Cannes 2008

Revelation of the Year – Projection in Cannes
"Lake Tahoe" by Fernando Eimbcke
Preceded by Andreas Hydake's Short Film "The Runt"

Every year, FIPRESCI presents its "Revelation of the Year" at a special screening during the International Critics' Week in Cannes. One film is chosen out of the first or second films awarded by the Federation during the previous year, in the belief that it deserves the chance to be seen by the Cannes audience, and that the Cannes audience deserves the chance to see it.
    This year's Revelation is Mexican filmmaker Fernando Eimbcke's second feature Lake Tahoe, awarded at the Berlinale, where it was selected in the official competition. His first film, Duck Season, had been revealed by the Critics' Week in 2004, and went on to have an impressive international career.
    This year, the screening will begin with Andrea Hydake's short film The Runt, which received the FIPRESCI Prize at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival.
    The screening, followed by a q&a with Fernando Eimbcke, will take place on Saturday, May 17th, at 15 h at the Espace Miramar.

"The Runt"

At the occasion of the Annecy festival, our colleague Francis Gavelle wrote: "Born in Bavaria in 1968, Hydake studied in Fine Arts in Stuttgart, worked in London as an animator and is now a freelance filmmaker, celebrated for his shorts, music videos and commercials. The Runt tells the story of a young boy disputing with his uncle the right to kill a new-born blue rabbit, the runt, and agreeing to take care of the rabbit for one year before killing it with his own hands. A story of the passage from childhood to adulthood, The Runt is ten minutes of pure emotion, carried by a beautiful use of contrasting bright yellow and dark colors and the stylized child's drawings.”

Print source: Studio Film Bilder, Ostendstrasse 106, D-70188 Stuttgart, T +49 (711) 481 027, F +49 (711) 4891 925, studio@filmbilder.de, www.filmbilder.de

"Lake Tahoe"

Synopsis. In an attempt to escape from a home where sorrow reigns, Juan, a sixteen years old boy, crashes his family's car into a telegraph pole on the outskirts of the town. Juan calls home where his younger brother Joaquín tells him that their mother is still locked in the bathroom. Juan hangs up. As Juan scours the streets searching for someone to help him fix the car, he meets Don Heber, an old paranoid mechanic whose only companion is Sica, his almost human boxer dog. Don Heber promises to fix the car as soon as Juan can find the part he needs for his crashed vehicle. Searching for that piece, Juan arrives at "Refaccionaria Oriente", an auto-parts store tended by Lucía, a young mother who is convinced that her real place in life is as a lead singer in a punk band. While she knows about punk music, Lucía doesn't have a clue about mechanics and so they must wait for "The One Who Knows", David, a teenage mechanic obsessed with martial arts and Kung Fu philosophy. The absurd and bewildering worlds of these characters drag Juan into a one-day journey in which he will come to accept an event as natural and inexplicable as death.

Director's biography. Born in Mexico City in 1970, Fernando Eimbcke completed his film studies in 1996 at the "Centro Universitario de Estudios Cinematográficos" of the National University, Mexico. His work includes several short films and music videos. In 2004, he wrote and directed his first feature film Temporada de patos (Duck Season), which was selected in the 43rd Critics' Week in Cannes 2004 and in nearly 90 international festivals. Fernando Eimbcke co-wrote with Paula Markovitch the script for Lake Tahoe, which received the Sundance-NHK award in 2006.

Read Jurica Pavicic’s review at the occasion of the Berlinale

Crew. Director: Fernando Eimbcke. Screenplay: Fernando Eimbcke and Paula Markovitch. Producer: Christian Valdelièvre. Executive Producer: Jaime Bernardo Ramos. Editing: Mariana Rodríguez. Director of Photography: Alexis Zabé. Cast: Diego Cataño, Héctor Herrera, Daniela Valentine, Juan Carlos Lara, Yemil Sefami. 81'.

Print source: International Sales: Funny Balloons, 4 bis rue Saint Sauveur, 75002 Paris, Peter Danner, cell +33 (6) 74 49 33 40, pdanner@funny-balloons.com, T +33 (1) 40 13 05 84, F +33 (1) 42 33 34 99, info@funny-balloons.com

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