Janus Films and AFS Announce U.S. Premiere of Olivier Assayas’ Restored COLD WATER (1994) with Director In Person Copy
JANUS FILMS ANNOUNCES FIRST-EVER US THEATRICAL RELEASE OF AWARD-WINNING DIRECTOR OLIVIER ASSAYAS’ COLD WATER (1994), FOLLOWING THE US PREMIERE WITH THE AUSTIN FILM SOCIETY ON MARCH 9
The film received a stunning 4k restoration and will open theatrically beginning April 2018
Assayas will be in attendance for the premiere in Austin, along with a limited retrospective of his work
AUSTIN, TX (FEBRUARY 9, 2018) – Janus Films announced today the first-ever US theatrical release of award-winning French director Olivier Assayas’ COLD WATER (1994). The film received a stunning 4k restoration and will roll-out in theaters throughout the US beginning April 2018, following the March 9 premiere with The Austin Film Society (AFS). The film, which focuses on star-crossed adolescents in 1970s France, launched Olivier Assayas into the international spotlight– as well as its star Virginie Ledoyen– and has been considered one of the great undistributed films of the 1990s.
WHO: Austin Film Society
WHAT: U.S. Premiere of Olivier Assayas’ newly restored COLD WATER (1994) with Director in Person
WHEN: March 9, 2018
WHERE: AFS Cinema | 6406 N Interstate 35 Suite 3100, Austin, TX 78752
WEB: austinfilm.org
CONTACTS: Austin Film Society | Christine Lee | christine@austinfilm.org
Austin Film Society | Meghan Malone | meghan@austinfilm.org
Janus Films President Peter Becker said, “COLD WATER is one of the great missing films, a nearly unknown tour de force by Olivier Assayas. If it had ever been properly released, it would certainly be considered one of Olivier’s masterpieces. With an uncanny fluidity, this deeply honest coming of age tale fuses wrenching emotional realism and a lush, expressionistic visual style driven by one of the most amazing soundtracks in any film. The uncleared music that is so central to the film’s success is also what kept the film from being seen for so long. We’ve been hoping for years to be able to bring this unseen stunner to theatrical audiences who never got a chance to see it when it was first made. We’re incredibly proud to be presenting it now in a gorgeous new 4K restoration. It has certainly been worth the wait!
Director Olivier Assayas noted about the restoration, “The premiere of the restored COLD WATER is a huge satisfaction, and the result of years of concern, struggle, anger, resilience… Ever since I shot this film in 24 days in December ‘93–and it opened at the Cannes Film Festival in May 94–it has had a great life of its own, traveling the world and screening at most major festivals. Unluckily, its access to general release has been plagued by misfortune after misfortune.”
“So, here it is, we cleared the French rights, we cleared the international rights, we cleared the music rights, the film will have its long overdue US release,” continued Assayas. “Let’s go back to square one. This is a movie about kids in the 70’s. They look very much like myself and my friends at the time. This was a small film by any standard, we made it with no money at all, during a freezing cold winter, most of the cast were kids with no experience in film at all. It was my first shot at some sort of cinematic auto-biography and I saw it as an experiment. It taught me that it is by taking chances, by trying side roads that you open up new spaces for yourself. In many ways COLD WATER changed my filmmaking life, and for that reason it always has had a special place in my heart.”
Golden Globe Award-winning director Assayas will be present at the AFS Cinema on March 9 and March 11 for post-screening discussions at several of his films, including COLD WATER, SOMETHING IN THE AIR, PARIS AWAKENS and IRMA VEP. Additional films in the series include SUMMER HOURS, CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA and PERSONAL SHOPPER. The series is co-presented by UniFrance. Assayas can also been seen in Austin as a featured speaker along with AFS founder and Artistic Director Richard Linklater at this year’s SXSW Conference on March 11. Tickets for all AFS programs must be purchased at www.austinfilm.org or at the AFS Cinema box office.
Janus Films will release the film theatrically starting April 2018, following the premiere in Austin. Additional dates and venues can be found on www.janusfilms.com.
Assayas remarks on the continued support he received, “I have to thank those who step by step have been fighting – through the years – to give this film a new life. First and foremost Sylvie Barthet who was the original line producer and has been working with me ever since, as co-producer of most of my films. This has been her crusade. Nothing would have been possible if the rights to the films had not ended up in the catalogue of Orange, curated by Sergueï Obolensky who has been incredibly helpful, patient and generous. But then it’s all thanks to everybody at Janus Films & Criterion Collection they have been involved in this process for years, even at a time when we thought there was no credible way to untangle this knot, and their faith, their unwavering support, has kept the project alive.”
Olivier Assayas is one of the world’s most acclaimed directors. He is currently finishing a film called NON-FICTION starring Juliette Binoche, Guillaume Canet and Vincent Macaigne. More recently, he won the Best Director prize at Cannes in 2016 for PERSONAL SHOPPER, the 2nd of his collaborations with Kristen Stewart. His first was CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA which also starred Juliette Binoche and won Stewart several awards, including Best Actress from the New York Film Critics Circle. Starting out as a painter then a television writer, Assayas began making his own films after pursuing his passion for global cinema as a member of the editorial staff of Cahiers du Cinema from 1980-1985. It was Assayas’ passion for Hong Kong cinema (and his coverage of it in the Cahiers) that opened the doors for the Western cinephile audience’s discovery and appreciation of the Hong Kong studio system. Assayas’ interest in globalizing culture, technology and the place of art and artistic expression are consistent themes in his complex and varied body of work. He has worked with some of the most accomplished actors of his time; frequent collaborators include Juliette Binoche, Maggie Cheung, Kristen Stewart, Jeanne Balibar, Virginie Ledoyen and Charles Berling. His mini-series CARLOS earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Television Mini-Series, and his film SUMMER HOURS was named one of the “Best Films of the 21st Century (so far)”, by the New York Times.
About Austin Film Society
Founded in 1985 by filmmaker Richard Linklater, the Austin Film Society’s mission is to empower our community to make, watch, and love creative media. AFS curates and screens hundreds of repertory, international, and art house films annually at the AFS Cinema; delivers financial support to Texas filmmakers through the AFS Grant; operates Austin Studios, a 20-acre production facility, and Austin Public, a space for our city’s diverse media makers to train and collaborate. Through its award-winning after school classes, intern training, and the Ed Lowry Student Film program, AFS encourages media and film literacy and provides a place for youth of all backgrounds to learn the craft of filmmaking and gain access to tools for media production. By hosting premieres, special events, local and international industry events, and the Texas Film Awards, AFS shines the national spotlight on Texas filmmakers while connecting Austin and Texas to the wider film community. To learn more about the AFS Cinema or about Austin Film Society’s mission visit: www.austinfilm.org and follow @AustinFilm on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
About Janus Films
Since 1956, Janus Films has been dedicated to bringing international art-house films to U.S. audiences. Its ever expanding library of more than 800 films ranges from classics by Chantal Akerman, Michelangelo Antonioni, Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini, Akira Kurosawa, François Truffaut, Yasujiro Ozu, Andrei Tarkovksy and Agnes Varda to major works by contemporary masters, Jim Jarmusch, Joel and Ethan Coen and John Waters. In addition to distributing its classic library, Janus Films also releases carefully selected first-run titles, including Aki Kaurismaki’s award-winning THE OTHER SIDE OF HOPE, Abbas Kiarostami’s final film, 24 FRAMES, Kirsten Johnson’s critically acclaimed CAMERAPERSON and Paolo Sorrentino’s THE GREAT BEAUTY, which won the 2014 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
