From April 18-26 at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles, the 2016 edition of the festival
COLCOA French Film Festival to open with Omar Sy in ‘Monsieur Chocolat’
The COLCOA French Film Festival will celebrate its 20th anniversary this year with a program that will include 70 films and television series. Running from April 18-26 at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles, the 2016 edition of the festival will include four world premieres, seven international premieres, 19 North American or U.S. premieres and 17 West Coast premieres. Organizers say it is now the largest event dedicated to French films and television in the world.
The festival will open with the North American premiere of “Monsieur Chocolat,” directed by Roschdy Zem and starring Omar Sy in the a bio-pic of Rafael Padilla, a former slave who became a clown and France’s first famous black performer in the late 19th century. James Thiérrée, modern-day circus star and grandson of Charlie Chaplin, costars as Padilla’s onstage partner.
COLCOA – which stands for “City of Light, City of Angels” – will close with the world premiere of the romantic comedy “Up for Love,” written and directed by Laurent Tirard and starring Oscar winner Jean Dujardin.
“This 20th anniversary deserves a spectacular, strong program that reflects the diversity of French production, as well as the creativity and dynamism of French filmmakers and producers,” said François Truffart, COLCOA executive producer and artistic director, in a statement. “More than ever, we are about to involve audiences in a journey that will stir them, make them laugh, cry, tickle their curiosity, and help them remain optimistic, while recognizing the urgent world zeitgeist.”
Also among the feature films screening at the festival are Lola Doillon’s “Fanny’s Journey,” Nicolas Boukhrief’s “Made in France,” Robert Guédiguian’s “Don’t Tell Me the Boy Was Mad,” Claude Lelouch’s “Un Plus Une,” and Nicolas Benamou and Philippe Lacheau’s “All Gone South.”
Also screening will be Philippe Faucon’s “Fatima” and Cyril Dion and Mélanie Laurent’s documentary “Tomorrow.” Both films were major prize winners at France’s recent Cesar awards.
Other features screening include Nabil Ayouch’s “Much Loved,” Leyla Bouzid’s “As I Open My Eyes,” Eva Husson’s “Bang Gang,” Anne Fontaine’s “The Innocents” and Maïwenn’s “My King.”
For the second year, the festival will continue to branch out into television works. Two episodes each will be screened of the recent French series “Call My Agent,” “The Disappearance” and “The Secret of Elise.” Five movies made for TV will also be shown, with “Borderline,” “Carpets and Chaos,” “Stolen Babies,” “The Wall-Crosser” and “Woman Under Influence.”
For complete program information, visit www.colcoa.org
Chocolat: Un figurant nous raconte son expérience avec Omar Sy et Roschdy Zem !
Alors que le troisième film de Roschdy Zem, Chocolat, dépasse le million d’entrées, on vous livre le témoignage d’un figurant qui a participé au tournage avec Omar Sy! Par Alienor L. le
Omar Sy cartonne en ce moment dans la peau du clown Chocolat. Pour en savoir un peu plus sur le tournage on a interrogé un des figurants du film rien que pour vous!
Chocolat: l’histoire d’un couple avant tout
Du cirque au théâtre, de l’anonymat à la gloire, l’incroyable destin du clown Chocolat, premier artiste noir de la scène française. Le duo inédit qu’il forme avec Footit, va rencontrer un immense succès populaire dans le Paris de la Belle époque avant que la célébrité, l’argent facile, le jeu et les discriminations n’usent leur amitié et la carrière de Chocolat. Le film retrace l’histoire de cet artiste hors du commun. Avec ce film, Roschdy Zem désirait raconter l’histoire d’un couple, qui se rencontre et crée ensemble, mais aussi l’émancipation de Chocolat qui découvre la vie et devient moins candide dans la France de la Belle Epoque.
Zoom sur l’expérience d’un figurant sur le tournage de Chocolat!
Pour vous donner un aperçu du tournage du film, on a interrogé un des figurants principaux. Louis Kémon, comédien depuis de nombreuses années, a passé le casting du film en janvier 2015. Etant déjà pris sur un tournage, il loupe une première session. Finalement il parvient a être sélectionné pour le film, en tant que première silhouette. Il joue Hercule dans l’ancien cirque, vous pouvez voir ses photos dans la galerie. On le rappelle 5 jours après son casting, et on lui demande de ne rien changer à ses cheveux ou à sa barbe. Sa participation au tournage a duré 10 jours, en janvier 2015. Il a fait très froid. Il décrit Roschdy Zem comme étant un très bon metteur en scène, très méticuleux. Il garde aussi un très bon souvenir d’Omar Sy et de James Thierrée. Il définit Omar comme étant un grand humaniste et quelqu’un de très humble, très instinctif dans son jeu. Il se faisait maquiller avec tout l’équipe en mettant la musique à fond! James Thiérrée a semble t-il une personnalité différente mais tout aussi intéressante. Louis nous le décrit comme un homme plus réservé et très concentré sur son travail. C’est le petit fils de Charlie Chaplin. L’équipe du film était composée de comédiens professionnels, jongleurs, équilibristes… De longs mois de travail pour un beau résultat, qui donne aujourd’hui de très bons chiffres en salles pour un film hexagonal!
