Festivals - FCAD 2024: Other categories presented

By Mulder, 22 august 2024

The Deauville American Film Festival, a true showcase of cinematic diversity, is not limited to American works. In 2024, several categories highlight undeniably rich international productions. Here's an overview of the films that stand out at this year's event.

Prix d'Ornano-Valenti: Rabia by Mareike Engelhardt
In the Prix d'Ornano-Valenti category, Mareike Engelhardt's Rabia stands out for its powerful narrative. Inspired by true events, the film tells the story of Jessica, a 19-year-old Frenchwoman who, in search of a new life, leaves for Syria to join Daech. Quickly trapped in a house for future fighters' wives, she finds herself under the sway of Madame, a charismatic and tyrannical headmistress. With a running time of 95 minutes, this poignant feature, backed by an impressive cast including Megan Northam and Lubna Azabal, promises to be a festival highlight.

L'heure de la Croisette: Everything we imagine is light by Payal Kapadia
In the L'heure de la Croisette selection, All We Imagine as Light stands out for its sensitivity and depth. Directed by Payal Kapadia, this drama follows the parallel lives of Prabha, a nurse in Mumbai whose husband has been missing for years, and Anu, her young roommate hiding a forbidden relationship. Their quest for freedom in a coastal village offers a reflection on social desires and constraints. The 115-minute film is scheduled for release in France on October 2, 2024.

Window on French cinema: Claude Lelouch's final film
The Window on French Cinema category features Claude Lelouch's latest film, Finalement. Starring Kad Merad and Elsa Zylberstein, this feature explores the twists and turns of life through the eyes of Lino, a man who decides to give up everything, only to discover that everything that happens to us is for our own good. With a running time of 127 minutes, this film promises to leave a lasting impression with its philosophical touch and star-studded cast.

Focus on history: Ni Chaînes Ni Maîtres by Simon Moutaïrou
In a historical vein, Simon Moutaïrou's Ni Chaînes Ni Maîtres plunges viewers into Isle de France (now Mauritius) in 1759. This historical drama follows the lives of Massamba and Mati, slaves on a plantation, as they try to escape their condition. The 98-minute film promises to be a powerful tale of the struggle for freedom and resistance against oppression.

These films, among others, testify to the diversity and quality of the works presented at the Deauville American Film Festival 2024. Each category offers a unique window onto profoundly human stories, whether contemporary, historical or philosophical. A not-to-be-missed event for lovers of demanding, committed cinema.

Prix d'Ornano Valenti

Rabia

Directed by Mareike Engelhardt
Produced by Lionel Massol
Written by Mareike Engelhardt & Samuel Doux
With Megan Northam, Lubna Azabal, Natacha Krief, Léna Lauzemis, Klara Wördemann, Maria Wördemann
Director of photography: Agnès Godard
Editing: Agnès Godard
Production companies: Arte France Cinéma, Kinology International, Films Grand Huit, Starhaus Filmproduktion, Kwassa Films
Distributed by Memento Distribution (France)
Release date:November 27, 2024 (France)
Running time: 95 minutes
Synopsis: Driven by the promise of a new life, Jessica, a 19-year-old French woman, leaves for Syria to join Daech. Arriving in Raqqa, she joins a house for future combatant wives and soon finds herself the prisoner of Madame, the charismatic director who runs the place with an iron fist. Inspired by true events.

Cruise time

All We Imagine as Light

Written and directed by Payal Kapadia
Produced by Thomas Hakim, Julien Graff
Starring Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha, Chhaya Kadam, Hridhu Haroon
Music ; Topshe
Director of photography : Ranabir Das
Editing: Clément Pinteaux
Production companies: Petit Chaos, Chalk & Cheese Films, BALDR Film, Les Films Fauves, Another Birth, Pulpa Films, Arte France Cinéma
Distributed by Condor Distribution (France), September Film (Netherlands)
Release date: May 23, 2024 (Cannes), October 2, 2024 (France)
Running time: 115 minutes
Synopsis: With no news of her husband for years, Prabha, a nurse in Mumbai, refuses to allow herself to be romantically involved. Meanwhile, Anu, her young roommate, is secretly seeing a young man she has no right to love. During a stay in a coastal village, these two women, whose desires are blocked, finally glimpse the promise of a new freedom.

