We tell you everything about the Dinard Film Festival 2019 to be held this year from 25 to 29 September 2019:
The official trailer:
The editorial
A veritable showcase for a lively and up-to-date British cinema, both cutting-edge and popular, the Dinard Film Festival celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2019 by offering an exceptional program.
More than ever for 5 days, Dinard becomes a true British enclave in Brittany and offers the public and professional film competitions, previews and retrospectives, special sessions and meetings, masterclasses and tributes to major actors and directors of British cinema. These sessions and meetings are held in the presence of prestigious guests, teams of films in competition and the Jury.
Faithful to the artistic line of the festival and signed Hussam Hindi, artistic director of the Festival, the short and feature-length selections have the ambition to show the British production of the year, in all its diversity (fictions, documentaries, animation, comedies, dramas, thrillers …). Without departing from the legendary coolness and humor of the British, the Dinard Film
Festival continues this year again its mission: that of allowing rare films,
original and independent to meet the distributors and the French public.
The Jury
Once again, the Dinard Film Festival has the honor of welcoming a great film professional to preside over its 2019 Jury. Actress, director and screenwriter, a huge figure in French cinema, Sandrine Bonnaire shows the full range of her talent since 1984, year she
gets the César of the best hope for A nos amours from Maurice Pialat. During her magnificent career rich in numerous films and awards, Sandrine Bonnaire receives notably the César of the best actress in 1986 for Sans toit ni loi from Agnès Varda and the
Volpi cup of the best actress at the Venice Film Festival for Claude Chabrol‘s Ceremony, a film shot on the Emerald Coast in 1995 where she masterfully embodies the illiterate and disturbing servant of a bourgeois home. She returns to Saint-Malo always with Claude Chabrol to play Viviane Sterne in Au coeur du mensonge in 1999. She plays with the greatest directors, Patrice Leconte, Jacques Rivette, André Techiné and Claude Sautet. She is acclaimed for her work as a documentary filmmaker (Her name is Sabine, Jacques Higelin, Marianne Faithfull), as well as for her theatrical creation Le miroir de Jade in 2015. In 2019, Sandrine Bonnaire is starring in the TV movie Ce soir là et tous es jours by Marion Laine on the attacks of Bataclan and film trois jours et une vie byNicolas Boukhrief from the novel by Pierre Lemaitre.
Born on the day of our National Day, Sveva Alviti is an Italian actress and model. As she set out for a career in tennis, she won a fashion contest in which her sister had registered. She flew to New York and worked as a model for nine years while taking a few roles including one with Sophia Loren in the series La mia casa e piena di specchi. Lisa Azuelos chooses her from among more than 250 contenders to play the eponymous role of biopic dalida, one of the most anticipated films of the year 2017, and propels her to the forefront. It is found the following year in love addict Frank Bellocq alongside Kev adams and Marc Lavoine and Lukas by Julien Leclercq face Jean-Claude Van Damme, Kaaris and Sami Bouajila.
Interpretive Award in Cannes with his four other play partners for Indigènes by Rachid Bouchareb in 2006, Cesar for Best Supporting Actor for André Téchiné‘s Les témoins in 2008, very recent winner of the Orizzonti Selection Award at the Mostra From Venice 2019, Sami Bouajila was revealed to the general public with Bye-Bye by Karim Dridi in 1996. From then on, all film families solicited him. his partner is Bruce Willis and Denzel Washington in Edward Zwick‘s Couvre- feu, he plays the title role of funny Félix, he plays in Abdellatif Kechiche‘s first feature film and then Michel Blanc, Bernard Rapp, Arnaud Desplechin, Pierre Salvadori or Florent Emilio Siri. Bouchareb puts it back on stage in London (partly
shot at dinard) and in Hors la loi. Roschdy Zem who shares with him the poster of this latest film will direct him in Omar m’a tué
.
