City of Lights, City of Angles Film Fest Annouces April Program

The French-American “City of Lights, City of Angels” (COLCOA) Film Festival has announced some of its slate for the 17the annual festival that will take place at the DGA buliding in Hollywood April 15 - 22.  

The honorary “carte blanche” was given to director Wes Anderson, to program one of his favorite French films in the 2013 classics series; he chose Le Feu Follet (The Fire Within).  The 1963 film, directed by Louis Malle and starring Maurice Ronet and Jeanne Moreau, will be presented in association with l’Institut Francais and Janus Films.  Andersen has often credited the film as a huge influence on his hit The Royal Tenenbaums.

The festival will host the US premiere Alain Resnais’ You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet ahead of its release in May, and honor the director with a special presentation of his 1974 Cannes favorite Stavinsky in its “Focus on a Filmmaker” series.  

Cesar-winning producer Anne-Dominique Toussaint of Les Films des Tournelles (Cylcling With Moliere, The French Kissers), will christen the new section “Focus on a Producer.”  Her talk and Q&A will focus on a producer’s role in French films and a discussion of the recently-under-fire state financing system.  

A restored version of Jacques Demy’s 1963 Bay of Angels starring Moreau alongside Claude Mann will be shown to mark its 50th anniversary.  A special 35th anniversary edition of Andre Tecine’s The Bronte Sisters (Isabelle Huppert, Isabelle Adjani) will also screen prior to its digital release in the US.  COLCOA will also pay homage to the late writer-director Maurice Pialat with the screening of his Cesar-winning To Our Loves.

The full lineup of films in competition will be announced March 26.