Irish film is on a high in Europe and they don’t come much higher than the Les Arcs European Film Festival, which this year has a designated strand focusing on Irish film.
The festival takes place in the French ski resort of Les Arcs, some 3,000 metres up in the Alps, and plays host to over 13,000 visitors, including 800 invited filmmakers, from around Europe.
Artistic director Frédéric Boyer will bestow the Crystal Arrow as the top prize for best film at the festival, which this year features 12 entries, including Lenny Abrahamson’s Frank.
Frank will face off against a quality line-up that includes Bent Hamer’s 1001 Grams from Norway, Yury Bykov’s The Fool from Russia, Susanne Bier’s A Second Chance from Denmark, Lucie Borleteau’s Fidelio, L’Odyssée d’Alice from France, Giulio Ricciarelli’s Labyrinth of Lies from Germany, Ognjen Svilicic’s These Are the Rules from Croatia, Gerard Johnson’s Hyena from the UK, Peter Strickland’s The Duke of Burgundy from the UK, Ronnie Sandahl’s Underdog from France, and Pieter van Hees’ Waste Land from Belgium.
Ruben Ostlund’s Force Majeure, which was partly shot in Les Arcs, will also get one of Europe’s highest ever screenings atop the 3,200-metre high Aiguille Rouge Mountain, one of the tallest peaks in the region. The film debuted at Cannes where it won the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize.
The Irish focus section will screen a selection of older Irish set and Irish made feature films, including Paul Greengrass’ Bloody Sunday, Kirsten Sheridan’s Dollhouse, Glenn Leyburn and Lisa Barros D’Sa’s Good Vibrations, John Crowley’s Intermission, Neil Jordan’s Michael Collins, Jim Sheridan’s My Left Foot, John Carney’s Once, Ian Fitzgibbon’s Perrier’s Bounty, and John Boorman’s The General.
French premieres of Irish films will include Tomm Moore’s Oscar eligible feature animation Song of the Sea, Terry MacMahon’s acclaimed Patrick’s Day, and John Butler’s hit comedy The Stag.
The Les Arcs European Film Festival will run from December 13th to 20th in Bourg-Saint Maurice, France.
For more information, visit the Les Arcs European Film Festival website here.