Scottish director Michael Caton-Jones has worked with some of the most talented British actors and actresses. In 1989, in Scandal, he directed Ian McKellen opposite John Hurt – who he went on to direct again; first in the mythical Rob Roy in which Hurt shared the billing with fabulous British actors, Liam Neeson, Tim Roth, Brian Cox and Jason Flemyng, and then in the poignant Shooting Dogs about the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. In This Boy’s Life, he brought together Martin Scorsese’s stars, Robert de Niro and a young Leonardo di Caprio for his first major screen role. He has also directed Matthew Modine and Jane Horrocks in Memphis Belle, Michael J. Fox and Woody Harrelson in Doc Hollywood, Bruce Willis and Richard Gere in The Jackal and Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct 2.
Film festivals often present a great opportunity to bring together old colleagues. It will be the case for Jane Horrocks and Michael Caton- Jones who worked together in 1990 on Memphis Belle. Jane has also acted with other directors who are favourites of the festival, such as Mike Leigh in Life is Sweet, Dexter Fletcher, in Sunshine on Leith, Nicolas Roeg, in The Witches with Anjelica Huston, Rowan Atkinson and Brenda Blethyn who she also worked with in Little Voice by Mark Herman. She was propelled to stardom in the series Absolutely Fabulous in which she played two roles, Bubble, the assistant of Edina – played by Jennifer Saunders – and Kathy Grin, her cousin. She is also famous for her voice work in animation films such as Chicken Run or Corpse Bride.
Before his career took off with The Princess of Montpensier directed by Bernard Tavernier – who also picked him for The French Minister – Raphaël Personnaz had appeared in films by Sam Karmann, Gérard Jugnot and Anne Le Ny. Multi-talented, he had acted in romcoms (The Stroller Strategy), historical dramas (The Gate),
adventure stories (In the Forests of Siberia), or thrillers (SK1). He crossed the Channel twice to play opposite Keira Knightley and Jude Law in Anna
Karenina and Ralph Fiennes in The White Crow. In 2018, he obtained the
Molière award for best one-man show for his play Vous n’aurez pas ma haine (You will not have my hatred) adapted from the eponymous book by Antoine Leiris about the terrorist attack on the Bataclan theatre. He currently stars in Persona non grata, by Roshdy Zem..
Multi talented is the expression that truly defines what Aurélie Saada is about : as a singer, director, producer, script writer and also actress, everything she touches becomes gold. Her most popular project is Brigitte, created with fellow singer Sylvie Hoarau. Beyond the super popular music recorded by the duo, Brigitte has turned the French music scene upside down with its combination of subtle feminist lyrics, and a look that immediately started a immense trend. Brigitte’s success de facto made Aurélie Saada a talent that everyone wants to be associated with. Along with directing all of Brigitte’s music videos, Aurélie has directed spots for various brands such as Dior and Alexis Mabille. Aurelie is currently putting the final touches on the script for her first motion picture.
Danièle Thompson, scriptwriter and film director, started her career co-writing with her father, Gérard Oury, La Grande Vadrouille, the most popular film in France for thirty years. Ms Thompson collaborated with her father on nine more comedies such as Delusions of Grandeur, The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob and Ace of Aces. Danièle Thompson was nominated for an Oscar for Cousin Cousine, directed by Jean-Charles Tacchella and went on to initiate La Boum, directed by Claude Pinoteau. She also worked with Patrice Chéreau on La Reine Margot, with Elie Chouraqui on Les Marmottes, before
directing Season’s Beatings, which she co-wrote with her son, Christopher.
Mother and son also worked together on four more projects, including Jet
Lag, Orchestra Seats and Change of Plans. She worked alone on the script for her sixth feature film, Cézanne and I, in 2016 .
The Dinard Film festival has often put the spotlight on makers of genre films, such as Christopher Smith in 2017. The festival is pleased this year to invite James Watkins to walk up the red carpet. Watkins became known with Eden Lake, a horror film about a gang of persecuting teenagers – Thomas Turgoose, Shane – who have decided to ruin the romantic weekend of a young couple played by Kelly Reilly and Michael Fassbender. Watkins also directed The Woman in Black with Daniel Radcliffe – who had just finished the Harry Potter series – and Bastille Day, with Idris Elba, Charlotte Le Bon et José Garcia. He also directed the Shut up and Dance episode of the Black Mirror series as well as all eight episodes of the BBC’s McMafia series. Meadow’s favourite actor, is one of them .
