (USA)
Release date : not communicated
Running time: 113 minutes
Synopsis : A mysterious threat that seems to have a supernatural origin weighs on a small village in 19th century rural France. John McBride, a young pathologist, goes there to investigate and exorcise his own demons at the same time...
Notes : Born in 1970 in Brighton, England, Sean Ellis studied photography and became one of the most sought-after fashion photographers in the late 1990s. He made a name for himself as a director in 2004 with his Oscar-nominated short film Cashback, which he later adapted into a feature film. His second film, The Broken, was presented in competition at Gérardmer in 2008. Eight for Silver, shot in France, is his fifth feature film.

La abuela (Spain, France)


Directed by Paco Plaza
Produced by Enrique López Lavigne
Written by Carlos Vermut, Paco Plaza 
With Almudena Amor, Vera Valdez, Karina Kolokolchykova, Pierre-François Garel
Music: Fatima Al Qadiri
Director of Photography: 
Editing: Daniel Fernández Abelló
Production companies: Apache Films, Atresmedia Cine, Sony Pictures International Productions, Les Films du Worso
Distributed by Wild bunch distribution (France)
Release date: not communicated
Running time: 99 minutes
Synopsis: Susana, a young Spanish model, is about to break into the Parisian fashion world. But when her grandmother suffers an accident that leaves her nearly paralyzed, Susana must return to Madrid to the old apartment where she grew up to care for her only family. As their common anniversary approaches, old memories resurface alongside strange events, and her grandmother's behavior becomes increasingly disturbing...
Notes : Born in 1973 in Valencia, Spain, Paco Plaza graduated from the University of Valencia in Information Sciences as well as from ECAM (Higher School of Cinema and Audiovisual of the Community of Madrid). He began his career by making short films that received much attention. His first feature film, The Children of Abraham, won the Grand Prix at the 2002 Sitges Film Festival, but it was with the production of the trilogy [Rec] that he established himself as a leading figure in fantasy cinema. The first opus was an international success and won three prizes at the 2008 Gérardmer Festival. His next film, Verónica, received seven nominations at the Goyas - the Spanish Césars - in 2017.

Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon (USA)
Written and directed by Ana Lily Amirpour
Produced by John Lesher, Dylan Weathered, Adam Mirels, Robbie Mirels 
Starring Jun Jong-seo, Kate Hudson, Craig Robinson, Ed Skrein, Evan Whitten
Music: Daniele Luppi
Director of Photography: Pawel Pogorzelski
Editor: Taylor Levy 
Production companies: Rocket Science, Le Grisbi Productions, 141 Entertainment, Black Bicycle Entertainment, wiip
Release date : not communicated
Running time: 106 minutes
Synopsis: A young girl with special and potentially dangerous powers has been locked up in a psychiatric hospital for over ten years. One day, during a full moon night, she escapes and joins the chaos of civilization by scouring the streets of the French Quarter of New Orleans. Now alone, she must learn to control her powers so as not to endanger the lives of others, but also her own...
Notes : Ana Lily Amirpour made her first film at the age of twelve, a horror film set during a sleepover. She has a passion for painting, sculpture and indie-rock music, before moving to Los Angeles to make films. She shot several shorts before signing her first feature film in 2014, the black-and-white vampire film A Girl Walks Home at Night. Two years later, she persisted in the fantasy genre with The Bad Batch, presented at the Venice Film Festival, then with Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon last year.

Ogre (France)


Directed by Arnaud Malherbe
Produced by Laurent Lavolé, Marc-Antoine Robert & Xavier Rigault
Written by Arnaud Malherbe & Sebastian Sepulveda 
With Ana Girardot, Giovanni Pucci, Samuel Jouy, Albertine Rivière, Patrick Pineau, Hubert Delattre, Vincent Londez
Music: Flemming Nordkrog
Director of photography : Pénélope Pourriat
Editing: Floriane Allier
Storyboard : Eric Gandois
Production companies: Gloria films, 2.4.7 Films
Distributed by The Jokers Films (France)
Release date : March 9, 2022 (France)
Running time: 103 minutes
Synopsis : Fleeing a painful past, Chloé starts a new life as a teacher in the Morvan with her son
Jules, 8 years old. Warmly welcomed by the villagers, she falls under the spell of Mathieu, a charismatic and mysterious doctor. But terrible events disturb the peace of the villagers: a child has disappeared and a wild beast is attacking the livestock. Jules is on the alert, he feels it, something is prowling around the house at night...
Notes : After studying journalism, Arnaud Malherbe joined the script workshop at the Fémis, before writing for television and comics. He also directed three multi-awarded short films, including Dans leur Peau, Grand Prix of the 2008 Gérardmer Fantastic Film Festival. He then signed the unitaries Belleville Story (2009) for France 2 and Chambre Noire (2013) for Arte, then the series Chefs (2015) broadcast on France 2. He also created and directed the fantasy series Moloch (2019) for Arte. Ogre is his first feature film.

Post Mortem (Hungary)

Directed by Péter Bergendy
Produced by Ábel Köves, Tamás Lajos
Written by Piros Zánkay
With Viktor Klem, Fruzsina Hais, Judit Schell, Andrea Ladányi, Zsolt Anger, Gábor Reviczky
Music: Attila Pacsay
Director of photography: András Nagy
Editor: István Király
Distributed by Condor Distribution (France)
Release date: not communicated
Running time: 115 minutes
Synopsis: Hungary, 1919. Miraculously returned from the front, Tomás works as a post-mortem photographer in a traveling fair: at the request of families, he immortalizes the dead by recreating the illusion of life through clever staging. When he arrives in a heavily bereaved village, he is seized by the revelations of the young Anna: the village would be haunted by mysterious and terrifying spectres...
Notes : Born in 1964 in Budapest, Péter Bergendy received his first camera from his grandfather at the age of six. After graduating in psychology, he wrote a thesis on psychological horror. After working for Hungarian television and the National Film Institute, he directed commercials and music videos, as well as writing for film magazines. In 2004, he directed his first feature film, Stop Mum Theresa! His third film, Vault, won eight Hungarian Césars. Post Mortem represents Hungary at this year's Oscars.