The Most Precious of Cargoes

Directed by Michel Hazanavicius
Produced by Michel Hazanavicius, Florence Gastaud, Robert Guédiguian, Christophe Jankovic, Riad Sattouf,  Patrick Sobelman
Written by Michel Hazanavicius, Jean-Claude Grumberg
Based on The Most Precious of Cargoes by Jean-Claude Grumberg
With Jean-Louis Trintignant, Grégory Gadebois, Denis Podalydès, Dominique Blanc
Music: Alexandre Desplat
Director of photography :
Montage : Laurent Pelé-Piovani
Production companies: Les Films du Fleuve, Prima Linea Productions, Studiocanal, Les Compagnons du Cinema, Ex Nihilo
Distributed by StudioCanal (France)
Release date: 24 May 2024 (Cannes), 20 November 2024 (France)
Running time: 81 minutes
Synopsis: Once upon a time, in a big wood, there was a poor woodcutter and a poor woodcutter's wife. Cold, hunger, misery, and war all around them, made their lives very difficult. One day, the poor woodcutter took in a baby. A baby thrown from one of the many trains that constantly passed through their woods. Protected whatever the cost, this baby, this little commodity, is going to change the lives of this woman, her husband and all those who cross her path, right up to the man who threw her off the train. Their story will bring out the worst and the best in human hearts.

Parthenope

Written and directed by Paolo Sorrentino
Produced by Lorenzo Mieli, Ardavan Safaee, Paolo Sorrentino, Anthony Vaccarello
Starring Celeste Dalla Porta, Stefania Sandrelli, Gary Oldman, Silvio Orlando, Luisa Ranieri, Peppe Lanzetta, Isabella Ferrari
Director of photography: Daria D'Antonio
Editing: Cristiano Travaglioli
Music: Lele Marchitelli
Production companies: The Apartment Pictures, Pathé
Distributed by PiperFilm (Italy; via Warner Bros. Entertainment Italia), Pathé Distribution (France)
Release date: May 21, 2024 (Cannes)
Running time: 136 minutes
Synopsis: The life of Parthenope from her birth in the 1950s to the present day. A feminine epic devoid of heroism, but infatuated with freedom, Naples and love. True, unspeakable or unrequited love that condemns you to pain, but makes you start again. The perfect Capri summer of carefree youth despite a hopeless horizon. Around Parthenope, the Neapolitans. Scrutinized, loved, disillusioned and full of life, we follow them in their melancholy drifts, tragic ironies and moments of discouragement. Life can be very long, memorable or ordinary. The passage of time offers the whole repertoire of feelings. And there, in the background, near and far, that indefinable city, Naples, which bewitches, enchants, howls, laughs and can hurt us.

Window on French cinema

Finally
Written and directed by Claude Lelouch
Produced by Victor Hadida, Claude Lelouch
With Kad Merad, Elsa Zylberstein, Michel Boujenah, Sandrine Bonnaire, Barbara Pravi, Françoise Gillard, Marianne Denicourt, François Morel, Raphaël Mezrahi, Clémentine Célarié, Lionel Abelanski, Dominique Pinon, Julie Ferrier
Music: Ibrahim Maalouf
Songs : Didier Barbelivien
Director of photography : Maximr Héraud
Editing: Stéphane Mazalaigue
Production company: Les Films 13
Distributed by Metropolitan Films (France)
Release date: November 13, 2024 (France)
Running time: 127 minutes
Synopsis: In an increasingly crazy world, Lino, who has decided to leave everything behind, realizes that everything that happens to us is for our own good.

Neither Chains Nor Masters

Written and directed by Simon Moutaïrou
Produced by Nicolas Dumont and Hugo Sélignac
Starring Ibrahima Mbaye, Camille Cottin, Thiandoum Anna Diakhere, Benoît Magimel, Félix Lefebvre, Vassili Schneider, Lancelot Courcieras, Swala Emati, Lazare Minoungou, Marc Barbé, Bass Dhem, Issaka Sawadogo, Komi Amado, Charlotte Saudrais, Odile Sankara
Music: Amine Bouhafa
Director of photography: Antoine Sanier
Editing: Pierre Deschamps
Production companies: Chi-Fou-Mi Productions, in coproduction with Les Autres Films, France 2 Cinéma, Studiocanal
Distributed by Studiocanal (France)
Release date: September 18, 2024 (France)
Running time: 98 minutes
Synopsis: 1759. Isle de France (present-day Mauritius). Massamba and Mati, slaves on Eugène Larcenet's plantation, live in fear and toil. He dreams of freeing his daughter, she of leaving the green hell of sugar cane. One night, she runs away. Madame La Victoire, a famous slave hunter, is hired to track her down. Massamba has no choice but to escape. With this act, he becomes a “marron”, a fugitive who breaks forever with the colonial order.

(Source: press release)