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Massive Catalan Film Presence at the Cannes International Film Festival

The sixtieth celebration of the Cannes International Film Festival will undoubtedly be etched on the memory of the Catalan audiovisual industry as the year with the largest number of participating Catalan productions. Virtually every section of the Festival features one or more Catalan titles on its schedule, and the Cannes Market includes a listing with more than fifty registered productions from Catalonia. During the Festival the consortium for the international promotion of Catalan cinema, Catalan Films & TV, will be holding a presentation ceremony for all of these films. Moreover, this event will serve as an international showcase where producers from around the world will be given a preview of the professional guide of the Barcelona- Catalunya Film Commission (BCFC), while offering an initial celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Sitges International Film Festival of Catalonia.

Held between 16 and 27 May, the Cannes Festival is the industry's second most important event of the year, second only to the Berlin Festival. Last year's celebration featured the presentation of two of Catalonia's most internationally successful productions: Salvador (Puig Antich) and Honor de Cavalleria, (known under the English title, Honour of the Knights). This year Catalan cinema has doubled its presence, with the following titles:

• La soledad (Alone), directed by Jaime Rosales and produced by In Vitro Films, Wanda Visión and Fresdeval Films, which will be competing in the Un certain regard section. This is the second time that Rosales has come to Cannes after his first picture Las horas del día (The Hours of the Day), which won the FIPRESCI Award in 2003.
• Yo (Me), directed by Rafa Cortés and produced by Fausto Producciones, Escándalo Producciones and La Perifèrica Produccions, which will be present in a special Semaine de la Critique session. Yo (Me) won the FIPRESCI Award as the Revelation of the Year at the last Rotterdam Festival.
• El orfanato (The Orphanage), directed by Juan Antonio Bayona and produced by Rodar y Rodar Cine y Televisión and Estudios Picasso. This movie is the Catalan sector's other Semaine de la Critique participant and features one of actress Belén Rueda's most outstanding performances, as a main character.
• Savage Grace, directed by Tom Kalin and produced by A Contraluz Films, Montfort Producciones, Videntia Frames and Killer Films (USA). Savage Grace is the Catalan entry in the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs section. The cast includes Julianne Moore, Stephen Dillane, Eddie Redmayne, Elena Anaya, Unax Ugalde, Belén Rueda, Abel Folk, Barney Clark, and Hugh Dancy.

• Una novia errante (A Wandering Bride), directed by and starring Ana Katz, produced by Mediapro. This Argentine co-production has been selected for the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Festival. Una novia errante won the Films In Progress Award at the last celebration of the San Sebastian Film Festival.