Why is the Shellac 20 Year/20 Film Box necessary?

This box set provides 20 takes on the best of independent cinema.

In the food chain of culture, there is a place that is prestigious and indispensable, but also sometimes thankless and often shaky: that of the midwives of talent, those people whose precious instinct consists of the ability to smell potential. Support the beginnings of their work, before allowing them to continue elsewhere. Shellac has occupied this place for twenty years.

This production, distribution and exploitation company was created in 2002 by Thomas Orduno, who still runs it today, and is called Shellac (short for Shellac). sCommunity cardamomA speck of tofree toan act againstCultural) has almost no equal in terms of influence on French independent cinema, but also European.

The talent of transcendence

A decentralized model (still based in Marseille, the company operates two cinemas there, La Baleine and Le Gyptis), Shellac also took over the management of Saint-André des Arts in Paris in 2021, rediscovering the dynamism. Which makes it today one of the strongholds of Parisian cinema. But, in addition to the exploitation and distribution activities via the internal VOD platform, the heart of Shellac’s activity is production and distribution. And it is precisely this richness that this remarkable box set celebrates this anniversary by aligning 20 films that illustrate, from 2003 to 2023, the importance of Shellac in the landscape of contemporary auteur cinema.

To be twenty is to already be an adult, but this is ironic given that one of Shellac’s strengths is to always play Peter Pan in auteur cinema. Committed to the creativity of young people, Thomas Orduno never stops believing in first films off the beaten track, like this year’s excellent one. Lucy loses her horse By Claude Schmitz and He dies in Ibiza By Anton Balkdjian, Leo Couture, and Matthieu Eustachon. As we said, there is a dimension of ingratitude because after that first attempt, discovered filmmakers often turn toward producers and distributors with greater financial resources, like Justin Tritt. His first film, Battle of Solferinoincluded in the box set, was produced by Ecce Films (another major player in young French auteur cinema) and distributed by Shellac.

Among other unearthed French gems, how could we not mention Virgil Vernier, Serge Bouzon, Emmanuel Mouret, Antonin Beritjatko, Damien Maneve and Léonor Serrail whose early works can be found here. You have all since confirmed your talent in your next films, with numerous awards: Palme d’Or for Triet, Lumiere for Best Film for Mouret, Prix Jean Vigo for Bozon.

Choices approved by the public

And if Šilac reaps no other laurels than the prestige of faith in these young authors and theatrical recognitions are not always present, public successes are also present: Martin Eden By Pietro Marcello, for example, gathered 115,000 spectators while Muharram By Miguel Gomez Interested 180,000. The brilliant Portuguese director is precisely one of the exceptions in Shellac’s catalog because he is faithful to them from one film to the next. Brutality And Grand tourThese next two projects, co-produced with Shellac. Internationally, in addition to Gomez and Marcelo, Lav Diaz, Lucrecia Martell, Angela Chanelec and Cristi Puiu are among the filmmakers produced and/or distributed.

So, if we are careful not to define what a “shellac film” is, we will still say that it often falls on the margins, either geographically with a particular appeal to nature and the countryside (the garden, Sector 545, This dear month is August, The girl from July 14th, sheep, music)More than a city, moreover, it is often depicted as an urban jungle (Battle of Solferino, Mercury), or social with personalities at odds with society and who Young woman by Leonor Serrail is the best example, formal with always a bold presentation. In order to understand the importance of shellac in cinematic creativity, we will remember that the representation of the margins, as Godard said “That’s what keeps the pages together.”.

Ask for the box here.

Movies list:

amendmentBy Serge Bozon (2003)
Sector 545Written by Pierre Creton (2005)
Change addressby Emmanuel Moret (2006)
Offices of GodWritten by Claire Simon (2008)
This dear month is AugustWritten by Miguel Gomez (2009)
The girl from July 14thby Antonin Beretjatko (2013)
Battle of Solferinoby Justin Treat (2013)
sheepWritten by Marian Beeston and Jill DeRue (2014)
Mercuryby Virgil Vernier (2014)
Norte, end of storyby Lav Diaz (2015)
the other sideWritten by Roberto Minervini (2015)
The girl without handsby Sebastian Laudenbach (2016)
the gardenWritten by Damien Manivell (2017)
Young womanby Leonor Serrail (2017)
westernby Valeska Griesbach (2017)
Zamaby Lucrezia Martel (2018)
originby Philippe Lesage (2019)
Martin Edenby Pietro Marcello (2019)
Malmcrugwritten by Christy Boyo (2020)
The legend of the crab kingWritten by Alessio Rigo De Reggi and Matteo Zubis (2022)
musicWritten by Angela Shanilek (2023)