Un grand merci à Louis Kemon pour son témoignage et ses photographies du tournage!
COLCOA FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL STORY
COLCOA FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL, “9 Days of Premieres in Hollywood”, was founded in 1997 by The Franco-American Cultural Fund, a unique collaborative effort of the Directors Guild of America, the Motion Picture Association, the Writers Guild of America West, and France’s Society of Authors Composers and Publishers of Music (SACEM). COLCOA is also supported by l’Association des Auteurs-Réalisateurs-Producteurs (ARP), the Film and TV Office of the French Embassy in Los Angeles (French Consulate), the CNC, TVFI, and UNIFRANCE.
COLCOA is the acronym of “City of Light, City of Angels” the original name of an event celebrating relationships between filmmakers from two capital cities of cinema. Since 2015, the festival’s name has officially become COLCOA FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL.
The festival takes place in April in the prestigious theaters of the Directors Guild of America on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood (3 theaters, a 210 capacity lounge and a 1,500 capacity lobby).
COLCOA FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL is committed to promoting new French films in the U.S. and to showcasing in Hollywood the vitality and the diversity of French cinema and, since 2015, French television programs.
In 19 years, 606 films have been selected. the festival has continually evolved to become a 9-day showcase of at least 65 films, with a capacity of more than 24,700 in 2015, an average of 3,000 attendees per day and an occupancy rate of 91.3{4d24daa5a359aa22e51c71c531e935ff229d31c7c5eb0da4885e362fa152ead6}. With 22,500 attendees in 2015, COLCOA is now one of the largest film festivals in Hollywood.
Since 2004, the selection is entirely made of premieres. Several high-profile features presented at COLCOA are World Premieres, International Premieres, North American Premieres or U.S. Premieres. The showcase is also known for presenting films several months before their commercial release in the U.S., raising the event’s profile among U.S. distributors who now use the event as a platform to launch and promote their film in Hollywood.
Its exclusive program has made COLCOA an anticipated date in the industry calendar and now the largest French film festival in the world. Scheduled a few weeks after the Academy Awards® and before the Cannes Film Festival, COLCOA FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL has become a prestigious event in Los Angeles.
The COLCOA audience is mainly made of film industry professionals (74{4d24daa5a359aa22e51c71c531e935ff229d31c7c5eb0da4885e362fa152ead6}), including Academy Awards® members: directors, writers, distributors, producers, agents, exhibitors, critics and jour- nalists. COLCOA FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL has developed partnerships with organizations like IFTA, The Cannes Film Festival, Film Independent, Women in Film, The American Cinematheque, SAG, and since 2008, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (Golden Globes) and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.
Additionally, the festival is more than a film industry event. It has become popular in the Greater Los Angeles community and most of the screenings are booked several weeks before the event.
In 2008, an educational program was launched to promote foreign films among young American audiences in association with E.L.M.A (European Languages & Movies in America). More than 100 high schools from Los Angeles and Orange Counties have already participated in the program. In 2010, a master class program was introduced for colleges, film schools and universities. In 2016, the festival will welcome its 17,000th student.
Since 2015, a part of the COLCOA SHORT FILM selection is broadcasted after the festival on the Cinema on Demand service of TV5 Monde in the United States.
One reason for the success of COLCOA FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL is its media coverage. In addition to partnerships with Variety, LA Times, LA Weekly, KPCC-89.3 FM, DailyMotion, TV5 Monde/Time Warner Cable, and Indiewire, the festival has continuously developed relationships with journalists and critics. Thanks to a specific accreditation program, which includes press screenings and press sessions with filmmakers and actors, journalists have a priority access to screenings and various social events during the week. In 2015, 80 journalists, professional bloggers and critics were accredited.
Click here to access the 2015 press book of the festival.
More than 200 French writers, directors and producers have presented their film(s) at COLCOA FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL. Among them are Olivier Assayas, Bertrand Blier, Dany Boon, Stéphane Brizé, Laurent Cantet, Clovis Cornillac, Cedric Klapisch, Alain Corneau, Costa-Gavras, Julie Delpy, Claire Denis, Arnaud Desplechin, Anne Fontaine, Michael Hazanavicius, Mathieu Kassovitz, Philippe Le Guay, Claude Lelouch, Claude Miller, Bertrand Tavernier, Danièle Thompson, and Francis Veber.
Many celebrities have attended COLCOA FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL, including Rosanna Arquette, Nathalie Baye, Berenice Bejo, Halle Berry, Jaqueline Bisset, George Chakiris, Marion Cotillard, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Alexandre Desplat, Herbie Hancock, Johnny Hallyday, Michel Legrand, Helen Mirren, Demi Moore, Pierre Niney, Jeremie Renier, Gena Rowlands, Sharon Stone, Omar Sy, Charlize Theron, Lambert Wilson as well as prominent American writers and directors: Wes Craven, Taylor Hackford, John Landis, Michael Mann, Steven Soderbergh or Alexander Payne.
Click here for a complete list of talent at COLCOA.