Festivals - FCAD 2023 : Discover the films in competition

By Mulder, 27 july 2023

Thu. 27/07/2023 09:38

The Deauville American Film Festival is a major cinematic event held every year in Deauville, a seaside town in Normandy, France. The festival is entirely dedicated to American cinema, and is one of the most important film events in Europe showcasing American cinema.

The festival was founded in 1975 by Lionel Chouchan, André Halimi, and Michel d'Ornano. Since then, it has taken place every year in early September. The festival presents a diverse selection of American films, ranging from popular Hollywood productions to more avant-garde independent films. There are previews, competition films, retrospectives and tributes to leading figures in American cinema. The festival hosts an official competition, with films competing for various prizes, including the Grand Prix and the Jury Prize. It's an opportunity for emerging filmmakers to make their mark, and for films to be screened before an international audience.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe 
Written and Directed by Aitch Alberto
Based on Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Produced by Eugenio Derbez, Kyra Sedgwick, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Valerie Stadler, Ben Odell, Dylan Sellers, Chris Parker
Starring  Max Pelayo, Reese Gonzales
Cinematography : Akis Konstantakopoulos
Edited by Stefanie Visser
Music by Isabella Summers
Production companies : Limelight, 3Pas Studios, Big Swing Productions, Boies Schiller Entertainment, 5000 Broadway Productions
Distributed by : Blue Fox Entertainment
Release dates : September 9, 2022 (TIFF), September 8, 2023 (United States)
Running time : 96 minutes
Synopsis : 1987, El Paso. Ari and Dante, two teenagers with nothing in common, become instant friends. Yet they forge a deep friendship that will change their lives forever.

Blood for dust 
Directed by Rod Blackhurst
Written by David Ebeltoft
Produced by Noah Lang, Mark Fasano, Bernard Kira, Arun Kumar Ari Novak
Starring  Scoot McNairy, Kit Harington, Josh Lucas
Cinematography : Justin Derry
Edited by Justin Oakey
Music by Nick Bohun
Release date : June 2023 (Tribeca)
Running time : 98 minutes
Synopsis : Cliff, a road-tripping salesman drowning in debt, embarks on a dangerous path when he meets up with Ricky, an old acquaintance with dubious methods.

Cold copy
Written and Directed by Roxine Helberg
Produced by Justin Lothrop, Brent Stiefel, Dan Bekerman, Roxine Helberg
Starring Bel Powley, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jacob Tremblay
Release date : June 2023 (Tribeca)
Running time : 91 minutes
Synopsis : An ambitious journalism student falls under the yoke of a renowned but ruthless journalist whom she strives to impress, even if it means manipulating her latest article - and the very idea of truth.

Fremont
Directed by Babak Jalali
Written by Carolina Cavalli, Babak Jalali
Produced by Marjaneh Moghimi, Sudnya Shroff, Rachael Fung, George Rush, Chris Martin, Laura Wagner
Starring Anaita Wali Zada, Gregg Turkington, Jeremy Allen White
Cinematography : Laura Valladao
Edited by Babak Jalali
Music by Mahmood Schricker
Production companies : A Butimar Productions, Extra A Productions, Blue Morning Pictures
Distributed by Music Box Films (USA) Modern Films (UK/Eire)
Release date : January 20, 2023 (Sundance)
Running time : 91 minutes
Synopsis : Donya, a 20-year-old Afghan refugee, works for a fortune cookie factory in San Francisco. A former translator for the US army in Afghanistan, she has trouble sleeping and feels lonely. Her routine is disrupted when her boss entrusts her with writing messages and predictions. Her desire is awakened and she decides to send a special message in one of the cookies, letting fate take its course...

I.S.S. 
Directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite
Written by Nick Shafir
Produced by Mickey Liddell, Pete Shilaimon
Starring  Ariana DeBose, Chris Messina, Pilou Asbæk, John Gallagher Jr., Costa Ronin, Maria Mashkova
Cinematography : Nick Remy Matthews
Edited by Colin Patton
Music by Anne Nikitin
Production company : LD Entertainment
Release date June 12, 2023 (Tribeca)
Running time : 93 minutes
Synopsis  : When a global conflict breaks out on Earth in the near future, tensions flare aboard the International Space Station. Shocked, the American and Russian astronauts receive orders from the ground to take control of the station by any means necessary.

Life according to Ann
Directed by Joanna Arnow
Starring Joanna Arnow, Scott Cohen, Babak Tafti, Alysia Reiner, Peter Vack, Parish Bradley, Michael Cyril Creighton, Barbara Weiserbs, David Arnow
Running time : 87 minutes
Synopsis : Ann, a thirty-something New Yorker, delivers her uninhibited version of submission. The encounters with her partners, as well as her professional, family and friendly relationships, become a delicious playground.

