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DANS LA MAISON

(IN THE HOUSE) • François Ozon



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A new school year begins. High school teacher Germain grades his student papers. Appalling! Except for one, written by Claude, who sits in the last row "where you can see all the others". Claude's prose reveals a keen sense of observation bordering on voyeurism. Encouraged by his teacher, Claude continues writing, gleaning details from the people around him to explore the emotional mechanics of two families: one artistic and intellectual; the other petite-bourgeois, their hopes and frustrations expressed through the wife and mother, a modern-day Emma Bovary. Gradually and imperceptibly, reality and fiction become indistinguishable. But what are this young man's obscure designs, and just how far will he go?

François Ozon

His medium-length Regarde la mer (1997) was screened in Zabaltegi at the San Sebastian Festival and followed shortly afterwards with his first feature, Sitcom (1998). In 2000, he competed in the Official Selection at the San Sebastian Festival with Sous le sable (Under the Sand) and in 2009, with Le refuge, winner of the Special Jury Prize. His other films include: 8 femmes (8 Women, 2002), Swimming Pool (2003), 5 x 2 (2004), Le temps qui reste (Time to Leave, 2005), Angel (2007), Ricky (2009) and Potiche (2010).

The San Sebastián International Film Festival (Spanish: Festival de San Sebastián; Basque: Donostia Zinemaldia) is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spanish city of San Sebastián in September.

Since its creation in 1953 it has established itself as one of the most important cinema festivals in the world, being one of the 14 "A" category competitive festivals acredited by the FIAPF. It has hosted several important events of the history of cinema, such as the international premiers of Vertigo, by Alfred Hitchcock (who attended the Festival) or Melinda & Melinda by Woody Allen and the European premier of Star Wars. Actors and directors such as Bette Davis, Gregory Peck, Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, Richard Gere, Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Mel Gibson, Demi Moore, Naomi Watts or Brad Pitt have attended the festival since its inception. It was the first festival attended by Roman Polanski and it was a key element to advance the professional careers of Francis Ford Coppola or Pedro Almodóvar, for instance.

In the current competitive context of international festivals, San Sebastian, which has one of the lowest budgets, has established itself as the most important in Spain and the Spanish speaking countries.


Skydiver Baumgartner lands safely on Earth after supersonic record


Supersonic skydiver breaks three world records during his descent from balloon 24 miles above the Earth's surface

Standing at the edge of space above the deserts of New Mexico, Felix Baumgartner paused slightly. It was a small step away from the capsule, but a 24-mile drop back down to earth.

"Our guardian angel will take care of you," said mission control, and the man known as Fearless Felix jumped.

Ten heart-stopping minutes later the Austrian landed back on Earth, after reaching speeds of up to 725mph, and breaking three world records, including becoming the world's first supersonic skydiver by breaking the sound barrier at Mach 1.24.

"We love you Felix," cheered the control room as his mother, Ava Baumgartner, wept.

Baumgartner, who claimed the records for the highest altitude manned balloon flight and the highest altitude skydive, raised his arms in a victory salute to thank his team.

He was wearing a specially designed survival suit that kept his body intact against the hugely varying pressures that marked his drop back to earth. Without it, his blood would have boiled and his lungs might have exploded later told a press conference: "When I was standing there on top of the world, you become so humble, you don't think about breaking records." He admitted all he could think about was getting back alive, but added: "Sometimes you have to go up really high to see how small you are."

His other two records were for the highest altitude manned balloon flight and the highest altitude skydive.

After two aborted attempts last week, the mission was given the go-ahead on Sunday morning with the co-operation of the weather. Baumgartner was carried up into crystal clear skies by a gigantic balloon, that measured 30 million square cubic feet and whose skin was one-tenth the thickness of a sandwich bag. At the bottom of the balloon was a capsule, in which Baumgartner sat in his suit.

As he reached the desired height, Baumgartner went through a checklist of 40 items with his mentor Joe Kittinger, the previous holder of the highest altitude manned balloon flight.

There was some concern that a heater for his visor was not working, causing his visor to fog. "This is very serious, Joe," he told Kitttinger. "Sometimes it's getting foggy when I exhale. ... I do not feel heat."

But they decided to go ahead, watched by a record 8 million people as the jump was streamed live on YouTube.

The two-and-a-half hour journey upwards, during which the curvature of the earth became visible and the skies gradually turned black, was matched with a rather more rapid descent.

Three cameras attached to Baumgartner's suit recorded his freefall of just over four minutes – which failed to break the existing freefall record for duration – and then the parachute opening.

The success of the mission, and of the suit, raises the prospect that astronauts might be able to survive a high altitude disaster of the type that struck the space shuttle Columbia inHe said the most exciting moment for him had been when he was standing outside the capsule "on top of the world". To laughter, he added: "The most beautiful moment was when I was standing on the landing area and Mike Todd [the life support engineer who dressed Baumgartner in his suit] showed up and he had a smile on his face like a little kid."