Imagination YOUN D1 05_14_08.ind1 15/9/08 5:00:59 PM
day5_p42_news_b 5/17/08 2:25 PM Page 1day 5 | sunday, may 18, 2008 | newsTurin festoffers hand$1.5 mil fund will helpdirectors get startedBy Eric J. LymanROME — <strong>The</strong> Turin FilmCommission has unveiled anew €1 million ($1.56 million)fund for helping up-andcomingdirectors.<strong>The</strong> TurinFilmLab will differ<strong>from</strong> most film funds in that itwill spend between €50,000-€200,000 ($78,000-$312,000) each to help developdirectors’ first or second featuresregardless of whether theprojects are filmed in Italy.<strong>The</strong> budget will be spent inthree main areas: training —focusing on an advancedscriptwriting course; development— helping emerging directorsdevelop their projects; andfunding — helping secure fundingfor selected projects.According to Savina Neirotti,the newly appointed director of“We know this isn’t aprocess that willhappen in a singleyear, but we arelooking to help developnew talents.— SavinaNeirottithe TurinFilmLab, the aim is tofoster more high-quality filmsand to further establish Turin asa world film center.“We know this isn’t aprocess that will happen in asingle year, but we are lookingto help develop new talents,”Neirotti said.<strong>The</strong> TurinFilmLab will workon cooperation with other Italianand European film fundsand will be associated with theTorino Film Festival, whereprojects selected by the Turin-FilmLab’s advisory board willbe presented to producers, salesagents and distributors. ∂For news,reviews Q&As,screening guide and <strong>Cannes</strong>party coverage. THR.com_cannesFor love of countryPhotographer Depardon’s UCR pic a portrait of rural FranceBy Charles Masters<strong>The</strong>re’s somethingdeeply French aboutthese peasants, theirway of grumbling,always being a bitpessimistic, being waryof showing happiness.— Raymond DepardonSix years after countryschool portrait “Etre etAvoir” wowed <strong>Cannes</strong>audiences, veteran agency photographerand documentarianRaymond Depardon is bringinganother slice of French rural lifeto the Croisette.Un Certain Regard entry “LaVie Moderne” (Modern Life) isthe last part in a tryptch of filmson peasant life that Depardonhas shot over the past decade.<strong>The</strong> subject sees Depardon, cocounderof the Gamma agency,go back to the roots he walkedaway <strong>from</strong> when he left home tofind fame as a photographer.“I was born on a farm,”Depardon recounts. “My parentswere peasants. I left andtraveled all around the world.<strong>The</strong>n one day I did some photosand showed them to some majorAmerican newspapers and I wasvery touched by their reaction.<strong>The</strong>y said, ‘This is your story,it’s fantastic, it’s quintessentiallyFrench.’ ”Depardon shot in several lowmountainous regions of centraland eastern France — all isolated,wild areas. Instead of setting outto capture a dying way of life,Depardon sought to portray peoplewho are resiliently holdingout despite their tough existince.“I said to myself, ‘How canone photograph the peasants oftoday in a modern way withouttransforming them into nostalgicsand things of the past?’”the helmer said. <strong>The</strong> key to thiswas taking the time to interact.“Above all, don’t show up with aLeica and snap away,” he said.“<strong>The</strong>y’re convinced you’ll sellthe shots as postcards. It was insome ways easier as a filmmakerthan as a photographer. At onepoint, I realized that I could talkto them; that I didn’t have tostay behind the viewfinder; thatI had to remain an individualand never become a machine.”<strong>The</strong> other rule Depardonlearned was not to film thesefarmers while they were working.“It was better to film them“La Vie Moderne”while they’re talking,” he said.“<strong>The</strong>y’re very chatty. It’s almostcloser to theater, with a wholemise-en-scene. In winter, theyspend a lot of time in thekitchen, discussing, listening,observing. Of course, you hearthe accents and it can be a bitpittoresque, but nonethelessthey always seek le mot juste.<strong>The</strong>re’s something deeplyFrench about these peasants,their way of grumbling, alwaysbeing a bit pessimistic, beingwary of showing happiness.”For the third film in his trilogy,pubcaster France Televisioncame on board as a partner, givingthe director a more comfortablebudget of €1.2 million($1.8 million). “For the first one,people thought I was mad, andnow people are interested, soyou can see there’s been achange in attitude,” Depardonsaid. International sales arehandled by Films Distribution.So does “Modern Life” havethe potential to match “Etre etAvoir’s” runaway success bothon French turf and overseas?“It’d be great to reach such awide public,” Depardon said.“<strong>The</strong>re’s a tenderness in thefilm. You have the true French— a bit caricatural maybe, butwith lots of generosity.” ∂THR.com | los angeles 323.525.2000 | new york 646.654.5000 | london +44.207.420.6139 | beijing +86.10.6512.5511 (ext. 121)42