Cannes is over.
Youve probably read a lot of coverage of films that screened, in competition and other categories. But you dont hear too much about the market, where films are snagged sometimes without having been completed.
Thats where we snagged C dric Jimenezs ultra-cool French crime thriller La French, when a bidding war erupted after Gaumont presented one hell of an extended promo for the film, currently in post-production.
The film, starring Academy Award Winner Jean Dujardin (The Artist, The Wolf of Wall Street) as Pierre Michel, a young magistrate in the French police, with a wife and children, whos just been transferred to help in the crackdown on organized crime. He decides to take on the French Connection, a mafia-run operation that exports heroin the world over. Heeding no one's warnings, he leads a one-man campaign against mafia kingpin Gaetan Zampa (Gilles Lelouche, Mesrine: Killer Instinct), the most untouchable godfather of them all.
Consider La French as the European flipside to William Friedkins classic The French Connection.
And then consider that La French was shot entirely on 35mm. And that were going to be screening it theatrically on 35mm in select theaters, along with a collection of vintage 35mm French crime trailers curated by Jimenez. Maybe this is the first step to Guerre du Trailer?
Check out the full press release below, and stay tuned for more info on La French.
DRAFTHOUSE FILMS CONNECTS WITH GAUMONT'S LA FRENCH
C dric Jimenez's flip side to The French Connection hits theaters in January 2015
CANNES, FRANCE Drafthouse Films has acquired the US distribution rights to C dric Jimenez's period crime thriller La French starring Jean Dujardin. A dazzling eight minute promo reel debuted at this week's Cannes Film Festival, resulting in a prebuy bidding war for distribution rights in multiple territories. This deal marks the first collaboration between Gaumont and Drafthouse Films.
La French was produced by Alain Goldman and Legende Films, was directed by C dric Jimenez and stars Jean Dujardin as Pierre Michel opposite Gilles Lellouche as mob boss Gaetan Zempa.
While in Cannes to promote the movie, Dujardin told Variety La French was the first film he decided to do after winning an Oscar for The Artist.
One of our goals is to get young audiences excited about foreign language film, says Drafthouse Films founder and CEO Tim League. We combed the market and devoured the official selections. Nothing excited us more than La French.
Cecile Gaget, head of Gaumont Intl. who negotiated the deal said we want to launch La French, a movie we consider to be a milestone in French genre cinema, with a director-friendly partner who understands how cool this movie is. We think Drafthouse Films is the perfect match.
I am proud that La French is going to be released by Drafthouse, said director C dric Jimenez. They defend cinema de qualit with passion and talent. We are extremely excited to work with them.
La French was shot on 35mm and will be screened theatrically in select venues in 35mm along with a collection of vintage 35mm classic crime trailers curated by C dric Jimenez (DCPs will also be available). Drafthouse Films also plans a limited edition VHS release for the film in addition to traditional DVD, Bluray and digital formats.
The deal was negotiated by Cecile Gaget and Yohann Comte from Gaumont International and James Shapiro and Tim League from Drafthouse Films.
About La French
Marseille. 1975. Pierre Michel, a young magistrate with a wife and children, has just been transferred to help in the crackdown on organized crime. He decides to take on the French Connection, a mafia-run operation that exports heroin the world over. Paying heed to no one's warnings, he leads a one-man campaign against mafia kingpin Gaetan Zampa, the most untouchable godfather of them all. The European flipside to William Friedkin's The French Connection, C dric Jimenez's La French is also based on a true story.
About Drafthouse Films
Drafthouse Films, the film distribution arm of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, is a curated brand of provocative, visionary and artfully unusual films new and old from around the world. Following the earnestly simple motto of sharing the films we love with widest audience possible, Drafthouse Films debuted in 2010 with the theatrical release of Four Lions, which was named of Time Magazine's Top 10 Films Of The Year. Their release slate includes the acclaimed Best Foreign Language Oscar nominated Bullhead, the internationally celebrated Danish comedy Klown (currently slated for a Warner Bros/Todd Phillips produced US remake), the 40th anniversary restoration of landmark Australian thriller Wake In Fright and Best Documentary Oscar nominee The Act Of Killing. Drafthouse Films distributes films theatrically, through home video, VOD, VHS and their direct-to-consumer platforms integrating into the larger Alamo Drafthouse entertainment brand, which along with the Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas includes: Mondo, the collectible art boutique; Fantastic Fest, the largest international genre film festival in the US; and the pop culture website Badass Digest.
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
06/12/2025
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A new survey from Pixitmedia by Datacore revealed a major shift in the Media & Entertainment industry in media archiving, with 85% of resp...
06/12/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. LiveU has announced that the national public broadcaster Czech Television has completed one of the largest LiveU live production deployments fo...
06/12/2025
NEW YORK The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented the Excellence in Production Technology Emmy Award to NASA+ and Dr. Tom Leight...
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
Every year, Spotify Wrapped offers a personalized look back at the audio that defined your year. It's a snapshot of your listening habits, designed to tell ...
05/12/2025
In 2025, Spotify's EQUAL, GLOW, and RADAR programs celebrated women, LGBTQIA , and emerging artists who turned moments into milestones. From breaking record...
05/12/2025
In our latest blog, we explain how Wi-Fi 7 rollouts can drive consumer loyalty with value-add services such as consumer cybersecurity. We also explore how this ...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13, with guest...
05/12/2025
Friday 5 December 2025
A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exc...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
05/12/2025
Tis the season of giving once again and this year we've taken our Give Back Fridays' concept and turned it on its head.
In the autumn we were approach...
05/12/2025
Brayden Gogis doesn't remember a time when he wasn't completely fixated on games in all forms. In preschool, when they asked us to dress up as what we ...
05/12/2025
The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025
Tune in tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and worldwide on RT Player
#LateLateToyShow...
05/12/2025
RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes
New RT Six One News co-presenter Tommy Meskill
Sarah McInerney & Justin McCarthy join Morning Ir...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & ...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux
More Details:Starting with version 5.5, both just:in mac pro and just:in linux sol...
04/12/2025
Wangu Kanuri from Kenya and Godwin Asediba from Ghana are two of this years finalists for Thomsons Young Journalist of the Year Award. The pair are runners-up i...
04/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...
04/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...
04/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Spor...
04/12/2025
London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Be...
04/12/2025
Analysis: Paramount bets on the battering ram' with Champions League play By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 10:12
Print ...
04/12/2025
Space City Home Network Launches SCHN DTC App for Astros and RocketsThe Rockets and Astros were previously the lone NBA and MLB teams without a DTC appBy Jason...
04/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Spor...
04/12/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolu...
04/12/2025
Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and RegionallyBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 1:52 pm
Print This Sto...
04/12/2025
(L-R) Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, and Judith Helfand att...
04/12/2025
SBS launches Future Frames initiative to support emerging First Nations video ed...
04/12/2025
Coronal mass ejections caused by eruptions on the surface of the sun can have fa...
04/12/2025
Gracenote Content Connect enables media ecosystem to precisely align ad campaigns and programming based on rich content signals
NEW YORK - December 4, 2025 - N...
Cannes is over.
