FOCUS ON A FILMMAKER:
CEDRIC KLAPISCH
Following the late Alain Resnais in 2013 and to celebrate the pending U.S. release of his new film Chinese Puzzle, writer/director Cédric Klapisch will be honored by COLCOA on Thursday April 24 with two films and a conversation with the audience (Happy Hour Talk).
TRUFFAUT Theater - 1:30 pm
Special Presentation • COLCOA Classics
With the hopes of landing an EU administrative job, French student Xavier moves to an apartment in Barcelona to improve his Spanish. But instead of lessons in economics, Xavier finds himself in a hilarious hotbed of international coeds all eager for new experiences, especially of the romantic variety. Bursting with zeitgeist optimism for the new Europe, L’Auberge Espagnole charmed audiences the world over. Cédric Klapisch received César nominations for directing, writing, and Best Film. This comedy classic is also known for catapulting the careers Cécile De France and Romain Duris. For her performance as Isabelle, Xavier’s lesbian friend and erstwhile sex-instructor, De France was honored with the Best Newcomer César.
TRUFFAUT Theater - 4:00 pm ~ 5:00 pm
HAPPY HOUR TALK
A One-hour conversation with writer/director Cédric Klapisch
(Free admission – Followed by a Wine and Cheese).
RENOIR Theater - 8:30 pm
CHINESE PUZZLE (Casse-tête Chinois)
West Coast Premiere
(Followed by a Q/a with Cédric Klapisch and Actor Romain Duris)
Life is complicated, just ask the ghosts of Hegel and Schopenhauer. That’s what Xavier does, a genial fortyish author who, wanting to remain close to his young children, trades the comforts of Paris for the cultural kaleidoscope of New York City. Camped out in the living room of his old friend, Isabelle, and her female companion, and making ends meet as a bicycle courier, the freewheeling Xavier rides headlong into a series of fresh emotional “complications” that just might be the thing he needs to get him past a creative slump. Eleven years ago, filmmaker Cédric Klapisch first introduced us to Xavier and his band of merry multi-nationals in the smash L’auberge espagnole. Two years later, Russian Dolls checked back in to see how life was treating them. Now Chinese Puzzle brings their stories to a frothy and satisfying conclusion that gives each of its stars their moment to shine.
Award-winning writer-director Cédric Klapisch studied cinema at New York University Film School, where he completed a Master of Fine Arts.
He directed several short films before gaining recognition with two first features, Riens du tout (1992) and Le Péril Jeune (Audience Award at the 1994 Paris Film Festival). After the critical and commercial success When the Cat’s Away (1996 International Federation of Film Critics prize at the Berlinale), Klapisch adapted Family Resemblances a play written by Agnès Jaoui and Jean-Pierre Bacri, and won a César Award for Best Writing - Adaptation.
He became known worldwide with the box-office hits L’Auberge Espagnole (2002 – COLCOA 2014) and The Russian Dolls (2005), followed by the critically-acclaimed Paris (COLCOA 2008). In 2003, he received an Emerging Masters Showcase Award at the 2003 Seattle International Film Festival. His previous film, My Piece of the Pie made its International Premiere at COLCOA 2011.
IN ASSOCIATION WITH:
