What's On: Alliance Française French Film Festival
The Alliance Française French Film Festival announces its 2023 arrival in Byron Bay with a new trailer: À très bientôt dans les salles de cinéma.
Artistic director Karine Mauris teases her ‘coups de cœur’ *highlights ahead of the long-running festival’s 34th edition.
*coup de cœur – a sudden falling in love
17th January 2023: Mark your cultural calendars as the countdown begins to the 2023 Alliance Française French Film Festival (AF FFF23) with a new trailer and programme highlights revealed today. Get set for a season of enchanting cinematic escapes, when the world’s largest showcase of French cinema outside of France returns to Byron Bay, 21st April – 23rd April 2023.
Coup de cœur for AF FFF23:
With a programme too ‘magnifique’ to keep under wraps any longer, Artistic Director Karine Mauris teases her favourite highlights, which are set to delight cinephiles and Francophiles alike.
Speaking on the line-up, Mauris says: “Our 2023 edition is bursting with effervescence as it tells tales of resilience and limitless hope.”
“We can’t wait for festival goers to experience our most eclectic line-up to-date of the best contemporary French cinema. The 2023 programme will offer something for everyone, whether it be the hilarity of a meta-zombie comedy, tragic journeys with gripping consequences or adventures of l’Amour in all its forms.”
This year the leading ladies of French entertainment take centre stage, with mesmerising performances from Juliette Binoche, Marion Cotillard, Virginie Efira and Léa Seyoux, not to mention Call My Agent! favourite Laure Calamy.
Alongside one of this year’s biggest French box office successes November and The Innocent, the AF FFF23 also offers the opportunity to discover a new school of emerging French talent - newcomer Paul Kircher’s performance in Winter Boy, Céline Devaux’s directorial debut in the wickedly funny Everybody Loves Jeanne and the 2023 Academy Awards contender for Best International Feature (France) Saint Omer from Alice Diop featuring rising star Kayije Kagame.
Highlights from the 34th edition of the AF FFF23 include:
OPENING NIGHT:
· MASQUERADE (Mascarade)
FINDING COMIC RELIEF:
· FINAL CUT (Coupez !)
· EVERYBODY LOVES JEANNE (Tout le monde aime Jeanne)
· TWO TICKETS TO GREECE (Les Cyclades)
LIMITLESS HOPE:
· NOVEMBER (Novembre)
· ANNIE’S FIRE (Annie Colère)
· PARIS MEMORIES (Revoir Paris)
· NOTRE-DAME ON FIRE (Notre-Dame brûle)
L’AMOUR IN ALL FORMS
· OTHER PEOPLE’S CHILDEN (Les Enfants des autres)
· WINTER BOY (Le Lycéen)
· ONE FINE MORNING (Un Beau matin)
· THE INNOCENT (L’Innocent)
· BROTHER AND SISTER (Frère et Sœur)
· LIE WITH ME (Arrête avec tes mensonges)
2023 ACADEMY AWARDS – Best International Feature (France)
· SAINT OMER (Alice Diop)
With the full festival line-up set to be announced and tickets available from 9th February, stay tuned to the latest Alliance Française French Film Festival updates at: affrenchfilmfestival.org
About Alliance Française French Film Festival
Alliance Française, the French culture and language institution, launched its film festival in Australia way back in 1989. Since then, it has grown into the largest festival dedicated to contemporary French films outside of France and one of the largest public events in Australia with more than 152,000 attendees in 2022. This 34th edition of the AF FFF will screen across multiple locations in Australia from 7th March – 25th April.
· Facebook.com/AFFrenchFilmFestivalAus
· Instagram.com/affrenchfilmfestival
· YouTube
ABOUT THE FILMS
MASQUERADE (Mascarade)
Director: Nicolas Bedos (La Belle Époque, AF FFF20)
Cast: Pierre Niney, Isabelle Adjani, François Cluzet, Marine Vacth, Emmanuelle Devos, Laura Morante, Charles Berling
Watch trailer here
OFFICIAL SELECTION - Cannes Film Festival 2022
Just how far will you go to get what you want? Glamour, sex, money and manipulation all combine in a deadly vortex on the unassuming shores of the dreamy Côte d’Azur, as trouble begins to brew beneath the surface of the water.