Competition
Animals – 2019 – 1h49
Directed by: Sophie Hyde
With: Holliday Granger, Alia Shawkat, Fra Fee, Dermot Murphy…
Laura and Tyler have been flatmates and best friends for 10 years, marauding around the streets of Dublin and acting purely on desire. For Tyler, this is the best version of life, even with the inevitable hangovers, but when Laura’s (younger) sister Jean announces that she’s starting a family, Laura panics. As she struggles to come to grips with what it is that she really wants, Laura begins to realise that living a life for herself might mean leaving someone else behind.
Only You – 2018 – 1h59
Directed by: Harry Wootliff
With : Laia Costa, Josh o’Connor…
Elena and Jake meet by chance on New Year’s Eve, fighting for the same taxi. But, instead of going their separate ways after a shared ride, they start a passionate relationship. Within weeks they are living together, and not long after they talk about starting a family. But, as the seasons pass, reality catches up with them. Falling in love was the easy part, but can they remain in love when life doesn’t give them everything they hoped for?
Cordelia – 2019 – 1h28
Directed by : Adrian Shergold
With: Antonia Campbell-Hugues, Johnny Flynn, Michael Gambon…
Cordelia lives with her twin sister in a basement flat in Central London. Once a promising actress, an event twelve years ago changed Cordelia’s outlook and emotional state. In recent times she has gradually become more understanding of her experience and carefully took back to her profession as an understudy in the theatre, her first major move into integrating with society once more. She meets Frank, the mysterious cellist from upstairs with whose music she has been fascinated by, but as their relationship develops, Cordelia becomes unsure of his motivations.
The Keeper – 2018 – 2h00
Directed by: Marcus Rosenmüller
With : David Cross, Freya Mavor, Gary Lewis…
While visiting a PoW camp near Manchester at the end of WWII, Margaret and her father, the manager of the local football team, notice a young German soldier Bert Trautmann. Margaret’s father is so taken by Bert’s prowess as a goal-keeper that he gets him out of the camp to play for his team.
The Last Tree – 2019 – 1h40
Directed by: Shola Amoo
With : Sam Adewumni, Denise Black, Nicholas Pinnock, Gbemisola Ikumelo…
Femi is a British boy of Nigerian heritage who, after a happy childhood in rural Lincolnshire, moves to inner London to live with his mum. Struggling with the unfamiliar culture and values of his new environment, teenage Femi has to figure out which path to adulthood he wants to take.
Vs. – 2018 – 1h34
Directed by: Ed Lilly
With : Fola Evans-Akingbola, Connor Swindells, Joivan Wade…
A troubled foster kid uses his scathing word skills to become an unlikely rap battle champion. But when he doorsteps his biological mother after ten years in care, he is forced to face his toughest opponent yet: His past.
FIRST SCREENING
Opening film: Thursday, the 26th of september
Official Secrets by Gavin Hood, 2019 (1h52) with Keira Knightley, Matt Smith, Matthew Goode, Ralph Fiennes…
2003: The United States and England want to intervene in Iraq. British intelligence employee Katharine Gun receives note from NSA: US solicits help from Britain to gather compromising information on some members of the UN Security Council and force them to vote favor of the invasion. Gun then makes the decision to release the memo to the press in order to prevent the war. By choosing to expose this vast political conspiracy, the whistleblower will risk everything: her life, her family, her freedom …
SÉANCE SPÉCIALE : VENDREDI 27 septembre
Peterloo by Mike Leigh, 2018 (2h34) with Rory Kinnear, Maxine Peake, Neil Bell…
An epic portrayal of the events surrounding the infamous 1819 Peterloo Massacre, where a peaceful pro-democracy rally at St Peter’s Field in Manchester turned into one of the bloodiest and most notorious episodes in British history. The massacre saw British government forces charge into a crowd of over 60,000 that had gathered to demand political reform and protest against rising levels of poverty. Many protestors were killed and hundreds more injured, sparking a nationwide outcry but also further government suppression. The Peterloo Massacre was a defining moment in British democracy which also played a significant role in the founding of The Guardian newspaper.
