Georges Géret

We thought we'd seen, read, and heard everything there was to see about the Cannes Film Festival, from the glitz and gossip to the scandals and censorship. And yet, Emmanuel Barnault's "Morceaux de Cannes" (Pieces of Cannes), by this leading expert on Italian and French cinema, convinces us otherwise. The third largest event in the world (after the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup) reveals its secrets only sparingly, as this film attests. The result of passionate research in the INA archives, these 52 minutes, without interviews or voice-over narration, string together rare and sometimes previously unseen footage. Taken together, they tell a surprising, original, and heartwarming story of the Festival. On the beach, on a street corner, in a restaurant, or in the privacy of a hotel room, these forgotten archives summon the greatest filmmakers, actors, and actresses of the last seventy years, from Jean Cocteau to David Lynch, for an anthology of the Festival's history.

A documentary about writer Michel Audiard (1920-1985). Contemporary interviews are interwoven with archival footage and clips from his films. It offers a deeper understanding of the career of the man whom Jean Gabin swore by from the mid-1950s onward, and whom films such as "Les Tontons Flingueurs" immortalized.

Since the suicide of his wife, Jacques Loursat has gone downhill. Estranged from his daughter, his lawyer's pratice in ruins, he consoles himself with drink. One night he is woken by a gunshot and catches sight of a young man fleeing the house. Isabelle, his daughter, claims to know nothing about it, even when he finds the body of a young man. Isabelle hangs around with a gang of spoiled young people who have no shortage of money, and is in love with Joel, an ambitious boy involved in drug dealing. Antoine, from a more modest background, is in love with her. When the police start investigating Joel's murder, Antoine becomes the ideal suspect.

After the failure of his recent criminal exploits, international con artist Alexandre Dupré sets off for Venice to try to dupe some Japanese business men into buying a fake copy of a stolen Caneletto. On the aeroplane, a stranger asks him to look after his briefcase until after they have landed. Alexandre agrees, but the stranger is shot dead soon after and Alexandre himself becomes the target of enemy agents who are keen to recover the briefcase...

After getting screwed over by life (again), two losers decide that enough is enough. Using stolen ski masks and stolen toy guns, they take hostages in their local bank, holding them for ransom. Things go well until the hostages learn what's going on, and demand a piece of the action for themselves.

This story starts in 1980 in Paris as the memories of Andrei Borodin, a Soviet agent, take the action back to 1943 during the Teheran meetings of Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill. A high-ranking Nazi officer developed a plan to assassinate the three world leaders in order to undermine the Allied forces. He commissioned the German agent Max Richard to carry out his plan, but it failed miserably due to the quick action and thinking of Andrei. While in Teheran, Andrei met a French woman, Marie Louni, living in the city and they had a brief but intense affair. Nearly four decades later, the Nazi officer has been captured - but not for long. Freed by terrorists, the officer is hunting down the German agent who failed to carry out the planned assassinations. Max lives at Françoise, a young French woman, who hides him.

The enthusiasms, fears, joys and disappointments of the (private and professional) life of a well-known group of boys fond of physics and mathematics, who just made history as the Via Panisperna boys.

The notorious and mysterious criminal Furax steals France's famous monuments, replacing them with replicas.

A diverse group of guests gather in a small hotel in Paris to contemplate the state of their lives in this pretentious drama. Joseph Goldman (Fernando Rey) is a washed-up Hollywood actor making a living in the dinner-theater circuit. Accompanied by his wife Sarah (Carole Regnier), Goldman meets Frederique (Berangere Bonvoisin), who is hiding from her former lover. French financier Arthur (Fabrice Luchini) hopes to get into the film industry and bends the ear of a British director (Michael Medwin). The talkative film has little action, and none of the characters evoke much interest or resolve their dilemma.

The bandoneon player Daniel and the boxer Toni arrive independently from each other in a provincial town in Latin America where they are booked to perform at a folk festival. Both of them are completely apolitical but are forced by external circumstances to take a political position. Toni falls in love with the daughter of an influential attorney but has to keep his love a secret. Meanwhile, Daniel learns about the atrocities committed by the Junta from the town’s residents.

