AUCTION

(Le Tableau volé)

CINEMA COMPETITION
TRUFFAUT THEATRE
Drama / Comedy

THURSDAY OCTOBER 31
6:20 pm (Screening ends at 7:55 pm)

Presented in association with:
Menemsha Films
Pyramide International

Los Angeles Premiere | France | 2024 | Drama, Comedy | 91 min | In French with English subtitles

Directed by: Pascal Bonitzer
Written by: Pascal Bonitzer
Produced by: Saïd Ben Saïd (SBS Productions)
Cinematography: Pierre Milon
Film Editing: Monica Coleman
Original Score: Alexeï Aïgui
Cast: Alex Lutz (André), Léa Drucker (Bertina), Nora Hamzawi (Lawyer Egerman), Louise Chevillotte (Aurore), Arcadi Rdeff (Martin), Laurence Côte (Sine), Matthieu Luci (Paco), Alain Chamfort (Aurore’s father), Olivier Rabourdin (Hervé Quinn)
International Sales: Pyramide International
US Distributor: Menemsha Films
US Release Date: TBA

“An auctioneer is like a plastic surgeon. You have to put your trust in him.” So begins Pascal Bonitzer‘s exquisite jewel of a film, Auction. Like a fine-cut diamond, with sharp, clean edges and meticulously-crafted from every angle, the film plunges us into the slick art world of the City of Light. Celebrated auctioneer and modern art specialist André Masson receives a letter stating that a painting — potentially by Egon Schiele — has been found in the dreary French city of Mulhouse, on the border of Germany. The masterwork has been missing since 1939, when it was confiscated by the Nazis, and has been stumbled upon in the home of young factory worker Martin Keller and his ailing mother. Based on a true story, that discovery upends the lives of both men. Brilliantly written, brought to life with elegant precision by a superb cast, and packing an enormous emotional punch at its climax, Auction may just turn out to be Bonitzer’s masterwork, as well.

Incredibly prolific film critic-turned-actor-turned-filmmaker, Pascal Bonitzer has appeared in 36 films, written or contributed to 61 screenplays, and directed nine feature films. He has written scripts for several of his Cahier du Cinéma colleagues, including André Téchine’s The Bronté Sisters (1979), The Scene of the Crime (1985) and The Innocents (1987); and Jacques Rivette’s Love on the Ground (1984), La Belle Noiseuse (1991) and Up, Down, Fragile (1995). He has been nominated for two Best Screenplay César Awards, for André Téchiné’s My Favorite Season (1994) and Anne Fontaine’s The Innocents (COLCOA Audience Award-winner 2017). He wrote and directed his first short, Les Sirènes, in 1989, and his first feature, Encore (1996) won the coveted Prix Jean Vigo and was nominated for a César Award for Best First Film. Subsequent features include Nothing About Robert (1999), Petites coupures (2003), Je pense à vous (2006), The Great Alibi (2008), Looking for Hortense (2012), Right Here Right Now (2016) and Spellbound (2019).