Few festivals can boast being around for almost a quarter of a century. Even less can do it while being a festival that focuses on weird and wild genre cinema from around the World. Fortunately for the folks at L’Etrange Festival in Paris the World is full of freaks and geeks who love making movies and showing them off to appreciative audience. There is more than enough weird and wild out there to keep the festival going for a long time.
One year away from turning the big 25 still does not keep this year’s festival from including an incredible lineup of films. The sheer amount of information in the press release below is staggering but we will try to draw some attention to the highlights.
There is John McPhail’s Anna & The Apocalypse, Panos Cosmatos’ Mandy, Luz from Tilman Singer, The Dark from Justin P.Lange, Climax from Gaspar Noé, and a little hometown pride for Lifechanger from our friend Justin McConnell. Upgrade from Leigh Whannell is a blast as well, don’t miss it.
We have yet to see May The Devil Take You from Timo Tjahjanto but when has that guy ever led us wrong? And screening of Coffin Joe’s adventures in José Mojica Marins’ Embodiment of Evil accompanied with live music should be awesome as well. For the love of pearl, do not miss out on the NIkkatsu retrospective either!
The proverbial many more is below. Really it should be many, many, many more. This festival is packed!
L’ETRANGE FESTIVAL PARIS 2018 24TH EDITION
5-16 SEPTEMBER 2018, FORUM DES IMAGES
September… Return from the summer holidays, dead leaves, depression… It’s also time for the strangest event in France. And fortunately this year’s line-up is more insane than ever!
Now in its 24th year, L’Etrange Festival is a window to the world of unusual, avant-garde and cult films.
Weirdness galore all around: 130 screenings, a bunch of unruly guests — 5 world premieres, 6 international premieres, 40 french premieres, 2 live concerts, 2 wildcards and… and… so much more!
It’s all there for the taking – September 5 to September 16
A 12-day movie madness extravaganza starting with the French Premiere of Donato Sansone’s BAVURE and John McPhail’s ANNA & THE APOCALYPSE (opening night) and culminating with Bodo Kox’s THE MAN WITH THE MAGIC BOX.
9TH INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION
After BURIED in 2009, BULLHEAD in 2011, HEADHUNTERS in 2012, THE MAJOR in 2013, THE VOICES in 2014, SCHNEIDER VS. BAX in 2015, HEADSHOT and JEEG ROBOT in 2016 and JUPITER’S MOON in 2017, Canal+Cinéma and L’Etrange Festival join forces again to present the Grand Prix Nouveau Genre. This prize consists in the acquisition of the first-window rights by premium pay-tv channel Canal+ Cinéma.
Among the films selected are: Omar Rodriguez Lopez’s AMALIA (World Premiere), Zoe Berriatua’s UP AMONG THE STARS (International premiere), Sarah Daggar-Nickson’s A VIGILANTE (European Premiere, Shin’ya Tsukamoto’s KILLING, Erik Matti’s BUYBUST (French Premiere), Lars Von Trier’s THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT (presented by Gaspar Noé) and Alejandro Fadel’s MURDER ME, MONSTER previews and Panos Cosmatos’s MANDY.
The 21 films will also be competing for the Audience Award. And advertising campaign will be offered to the winning film by Canal+ as well. The 2017 Audience Award went to Juliana Rojas and Marco Dutra’s GOOD MANNERS
EVENTS INCLUDE UP
Meet some of tomorrow’s finest talents: Zhou Shengwei (SHE), Shazzula for (RHIZOM) or Bruno Moural (KAFOU). All are in attendance.
MONDOVISION
How about a stroll in today’s creative laboratory? Don’t miss the french premiere of Bruno Dumont’s COINCOIN AND THE EXTRA-HUMANS (Bruno Dumont in attendance), Benoît Delépine & Gustave Kervern’s delirious I FEEL GOOD (Benoît Delépine in attendance) and Gaspar Noé’s pulsating CLIMAX (in attendance).