Brighton by Stephen Cookson, 2019 (1h30) with Marion Bailey, Phil Davis, Larry Lamb, Lesley Sharp…
Two couples, Derek and Dinah, and Dave and Doreen travel from East London to enjoy a day at the beach. They reflect on their memories whilst observing that Brighton has changed, and that society is changing. These two couples trapped in past times are confronted with many changes, the friends are unable to adapt to the times and comprehend the liberation of many minorities…
Carmilla by Emily Harris, 2018 (1h36) with Tobias Menzies, Jessica Raine, Greg Wise…
Fifteen-year-old Lara lives with her father and her strict governess, Miss Fontaine, in total isolation and is struggling to find an outlet for her curiosity and burgeoning sexuality. When a carriage crash nearby brings a young girl, Carmilla, into the family home to recuperate, Lara is enchanted by the newcomer.
Denmark by Adrian shergold, 2019 (1h46) with Rafe Wpall, Joel Fry, Steve Speirs…
Herb’s life is a mess. He’s lost his welfare, can’t hold a job, can’t talk to his son, and a diet that consists mainly of cheap beer and mushy peas. It’s no way to live and he knows it.
When he learns from a TV news report that Danish prisoners have it way better than he does, he says goodbye to his dingy flat and smuggles himself to Denmark, landing in a quaint town with everything he needs — including a bank to rob…
Fisherman’s Friends by Chris Foggin, 2019 (1h52) with Tuppence middleton, James Purefoy, daniel mays…
A fast-living, cynical London music executive heads to a remote Cornish village on a stag weekend where he’s pranked by his boss into trying to sign a group of shanty singing fishermen. He becomes the ultimate ‘fish out of water’ as he struggles to gain the respect of the unlikely boy band who value friendship and family over fame and fortune.
For sama by Waad Al-Khateab & Edward Watts, 2019 (1h35) – Documentary
For Sama traces the journey of a young woman, Waad al-Kateab, through love, marriage and motherhood across five years of the revolution in Aleppo, Syria. An intimate, visceral documentary about the female experience of war, Waad faces an impossible decision: should she flee the city to protect her young daughter’s life? But to leave means abandoning the struggle for freedom for which she has already sacrificed so much.
A Girl from Mogadishu by Mary McGuckian, 2019 (1h52) with Aja naomi King, Barkhad Abdi, martha Canga Antonio…
Circumcised at 8. Raped by wandering militiamen at 12. Fully infibulated again at 13, and then married off to a fifty-year-old man who regularly beat her, Ifrah Ahmed finally runs away. She makes the extraordinary journey out of war-torn Somalia and arrives not in Minnesota, USA, as she had been lead to believe, but Dublin, Ireland. Finally finding some sense of safety, her fears begin to subside. Channelling her feelings of shame and anger, she learns English at break-neck speed and unearths an enviable technical talent for harnessing social media. Thus commences her now lauded professional career as an international activist
Happy New Year, Colin Burstead by Ben Wheatley, 2018 (1h35) with Neil Maskell, Charles Dance, Hayley Squires, Joe Cole, Sam Riley, Alexandra Maria Lara…
Colin hires a lavish country manor for his extended family to celebrate New Year. Unfortunately for Colin his position of power in the family is under serious threat from the arrival of his estranged brother David.
Hope Gap by William Nicholson, 2019 (1h40) with Annette Benning, Bill Nighy, Josh O’Connor, Aiysha Hart…
A couple’s visit with their son takes a dramatic turn when the father tells him he plans on leaving his mother.
In Fabric by Peter Strickland, 2018 (1h58) With Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Gwendoline Christie, Hayley Squires…
A haunting ghost story set against the backdrop of a busy winter sales period in a department store. It follows the life of a cursed dress as it passes from person to person, with devastating consequences.
