Saturday, May 12, 2012

French Director and Actress Maiwenn Confirmed as Sydney Film Festival Guest


Curious Distribution is proud to announce that Maiwenn, the French writer, director and star of the film, Polisse, will travel to Australia as a guest of the Sydney Film Festival and to support the film's June 28 theatrical release.

Polisse, which won the Jury Prize, Festival de Cannes 2011, where it screened in Un Certain Regard, has been described by The Hollywood Reporter as "a whole season of The Wire packed into a single two-hour-plus film...and even with its loose threads and frenzied structure, it convincingly jumps from laughter to tears and back again, never losing sight of the brutal realities at its core."

The film is set in Paris' Police Department's Juvenile Protection Unit - where the daily grind is taking in child molesters, busting underage pickpockets and chewing over relationship issues at lunch; interrogating abusive parents, taking statements from children, confronting the excesses of teen sexuality, enjoying solidarity with colleagues and laughing uncontrollably at the most unthinkable moments. Knowing the worst exists and living with it. How do these cops balance their private lives and the reality they confront every working day? Fred, the group's hypersensitive wild card, is going to have a hard time facing the scrutiny of Melissa, a photographer on a Ministry of the Interior assignment to document the unit.

Maiwenn stars as Melissa, with actor/rap artist Joey Starr as Fred and co-writer Emanuelle Bercot (Clement) as Sue Ellen. Other cast include Karin Viard, Marina Fois and Nicolas Duvauchelle.

Polisse is Maiwenn's third film as a director. Earlier credits are The Actresses' Ball and Forgive Me. As an actress, she has appeared in films including The Fifth Element High Tensioni, and Claude Lelouch's Le Courage D'Aimer and Les Parisiens.

Maiwenn will be in Melbourne and Sydney between June 8 and June 14. Polisse screens at the Sydney Film Fest. on June 12 and 13. 

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