DOCUMENTARIES
Spit, rock’n’roll, dreams, angels, mice and modeling clay… L’Etrange Festival is about to mess your minds and your senses with a selection of wonderfully weird documentaries: Fabrice du Welz’s DES COWBOYS ET DES INDIENS (in attendance), Jean Michel Roux’s ANGEL OF THE NORTH (international premiere) (in attendance) and Sami Saif’s THE ALLINS (French Premiere).
23RD INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM COMPETITION
70 short films from every corner of the world will compete for the Grand Prix Canal+ as well as for the Audience Award.
CARTE BLANCHE TO JACKIE BERROYER
France’s most famous telephone operator takes part in L’Etrange Festival. Critic, novelist, director, scriptwriter, Jackie Berroyer offers you a selection that is true to himself: off-the-wall, striking and protean.
CARTE BLANCHE TO PAKITO BOLINO
Make way for Le Dernier Cri‘s extremely “graphic” world! A world that is pure raw art: brutal, provocative, yet joyful… and free. As part of the collective’s celebration of its 25th anniversary, the members of Le Dernier Cri have chosen to highlight some of Pakito Bolino’s more avant-garde works.
FOCUS ADILKHAN YERZHANOV
Adilkhan Yerzhanov is a true maverick – in the first and best sense of the word. He knows how to shake his country’s (Kazakhstan) cinematic and political foundations to its very ground. As the father of «cinema partisan», his body of work is a mesmerizing and obsessive jigsaw puzzle.
FOCUS SHAHRAM MOKRI
Shahram Mokri might be Iran’s most stimulating and exhilarating contemporary film director. His work is a fascinating mirror play that will make you forget about stylistic or narrative conventions!
8MM HACHIMIRI MADNESS
Full of rage, sound, spit and fury, jishu eiga appeared in japan at the end of the 70s thanks to 8mm, young directors were able to create outrageous, provocative and self-produced pieces of art.
NIKKATSU EXTRAVAGANZA!
When Japan’s oldest and most renowned production company decides to release some of its back-catalogue treasures you can expect marvels. This side-bar programme includes: mythical actresses, mavericks, bad girls, crazy antics and never- before-seen oddities!
L’ETRANGE’S LITTLE WONDERS
A specialized selection of films you haven’t heard of before but absolutely need and want to discover. This year, honors go to Claude Mulot’s THE BLOOD LETTING (presented by Stéphane Bouyer, founder of the quintessential DVD label Le Chat qui fume).
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
3 films. 3 special guests. 3 special presentations. Enough said! Gaspar Noé presents Uli Edel’s CHRISTIANE F., Jean- Jacques Hocquard presents Armand Gatti’s EL OTRO CRISTÒBAL, Robert Cordier presents Robert Cordier’s INJUN FENDER.
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L’ÉTRANGE MUSIQUE
A screening with live music under the sign of the Devil. Anvil FX,the Brazilian duo composed with Paulo Beto and Biba Graeff will give us the pleasure to reinterpret, in a flamboyant way, Coffin Joe’s adventures in José Mojica Marins’s EMBODIMENT OF EVIL. Ahead of this event, Pakito Bolino and his musicians will perform live for the striking world premiere of MONDO DC. Come shiver and quiver.
