A TOWN CALLED PANIC has been selected in the best foreign film category of the CESARS (the French equivalent of the Oscars) alongside such names as Michael Hanneke, Clint Eastwood and AVATAR!



BEST FOREIGN FILM CATAGORY
Avatar, d. James Cameron, USA
Gran Torino, d. Clint Eastwood, USA
J'ai tué ma mère [I Killed My Mother], d. Xavier Dolan, Canada
Milk, d. Gus Van Sant, USA
Panique au village [A Town Called Panic], d. Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar, Belgium/Luxembourg
Das weiße Band [The White Ribbon], d. Michael Haneke, Austria/Germany

Tags: CESARS, Award

Below is the Confirmed Screening Schedule for our 3 films:

L'ENFER DE HENRI-GEORGES CLOUZOT  (INFERNO)
35mm, Real to Reel
94 min.

Film archivist Serge Bromberg uncovers a treasure trove of imagery from an unfinished film called L’Enfer starring Romy Schneider and directed by the French master Henri-Georges Clouzot, known for Wages of Fear and Diabolique.

Festival Screenings:
- Thursday, Sept. 10, 7.15PM, Varsity 1
- Saturday, Sept. 12, 3.45PM, Jackman Hall-AGO
- Friday, Sept. 18, 6.15PM, Varsity 4

Press & Industry Screening:
- Friday, Sept. 11, 9.15AM, Varsity 5

POLICE, ADJECTIVE
35mm, Contemporary World Cinema
113 min.

A witty portrait of life in the small town of Vaslui, the sophisticated Police, Adjective builds on the promise of Porumboiu’s debut 12:08, East of Bucharest.

Festival Screenings:
- Sunday, Sept. 13, 10PM, Bader
- Thursday, Sept. 17, 2.30PM, AMC 6
- Saturday, Sept. 19, 9AM, Varsity 4

Press & Industry Screening:
- Saturday, Sept. 12, 12PM, AMC 4

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpAbFoWwjJY
Press book: http://filmswelike.com/films/police/presskit/
Stills: http://filmswelike.com/films/police/highrez/

A TOWN CALLED PANIC
35mm, Midnight Madness
75 min.

“Oh non! Mon Dieu!” The feature version of A Town Called Panic (Panique au village), the demented Belgian television-animation sensation of the same name, has arrived! The first stop-motion animated feature selected to Cannes, A Town Called Panic smashes out of the toy chest to deliver a spastic joyride full of slapstick violence and manic energy in a topsy-turvy world populated by cheap plastic figurines of cowboys, Indians, farmers, police officers, horses, cows and pigs.

Festival Screenings:
- Friday, Sept. 18, 11:59PM, Ryerson
- Saturday, Sept. 19, 3.45PM, AMC 3

Press & Industry Screening:
- Tuesday, Sept. 15, 12PM, Varsity 3

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3uG8LLuVPQ
Synopsis: http://www.filmswelike.com/films/panic/
Press book: http://www.filmswelike.com/films/panic/presskit/
Stills: http://www.filmswelike.com/films/panic/highrez/

Tags: Toronto International Film Festival

“Oh non! Mon Dieu!” The feature version of A Town Called Panic (Panique au village), the demented Belgian television-animation sensation of the same name, has arrived! The first stop-motion animated feature selected to Cannes, A Town Called Panic smashes out of the toy chest to deliver a spastic joyride full of slapstick violence and manic energy in a topsy-turvy world populated by cheap plastic figurines of cowboys, Indians, farmers, police officers, horses, cows and pigs.

When an attempt to surprise their pal Horse with a homemade brick barbecue for his birthday goes terribly awry, Cowboy and Indian must find a way to deal with the fifty million bricks they mistakenly ordered. Unfortunately, their effort to hide the bricks results in their house being destroyed. Trying to rebuild it, the oddball trio contends with an avalanche of bizarre obstacles and surreal situations: a voyage to the centre of the Earth; a giant snowball-throwing mechanical penguin; parachuting cows; pointy-headed sea creatures from a parallel underwater world; giant waffles and even bigger slices of toast; and madcap music lessons for barnyard animals taught by the comely red-maned horse Madame Longray. Even Père Noël makes an appearance!

A Town Called Panic was originally a television series made up of frenetic short episodes. The creators and directors, Stéphane Aubier and Vincent Patar, have perfected their unique visual style and proven beyond a doubt that their brilliantly absurd concept can sustain its chaotic pace and profound silliness for a feature-length adventure.

The Panic crew are no strangers to Midnight Madness. One of the film’s producers, Vincent Tavier, produced Calvaire (04) and co-wrote and acted in the notorious Midnight Madness hit Man Bites Dog (92). And Benoît Poelvoorde, who played that film’s serial-killer anti-hero, voices the shouty neighbouring farmer Steven here.

Playfully charged with Belgian surrealism and a rock ’n’ roll sensibility, A Town Called Panic feels as though Jacques Tati led the crew of Monty Python's Flying Circus to hijack the world of Pingu. The resulting mayhem sounds like a grade-school French teacher, jacked on amphetamines, reading a storybook while huffing helium from a balloon.

- Colin Geddes

Visit A TOWN CALLED PANIC on the Toronto International Film Festival website!