'Players,' 'Seeds,' 'Dads' meet at Rendez-Vous

PARIS -- Wild Bunch's "The Players," with "The Artist's" star Jean Dujardin and its helmer Michel Hazanavicius, Memento's "Bad Seeds" and Pathe's "Sunday Dads" will screen at the 14th Rendez-Vous With French Cinema. The world's biggest national film showcase, the Rendez-Vous kicks off Wednesday with a gala screening of Sylvie Testud's Kinology-sold "Another Woman's Life," toplining Juliette Binoche and Mathieu Kassovitz, a high-concept romantic dramedy. Written by Dujardin and Gilles Lellouche, star of Magnolia U.S. pick-up "Point Blank," "Players," a seven-part sexcom, is one of the most-awaited films of the screenings. This is thanks to its subject, a Judd Apatow-ish take on thirty-something male infidelit; its cast, led by Guillaume Canet ("Last Night"); and its star directors, including Hazanavicius, Fred Cavaye ("Anything for Her"), Dujardin, Lellouche and Eric Lartigau ("The Big Picture"). A dark tale of two schoolboys' kidnapping a teacher, "Seeds" is Nebbou's follow-up to critical hits "Dumas" and "Mark of an Angel." Distributed by Pathe in France, social comedy "Dads" reps the directorial debut of Louis Becker, son of Jean Becker ("My Afternoons With Marguerite"). Of other newly revealed RDV screeners, Studiocanal will showcase "The Adopted," the directorial debut of Melanie Laurent ("Inglourious Basterds"), and Films du Losange has Tony Gatlif's "Indignados," a Berlin Panorama player. Sales companies will talk up movies in various stages of production. Potential buzz titles include Agnes Jouai's "Under the Rainbow," sold by Memento, EuropaCorp's spy thriller "Mobius," with Dujardin, Gaumont's "The Chef," with Jean Reno, and Valerie Donzelli's "Declaration of War" follow-up "Hand in Hand," repped by Wild Bunch. Around 450 buyers will attend. Forty-three of the 82 films screening are market premieres. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com