France has a very attractive line-up at the 11th edition of Venice Days, which will unspool from 27 August to 6 September 2014 as part of the 71st Venice Film Festival. In particular, the selection includes Return to Ithaca by Laurent Cantet, a Spanish-language film shot in Cuba. Having won the Palme d’Or at Cannes with The Class in 2008, the director will now be making his third trip to the Lido, following Time Out (winner of the Lion in the Cinema of the Present section in 2001) and Heading South [+] (in competition in 2005). Produced by Full House, Return to Ithaca was co-produced by Orange Studio, Haut et Court (which will handle distribution in French cinemas on 29 October), Belgian outfit Panache Productions and Funny Balloons, which is heading up international sales.
Venice Days will also be presenting Métamorphoses (read the article) by Christophe Honoré, a contemporary, loose reinterpretation of the classical work by Ovid. Up to now, the filmmaker has been selected four times at Cannes (including in competition with Love Songs [+] in 2007). Produced by Les Films Pelléas, Métamorphoses was co-produced by Le Pacte and France 3 Cinéma. Sophie Dulac Distribution will handle the French release on 3 September, and foreign sales are managed by MK2 International.
Also set to make an appearance in the parallel section is the feature debut by Mario Fanfani: Les Nuits d’été (read the article). Produced by 24 Mai Production, the movie was co-produced by France 3 Cinéma and will be released in France on 15 January 2015, distributed by Le Pacte, which is also in charge of the title’s international sales.
Lastly of note is a minority French co-production on the line-up: Between 10 and 12 by Dutch director Peter Hoogendoorn, co-produced by Unlimited.
