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WWE may have a digital hit on its hands thanks to a miniseries called “Southpaw Regional Wrestling” that stars John Cena. The video has been viewed roughly 1.5 million times on YouTube and has a 9.6 out of 10 on IMDb through 72 ratings. Here’s the official synopsis from IMDb:

Read More: ‘Saturday Night Live’ Review: America, Are You Not Entertained By John Cena?

A mini-series that parodies 80’s southern Wrestling, “Southpaw Regional Wrestling” is a low budget wrestling show set in February 1987 featuring current WWE superstars playing 80’s wrestling stereotypes building up to the PPV “Lethal Leap year.”

The original WWE four-part miniseries introduces itself by claiming to be footage from a video cassette discovered in the WWE archives of a “renegade promotion” called Southpaw Regional Wrestling. Cena stars as Lance Catamaran, a wrestling announcer in the vein of Ron Burgandy who repeatedly hints at an impending emotional collapse.

“What a week it’s been!

“If you try to explain to someone, ‘Here’s what happened in the finale of ‘The Leftovers,” you sound insane.”

That’s Damon Lindelof talking about how he came up with the ending for Season 2 of his critically-acclaimed HBO drama. If I were to simply tell you what happened during the second season finale of “The Leftovers,” I would indeed sound insane. Absolutely. One-hundred percent. Roll out the Hannibal Lecter stretcher. After I finished explaining what would undoubtedly be a long-winded account, you probably wouldn’t want to watch the show, either (aside from my constant pleas for you to do just that). You’d simply think, “Wow, I can’t believe anyone actually made that into a TV show,” and move on.

Read More: ‘The Oa’ Review: Brit Marling’s Secret Netflix Series Is an Admirably Ambitious Letdown

But here’s the thing: The nearly-feature length Season 2 finale is...

One of the most celebrated aspects of our Peak TV era is the release of full seasons all at once. Started by Netflix and adopted by many of the online distributors (and some of the traditional networks), fans have grown accustomed to watching their chosen shows whenever they want.

But there’s still something to be said for good timing. After all, release dates are carefully chosen, even when the distributors encourage viewers to dig in at their own leisure. Hundreds of thousands of dollars go into marketing campaigns, all pushing one specific date, and shows often have short sampling windows before other shows are rolled out. Ads, reviews, interviews, and so much more are concentrated around a week of release, maybe two, but that’s it.

Read More: 7 Reasons You Should Be Watching ‘Rectify’ Right Now — No More Excuses

So it’s always an interesting choice when a show...

The Cannes Film festival was an exceptional edition for French films this year. A focus on the rising generation of French actors and directors that have been highlighted in Cannes and will most certainly be the stars of tomorrow was compiled by Unifrance chief Isabelle Giordano.

They are a force to be reckoned with. Unifrance films is ready to bet that you will certainly hear about these ten talented people. They represent the French cinema of today and will soon be on the screens worldwide.

Emmanuelle Bercot

An actress and a director, Emmanuelle Bercot began by enrolling at the Cours Florent drama school and taking dancing lessons after her baccalaureate. She graduated from Femis in 1998, after winning the Prix du Jury at the Cannes Film Festival for her short film "Les Vacances," in 1997. After her first few roles in the films of Jean-François Richet and Michel Deville, her career as an actress took off when Claude Miller gave her one of the main roles in "La Classe de neige" (1998). The following year, she made the headlines with the medium-length film she directed called "La Puce," presented in the selection of Un Certain Regard at Cannes. This film tells of the love affair between a 35-year-old man and a 14-year-old girl, played by Isild Le Besco.

Her first feature-length film, "Clément" (2001), is about the life of a troubled woman who has one adventure after another with various men until she meets a 14-yearold boy. Her second film, "Backstage" (2004), continues to explore teenage angst through a relationship between a hit singer and a young obsessional fan. She earned her first critical and public acclaim with "On My Way" (2013), the third film written by the director for Catherine Deneuve, in which the star plays a woman who has decided to leave everything behind and hit the road in France.