An official selection of Cannes Film Festival 2022, Masquerade follows Adrien. Perched on the forefront of a full, exciting life, he dreams of becoming a dancer (Pierre Niney, Black Box, AF FFF21). When suddenly injured, Adrien succumbs to laziness, relying on his beauty to seduce older, wealthy women, who happily support his lavish lifestyle. Adrien is content living with doting Martha (Isabelle Adjani, The World Is Yours, AF AFFF19), a fading film star, until he meets Margot (Marine Vacth, If You Saw His Heart, AF FFF18). In a similar line of work, Margot captivates Adrien, finding her raw beauty and stealthy approach to scheming intoxicating.
FINAL CUT (Coupez !) – Cannes 2022 Opening Night Film
Director: Michel Hazanavicius (Awarded Best Director at the Academy and César Awards: The Artist)
Cast: Romain Duris, Finnegan Oldfield, Bérénice Bejo, Grégory Gadebois, Matilda Lutz
Watch trailer here
A reimagination of the Japanese zombie comedy classic One Cut of the Dead, Michael Hazanavicius’ Final Cut follows a crew, setting out to remake the film depicted in the original motion picture.
The film’s director, played by Romain Duris (Eiffel, AF FFF21) has a vision, and is determined to bring his zombie-slasher to life. With limited budget and an apathetic team of actors and crew, the project isn’t off to a great start. A sudden burst of inspiration is forced upon the group when they discover that their set is being overrun by real-life zombies. Alone and afraid, the crew have two choices - to accept defeat, or fight back, capturing what could be the most realistic zombie-slasher ever made. Scrambling to escape the crew are guided by their one and only direction – to keep the camera rolling, no matter what.
Taking on her original role as producer, Yoshiko Takehara delivers a hilarious ‘rockstar’ performance, paying homage to the glitz and the gore of One Cut of the Dead. Like the original, Final Cut offers drama, chaos and many a laugh with an outrageous, French spin
EVERYBODY LOVES JEANNE (Tout le monde aime Jeanne)
Directorial debut: Céline Devaux
Cast: Blanche Gardin, Laurent Lafitte from the Comédie-Française, Maxence Tual, Nuno Lopes, Marthe Keller
NOMINEE - Cannes Film Festival - Golden Camera
Watch trailer here
Everybody Loves Jeanne is an all-too-relatable exploration of embarrassment and self-doubt by director Céline Devaux. Light-hearted and wickedly funny, the film stands as a reminder to not take ourselves or our failures too seriously.
In everyone else’s eyes Jeanne (Blanche Gardin, Delete History, AF FFF21) is the golden girl - always the smartest, the prettiest and most likely to succeed. Behind the scenes Jeanne’s interior voice, personified in line-drawing animations as the ‘little ghost,’ quietly criticises her every move – wreaking havoc while her exterior stays cool, calm and collected.
In a world where everyone is competing to be the best, Everybody Loves Jeanne stands as a comforting reminder to accept our shortcomings and enjoy every day as it comes.
TWO TICKETS TO GREECE (Les Cyclades)
Director: Marc Fitoussi
Cast: Laure Calamy, Olivia Côte, Kristin Scott Thomas, Alexandre Desrousseaux, Nicolas Bridet
Watch trailer here
Laure Calamy, Olivia Côte and Kristin Scott Thomas star in the new comedy from writer/director Marc Fitoussi (Folies Bergère, Call My Agent!, AF FFF16) about estranged childhood friends who tentatively reunite for a trip to the Greek Islands.
Recently divorced, and watching helplessly as her only son leaves home, Blandine is struggling to find her footing again. When her former best friend Magalie, loud and fearless, suddenly resurfaces, she allows herself to be spontaneous for a change... The two will take the trip they always dreamed of as teenagers, to Amorgos, the amazing location where Luc Besson's The Big Blue was shot.
But as they head off towards their destination, it's soon apparent that Magalie's very different approach to holidaying - and to life - could lead Blandine to her breaking point...
