TFL Films & Series
2 TFL Films selected for the 58th Cannes Critics’ Week!
April 22, 2019
Another good news for the TFL Community: TFL-supported films ABOU LEILA and LITIGANTE (THE DEFENDANT) will premiere at the 2019 edition of Cannes Critics’ Week (May 15-23)!
For the second consecutive year TorinoFilmLab will be represented at La Semaine, after last year’s success of DIAMANTINO by Gabriel Abrantes & Daniel Schmidt, winner of the Nespresso Grand Prize 2018.
ABOU LEILA in Competition
ABOU LEILA, debut feature by Algerian filmmaker Amin Sidi-Boumédine, is one of the 7 films in Competition. Developed by Amin together with his producers Claire Charles-Gervais (France) and Louise Bellicaud (France) within the FeatureLab 2017 programme, the film is the result of a co-production between Thala Films (Algeria) and In Vivo Films (France).
Set in Algeria, in 1994, ABOU LEILA tells the story of S. and Lotfi, two friends from childhood who travel through the desert looking for Abou Leila, a dangerous terrorist on the run. Their quest seems absurd, given that the Sahara has not been affected by the wave of attacks. Lofti has only one priority: to keep S. as far from the capital as possible, knowing his friend is too fragile to face more bloodshed. But the closest they get into the desert, the more they will be confronted with their own violence.
LITIGANTE to open Special Screenings
TFL Film LITIGANTE by Franco Lolli will open the Special Screenings section of La Semaine.
Co-produced by Les Films du Worso (France), SRAB Films (France) and by Lolli himself through his production company Evidencia Films (Colombia), LITIGANTE is the second feature film directed by the Colombian filmmaker after GENTE DE BIEN, which premiered at Cannes Critics’ Week 2014. Franco, together with the co-writer Virginie Lageay (France) and the producer Christophe Barral (France), participated in the FeatureLab 2017 programme, receiving the support of the TFL Co-Production Fund (€ 50.000) at the TFL Meeting Event.
LITIGANTE follows Silvia, a single mother and a lawyer, implicated in a corruption scandal. In addition to a difficult situation at work, she is also facing a more crippling problem: her mother’s cancer has returned. While she is forced to face up to her mother’s inconceivable yet inescapable death, Silvia embarks on a love story, her first in many years.
And last but not least: Ciro Guerra, director of the TFL-supported film BIRDS OF PASSAGE, will chair the Jury of the 58th Cannes Critics' Week, alongside TFL Alumnus Jonas Carpignano (A CIAMBRA).
Discover the full line-up here.