Robert Dumortier and his son "La Puce" live on a barge moored to an island of the Seine and Robert dreams of cruising remote and exotic seas.

A dishonored Union Army officer leads a group of convicts to retake Fort Holman from the Confederate Army.

When the local police inspector was found dead in a prostitute's house, police division commissioner Stan Borowitz is sent to investigate the situation. Posing as the prostitute's long-lost brother "Antonio Cerruti," he discovers a mare's nest of police corruption. In fact, in this comedy thriller the whole town is corrupt. If they were closely examined, Stan's methods for pursuing this investigation might embarrass the police. For instance, he drives into a criminal's house in a fancy, expensive race car. In another incident, he callously blows up a casino owned by Musard , one of the town's crime bosses. On that occasion, he first forces Musard to remove his clothes, and the poor criminal watches his casino explode from across the square while standing naked in a phone booth. Meanwhile, Stan seduces the lovely Edmonde.

Britt, deluxe call-girl, is punished by the brothel owner because she was not accomodating enough to a customer. From now on, she must obey to all customers sadistic wishes, or else.

The story is based around "spermulites", the alien inhabitants of a dying planet. The only way they can save their planet is by sucking the men of planet earth dry of sperm, kind of like horny vampires.

While the President of a West African Republic arrives in France to sell uranium to the State, spies from around the world are on hand to thwart the transaction. France then decides to put one of its worst agents on the case, a certain Maxime, who has a very loose tongue. All they have to do is send him false information, hoping that it will fall into the ears of their enemies...

A young physician becomes lonely when his workaholic wife ignores him to concentrate on her professional career. He is befriended by an older female artist who is fond of hallucinogenic mushrooms. When his wife is late for their anniversary celebration, he drinks and takes mushrooms with the artist. He wakes up to find she has died and is fearful he may have accidentally killed her.

Recently released from prison, Samuel Malakian, a wealthy architect, investigates the disappearance of his daughter, Nathalie, kidnapped by thugs linked to the underworld. When he discovers that she is a prostitute, he will descend into the slums of the city and rub shoulders with these dangerous environments. For him, from now on, all means will be good in order to find the fruit of his entrails.

Having escaped from prison Ristack contacts his partner, to organize an attack on a van full of gold. The heist goes well but each man is trying to keep all the loot for himself...

Martial Perrin is the president of a right-wing political party which is gearing itself up for a forthcoming election. When he learns that a notorious criminal named Kraus has escaped from prison, Perrin panics and goes into hiding. His deputy, Constant, hires Perrin’s cousin, Gilbert, an actor who is a perfect double of Perrin, to replace him. What Gilbert does no know is that the killer Kraus is bumping off the people who were implicated in the affair for which he was arrested, and that Perrin is next on his list.

Camille, Dov and Joëlle live on the edge of society and are involved in petty theft helping them to buy their drug doses and to survive as best they can. One day, while attempting to rob a movie theater, they activate the alarm signal and it is Pierre, Camille's brother, who is doing a heist in the same building, who is arrested red-handed. The three young people decide to kidnap a police officer and exchange him for Pierre.

Architect Dumas dies from a bullet of his own gun in front of his house. The police suspect his young Swedish wife Catherine and her English lover Tom Hastings. After numerous interrogations, in which they entangle themselves in contradictions, they try to flee, but are soon both caught and brought to trial, he in England, she in France. Only when Catherine keeps on proclaiming her innocence, superintendent Corbier finally considers believing her.

Their feats of arms in Africa are worth to Phil, Jeannot and Gerard to be sent on a special mission in Algeria. Held captive by the Fellaghas, they manage to escape and are congratulated.

In a little French town everything goes on as usual and people seem friendly and good-natured, until the day two women arrive from Paris. A man gets off the same bus, and that very night he seizes the two women and asks for the most beautiful woman in town as their ransom. After the initial shock, the mayor, his brother, the prefect, the police, and the gendarmerie gather around the house where the two woman are imprisoned. It will be a test for everyone and each of them will show his/her real stuff: hypocrisy, meanness, or humanity concealed under their provincial respectability.