NOVEMBER (Novembre)
Director: Cédric Jimenez
Cast: Jean Dujardin, Anaïs Demoustier, Sandrine Kiberlain, Jérémie Renier, Lyna Khoudri
Watch trailer here
One of the biggest box offices hit for a French film in 2022, securing almost 600,000 admissions in France in one week
From award-winning director Cédric Jimenez (The Connection, AF FFF15) comes November, a deep dive into the November 2015 Paris terrorist attacks. The film explores the tragedy from the perspective of the investigators working in the French anti-terrorism services.
At the core of the investigation is its lead, Fred (Jean Dujardin, OSS17: From Africa with Love, AF FFF22) acting as a vessel of strength for the team, opening the investigation with a clear warning – separate yourself from your emotions, or leave.
High intense and action packed; November captures the aftermath of this monumental tragedy – a story where ethical lines are blurred. The characters’ core beliefs are pushed to their limits as the they work to solve this devastating crime and bring the killers to justice.
ANNIE’S FIRE (Annie Colère)
Director: Blandine Lenoir
Cast: Laure Calamy, Zita Hanrot, India Hair, Rosemary Standley, Damien Chapelle
Watch trailer here
WINNER – Locarno International Film Festival – Variety Piazza Grande Award
WINNER - Namur International Festival of French-Speaking Film - Agnès Prize
Winner at Locarno International Film Festival and Namur International Film Festival, Annie’s Fire follows Annie, played by festival favourite Laure Calamy (Call My Agent!, AF FFF16 and Full Time, AF FFF22). The year is 1974 when working-class mother of two, Annie unexpectedly falls pregnant. Feeling powerless and with abortion not legally accessible, Annie must explore the limited, unsafe options available to her. In desperate need of help she stumbles upon the MLAC (Movement for the Freedom of Abortion and Contraception), a courageous group of doctors and nurses offering safe, free abortions to women in need – illegally. Motivated by the desire to improve the lives of everyday women for the better, Annie courageously joins the MLAC’s fight.
From award-winning actor, writer and director Blandine Lenoir, Annie’s Fire masterfully delivers a life-affirming story of solidarity, suffering and liberation, honouring the bravery of the women and men who waged a campaign of civil disobedience, helping women gain control of their own reproductive rights in France. Featuring a stellar ensemble cast, Annie’s Fire turns the spotlight on the power of community and addresses a pressing human-rights issue which continues to impact women to this day.
PARIS MEMORIES (Revoir Paris)
Director: Alice Winocour (César Award for Best Original Screenplay: Mustang)
Cast: Virginie Efira, Benoît Magimel, Grégoire Colin, Maya Sansa, Amadou Mbow
Watch trailer here
Set in the aftermath of the horrific November 2015 terrorist attacks in the heart of Paris – Paris Memories follows survivors as they try to come to terms with a tragedy that would change the course of their lives forever.
It was an evening in Paris like any other, as Mia (Virginie Efira, Madeleine Collins, AF FFF22) quietly enjoys dinner, sipping wine and gazing at the happy birthday celebrations at a nearby table - locking eyes with handsome Thomas (Benoît Magimel, Peaceful, AF FFF22) from across the room. All of a sudden, a chorus of birthday song is interrupted by the outcry of bullets as diners fight to stay alive, their comfortable existence torn apart by the violence of extremists.
Hailed by Variety as “another fine dramatic turn”, Virginie Efira delivers a moving performance, sharing honest emotion in gripping scenes that shed light on the brutality of this truly devastating tragedy.
NOTRE-DAME ON FIRE (Notre-Dame brûle)
Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud (César Award for Best Director: The Bear)
Cast: Samuel Labarthe, Jean-Paul Bordes, Mikaël Chirinian, Jules Sadoughi, Jérémie Laheurte
Watch trailer here
From academy award winning director Jean-Jacques Annaud is Notre-Dame on Fire, a documentary-style retelling of the tragic blaze which destroyed much of the Notre-Dame cathedral in 2019. In this action-packed recount, Annaud masterfully retraces the steps of emergency rescue services in their courageous rush to save this globally cherished monument.
