L'Alpe d'Huez (France) (AFP)

Popular actors Dany Boon and Philippe Katerine opened Tuesday evening, with the film "Le Lion", the 23rd edition of the Alpe d'Huez comedy festival, which will feature stars, alongside newcomers.

"I am happy that there is a festival that highlights comedy films like this magnificent place does," said Dany Boon, a Festival regular, arriving for the opening ceremony of the Isère event, which runs until Sunday.

"Le Lion", a popular action comedy by Ludovic Colbeau-Justin, opened the ball with the cheerful duo Dany Boon-Philippe Katerine in the story of a doctor in a psychiatric hospital - played by Philippe Katerine - and his patient , who claims to be a secret agent.

To find his fiancée who has suddenly disappeared, this doctor will not see any other solution than to make his patient escape, but without being sure that he is telling the truth, giving rise to a series of improbable adventures and tasty confrontations between the two characters.

"If we can make Alpe d'Huez an air bubble that will do people good, so much the better," said when arriving the president of the jury, José Garcia.

"We are not here to forget things. We are here to relieve all the tensions and all the difficulties for two seconds," he added, stressing that he also hoped that the jury would "discover new directors, honor the elders, find such incredible actors. "

The actors Florence Foresti, Clovis Cornillac, Michèle Laroque, Stéphane de Groodt, Vincent Dedienne or Michaël Youn are expected in the Isère ski resort alongside notably Isabelle Huppert, in various works, ranging from the author's film to comedies more commercial.

"It's a representative panel, which brings together all kinds of films, both big popular comedies, family, social or police comedies," Frédéric Cassoly, director of the Festival, organized by his agency, told AFP. General tour.

- Huppert and Deneuve against the tide -

Among the eight films in competition, Michèle Laroque will come to present "Everyone at home", her second feature film as director (after "Brillantissime" in 2018), in which she plays, and Michaël Youn will be there with his third production, "Divorce Club ", with Arnaud Ducret and François-Xavier Demaison.

Florence Foresti will don the uniform of a corrupt policewoman in "Lucky" by Olivier Van Hoofstadt (director of the hit "Dikkenek"), while a female character will also be honored by "Forte" by Katia Lewkowicz.

Rising stand-up comedian Melha Bedia plays an overweight young woman who, decided to seduce, starts to pole dance, helped by a teacher interpreted by Valérie Lemercier.

In "La Daronne" by Jean-Paul Salomé, Isabelle Huppert will play as an unexpected Franco-Arab judicial interpreter for the Stups brigade, who becomes a dealer in Belleville.

Another size that goes against the grain of her usual roles, Catherine Deneuve - absent from the Festival after her stroke in November - will be starring in "Terrible jungle", the first film by Hugo Benamozig and David Caviglioli. She embodies a possessive mother whose son, played by Vincent Dedienne, moves away by going to study a mysterious people of Amazonia, before she decides to go in search of him.

The social comedy "Mine de rien" by Mathias Mlekuz, also a first film, will stage Arnaud Ducret and Philippe Rebbot in the story of two unemployed people who are building an amusement park on an old coal mine.

The Festival will close with "Miss" by Ruben Alves ("The Golden Cage"), out of competition, the story of a young man who decides to participate in the Miss France competition by hiding his identity as a boy.

Open to the general public and completely free, the Alpe d'Huez Festival gathered nearly 20,000 spectators last year. He awarded his Grand Prize to "My Baby" by Lisa Azuelos.

Comedy remains one of the queen categories of the French box office. In 2019, the fourth biggest success of the year was a hexagonal comedy, "What have we done to God?" by Philippe de Chauveron (6.7 million admissions).

© 2020 AFP