L’ETRANGE FESTIVAL PARIS 2018 24TH EDITION
COMPLETE LINE-UP
OPENING PERFORMANCE
BAVURE (Donato Sansone) + ANNA & THE APOCALYPSE (John McPhail) French Premiere / John McPhail in attendance
CLOSING FILM
THE MAN WITH THE MAGIC BOX (Bodo Kox) French Premiere / Bodo Kox in attendance
UNRELEASED AND PREVIEWS
International competition
Nouveau Genre Award (with Canal+Cinéma) + Audience Award
⦁ AMALIA – Omar Rodriguez Lopez World Premiere
⦁ UTOYA 22 – Erik Poppe French Premiere
⦁ MURDER ME, MONSTER – Alejandro Fadel
⦁ THE SPY GONE NORTH – Yoon Jong-bin
⦁ MANDY – Panos Cosmatos
⦁ LUZ – Tilman Singer French Premiere
⦁ LIFE GUIDANCE – Ruth Mader French Premiere
⦁ UP AMONG THE STARS – Zoe Berriatua International Premiere
⦁ THE NIGHTSHIFTER – Dennison Ramalho French Premiere
⦁ DACHRA – Abdelhamid Bouchnak French Premiere
⦁ THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT – Lars von Trier Preview / Introduced by Gaspar Noé
⦁ PERFECT SKIN – Kevin Chicken French Premiere / Kevin Chicken in attendance
⦁ ANNA & THE APOCALYPSE – John McPhail French Premiere / John McPhail in attendance
⦁ SCHOOL’S OUT – Sébastien Marnier French Premiere / Crew in attendance
15 MAY THE DEVIL TAKE YOU – Timo Tjahjanto French Premiere
⦁ PERFECT – Eddie Alcazar French Premiere
⦁ A VIGILANTE – Sarah Daggar-Nickson European Premiere
⦁ THE FIELD GUIDE TO EVIL – Collectif French Premiere
⦁ KILLING – Shin’ya Tsukamoto French Premiere
⦁ BUYBUST – Erik Matti French Premiere
⦁ THE DARK – Justin P.Lange French Premiere
UNRELEASED-PREVIEWS (Hors compétition)
UP-AND-COMERS
⦁ KAFOU – Bruno Mourral / Bruno Mourral and crew in attendance
+ LA CASA LOBO de Joaquin Cocina & Cristobal Laon
⦁ SHE – Zhou Shengwei International Premiere / Zhou Shengwei in attendance
⦁ RHIZOM – Shazzula World Premiere / Shazzula in attendance
⦁ LIFECHANGER – Justin McConnell French Premiere
MONDOVISION
⦁ DIAMANTINO – Gabriel Abrantes, Daniel Schmidt
⦁ VIOLENCE VOYAGER – Ujicha
⦁ UPGRADE – Leigh Whannell French Premiere
⦁ DUKUN – Dain Said French Premiere
⦁ FRIG – Antony Hickling French Premiere / Antony Hickling and crew in attendance
⦁ LIVERLEAF – Eisuke Naito French Premiere
⦁ CLIMAX – Gaspar Noé Preview / Gaspar Noé in attendance
⦁ COINCOIN AND THE EXTRA-HUMANS – Bruno Dumont French Premiere / Bruno Dumont in attendance
⦁ I FEEL GOOD – Benoît Delépine & Gustave Kervern Preview / Benoît Delépine in attendance
⦁ FAGS IN THE FAST LINE – Josh Sinbad Collins French Premiere
DOCUMENTARIES
⦁ DES COWBOYS ET DES INDIENS – Fabrice du Welz / Crew in attendance
⦁ ANGEL OF THE NORTH – Jean Michel Roux International Premiere / Jean Michel Roux in attendance
⦁ THE ALLINS – Sami Saif French Premiere
⦁ MONSTER SHOW
23rd INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM COMPETITION
CORPSE BOULEVARD
GRAND CHAOS
FOOD & BEVERAGE
GOD’S SEX
ALL INSANE!
