Thanks, Dan. Definitely breaking news for here, so it absolutely warrants top spot on the Board once the info was made public.

The festival is yet another variation on the "darkness has no borders" theme, incorporating an evening that doesn't follow the "gimmick" (INFERNO/BLACK TUESDAY). This was also done in LA--actually several times, because there were more dates to fill (and quite probably because Eddie was accommodating Alan's greater penchant/preference for American noir; it's no coincidence that the "all-American" double bill on this schedule is occurring on Alan's watch.)

What has been at least partially abandoned is the notion that the "English language"/"other language" should have some thematic connection. That concept is abandoned on the second day with ODD MAN OUT/VICTIMS OF SIN, two films that absolutely positively have nothing to do with one another. Of course, they are both fine films, and showing contrasting approaches is viable--save for the fact that the original idea (borrowed from MCP's Franco-American noir series in 2023) was to show how different national cinemas dealt with similar themes/plots.

(In that series POSTMAN was paired with LE DERNIER TOURNANT, the first adaptation, but one isn't surprised that Eddie etal decided not to go that route even if it meant re-screening a previously shown double feature.)

ZERO FOCUS/CAST A DARK SHADOW is another matchup which has only the barest similarities in terms of terms of plot situations.

The most interesting double bill here--and one not implemented elsewhere prior to this--is THIS GUN FOR HIRE/LE SAMOURAI, which doesn't really work plot-wise but does jell in terms of the alienated loner anti-hero character at the center of each film. (I suspect this one might wind up being used in the October and November incarnations of the series.)

BRUTE FORCE/HARDLY A CRIMINAL features films with prison scenes, and show characters recalling their problems with the opposite sex, but the connective tissue is still oblique. It has appeared in earlier festivals, as has the incongruous UNION STATION/CAIRO STATION pairing (with a setting in common and absolutely nothing else); also retained from most of the festivals is the much more compatible THE WINDOW/NEVER OPEN THAT DOOR (good contrast of "kiddie noir" protagonists)

The most ludicrous double feature here, however, has go to be MAN IN THE DARK/LE TROU. Perhaps it will succeed with the audience because of its egregious incompatibility.

I definitely recommend ZERO FOCUS to you, Dan, I think it's up there with LE TROU and ODD MAN OUT as the best films in the lineup, with BRUTE FORCE not far behind. BLACK TUESDAY is a solid programmer elevated by Eddie G.'s lead performance, but for the life of me I don't know why they didn't just create a Hugo Fregonese double bill and put it with HARDLY A CRIMINAL: they aren't a perfect match, but Eddie has been touting Fregonese for years, and that'd be a good way to showcase that for his fans.

It is what it is, of course, and aside from the structural awkwardness, there are many enjoyable films to see--just not necessarily on the same night... :-)