Major New Films Highlight City of Lights, City of Angels Festivals:

A triumvirate of renowned French screenwriter/directors,  Claude Lelouch, Costa-Gavras and Bertrand Tavernier, will appear at the premieres of their newest films at the ninth annual City of Lights, City of Angels Film Festival, which will run at the Director’s Guild Theater from Monday, April 11 through Sunday, April 17.  Men And Women, Lelouch’s latest film, will have its world premiere, on opening night of the festival on Monday, April 11.  The west coast premiere of Tavernier’s Holy Lola will be held on Wednesday, April 13th, and the American premiere of The Ax (Le Couperet), directed and co-written by Costa-Gavras and based on a novel by Donald Westlake, is scheduled for Saturday, April 17. All three filmmakers will take part in a Q&A immediately following the screenings. The festival will feature nine other U.S. premieres, six of which are first feature films and three of which were  directed by women. In almost every instance, the directors will appear at the screenings. “We are very pleased with the growing importance of COL,COA in Hollywood,” stated festival director Claudia Durgnat and programmer François Truffart.  “There are a number of additions to the program and truly something for everyone, from thrillers, comedies, dark comedies, adventure, sports, family dramas, short features, a documentary and special events.” The festival is funded by the Franco American Cultural Fund, a unique collaboration of the Directors Guild of America (DGA); SACEM, France’s Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music; Writers Guild of America, west (WGAwest); and the Motion Picture Association (MPA), with support from L’ARP, France’s Association of Directors and Producers; and the Film and TV Department of the French Embassy in Los Angeles and Unifrance. New to the festival this year is an added day, Sunday, April 17th, that will feature a second screening of the “Audience Choice Award” film shown earlier in the week, as well as a matinee finale screening of a new film, Just Friends.  Saturday afternoon will be devoted to a compilation of the  shorts that were screened individually before features during the week, as well as Crêpes de Ville, an afternoon sampling of the French dessert staple and a matinee film suitable for teens and parents, The Last Trapper, a wildlife adventure. The feature length documentary, 10th District Court, an unprecedented filmed account of Napoleonic law and the French court system at work, follows. Among the other films to be shown are L’Équipier, directed and written by Philippe Lioret, Laurent Tirard’s The Story of My LIFE (Mensonges et Trahisons, et Plus Si Affinité…),  one of the most successful comedies of the year in France. Venus & Fleur, a romantic comedy written and directed by: Emmanuel Mouret;  The First Time I Was Twenty (La Première Fois que J’ai Eu 20 Ans), a comedy/drama written and directed by Lorraine Lévy; Victoire, directed by Stéphanie Murat; 36  (36, Quai des Orfèvres), film noir directed by Olivier Marchal, which was awarded the 2005 Jacques Deray award for Best Film Noir of the year, and   received eight César nominations, including Best Director and Best Film of the year; Jean-Paul Salome’s Arsène Lupin with Kristin Scott Thomas; Aaltra, a dark comedy written and directed by Benoît Delépine; Atomik Circus, written and directed by Didier Poiraud and Thierry Poiraud, an adaptation from their own comic books; Les Sœurs Fâchée, written and directed by Alexandra Leclère, with Isabelle Huppert.All screenings are in French with English subtitles.  Tickets are available for advance purchase online at www.colcoa.com and at the Directors Guild of America Theatre, 7920 Sunset Boulevard, one hour in advance on the day of a particular showing on a first come, first served basis.  Tickets are $9 for adults, $6 for students and seniors (age 62 and over), American Cinematheque and Muse LACMA members.