Samhain (Ireland)
Written and directed by Kate Dolan
Produced by Deirdre Levins
Starring Hazel Doupe, Carolyn Bracken, Ingrid Craigie, Paul Reid, Jordanne Jones, Katie White, Florence
Adebambo
Director of Photography: Narayan Van Maele
Editor: John Cutler
Production company: Fantastic Films
Distributed by Star Invest Films France (France), Bankside Films (United States)
Release date: September 13, 2021 (TIFF)
Running time: 93 minutes
Synopsis: It's the week before Halloween and Angela, Char's mother, has inexplicably disappeared. All that remains is her abandoned car. When she returns home without explanation the next night, Char and her grandmother realize something is wrong. She may look and sound the same, but Angela's behavior is increasingly frightening, as if she has been replaced by a malevolent force. When Halloween arrives, a night steeped in ancient myths and legends, Char realizes that she is the only one who can save her, even if it means losing her forever.
Notes: A 2012 graduate of Ireland's National Film School, Institute of Art Design + Technology, Kate Dolan was selected for the 2014 Berlinale Talents where she developed her short film Little Doll, which screened at the Berlin Film Festival two years later. Alongside directing commercials and music videos, she has signed other short films, including Catcalls which won the 2018 Best Short Film Award at the Young Director Ireland Awards. The following year, she was ranked among Ireland's top emerging creatives under 30. Samhain is her first feature film.

She will (United Kingdom)
Directed by Charlotte Colbert
Produced by Jessica Malik, Bob Last
Written by Charlotte Colbert, Kitty Percy
With Alice Krige, Kota Eberhardt, Malcolm McDowell, Rupert Everett, Amy Manson, Jonathan Aris, John
McCrea, Jack Greenlees
Music: Clint Mansell
Director of Photography: Jamie D. Ramsay
Editing: Matyas Fekete, Yorgos Mavropsaridis
Production companies: A Popcorn Group Pressman Films, Intermission Films
Distributed by Alba Films (French)
Release date: September 29, 2021 (Fantastic Fest), April 3, 2022 (France)
Running time: 95 minutes
Synopsis: After undergoing a double mastectomy, Veronica Ghent goes to recover in the Scottish countryside with her young nurse. Once there, she discovers that the process of such a surgery raises questions about her own existence, leading her to question and confront her past traumas. The two women develop a special relationship, as mysterious forces give Veronica the power to take revenge in her dreams...
Notes: Charlotte Colbert is an established visual artist whose work has been shown around the world, including at Somerset House, the V&A Museum of Childhood, the Saatchi Gallery, Art Basel and the Centre Régional d'Art Contemporain de Sète. She uses many artistic fields - film, photography, ceramics and sculpture - to question narrative, time, language and socio-economic constructions related to gender and identity. After a series of short films, she co-wrote and directed last year She Will, her first feature film.

The Innocents (De uskyldige) (Norway)

https://youtu.be/nctKW8GUICg
Written and directed by Eskil Vogt
Produced by Maria Ekerhovd, Misha Jaari, Mark Lwoff
With Rakel Lenora Fløttum, Alva Brynsmo Ramstad, Mina Yasmin Bremseth Asheim, Sam Ashraf, Ellen Dorrit
Petersen, Mortem Svartveit, Kadra Yusuf, Lisa Tønne
Music: Pessi Levanto
Director of photography: Sturla Brandth Grøvlen
Editor: Jens Christian Fodstad
Production companies: Snow Globe Productions, Zentropa International Sweden, Mer Film, Bufo
Distributed by Kinovista (France)
Release date: February 9, 2022 (France)
Running time: 117 minutes
Synopsis : In the quietness of a suburb drowsy by the Nordic summer, four children discover astonishing powers that they innocently summon in their games, far from the eyes of adults. As they explore their new abilities in the surrounding forest and park, their distractions gradually take a disturbing turn.
Notes:  Born in Norway, Eskil Vogt graduated in directing from the Fémis. In 2014, he signed his first film, Blind; a daydream, which won numerous international awards including the Best Screenplay Award at the Sundance Film Festival. He is also the co-writer of all Joachim Trier's films, including Oslo, August 31 (2011) and Julie (in 12 chapters), presented in competition at the last Cannes Film Festival. The Innocents is his second feature film.

The Sadness (Taiwan)

Written and directed by Rob Jabbaz
Produced by David Barker, Wei-Chun Li, Jeffrey Huang 
With Regina Lei, Berant Zhu, Johnny Wang, Apple Chen, Wei-Hua Lan, Ralf Chiu 
Music : TZECHAR
Director of photography : Jie-Li Bai
Editing : Jie-Li Bai 
Production companies: Machi Xcelsior Studios
Distributed by Factoris films (France)
Release date : not communicated
Running time: 99 minutes
Synopsis : The future of Jim and Kat, lovers in love, looks bright, until the day when a virus plunges Taiwan into violence and chaos. Infected residents turn into uncontrollable monsters who are driven by their primal urges to seek out human flesh and sexual partners. The young couple must fight for their survival, which is dwindling by the minute.
Notes:  Born in Mississauga, Canada, Rob Jabbaz is a self-taught animator who has made several short films using this technique. He has also made music videos and commercials, mostly produced in Taiwan. In 2020, he directed the horrific short film Clearwater. The
Sadness is his first feature film.

(Source : press kit)