Little Joe by Jessica Hausner, 2019 (1h40) with Emily Beecham, Kerry Fox, Ben Wishaw, Phénix Brossard…
Alice, a single mother, is a dedicated senior plant breeder at a corporation engaged in developing new species. She has engineered a very special crimson flower, remarkable not only for its beauty but also for its therapeutic value: if kept at the ideal temperature, fed properly and spoken to regularly, this plant makes its owner happy…
Mr. Jones by Agnieszka Holland, 2019 (1h59) with Vanessa Kirby, James Norton, Peter Sarsgaard…
1933. Gareth Jones is an ambitious young Welsh journalist who gained fame after his report on being the first foreign journalist to fly with Hitler. Whilst working as an advisor to Lloyd George, he is now looking for his next big story. The Soviet “utopia” is all over the news, and Jones is intrigued as to how Stalin is financing the rapid modernisation of the Soviet Union…
Postcards from the 48% by David Wilkinson, 2018 (1h49) – Documentary with Joan Bakewell, Catherine Bearder, Vince Cable…
A documentary film made by and featuring those who voted Remain, the 48%, to show the other 27 EU Member States that it was far from a landslide victory and just why we are fighting to stay part of the EU.
Red Joan by Sir Trevor Nunn, 2018 (1h41) with Judi Dench, Sophie Cookson, Stephen Campbell Moore…
In a picturesque village in England, Joan Stanley lives in contented retirement. Then suddenly her tranquil existence is shattered as she’s shockingly arrested by MI5. For Joan has been hiding an incredible past; she is one of the most influential spies in living history… Forced to reveal her secrets, Joan recalls her time as a physics’ student at Cambridge, where she fell in love with Leo, a young man linked to the Russian Communist Party.
Sorry We Missed You by Ken Loach, 2019 (1h40) with Kris Hitchen, Debbie Honeywood, Rhys Stone…
Ricky and his family have been fighting an uphill struggle against debt since the 2008 financial crash. An opportunity to wrestle back some independence appears with a shiny new van and the chance to run a franchise as a self-employed delivery driver. It’s hard work, and his wife’s job as a carer is no easier. The family unit is strong but when both are pulled in different directions everything comes to breaking point.
Wait and Sea by Simon Coss & Antoine Tracou, 2019 (0h53) – Documentary
My name’s Simon. I’m English and I’ve lived in Brittany, France for over 20 years with my French wife and our two kids. In June 2016 the UK voted to leave the European Union. Losing EU citizenship meant I’d also risk losing the automatic right to keep coming home to my family every evening. It felt like Brexit was ripping me in half. My friend and fellow director Antoine Tracou suggested we make a film together. But which film? What both unites and divides the UK and France? The sea of course. So we hitched a ride on a fishing boat in the Breton port of Guilvinec and headed across the Channel to Newlyn, in the UK county of Cornwall.
MEETINGS AND MAIN EVENTS
The festival will honor Mike Leigh. A public meeting will be proposed.
Meetings with the directors
- Shane Meadows after The Virtues
- Mike Leigh after Peterloo
MASTERCLASSES
Rock stars on film, spotlight on David Bowie, by Hussam Hindi
Queen with Bohemian Rhapsody, Elton John with Rocketman, not to mention Lady Gaga in A Star is Born, the musical biopic has the wind in its sails and rock stars have never been so present at the cinema. The thing is not yet yesterday, and as such the United Kingdom has nothing to envy Hollywood. Hussam Hindi will speak rock’n’roll, leaning particularly on the case of the late David Bowie, whose intriguing personality has made him the ideal actor for ambiguous roles with contrasting emotions.
Suspense and plots in the British series, by Charles Meyrault and Marius Decarnin
Or how to solve the mysteries of staging British drama series by immersing yourself in the worlds of Sherlock, Black Mirror and Utopia. Enjoy the Dinard Film Festival to join two young investigators who will try to unravel the mysteries of the British television staging. Who knows, is all this perhaps a vast plot?
Being a Ken Loach actor, by Hussam Hindi With Kris Hitchen & Debbie Honeywood (Sorry We Missed You) & Dave Johns (I, Daniel Blake).
Three of the main actors in Ken Loach’s films will come to explain how this director, twice webmastered in Cannes, directed them. Is there a loachian method? How does he manage to get the best of his comedians? What are the traps set by the director to allow his actors to feel inhabited by their characters? This masterclass will be illustrated with film clips and will try to answer all these questions.