Laroy
Written and directed by Shane Atkinson
Produced by Sébastien Aubert, John Magaro, Jeremie Guiraud, Jeremie Guiraud 
Starring John Magaro, Steve Zahn, Dylan Baker, Megan Stevenson, Matthew Del Negro, Brad Leland
Music by Rim Laurens Delphine Malaussena, Clément Peiffer
Cinematography : Mingjue Hu
Edited by Sebastian Mialik
Running time : 112 minutes
Synopsis : Ray discovers that his wife is cheating on him and decides to end her life in a motel parking lot. Just before doing so, a stranger bursts into his car, thinking he's dealing with the killer he's hired. Disconcerted by this misunderstanding, Ray finally accepts the mission, convinced that people will finally respect him. The plan was supposed to be simple. But before long, Ray finds himself caught up in a situation he'll have to get out of before it's too late...

Manodrome
Written and Directed by John Trengove
Produced by Gina Gammell, Ben Giladi, Riley Keough, Ryan Zacarias
Starring Jesse Eisenberg, Adrien Brody
Production companies : Felix Culpa, Liminal Content
Release date: February 17, 2023 (Berlin)
Synopsis : Ralphie is trying to get by as an Uber driver, but his girlfriend is expecting a baby and his future looks uncertain. He gradually loses his grip on reality when he meets the charismatic leader of a mysterious group of men...

Past lives
Written and directed by Celine Song
Produced by David Hinojosa, Christine Vachon, Pamela Koffler
Starring  Greta Lee, Teo Yoo, John Magaro
Cinematography :  Shabier Kirchner
Edited by Keith Fraase
Music by Christopher Bear, Daniel Rossen
Production companies : CJ ENM, Killer Films, 2AM
Distributed by A24
Release dates : January 21, 2023 (Sundance),June 2, 2023 (United States)
Running time : 106 minutes
Synopsis : At the age of 12, Nora and Hae Sung are childhood friends and platonic lovers. Circumstances separate them. At 20, chance reconnects them, for a time. At 30, they meet again, adults, confronted with what they could have been, and what they could become.

Runner
Written and directed by Marian Mathias
Produced by Joy Jorgensen          
Starring  Hannah Schiller, Darren Houle, Gene Jones, Jonathan Eisley
Cinematography : Jomo F
Running time : 76 minutes
Synopsis : Haas, 18, lives alone with her father in a remote Midwestern village. When her father dies accidentally, she wants to fulfill his last wish and goes to bury him in the town where he was born, on the banks of the Mississippi River. In this community subject to the vicissitudes of climate and economy, Haas meets Will, a lonely young boy who works hard to provide for his family. They forge a friendship that challenges their understanding of love and grief.

Summer solstice
Written and directed by Noah Schamus
Produced by Harper Makowsky, Jesse Miller, Arno Mokros, Noah Schamus, Jess Zeidman
Starring  Bobbi Salvör Menuez, Marianne Rendón, Mila Myles, Yaron Lotan, Monica Sanborn, Tracy Sallows
Cinematography : Jack Davis
Edited by Christopher McKee, Emily Packer
Running time : 81 minutes
Synopsis : Leo, a trans man, and his cisgender, straight friend Eleanor go away for the weekend, during which old secrets are revealed and new challenges arise. They also find the answer to the eternal question: are good friends and bad friends compatible?

The graduates
Written and directed by Hannah Peterson
Produced by Jessamine Burgum, Josh Peters, Taylor Shung, Saba Zereh
Starring  Mina Sundwall, Alex Hibbert, John Cho, Yasmeen Fletcher, Ewan Manley, Maria Dizzia, Kelly O’Sullivan
Music by Andrew Orkin
Cinematography : Carolina Costa               
Edited by Hannah Peterson                         
Running time : 87 minutes
Synopsis : A year after the shooting death of her boyfriend, a young high-school student with an uncertain future ends her senior year in a community that seeks to soothe her grief.

The sweet east
Directed by Sean Price Williams
Written by Nick Pinkerton
Produced by Craig Butta, Alex Coco, Alex Ross Perry
Starring  Talia Ryder, Earl Cave, Simon Rex, Ayo Edebiri, Jeremy O. Harris, Jacob Elordi, Rish Shah
Cinematography : Sean Price Williams
Edited by Stephen Gurewitz
Production companies : Marathon Street, Base 12
Release date : May 18, 2023 (Cannes)
Running time : 104 minutes
Synopsis : Lilian, a young high-school student, runs away from home on a school trip. In the course of her encounters, she discovers an unsuspected world. The mental, social and political fractures of the United States, filmed like a fairy tale or a variation on Alice in Wonderland.

Wayward 
Directed by Jacquelyn Frohlich   
Starring Jess Weixler, Chloe Guidry, Jessica Sula, Rob Morrow, Will Brittian, Colleen Camp
Running time : 99 minutes
Synopsis : An eleven-year-old girl, in constant conflict with her mother and in search of a stable life, is on the road with her mother from Idaho to Los Angeles, where they will settle. Along the way, they pick up a charismatic young woman. The young girl quickly becomes attached to the stranger and develops a special relationship with her, blurring the boundaries between running away and kidnapping.

(Source : press release)