It’s that time of year when film festival announcements entice us with their competition titles and a larger spotlight on the foreign market offers a breath of fresh air amongst a sea of caped heroes and post-apocalyptic teen tales. We feature ten of those anticipated films, below. Although many of these foreign selections won’t be available on American shores immediately, there are a number of compelling works debuting at fests this year that we wanted to draw your attention to. Keep your eye on these foreign features during the 2014 film season.
Acclaimed French director Alain Resnais (Hiroshima, mon amour and L’année dernière à Marienbad) adapts Alan Ayckbourn’s 2010 play, Life Of Riley. Aimer, boire et chanter will make its world premiere at the Berlinale in February. It’s the veteran filmmaker’s third adaptation of Ayckbourn’s work, which includes Smoking/No Smoking and Coeurs — Silver Bear and Silver Lion winners respectively. Ayckbourn’s play centers on a group of family and friends who gather remember the life of one of their own who is dying (he is only talked about and never appears in the play), but a farewell twist shakes things up. The film is described as “an uplifting comedy with some acid moments.”
