Haenel, Kateb among Unifrance’s talents to watch
Stewart joins Pine in ‘Finest Hours’
LOS ANGELES, Aug 26, (RTRS): Adele Haenel (“Love at First Fight”), Anais Demoustier (“The New Girlfriend”) and Reda Kateb (“Lost River”) are among the 10 Talents to Watch selected by Unifrance, the French film promotion org.
The other actors and directors selected by Unifrance are actors Raphael Personnaz, Celine Salette, Gaspard Ulliel and four femmes directors Celine Sciamma, Mia Hansen-Love, and Alix Delaporte and Melanie Laurent, who is also a popular actress.
Haenel, who delivered a breakthrough performance in Katell Quillevere’s “Suzanne,” showed her range in Thomas Cailley’s “Love at First Fight” (“Les Combattants”), in which she played the lead actress. A fresh romantic dramedy set in an Army survival program, “Love at First Fight” proved to be Directors’ Fortnight hit, winning a record four awards.
Haenel also starred in Andre Techine’s “French Riviera” which played at Cannes in the official selection.
Demoustier made her debut at age 13 in Michael Haneke’s “Time of the Wolf” and has since then worked with some of France’s most renown directors, including Betrtand Tavernier and Christopher Honore and Robert Guediguian. Demoustier will have two movies playing at Toronto: Pascale Ferran’s “Bird People” which competed at Cannes, and Francois Ozon’s “The New Girlfriend.”
Kateb has been scoring small but well-handled roles in American movies, including Oscar-winning “Zero Dark Thirty” and most recently Ryan Gosling’s Cannes-competiting “Lost River.” He’s recently completed a full slate of anticipated French and Belgian movies, including Joachim Lafosse’s “The White Knights,” David Oelhoffen’s “Far From Men” as well as Marianne Tardieu’s “Qui Vive” and Thomas Lilti’s “Hippocrate” (Cannes Critics’ Week closer).
Credits
Salette’s wide-ranging credits include Bertrand Bonello’s “House of Tolerance,” Jacques Audiard’s “Rust and Bone” and Costa-Gavras’ “Capital.” She’ll next appear in Cedric Kahn’s “Vie Sauvage” and Cedric Jimenez’ “La French,” a Toronto Gala premiere.
Set
Personnaz broke through with his perf in Bertrand Tavernier’s “The Princess of Montpensier.” He starred in other romance-laced costumers such as Joe Wright’s “Anna Karenine.” He stars in “The Gate,” a drama directed by “Indochine” helmer Regis Wargnier and Francois Ozon’s “The New Girlfriend,” both of which are set to play at Toronto.
Ulliel has been around for a while, receiving a best newcomer Cesar for his role in Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s “A Very Long Engagement” back in 2005; and he’s made a comeback this year with Bertrand Bonello’s Cannes-competing “Saint Laurent” in which he plays the tormented French designer.
Sciamma’s latest film, “Girlhood” opened Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight and earned warm reviews. It will next be shown at Toronto. Her feature debut “Water Lilies” played in Un Certain Regard and her sophomore pic “Tomboy” snatched up Berlin’s Teddy Jury nod.
Like Sciamma, Hansen-Love is a female director with a unique voice and style. Her debut “Father of My Children” nabbed Cannes’ Un Certain Regard’s special jury prize. Her latest film,” Eden,” a drama set amid the French electro music scene, will world-premiere at Toronto .
Delaporte’s feature debut “Angele and Tony” was a critical success, earning two Cesar awards for its lead actors, Clothilde Hesme and Gregory Gadebois, who also star in Delaporte’s upcoming “Le dernier coup de marteau.”
Also: LOS ANGELES: Josh Stewart, who played the villain Barsad in “The Dark Knight Rises,” is set to join Chris Pine and Casey Affleck in Disney’s “The Finest Hours.”
Craig Gillespie will direct the pic, which is based on a true story and takes place in 1952, following the Coast Guard as it attempts a dramatic rescue after two oil tankers collide off the coast of Cape Cod.
Stewart will play a sailor aboard the oil tanker.