A construction worker on a construction site in the Paris suburbs, Mehdi takes the bus to return home after work. Wishing to get off while the vehicle is stationary in a traffic jam, the driver refuses: while restarting, the bus hits the car in front of it. The bus driver attacks Mehdi whom he holds responsible for the incident, claiming that it is forbidden to “talk to the stagehand”. Mehdi is implicated in court and his lawyer tries to draw attention to the living conditions of immigrant workers.

No synopsis available yet.

Infantryman Jean Froissard is sentenced to two years in Biribi Military Prison in North Africa. He seems to get along, but as incompetence, corruption and sadism of his superiors (which include sexual abuse of the prison inmates) force him and others into rebellion. Court martial ensues ...

Somewhere in rural France, a young English female tourist is sexually assaulted by two men in the countryside. After she manages to escape, a party of local hunters agree to track her in order to cover up the scandal.

Jacques and Jean-Claude, unemployed actors, start experimenting with various creative petty scams to get by. More and more daring, with the help of Anne, a charming young girl, they blackmail the rich and influential in a different way.

Near the end of World War II, General Dietrich von Choltitz receives orders to burn down Paris if it becomes clear the Allies are going to invade, or if he's unable to maintain control of the city. After much contemplation, Choltitz ignores orders, enraging the Germans and giving hope to various resistance factions that the city will be liberated. Choltitz, alongside Swedish diplomat Raoul Nordling, helps a leader organise his forces.

Six people travel by overnight train from Marseilles to Paris. When they arrive, one of them, a young woman, is found dead in a sleeping berth. The police, led by Inspector Grazzi, investigate the other five passengers, suspecting that one among them was responsible. However, as the investigation is stepped up, the others start turning up dead. It's up to the remaining two to solve the case, lest they become the next victims.

A special United Nations bureau organises a campaign to trace a drug-smuggling ring across Europe to its source on the Afghanistan-Iran border.

Meursault is a man who feels utterly isolated from everyone and everything around him. This alienation results in sudden, inexplicable bursts of violence, culminating in murder.

Celestine has a new job as a chambermaid for the quirky M. Monteil, his wife and her father. When the father dies, Celestine decides to quit her job and leave, but when a young girl is raped and murdered, Celestine believes that the Monteils' groundskeeper, Joseph, is guilty, and stays on in order to prove it. She uses her sexuality and the promise of marriage to get Joseph to confess -- but things do not go as planned.

A prominent politician is murdered during a demonstration. The government and army are trying to suppress the truth, but a tenacious magistrate is determined not to let them get away with it.

Treated as an outcast and exploited by the villagers of a small town, a young woman liberates herself through sex, which she uses as a tool of economic gain and an instrument of revenge against those who have wronged her.

In June 1940, during the Dunkirk evacuation of Allied troops to England, French sergeant Julien Maillat and his men debate whether to evacuate to Britain or stay and fight the German troops that are closing-in from all directions.

After successfully assaulting an armored car between Las Vegas and Los Angeles, the ambitions of the diverse members of the intrepid criminal gang collide, causing undesirable consequences.

Veterinarian Léandre Brassac lives with his wife Marie on a remote estate. One day, he decides to shelter a young woman with no bearings.

On Christmas night, an ex-convict meets a beautiful, married Italian woman who has a lot of things to hide.

A painter facing a creative block arranges to spend the weekend in the country at his mistress's villa. While staying there, his sanity begins to disintegrate.

In this drama that alludes to the Algerian War with France of the 1960s, Thomas is a deserter from the French Foreign Legion who is on the run from authorities. He helps damsel in distress Dominique, who has been taken hostage by a group of terrorists. Thomas is wounded but manages to escape after killing the guard who inflicted the injury. Dominique gives Thomas money to escape to France after he secures her freedom, but he is caught between the Foreign Legion and the terrorists seeking revenge.

An ill-assorted group of international criminals executes a tightly-planned ransom sting in Spain. Things go along swimmingly until various tensions within the group come to the fore.

Three little criminals get a tip for a great coup with lots of money in it. Unfortunately they lack the starting funds to buy the required welding torch. So they persuade their successful colleague Alphonse to join their team. But the well thought-out coup fails, and Alphonse is the only one of them who ends up in jail for several years. When he's released, he's out for revenge.

