Annual COLCOA French Film Festival Announces 2019 Documentary Section

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The Franco-American Cultural Fund has announced the Documentary Competition films presented during the 23rd annual COLCOA French Film Festival. The festival runs from September 23-28 at the Directors Guild of America, as part of Awards Season in Hollywood.

The Documentary section includes five films competing for the 2019 COLCOA Best Documentary Award. FORWARD introduces the audience to children from around the globe who will change the world, HOLY TOUR takes us to the Tour de France to meet the fans, OH LES FILLES! showcases France, a land where women rock, and WINE CALLING showcases some of France’s most exciting winemakers and WOMAN, which will have its North American Premiere following its World Premiere at Venice, is a worldwide project giving voice to 2000 women in 50 different countries.


COLCOA French Film Festival, Held at the DGA, Opens September 23 and Runs Until September 28

Documentary Competition

Five features will compete for the Best Documentary Award, along with the previously announced TV documentary HOSTAGES.

FORWARD

Their names are Micah, Chris, Heena, José Adolfo, Arthur, Khloe, Kevin, Aissatou. They are the voices of their generation in their countries. From Peru to India, from France to Guinea, they fight locally against extreme poverty, social inequalities and climate change. They are the children who will change the world. Written and directed by Gilles de Maistre (ALAIN DUCASSE, MIA AND THE LION), the film will be presented at COLCOA the same week as its French release. North American Premiere in association with Charades.

HOLY TOUR

A film about the fans who come to cheer the Tour de France race. A film about modern-day pilgrims. A film about the hairpin bends of the legendary Izoard pass. A film about RVs that stake their spots two weeks ahead of time. A film about the passing of time perched between the road and the cliff. A film about summertime and a new daily routine. A film about our need to belong. Written and directed by Méryl Fortunat-Rossi and Valéry Rosier. Los Angeles Premiere in association with Be for Films.


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OH LES FILLES!

What if French Rock were born with Edith Piaf? From sweet sixties pop to today's gender-indifferent anthems, from feminist rebels of the seventies to fashion icons of the social media age, from Françoise Hardy to Christine & The Queens, via Vanessa Paradis, Catherine Ringer, Charlotte Gainsbourg and many more, the film tells the untold story of French female rock stars. Narrated by Elisabeth Quin, this groundbreaking documentary combines interviews and iconic footage to radically reverse perspectives and give the patriarchy a kick. Welcome to France, the land where women rock! Written and directed by Francois Armanet. North American Premiere in association with Les Films du Losange.

WINE CALLING

Recently the world of wine has been in full effervescence, shaken by a counterculture as strong as the rock scene was in its time. All around the world, joyous rebels have invaded the vineyards to create the wine they love: a natural wine free of codes and norms. While there are more than 3,000 wine growers in France, less than three percent of them are working in bio, biodynamic or natural methods of wine production. For ethical reasons, this relatively small community of wine growers has chosen environmentally friendly farming practices aimed at finding the natural expression of “terroir” – the full breadth of land, geography and climate – and the living character of the wine. It’s in the south of France, in the heart of Catalonia, that WINE CALLING has followed over a year, from the harvest to the bottling, some of the most exciting of these new wine growers, springboard of a rising global movement for taste and sustainability. Directed by Bruno Sauvard. Los Angeles Premiere in association with WTFilms.


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WOMAN
WOMAN was born of a desire to see the world through a woman’s eyes. Then the questions started to flow. What are the stages marking a woman’s passage from little girl to 80-year-old grandma? What are her dreams and hopes as well as her greatest fears and scars? What does she expect of life, society and men? What is a woman’s relationship to her body and to seduction? What part do appearances and beauty play in her life? How does motherhood change her life? What do we know of female desire, and why do certain cultures find it so frightening? 2000 interviews, 50 countries. Written and directed by Anastasia Mikova, Yann Arthus-Bertrand. North American Premiere in association with Elle Driver.

In addition, the previously announced television documentary HOSTAGE(S) /Ostage(s) will also compete in the Documentary Competition.

HOSTAGE(S) / Otage(s)

Tourists, relief workers, corporate employees, journalists… All these men and women were taken hostage at one point or another by infamous groups such as FARC, AQMI, AlQaeda, Al-Nusra and the Taliban. They all suffered through the living hell of captivity then experienced the rebirth of being released and taking up their lives again back home. For the very first time, they open up and share things they’ve never been able to say before. Written and directed by Michel Peyrard and Damien Vercaemer. North American Premiere in association with Newen Distribution.


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COLCOA FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL is presented by the Franco-American Cultural Fund, a unique collaboration between 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 France’s Society of Authors, Directors and Producers (L’ARP) the Film and TV Office of the French Embassy in Los Angeles, TV France International, and Unifrance.

For additional information visit: www.colcoa.org