News

The Film TV, the Paris-based outfit headed by well-established producers Michael Gentile and Lauraine Heftler, has gained a substantial track record in three years.

The banner is presenting its first two shows at Series Mania Festival, Julie Delpy’s TV debut “On The Verge” which is backed by Canal Plus and Netflix; and “Jeune et Golri,” a series set against the backdrop of the stand-up comedy world.

Commissioned by French pay TV service Ocs, “Jeune et Golri” is a half-hour contemporary romantic comedy series based on an original idea by Agnès Hurstel, an actor and screenwriter, who created the show with Victor Saint-Macary (“Le Brio”) and Léa Domenach.

Hurstel stars in the show as Prune, a 25 year-old stand-up comedian who falls in love with a middle-aged man, Francis, not knowing he has a six-year-old girl. While Prune herself still feels like a teenager, she becomes an unlikely step mom to this little girl.

Mediawan-owned Storia Television is teaming up with French public broadcaster France Televisions on “Et la montagne fleurira,” an ambitious period drama which starts to shoot today, May 19, on the French Riviera.

Eléonore Faucher, whose feature debut “A Common Thread” won Cannes’ Critics’ Week in 2004, wrote and directs the series. Faucher most recently helmed the crime mystery “La Maladroite” with Isabelle Carré (“De Gaulle”) and Émilie Dequenne (“Love Affair(s)).”

Based on Françoise Bourdon’s novel “La Mas des Tilleuls,” the series is a six-part family saga set in 1837 in Provence and follows a man, Jean-Baptiste, who was banned from this childhood home by his father after being wrongfully accused of having abused his step mother, Seraphine. Jean-Baptiste runs away to live with his aunt and eventually become a merchant of rare flowers and finds love with Lila. But his happiness is crushed when a revolt spreads across Provence, forcing him...

Stars: Tomer Sisley, Serge Riaboukine, Julien Boisselier, Joey Starr, Laurent Stocker, Birol Ünel, Lizzie Brocheré, Samy Seghir, Dominique Bettenfeld, Adel Bencherif, Catalina Denis, Pom Klementieff, Vincent Bersoulle, Olivier Massart | Written by Frédéric Jardin, Nicolas Saada, Olivier Douyère | Directed by Frédéric Jardin

A cop’s secret life is threatened to be exposed when he and his partner are seen stealing drugs from a powerful drug dealer. When his son is kidnapped and the drug dealer demands the return of what was stolen, the cop must figure out how to get the drugs into the right hands, protect his son and keep his secret from the other police officers who are on his tail. It looks as if it is going to be a long, sleepless night.

Sleepless Night shows us that French people can be badass too. Others have compared this film to Die Hard, which is understandable as there are many similarities.

Chef Mate: Cohen’s Poke at the Restaurant World Written for Fast Food Mentality

Connoisseurs of world food porn will perhaps take keen interest in the Gallic trifle, Le Chef, a 2012 title finally unfurling stateside this summer. So wan and frothy with its generic little plot, even fans of Jean Reno will be slightly disappointed at the saccharine ambivalence evident in every aspect. Hardly as sophisticated as other recently released French food fare, like Catherine Frot headlined Haute Cuisine, or even similarly themed American titles like Jon Favreau’s Chef, director Daniel Cohen would seem inspired by a growing universal trend in the appeal of food themes, even though it technically was written and filmed before these. While it’s certainly not a terrible endeavor to experience (to its credit, the film is certainly better than Roger Gaul’s Tasting Menu) Cohen seems perfectly fine with resting in the gutter of floundering cliché,...

When done right, films about food naturally also touch on larger subjects like love, ambition, and artistic fulfillment. But Daniel Cohen's Le Chef does little more than illuminate the superficiality of the restaurant business.

Jacky (Michaël Youn) is an upstart chef who can't hold down a job and idolizes Alexandre Lagarde (Jean Reno), a bastion of classic French cooking. After Alexandre serendipitously tastes Jacky's food, Jacky is invited to work at Cargo Lagarde, a three-star restaurant being threatened with conversion to molecular cuisine by its slimy new owner (Julien Boisselier).

It's a breezy enough setup that makes use of Reno and Youn's comedic rapport, but Cohen makes the mistake of herding his characters into a one-sided discourse about mo...