She was indisputably the most talked about person during the Cannes Film Festival 2015, both as an actress and a director. Thierry Frémaux surprised everyone by announcing that "Standing Tall," Emmanuelle Bercot’s fourth feature-length film would open the 68th Cannes Film Festival. Emmanuelle Bercot says that she has rediscovered the social fiber of her beginnings with this tale of juvenile delinquency. After the enthusiastic and unanimous reception of her film, she won the Best Actress Award for her role as a woman under the influence of love in the film "Mon Roi" by Maïwenn, with whom she co-wrote the script for "Polisse," which won the Prix du Jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 2012

Thomas Bidegain

Thomas Bidegain may well be one of the best known French screenwriters in the profession today, but it took him ten years to achieve this status. His career path in film is anything but ordinary. He started out in the 1990s by distributing and producing independent American films: "Ice Storm" by Ang Lee and "Chasing Sleep" by Michael Walker. He came back to France and joined MK2 where he became director of distribution. In 1999, he returned to production for "Why Not." In 2007, he told the story of his attempt to stop smoking in "Arrêter de fumer tue," a personal diary that was turned into a documentary, then a book.

In the meantime, he began screenwriting and worked on several projects. In 2009, he wrote the screenplay for Jacques Audiard’s film, "A Prophet," alongside Nicolas Peufaillit and Abdel Raouf Dafri, which won the Grand Prix du Jury in 2009. He participated in Audiard’s next film, "Rust and Bone" and "Our Children" by Joachim Lafosse. He was also the co-writer for "Saint Laurent" by Bertrand Bonello. Winning a César for the best original script and a César for the best adaptation, he presented "Cowboys" at the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs in Cannes this year, his first film as a director. He is also co-writer of "Ni le ciel ni la terre" by Clément Cogitore, presented during the Semaine de la Critique, as well as co-writer of the script for Jacques Audiard’s latest film, "Dheepan," which won the Palme d’Or.

Louise Bourgoin

Louise Bourgoin attended the Ecole des Beaux Arts for five years, during which she began her career as a model. After she graduated from art school in 2004, she radically changed direction and became a presenter on cable TV. She was Miss Météo in Le Grand Journal on Canal + from 2006 to 2008. Her slot became essential viewing and attracted a wide audience, including the attention of the film industry.

She began her acting career in "The Girl from Monaco" by Anne Fontaine, and her performance earned her a César nomination for Most Promising Actress. This recognition led to a whole series of roles and launched her career in film. She headed the bill of several films in 2010 ("White as Snow" by Christophe Blanc, "Sweet Valentine" by Emma Luchini, and "Black Heaven" by Gilles Marchand). The same year, Luc Besson selected her for the leading role in "The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec."

Since then, Louise Bourgoin has played in film after film, and has taken her first steps in the international scene with her part in the American film "The Love Punch" by Joel Hopkins. She attracted attention at the Cannes Film Festival this year with her unusual role in Laurent Larivière’s first film, "I Am a Soldier," presented at Un Certain Regard.

Anaïs Demoustier

Her passion for acting started at a very young age and rapidly pushed her to take drama classes. She auditioned, when still a teenager, and got her first role alongside Isabelle Huppert in "Time of the Wolf" by Michael Haneke. After this, her career was launched and she played in a series of films among which "L’Année suivante" by Isabelle Czajka, "Hellphone" by James Huth, "The Beautiful Person" by Christophe Honoré, "Sois sage" by Juliette Garcias, "Sweet Evil" by Olivier Coussemacq, "Dear Prudene" by Rebecca Zlotowski, "Snows of Kilimanjaro" by Robert Guédiguian, "Thérèse Desqueyroux" by Claude Miller, "Quai d’Orsay" by Bertrand Tavernier, "Paris Follies" by Marc Fitoussi, etc.

A filmography rich of 30 films for an actress who isn’t 30 years old yet. In 2014, the press talked about the blooming of Anaïs Demoustier because her face and poise became essential to cinema. Present in "Bird People" by Pascale Ferran, "Caprices" by Emmanuel Mouret, "À trois on y va" by Jérôme Bonnell and "The New Girlfriend" by François Ozon, she is Marguerite in the last Valérie Donzelli’s film, "Marguerite et Julien" screened in Official selection in Cannes.

Louis Garrel

The son of actress Brigitte Sy and the director Philippe Garrel, he began his career in film thanks to his father, who started filming him at the age of six in "Emergency Kisses," alongside his mother and his grandfather, Maurice Garrel. He went onto study drama at the Conservatoire National d’Art Dramatique. He made his real cinema debut in 2001 in the film "Ceci est mon corps" by Rodolphe Marconi. Two years later, he played opposite Michael Pitt and the future Bond girl, Eva Green, in "The Dreamers" by Bernardo Bertolucci.

He then starred in another of his father’s films, "Regular Lovers". His performance earned him the César for the Most Promising Actor in 2005. Since then, he has played alongside the greatest, such as Isabelle Huppert in "Ma mère" by Christophe Honoré. This marked the beginning of a long collaboration between the filmmaker and the actor. They worked together in the film "In Paris" with Romain Duris, then in 2007 in "Love Songs" with Ludivine Sagnier, in "The Beautiful Person" with Léa Seydoux, in "Making Plans" for Lena with Chiara Mostroianni and, finally, in " Beloved" with Catherine Deneuve. He also topped the bill with Valéria Bruni Tedeschi in "Actresses," whom he worked with again in 2013 in "A Castle in Italy."

In 2010, he directed a short film, "The Little Tailor," in which he directed Léa Seydoux. He performed once again in one of his father’s films, "A Burning Hot Summer," followed by "Jealousy." In 2014, he starred in Bertrand Bonello’s film "Saint Laurent," a role which led to another César nomination, but this time in the best supporting role category. His first feature-length film, "Two Friends," presented at a Certain Regard, was applauded by the critics. He also starred in "Mon Roi," Maïwenn’s fourth feature-length film, alongside Emmanuelle and Vincent Cassel, presented as part of the official selection.

Guillaume Gouix

After studying at the Conservatoire in Marseille and the Ecole Régionale d’Acteur de Cannes, Guillaume Gouix began his career in television. He played the male lead in "The Lion Cubs," by Claire Doyon, in 2003. Noted for his performance, especially the highly physical aspect of it and his intense gaze, he then played a series of supporting roles as a young hoodlum in "Les Mauvais joueurs" by Frédéric Balekdjian and in "Chacun sa nuit," by Jean-Marc Barr and Pascal Arnold. He featured in the 2007 war film "Intimate Enemies" by Florent Emilio Siri, thus confirming his taste for complex characters.

The following year, he was applauded for his performance in the film "Behind the Walls" by Christian Faure. In 2010, he starred in "22 Bullets" by Richard Berry and in 2011, he established his reputation with roles in "Nobody Else But You" by Gérald Hustache-Mathieu, "Et soudain, tout le monde me manque" by Jennifer Devoldere, and "Jimmy Rivière," Teddy Lussi-Modeste’s film debut.

He also appeared in "Midnight in Paris" by Woody Allen. He more recently starred in "Attila Marcel," by Sylvain Chomet, in which he played the lead role, in "French Women" by Audrey Dana, and "The Connection" by Cédric Jimenez with Jean Dujardin and Gilles Lelouche. He performed in three films presented at Cannes this year ("Les Anarchistes" by Elie Wajeman, which opened the Semaine de la Critique, "La Vie en grand" by Mathieu Vadepied, which closed the week, and in "Enragés" by Eric Hannezo, screened at the Cinéma de la Plage). He also directed his first short film "Alexis Ivanovitch, vous êtes mon héros" in 2011 and will soon start on a feature-length film, which is currently being written. He will be topping the bill in 2015 with "Braqueurs," a thriller by Julien Leclercq.

Ariane Labed

Born in Greece to French parents, Ariane Labed has always navigated between her two countries. She studied drama at the University of Provence and began her acting career treading the boards. After setting up a company combining dance and theater, Ariane Labed returned to live in Greece where she played at the National Theater of Athens. 2010 was the year of her first film, "Attenberg," directed by Athiná-Rachél Tsangári. "Alps" by Yorgos Lanthi-mos, the following year, confirmed the talent of this strangely charming actress. Two years later, she starred in "Before Midnight" by Richard Linklater where she played the role of Anna. The follow-up to "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset," this third part of the saga was a great success, making Labed known to a wider audience.

In 2014, she played a young sailor in "Fidelio, Alice’s Odyssey," who is torn between faithfulness and her desire to live her life. Winning the best actress award at the Locarno Film Festival and nominated for a César, the French actress gives a brilliant performance in Lucie Borleteau’s first feature-length film. She joined Yorgos Lanthimos in Cannes in 2015, where he won the Prix du Jury for his film "The Lobster."

Vincent Macaigne

Vincent Macaigne is the leading light in young French cinema. He joined the Conservatoire National Supérieur d’Art Dramatique in Paris in 1999, appearing on stage and assuming the role of director. His free adaptations of the great classics of literature and drama earned him public and critical acclaim. He directed "The Idiot" by Dostoïevski and presented "Au moins j’aurai laissé un beau cadavre in Avignon," inspired by Hamlet. He also rapidly made a name for himself in demanding art-house films. In 2001, he was seen for the first time in "Replay" by Catherine Corsini. In 2007, he starred in "On War" by Bertrand Bonello and in 2010, in "A Burning Hot Summer" by Philippe Garrel.

Since 2011, Vincent Macaigne’s presence in short, medium and full-length films has gradually increased. Faithful to his directors, he has starred in several of their films. As is the case with his friend Guillaume Brac, who directed him in "Le Naufragé," "Tonnerre" and "Un monde sans femmes." He was awarded the Grand Prix and the Prix Télérama at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, and the Prix Lutin for Best Actor in this film. Under the direction of Vincent Mariette, he played in "Les Lézards" then "Fool Circle." In 2013, we find the funny and touching thirty-something in "La fille du 14 juillet" by Antonin Peretjatko, "Age of Panic" by Justine Triet, and "2 Autumns, 3 Winters" by Sébastien Betbeder.

He was discovered by the general public at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. Considered a figurehead of the revival of French cinema, Vincent has drawn the attention of the Cahiers du Cinéma, and even the British newspaper The Observer, which referred to him as the “new Gérard Depardieu”. In 2011, he directed "What We’ll Leave Behind," a very well-received medium-length film which won the Grand Prix at the Clermont-Ferrand Festival. He also starred in Mia Hansen-løve’s 2014 film "Eden." He plays one of the main roles in the actor Louis Garrel’s first feature-length film, "Two Friends," presented during the Semaine de la Critique. He also featured in his 2011 film, La Règle de trois.

Vimala Pons

From the Conservatoire National Supérieur d’Art Dramatique, where she attended drama classes even though she wanted to be a screenwriter, to circus tents, Vimala Pons is an acrobat in all senses of the word. The 29-year-old actress has established her physical and poetic presence in French art-house films. She began her career in film with Albert Dupontel in "Enfermés dehors" in 2006. She then starred in "Eden Log" by Franck Vestiel in 2007, then in "Granny’s Funeral" by Bruno Podalydès in 2012.

Since then, we have seen her cross France in a little blue dress in "La Fille du 14 juillet," (she plays the girl) by Antonin Peretjatko, and changing into a lioness in "Métamorphoses," by Christophe Honoré. The impetuous muse of French independent film, Vimala Pons played in "Vincent" by Thomas Salvador this year. The actress has made a name for herself in 2015, in particular with "Comme un avion" by Bruno Podalydès, "Je suis à vous tout de suite" by Baya Kasmi, "La vie très privée de Monsieur Sim" by Michel Leclerc, and "L’Ombre des femmes" by Philippe Garrel (presented at the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs this year in Cannes). She has also begun an international career, with a leading role in Paul Verhoeven’s latest film, "Elle."

Alice Winocour

The director Alice Winocour started out at Femis. After going into law, she returned to film and won three prizes for her short film "Kitchen: Prix TV5" for the best French-language short film, best international short film and the Silver Bear at the Festival of Nations (Ebensee). For "Magic Paris," she was awarded the jury prize at the St. Petersburg International Documentary, Short Film and Animated Film Festival.

She continued her career by writing the script for the film "Ordinary," by Vladimir Perisic. At the Cannes Film Festival 2012, Alice Winocour made a marked entry in the international arena with a film by a woman about women and the unchanging way of looking at them. In the film "Augustine," we are told the story of a professor and his patient, played by Vincent Lindon and Soko respectively. In 2015, she brought out her second feature-length film, "Maryland," which was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 68th Cannes Film Festival. She is also the co-writer of "Mustang," by Denis Gamze Ergüven, presented at the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs.

"Therese Desqueyroux," the closing night selection of the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, is not the nuanced period drama it should be but is rather more like a banal, pseudo-thoughtful and monotonous episode of "Masterpiece Theater." Co-adapted by director Claude Miller ("A Secret," "Class Trip"), the latest adaptation of Francois Mauriac's acclaimed novel reduces the titular heroine's story to a troubled individual's struggle to retain her autonomy as a member of her oppressive husband’s family. The phrase, "For the family" is bludgeoned into viewers' heads to the point where it's very easy to ignore the fact that Therese (Audrey Tautou) is anything more than just a proto-desperate housewife. In fact, she's a fatalist because she's also an atheist, a complex concept that Miller sets up but doesn't follow through on. Ultimately Miller's Therese rebels against her boorish husband Bernard (Gilles Lellouche) and his insensitive family simply because she needs to do.

What happened to our sweet Amelie? Audrey Tautou, who can usually be relied upon to look adorkable, proceeding to melt you into a puddle with little more than a coy look and a smile, puts away the pixie charm in "Therese" and gets ready to kill. Really. The first trailer for the French film is here, and it promises stuffy period settings and melodramatic stakes. The final film from Claude Miller ("La classe de neige," "Little Lili") is based on the novel by François Mauriac, which tells the tale of a young, intelligent woman in 1920s France who falls into a loveless, abusive marriage of convenience and seeks a way out by poisoning her husband. And that's where the intrigue lies, though when we saw it at Cannes last year, we weren't too thrilled, calling it a movie that "starts out very strong but ends as meekly as its protagonist’s story does.

Cannes, France — Actress Audrey Tautou, known for her sweet and light roles in such films as "Amelie," praised the late director Claude Miller as a "bright and passionate" filmmaker who helped her turn in a darker direction in his final film.

The French star plays a husband-poisoner in Miller's "Therese Desqueyroux," which closed the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday at a special screening celebrating the lauded New Wave filmmaker, who died last month of cancer at age 70.

The contemporary of Francois Truffaut, whose large body of work includes 1998's Cannes Jury Prize winner "Class Trip," helped Tautou to take on the role in the adaptation of Francois Mauriac's novel about a frustrated wife who slowly tries to kill her husband with arsenic to get freedom.

The gritty role, and Miller's acuity and patience, helped her unlock her inner dark side.

"It didn't exactly free me, but it did make more...

"Therese Desqueyroux," the closing night selection for this year's main competition lineup at the Cannes Film Festival, is not the nuanced period drama it should be but rather a banal, pseudo-thoughtful and monotonous episode of "Masterpiece Theater." Co-adapted by director Claude Miller ("A Secret," "Class Trip"), the latest adaptation of Francois Mauriac's acclaimed novel reduces the titular heroine's story to a troubled individual's struggle to remain autonomous as a member of her oppressive husband’s family. The phrase, "For the family" is bludgeoned into viewers' heads to the point where it's very easy to ignore the fact that Therese (Audrey Tautou) is more than just a proto-desperate housewife. In fact, she's a fatalist because she's also an atheist, a complex concept that Miller sets up but doesn't follow through on.

Ultimately, Miller's Therese rebels against her boorish husband Bernard (Gilles Lellouche) and his insensitive family simply because she needs to do something--anything,...

Recently-deceased moviemaker Claude Miller's final film Therese Desqueyroux will close France's Cannes Film Festival next month.

Festival bosses are planning a major tribute to the late director, who passed away earlier this month, aged 70.

His death came just weeks after finished editing the new film, which stars Audrey Tautou and Gilles Lellouche.

A statement announcing the news of the Miller tribute at Cannes reads, "By dedicating the closing night to him, the Festival de Cannes, along with his family, friends, producers, and distributors, is very pleased to pay tribute to the memory of Claude Miller.

"This film is the final piece in his immense body of work, to which the Festival de Cannes and the director's many admirers will pay tribute."

Miller won the jury prize at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival for Class Trip.

Claude Miller

Thérèse Desqueyroux by Claude Miller will be screened at the closing ceremony of the 65th Festival de Cannes on 27 May.

The film features Audrey Tautou in the title role with Gilles Lellouche and Anaïs Demoustier.

Claude Miller’s final film is an adaptation of François Mauriac’s novel “Thérèse Desqueyroux”.

Miller died on April 4, 2012 in Paris at the age of 70 shortly after finishing this film. It is the final piece in his immense body of work, to which the Festival de Cannes will pay tribute.

“What thrills me in the filmmaking process is to focus on the interplay of appearances, gestures, looks, behaviour and to use them to try to intimate the inner lives of people, their secret garden, even though we only see them from the outside,” said Miller.

Claude Miller’s formative years were in Nouvelle Vague cinema, working as an assistant to François Truffaut. He...

The wait is almost over, and tomorrow Thierry Frémaux and co. will pull back the curtain on the lineup of the Cannes Film Festival. This morning we learned that the restored version of Sergio Leone's "Once Upon A Time In America" will get a special screening, and now the organizers have announced what film will be the last to unspool.

Claude Miller's "Thérèse D" starring Audrey Tautou has been given the closing night slot at the festival. The filmmaker is no stranger to Cannes. He won the Jury Prize for "La classe de neige" in 1998 (tied with Thomas Vinterberg's "Festen") and was also up for a Palme d'Or when he returned in 2003 with "Litte Lili." The director had just finished work on "Thérèse D" when he passed on April 4th, so this is a pretty nice posthumous honor to give the filmmaker. As for the film, it's...

Audrey Tautou, Thérèse Desqueyroux Claude Miller's Thérèse Desqueyroux (formerly known as Thérèse D.), starring Audrey Tautou, will close the 2012 edition of the Cannes Film Festival. The 70-year-old Miller died in Paris last April 4. Based on the 1927 novel by Nobel Prize winner François Mauriac, Thérèse Desqueyroux tells the story of Thérèse Desqueyroux (Tautou), an unhappily married woman who struggles to break free from her drab provincial existence in 1920s France. Gilles Lellouche co-stars. In 1962, Georges Franju directed Thérèse Desqueyroux / Therese, starring Hiroshima, Mon Amour's Emmanuelle Riva as Thérèse and Cinema Paradiso's Philippe Noiret as her husband. Thérèse Desqueyroux is scheduled to open in France and Belgium in November. The information below on director Claude Miller is from the Cannes Film Festival press release: Claude Miller’s formative years were in Nouvelle Vague cinema, working as an assistant to François Truffaut, “the filmmaker of the intimate.” Through the evolution of his work,...

French film director and close associate of François Truffaut

The film director Claude Miller, who has died aged 70 after a long illness, was continually dogged by comparisons to his friend and mentor François Truffaut. Hardly a review of his films failed to mention Truffaut in some way or another. This came about for various reasons. Miller was Truffaut's production manager on several occasions and made subtle references to the older director's work in many of his own films, almost always mentioning him in interviews. He had a small role in Truffaut's L'Enfant Sauvage (The Wild Child, 1970) and adapted La Petite Voleuse (The Little Thief, 1988) from a 30-page screenplay that Truffaut had written a few years before his death.

When Truffaut was once asked whether he had started a school of directors, he denied it. "These people are more influenced by other directors than myself. If Claude Miller has points in common with me,...

Award-winning French filmmaker Claude Miller has died, aged 70.

The writer/director had been ill for some time when he passed away on Wednesday.

His most popular films included La Petite Voleuse and L’Effrontee, which featured Charlotte Gainsbourg.

Miller made his first film in the mid-1970s and picked up the jury prize at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival for Class Trip.

His acclaimed 1981 movie Garde a vue was revamped by Hollywood in 2000 as Under Suspicion, starring Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman.

His final film, an adaptation of Francois Mauriac’s novel Therese Desqueyroux, will be released later this year.

"French film director, producer and screenwriter Claude Miller, whose works include The Best Way to Walk [Le meilleur facon de marcher, 1976] and Class Trip [La classe de neige, 1998], has died aged 70," reports the Afp. "'A sad day, Claude Miller is dead,' tweeted the Cannes Film Festival, at which Miller was awarded the special jury prize in 1998 for Class Trip. Among other renowed works by the filmmaker are La Petite Voleuse (The Little Thief [1988]) which starred Charlotte Gainsbourg; Garde a Vue (Custody) in 1981; and Mortelle Randonnee (Mortal Circuit) in 1983."

Just a couple of weeks ago, Jonathan Rosenbaum posted his 1994 review of The Accompanist (1992): "Miller started out promisingly as an assistant to some key French filmmakers during the 60s, including Robert Bresson (Au hasard Balthazar), Jacques Demy (Les demoiselles de Rochefort), and Jean-Luc Godard (Weekend). He then served as production manager or production supervisor on Godard's Two or Three Things I Know About Her and La chinoise and no...

Obituary: Claude Miller

A celebrated figure in both French and international cinema and a regular visitor to these shores as guest of the French Film Festival UK, Claude Miller died on Wednesday, April 4, in Paris. The 70-year-old film director and producer was selected twice for the Competition in Cannes, in 1998 with Class Trip (for which he received the Jury Prize from Martin Scorsese) and in 2003 with Little Lili.

Both films were presented in their respective years and in his presence at the French Film...

Claude Miller, the french film director and disciple of Francois Truffaut, has died, his production company said Thursday.  He was 70 and was reportedly working on an adaptation of the novel "Thérèse Desqueyroux" as a vehicle for "Amelie" star Audrey Tautou. Miller is perhaps best known for "L'Effrontée," a 1985 drama about a young girl growing up in poverty, starring Charlotte Gainsbourg, and for "La Classe de Neige," a 1998 film about a young boy suffering anxiety attacks on a ski trip.  Miller won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival for "La...

Film-maker best known for film starring a young Charlotte Gainsbourg as a teenage serial thief has died

The French film director Claude Miller, best known for L'Effrontée and La Petite Voleuse, both featuring a young Charlotte Gainsbourg, has died aged 70.

Before becoming a director himself, Miller worked for a number of noted new wave directors: he acted as assistant director on Robert Bresson's Au Hasard Balthazar, Jacques Demy's Les Demoiselles de Rochefort, and Jean-Luc Godard's Weekend, before becoming production manager for a string of films by François Truffaut, including Bed and Board, Day for Night and The Story of Adele H.

With Truffaut's encouragement, Miller moved into a higher profile role, making his directorial debut in 1976 with The Best Way to Walk. His first significant success, however, was the multi-award-winning police procedural thriller Garde à Vue, with Lino Ventura and Michel Serrault.

In the mid-80s, Miller...

Berlin -- German, Turkish and Israeli cinema will have pride of place at the 36th Ghent International Film Festival (Oct. 6 -17), with films from the three countries accounting for half of the titles in competition.

Andreas Dresen's "Whiskey With Vodka" and Florian Gallenberger's German Film Prize winner "John Rabe", the Israeli films "Zion and his Brother" from Eran Merav and "Eyes Wide Open" by Haim Tabakman and both Miraz Bezar's "The Children Of Diyarbakir" and "There" from directors Hakki Kurtulus and Melik Saracoglu will compete for this year's Ghent Grand Prize.

Other titles in the competition lineup include "Applause" from Danish director Martin Pieter Zandvliet, and "Altiplano" from Belgians Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth, Dutch director Ester Rots' drama "Can Go Through Skin," and Norwegian title "Troubled Water" by Erik Poppe.

Cyrus Nowrasteh's "The Stoning of Soraya M.," a drama set in 1980s Iran starring James Caviezel and Shohreh Aghdashloo,...