HER NAME IS SABINE (Elle s’appelle Sabine) West Coast Premiere Documentary France, 2008 In French with English subtitles 35mm/1.66/Color/Dolby SR/85 min Awards: International Federation of Film Critics Award (2007 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight), Special Jury Prize (2007 Namur International Festival of French-speaking Film) Official Selection: Cannes Directors’ Fortnight (2007), Pusan International Film Festival (2007), Berlin International Film Festival (2008), Rendez-Vous with French Cinema Today (2008), International Contemporary Cinema Festival in Mexico (2008) Written & directed by: Sandrine Bonnaire Cinematography: Sandrine Bonnaire, Catherine Cabrol Editor: Svetlana Vaynblat Music: Caro Diaro, Nicola Piovani, Jefferson Lembeye, Walter N'Guyen Produced by: Thomas Schmitt Production Company: Mosaïque Films Released on DVD in the U.S by: Film Movement 109 W. 27th Street, Suite 9B New York, NY 10001 Phone: 212-941-7744 Fax: 212-941-7812 www.filmmovement.com Actress Sandrine Bonnaire has been filming her autistic sister Sabine for 25 years. Using home-video and super-8 material as well as recent footage of her sister, she draws a poignant portrait of Sabine, from her youth as a lively and talented teenage girl to the deterioration of her condition. Premiered on French public television before its theatrical release, Her Name is Sabine also invites public debate. Clearly showing the consequences of the lack of specialized medical institutions for autistic patients, Sandrine Bonnaire raises important questions about the way autism is treated in France. SANDRINE BONNAIRE A prolific and precocious actress, Sandrine Bonnaire started her career as a teenager in 1984 with a César Award for Most Promising Actress for her role in Maurice Pialat’s A nos amours. She is known for her difficult roles and memorable performances, as in Agnès Varda’s Vagabond, Jacques Rivette’s Joan The Maid or Claude Chabrol’s A judgment in Stone. She has also worked with such diverse directors as Claude Sautet, André Téchiné, Patrice Leconte, Brian De Palma... Her Name is Sabine is her first feature. PRESS “Thesp Sandrine Bonnaire makes a touching, educational helming debut with "Her Name Is Sabine" (...) Docu is intimate but never transgressive, informative but never clinical. Bonnaire has made a powerful statement about the limits of love in the face of chronic debilitating illness....” (Variety) “Featuring remarkable footage filmed over a twenty-five year period by Sabine's closest sister, Elle s'appelle Sabine presents the plight of the autistic from the unique perspective of two people who have lived and learned from the widely misunderstood disorder.” (All Movie Guide) “The sadness of Sabine’s decline from a young woman with sparkling eyes into an anxious, fearful middle age (she was 38 when the movie was completed) is mitigated by the film’s portrait of a sisterhood that flourishes in spite of every obstacle.” (The New York Times)