Rating: 4.0/5.0

Chicago – “Sleepless Night” is a relentless thriller about corrupt cops, a kidnapping, a very bad drug deal, and a French nightclub filled with innocent bystanders. The majority of this accomplished action flick takes place in one location on one crazy night and the result is a more intense, visceral experience than a vast majority of the Hollywood blockbusters you could see this Summer movie season.

A corrupt cop named Vincent steals a bag filled with cocaine from a dangerous crime lord in the opening scene of “Sleepless Night” and not only does our protagonist get stabbed but someone gets shot. Before he can even really patch the wound in his gut, his son Thomas is kidnapped and held by the man whose drugs he lifted. There’s a deal that needs to go down. Bring the drugs to the club, trade them for his loved one, and walk away.

The 52nd Festival de Télévision de Monte-Carlo wrapped up for another year this evening (June 14). The 'Golden Nymph' trophies were handed out to international TV productions at the Grimaldi Forum. Digital Spy presents the full list of winners at the awards ceremony below: Best Television Film

The Last Fine Day, Hager Moss Film (Germany) Best Director (TV Film)

Masato Harada - Early Autumn (Japan) Outstanding Actor (TV Film)

Woody Harrelson - Game Change (USA) Outstanding Actress (TV Film)

Christine Neubauer - Hanna's Decision (Germany) Best Mini-Series

Yasu - A Single Father's Story, Nhk (Japan) Outstanding Actress (Mini-Series)

Emily Watson - Appropriate Adult (UK) Outstanding Actor (Mini-Series)

Julien Boisselier - Henry Of Navarre (Germany) Best News Documentaries

Terror (more)...

CBS’ CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, the most-watched TV show in the world, won the ratings-based International Television Audience Award for the fifth time in seven years as U.S. series dominated the awards handed out today at the 52nd Monte-Carlo Television Festival. ABC’s Desperate Housewives took the honor on the comedy side, while The Bold And The Beautiful won for soap opera/telenovela. Among the Golden Nymph winners were HBO’s Game Of Thrones (drama) and ABC’s Modern Family (comedy) for best international producer, Woody Harrelson as outstanding actor in a telefilm for HBO’s Game Change, 30 Rock‘s Tina Fey for comedy actress, and Jason Priestley as best comedy actor for HBO Canada’s Call Me Fitz. Here’s the complete list of winners: Television Films Best Television Film The Last Fine Day Hager Moss Film Germany Best Director Masato Harada Early Autumn Japan Outstanding Actor Woody Harrelson...

Title: Sleepless Night Director: Frédéric Jardin Cast: Tomer Sisley, Serge Riaboukine and Julien Boisselier It seems like this year, simple high concept action films seem to be the trend. There’s, of course, “The Raid: Redemption,” a film that is a self contained, high octane, martial arts showcase; and for the Tribeca Film Festival we have “Sleepless Night.” A film that follows suit with its single location nature and high stakes action aesthetic, only with “Sleepless Night” we have a deeper narrative and poignant character moments. “Sleepless Night” follows Vincent (Tomer Sisley), a crooked cop involved in a drug heist gone wrong. Gangsters find out about the drug heist and his [ Read More ]...

Containment thrillers can often be limited by the landscape of their locale, but in the French film “Sleepless Night,” the nightclub where corrupt cop Vincent (Tomer Sisley) races to rescue his son is expansive enough to make it seem like a mini-mall. Writer-director Frederic Jardin somehow manages to squeeze every last drop of claustrophobia from the massive, multilevel building, even after he’s filled it wall-to-wall with clubgoers, diners, socialites, and especially the odd assortment of cops and crooks who all have a stake in Vincent’s future. Although it’s quite deservedly scheduled for an American remake via the folks at Warner Brothers, “Sleepless Night” is the kind of entertainment that requires little translation to succeed, as its characters and story are so cleanly and cleverly designed that they would work in virtually any language.

The majority of the action in “Sleepless Night” is fallout from the botched drug...

Back in December, we got our first look at Forum Expanded, a program of exhibitions, performances and other works that don't necessarily entail lowering the lights and peering straight ahead at the big white screen. So we already know that we'll be seeing new work by Luke Fowler, Harun Farocki and many others. The first of today's announcements from the Berlinale (February 9 through 19) fills in the details.

The addition, for example, of whiteonwhite:algorithmicnoir (image above) by Eve Sussman/Rufus Corporation, "a film edited live in real time which shows a man under surveillance in a fictional East European city," solidifies the impression that Forum Expanded is a rough equivalent of Toronto's Future Projections program and Sundance's New Frontier since, by the time it rolls into Berlin, it'll already have been presented by both.

Other notable additions since December's announcement: Luc Moullet's "uncompleted project about two thieves (mother and daughter...

By Sean O’Connell

Hollywoodnews.com: “Sleepless Night” and “The Raid” were the two breakout hits from this year’s Midnight Madness program at the Toronto International Film Festival. Both were so popular, they’ve already triggered American remakes. But you want to know when you can see the originals, right? Of course.

So, good news. Tribeca Film announced today that it has acquired all U.S. rights to “Sleepless Night,” which will be released in 2012 on VOD and theatrically by Tribeca Film. Warner Bros. recently acquired the English-language remake rights to the film, which is directed by Frédéric Jardin.

“I am thrilled and honored to work with Tribeca for the North American release of Sleepless Night,” Jardin said. “It’s a superb opportunity for my film.”

From the release:

Sleepless Night tells the story of Vincent, a respected and dedicated police officer, or so it seems. After stealing a...

Frederic Jardin's action thriller Sleepless Night goes to Tribeca Film. Warners has a remake plans. The French film which made its premiere at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival, will find release in theaters next year, as well as get a VOD release. Starring in Sleepless Night (a.k.a. Nuit blanche) which is produced by Marco Cherqui and Lauranne Bourrachot, are Tomer Sisley, Joey Starr, Julien Boisselier, Serge Riaboukine and Laurent Stocker. Jardin wrote the script with Nicolas Saada and Olivier Douyere which follows a Paris cop who, after stealing a large haul of cocaine, races through a packed nightclub, corrupt cops as well as drug dealers, and corrupt cops...

Frederic Jardin's action thriller Sleepless Night goes to Tribeca Film. Warners has a remake plans. The French film which made its premiere at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival, will find release in theaters next year, as well as get a VOD release. Starring in Sleepless Night (a.k.a. Nuit blanche) which is produced by Marco Cherqui and Lauranne Bourrachot, are Tomer Sisley, Joey Starr, Julien Boisselier, Serge Riaboukine and Laurent Stocker. Jardin wrote the script with Nicolas Saada and Olivier Douyere which follows a Paris cop who, after stealing a large haul of cocaine, races through a packed nightclub, corrupt cops as well as drug dealers, and corrupt cops...

The first trailer has debuted for Sleepless Night, which recently premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Click on the video player below for your first look at this French thriller starring Tomer Sisley as a crooked cop.

Click to watch Sleepless Night Trailer!

A drug heist goes wrong, as one of the drug carriers escapes after stabbing the robbers, gets a glimpse of their faces. The two masked men are actually two police officers, who decided to plan the heist. Vincent, a lieutenant who now has a bad stab wound, ends up with a huge bag of coke. The bag of coke belongs to a powerful mob boss/nightclub owner named Jose, who kidnaps Vincent's son in hopes to reclaim his property. Vincent has until the end of the night to return the stash and save his son.

Sleepless Night comes to theaters in 2011 and stars Tomer Sisley, Joey Starr,...

Director: Frédéric Jardin Writer: Nicolas Saada Starring: Tomer Sisley, Joey Starr, Julien Boisselier, Serge Riaboukine, Laurent Stocker, Samy Seghir, Dominique Bettenfeld, Adel Bencherif, Birol Ünel, Lizzie Brocheré In the time span of a brutally intense 24 hours -- including a sleepless night for everyone involved in the film -- director Frédéric Jardin's Sleepless Night begins with a drug heist gone horribly awry and snowballs into a relentless powerhouse of non-stop action from that point onward. In a tale in which there are very few good guys and countless shades of baddies, it is difficult to surmise where the protagonist, Vincent (Tomer Sisley), falls. As fate would have it, Vincent possesses a bag of cocaine that was stolen from two cronies employed by a local drug lord named Marciano (Serge Riaboukine). Marciano therefore kidnaps Vincent's son and offers Vincent a trade -- the boy for the cocaine. Left with no other choice,...