PICTURES FOR A ZOO
CARTE BLANCHE TO JACKIE BERROYER
All screenings are introduced by Jackie Berroyer
COLD MOON – Patrick Bouchitey
EXOTICA – Atom Egoyan
VENGEANCE IS MINE – Shoei Imamura
DOUBLE GENTLEMEN – Jean-François Stévenin
CLONK – Bertrand Lenclos + MISSION SOCRATE – Bertrand Lenclos & Jackie Berroyer + surprise World Premiere
CARTE BLANCHE TO PAKITO BOLINO – DERNIER CRI 25TH ANNIVERSARY
All screenings are introduced by Pakito Bolino
⦁ MONDO DC (Cf. L’Étrange Musique) World Premiere
⦁ UNDERGRONDE – Francis Vadillo + DEARRAINDROP – Billy Grant + 2UP:BLOCK/2UP: PHOBIA – Tetsunori Tawaraya + SGURE/SGURE OX/ DJ RAINBOW: EJACULATION…/MUSCLE PARK – Sekitani Norihiro
⦁ RED & ROSY – Frank Grow + MATT KONTURE, L’ÉTHIQUE DU SOUTERRAIN – Francis Vadillo
⦁ FISH & CAT
⦁ INVASION French Premiere
FOCUS SHAHRAM MOKRI
All screenings are introduced by Shahram Mokri
FOCUS ADILKHAN YERZHANOV
All screenings are introduced by Adilkhan Yerzhanov
⦁ NIGHT GOD International Premiere
⦁ THE PLAGUE AT THE KARATAS VILLAGE
⦁ THE OWNERS
⦁ CONSTRICTORS French Premiere + THE STORY OF KAZAKH CINEMA International Premiere
⦁ REALTORS French Premiere
⦁ THE GENTLE INDIFFERENCE OF THE WORLD
8MM HACHIMIRI MADNESS-JAPANESE INDIES FROM THE PUNK YEARS
⦁ THE ISOLATION OF 1/880000 – Sogo Ishii + THE ADVENTURE OF DENCHU-KOZO – Shin’ya Tsukamoto
⦁ I AM SION SONO!! – Sono Sion + TOKYO CABBAGEMAN K – Akira Ogata French Premiere
⦁ SAINT TERRORISM – Yamamoto Masashi French Premiere
⦁ HANASARERU GANG – Suwa Nobuhiro French Premiere
⦁ A MAN’S FLOWER ROAD – Sono Sion French Premiere
⦁ HAPPINESS AVENUE – Hirano Katsuyuki French Premiere
⦁ UNK – Makoto Tezuka + HIGH-SCHOOL-TERROR – Makozo Tezuka + THE RAIN WOMEN – Shinobu Yaguchi (French Premiere)
NIKKATSU EXTRAVANGANZA!
⦁ BLIND WOMAN’S CURSE – Teruo Ishii French Premiere
⦁ LES TUEUSES EN COLLANTS NOIRS – Yasuharu Hasebe
The Woman Gambler trilogy:
⦁ THE CAT GAMBLER – Haruyasu Noguchi French Premiere
⦁ WOMAN GAMBLER – Haruyasu Noguchi French Premiere
⦁ REVENGE OF THE WOMAN GAMBLER – Haruyasu Noguchi French Premiere
The Stray Cat Rock trilogy:
⦁ FEMALE BOSS – Yasuharu Hasebe French Premiere
⦁ WILD JUMBO – Toshiya Fujita French Premiere
⦁ BOULEVARD DES CHATTES SAUVAGES – Yasuharu Hasebe
⦁ MACHINE ANIMAL – Yasuharu Hasebe French Premiere
⦁ BEAT ’71 – Toshiya Fujita French Premiere
RETOUR DE FLAMME
Special E. A. Poe programm Introduced by Serge Bromberg :
THE TELL TALE HEART – Charles Klein & Leon Shomroy
LE CRIME DU DOCTEUR CRESPI – John H. Auer
RACHMANINOFF’S PRELUDE – Castleton Knight
⦁ THE HOSPITAL – Arthur Hiller
L’ETRANGE’S LITTLE WONDERS
⦁ THE BLOOD LETTING – Claude Mulot New copy introduced by Stéphane Bouyer
⦁ FUNERAL PARADE OF ROSES – Toshio Matsumoto New copy
SPECIAL SCREENINGS
⦁ EL OTRO CRISTÒBAL – Armand Gatti New copy introduced by Jean-Jacques Hocquard
⦁ INJUN FENDER – Robert Cordier Introduced by Director
⦁ CHRISTIANE F. – Uli Edel Introduced by Gaspar Noé
L’ÉTRANGE MUSIQUE
MONDO DC Musical creation – Le Dernier Cri World Premiere
EMBODIMENT OF EVIL – Jose Mojica Marins – live score by Anvil FX