While escaping from prison to be with her lesbian friend, a 19-year-old girl breaks her ankle and is picked up by an ex-con, with whom she begins a passionate affair. She finally turns to prostitution and robbery to support herself.

Ordered to seduce French captain and steal from him classified papers, Mata Hari, an exotic dancer and a spy, instead falls in love with him and blows the cover.

Comedy adventure based on a Jules Verne novel about the ups and downs of jewel thieves in the wilds of Africa circa 1900. George Segal is the appealing hero-heel and Ursula Andress is visually stunning as the lady in the proceedings. Orson Welles has a small role.

Bourgoin uses Philippe to attract customers from another establishment to the nightclub he wants to open in Pigalle.

While he is trying to escape from a hit man, Carl is setting up a kidnapping in Beirut. He gets lost on his way, falling in love with Salène, a.k.a. "La grande sauterelle"...

Pursued by a rival gang after a violent robbery, Toni escapes with nearly thirty million francs. On the train to Paris, to avoid arousing suspicion, he has no choice but to threaten an honorable philosophy professor, Justin Mignonnet, with his gun, so that he will carry the loot for him. To make sure he returns the money, he takes his papers and makes him promise to be present at the exchange appointment at the Pigalle Hotel the next day. Completely lost, Mignonnet decides to obey orders, but just as he is about to return the money, a young woman, a member of the enemy gang, comes to collect it.

The life of the inhabitants of a village in the Drôme region during the debacle of May-June 1940. Liberated, Cyprien Boromès returns to his village to learn that his daughter Rosine has had a child out of wedlock with the mayor's son, Bruno Besson.

A thief gets hold of some top secret papers and is chased around Europe by the sinister Organisation.

Monsieur Gentil runs a perfume factory. He is a shy man, bullied by Madame Marthe, the manager, and spurned by Cléo, the young travel agent he is in love with. He 'd rather be a tough guy than a wet blanket and his meeting with Durante, a gangster, will be decisive. Considering him a providential piggy bank, Durante, following the advice of his boss Spinosa, entrusts the" education" of Gentil to two experts, Perrugo and Bersone.

An industrialist is falsely accused of murdering one of his creditors and, because he cannot reveal that it was his mistress who gave him the money needed to pay the debt, he is sentenced to life in prison. He escapes, makes a fortune, and, years later, discovers the real culprit.

The Marcenat couple seem to have everything they need to be happy. However, Odile's frivolity and Philippe's jealousy drive the couple apart. Philippe, manager of the family printing business, finds solace in Isabelle, a long-time employee at the paper mill. Isabelle's routine life, entirely devoted to her work, leads Philippe to strike up a romantic relationship with the playful young Misa. But, faced with Isabelle's grief, Philippe puts an end to the romance. When Odile, inconsolable since their break-up, finally commits suicide, Philippe realizes that she was his true love.

France, July 1782. During her birthday, the beautiful young Marchioness Caroline meets the attractive soldier Gaston. It's love at first sight but Gaston does not wish to make a commitment because a military career waits for him. Caroline marries then a politician but the French Revolution bursts and Caroline has to run away to escape the guillotine. By running away she meets Gaston again who decides to help her.

A young priest works as a barman in a Pigalle cafe in Paris. He tries to prevent the women there to prostitute themselves....

Burt Brickford, a deserted U.S. Navy captain stranded in a South American port, rents out his services to survive. Perez, a drug trafficker, calls on him to command Henry's yacht, on which a group of would-be treasure seekers are embarking.

Antoine Fournier, a language teacher at a secondary school in Lille, was disgraced by four young men he had caught stealing money from a charity collection. Dismissed from the teaching profession, Fournier found a job as a porter in a Monte Carlo palace through his wartime friend Ansaldi. A few years later, when he became the first concierge, the "man with the golden keys", chance brought him into the presence of the young men, married but as Machiavellian as ever. He won't take revenge on them, but their baser instincts will.

Love and adventure story about contraband runners in the Basque province of France.