Sleepless Night is a fitting title for Frederic Jardin’s adrenaline-pumping film about a detective and father who puts everything on the line in the name of doing what’s right. The film is an exciting, non-stop, action/suspense flick that begins by jumping right into the guts of the situation, pulling the audience into the beef of the adventure within the first 30 minutes. From here, Sleepless Night is a fast-paced, kinetically-driven story that builds momentum, upon momentum, upon even more momentum until the very last moment, climaxing at the precise point in the story where one minute more would have been too much. Sleepless Night is the best French film of its type since Jcvd (2008).

When Vincent (Tomer Sisley) appears to be a cop gone bad, pulling what seems to be a heist on a local crime boss in the name of desperation for his family, we’re inclined...

Big news coming out of the Toronto International Film Festival today. The lineup for the documentary slate was announced earlier and now the Midnight Madness programme has also been announced. The entire list of genre films playing are listed below and personally I think this is the most exciting in the program’s history. These 10 films close each day of the festival to thousands of hardcore fans who flock out to the Ryerson Theatre each night.

“Ravenous cinephiles will devour the roster of chillers, action thrillers and pitch-black comedies that fill this year’s slate,” said Tiff Programmer Colin Geddes in a press release. “Martial arts assassins, cops and robbers, escaped lunatics and vampire ballerinas will take over Ryerson Theatre every night at midnight, and deliver the shocking and rocking experience that our loyal audience flocks to take part in, helping make these screenings so memorable.”

Here is the list:...

Buckle up, kids. You're gonna be here for a while. The entire list of genre films playing at the 36th annual Toronto International Film Festival, running September 8th-18th, has been unveiled, and we have the skinny to supplement what we've already posted along with a boatload of never before seen imagery and a few new trailers!

For the full lineup and more details, visit the official Toronto International Film Festival website.

You're Next

Director: Adam Wingard

Starring: Nick Tucci, Wendy Glenn, Aj Bowen, Joe Swanberg, Margaret Laney, Amy Seimetz, Ti West, Calvin Reeder, Larry Fessenden, Kate Lyn Sheil, Barbara Crampton, Rob Moran, Sharni Vinson

In 'You're Next' the Davison family comes under attack from a terrifying group of sadistic murderers during a family reunion getaway. Barricaded in their secluded vacation home, they fight off a barrage of axes, crossbows and machetes from both inside and outside the house.

History is so hot right now. HBO‘s Rome showed everyone the way, before the floodgates opened and one-time-unmarketable properties like Spartacus: Blood & Sand became the norm, with their blood, raunch and sandals approach to history. Couple that with the reinvigorated fascination with all things regal, and it looks like Jo Baier‘s period biopic Henry of Navarre had a lot of things going for it in the current market. But can it do what few French historical films have done before it and make a big splash on Blu-ray and DVD?

The film (also known by its French name Henri 4) charts the life of Protestant royal Henry of Navarre from his early life on the fields of battle of a religious war-torn France, through his married life, and his attempts to resist assassination by the hand of pantomimey villainess and eventually become the country’s eventually beloved monarch...

Henry Of Navarre (aka Henri 4)

Stars: Julien Boisselier, Joachim Król, Andreas Schmidt | Written and directed by Jo Baier

Two of the greatest perils of being a noble in the later 16th-century France were marrying into the Valois royal family and being called Henry. Henri IV, or Henry of Navarre, was in trouble on both counts. The German French-language film Henry of Navarre, aka Henri 4, directed by Jo Baier, presents the bloodthirsty tale of a king many believed to be the saviour of France. Although, judging by the amount of time he spends going from fight to fight and romping with buxom beauties, it’s surprising he had the time.

Henri 4, the Protestant Huguenot King of Navarre is married off to Margot, the daughter of Catherine de Medici who is also the mother of the king and his miscreant and conniving brothers. Catherine marks the occasion of her...

"Gardiens de l'ordre", a Nicolas Boukhrief film with Cécile De France and Julien Boisselier will air in TV5Monde this Sunday, October 10. Premise During a night patrol that goes wrong, Simon and Julie, two ordinary police officers, injure a young executive who has shot dead one of their team members for no reason. Wrongly accused of a mistake and dismissed by their superiors, they decide to prove their innocence by carrying out an investigation into the drug responsible for their attacker's mad outburst. Tune in this Sunday, Oct. 10 at 8:30 pm Est to catch award-winning, Cécile de France only on TV5MONDE USA. TV5MONDE USA is available in all major markets via Dish and Cable. TV5MONDE USA aims...