Arielle Dombasle to chair Dinard British and Irish Film Festival

Actress Arielle Dombasle will chair the jury of the 35th “Dinard British and Irish Film Festival” from October 2 to 6, which includes Ireland in its name for the first time, the organizers announced on Wednesday.

“This year, we will have the honor of welcoming as president the ineffable Arielle Dombasle,” said Arnaud Salmon, mayor of the chic Breton seaside town, organizer of the festival, and which has maintained close ties with England throughout its history.

Actress and director Arielle Dombasle succeeds another woman, Catherine Frot, who was president last year. Six films are in competition for the Hitchcock d’Or, the most prestigious prize in the competition, and will thus try to succeed Silver Hazeawarded in 2023: Bring Them down de Christopher Andrews, The Convert by Lee Tamahori, Poison Désirée Nosbusch, September Says by Ariane Labed, That They May Face The Rising Sun by Pat Collins et al Unicorns Sally El Hosaini and James Krishna Floyd.

Organisers praised the vitality of Irish cinema and cited the links between the two islands to explain the festival’s name change. “Irish cinema is very vibrant at the moment. These are two countries that have a lot of interaction, in financing (of films) and common links.”underlined Dominique Green, artistic director.

“That doesn’t mean we set boundaries, on the contrary, we are a festival that goes beyond boundaries!” added Vincent Remy, deputy for culture at the town hall of Dinard. In total, 31 feature films, including nine Irish ones, will compete for six different prizes.