OTHER PEOPLE’S CHILDEN (Les Enfants des autres)
Director: Rebecca Zlotowski
Cast: Virginie Efira, Roschdy Zem, Chiara Mastroianni, Callie Ferreira-Goncalves, Yamée Couture
Watch trailer here
NOMINEE – Best Film – Venice Film Festival
OFFICIAL SELECTION – Toronto International Film Festival
From the mind award-winning director Rebecca Zlotowski comes Other People’s Children. Inspired by her own experience as a step-mother, Zlotowski shares her story through the eyes of Rachel, played by the enchanting Virginie Efira (Madeleine Collins, AF FFF21). At forty, Rachel is content and childless until she meets Ali (Roschdy Zem, Oh Mercy, 2020). Proving himself to be a wonderful partner and father to four-year-old Leila, Rachel is overcome with love for them both. Before long, Rachel finds that she has mostly fallen for Leila, a child she is painfully aware is not and will never be hers.
A nominee for Best Film at the Venice Film Festival 2022, Other People’s Children shines a sympathetic light on the lot of stepmothers, honouring the many connections formed when we enter into romantic relationships.
WINTER BOY (Le Lycéen)
Director: Christophe Honoré
Cast: Paul Kircher, Vincent Lacoste, Juliette Binoche, Erwan Kepoa Falé
Watch trailer here
2022 PRIX LOUIS-DELLUC - Nominee (Best French Film of the Year)
WINNER: 2022 SAN SEBASTIÁN FILM FESTIVAL - Best Actor
Set over the course of one winter, the most autobiographical and arguably best film to-date from acclaimed writer/director Christophe Honoré (Sorry Angel, AF FFF19, Inside Paris, Love Songs) follows a young man on the cusp of adulthood who, after being sent reeling by an unexpected loss, looks for comfort in all the wrong places.
17-year-old Lucas (terrific newcomer Paul Kircher) is drifting through his final year of boarding school, blithely passing time with his boyfriend, but mostly looking forward to following his older brother Quentin (Vincent Lacoste), a fledgling artist, to Paris. But a sudden accident soon strips away everything Lucas has taken for granted, filling him with an anger that his teenage self can’t begin to articulate. His mother Isabelle (Juliette Binoche) is unable to find the means to console him.
Honoré’s gift for building narratives around flawed characters is as strong as ever, and with Winter Boy he confronts his own history as never before.
ONE FINE MORNING (Un Beau matin)
Director: Mia Hansen-Løve (Berlin Silver Bear for Best Direction: Things to Come)
Cast: Léa Seydoux, Pascal Greggory, Melvil Poupaud, Nicole Garcia, Camille Leban Martins
Watch trailer here
WINNER – Europa Cinemas Label, Best European Film - Cannes Film Festival
Winner of Best European Film at Cannes Film Festival, One Fine Morning stars the breathtaking Léa Seydoux (Farewell My Queen, AF FFF18). “Artful and quietly miraculous” (Hollywood Reporter, 2022) – the film is a standout exploration of love in all forms.
To take care of her loved ones Sandra must bear the weight of many roles. A widow and single mother, she is also carer to her father who battles a devastating neurological disorder. Once a writer and acclaimed professor, Sandra is devastated by his worsening condition, as the words and knowledge which encompassed so much of his being slowly disintegrate before her eyes.
A warm and masterful exploration of ageing and the fragility of life.
THE INNOCENT (L’Innocent)
Director: Louis Garrel
Cast: Louis Garrel, Noémie Merlant, Anouk Grinberg, Roschdy Zem, Jean-Claude Pautot
Watch trailer here
WINNER: Best Feature - CineLibri Award for Masterful Literary Adaptation – CineLibri International Book and Movie Festival
WINNER: Best Screenplay - Namur International Festival of French-speaking Film
When Abel’s (Louis Garrel, A Faithful Man, AF FFF19) mother Sylvie (Anouk Grinberg) announces her third marriage in ten years, it’s fair to say that he has his doubts. Weighed down by the monotony of everyday life and his mother’s erratic decisions, Abel is well and truly over going through the motions. These doubts are only heightened when he learns that his mother’s new fiancé is in prison. After Michel (Roschdy Zem, Oh Mercy! AF FFF20) is released the newlywed couple dive headfirst into their new life together, investing in a floristry business. Despite Michel’s best-efforts Abel still feels wary - is Michael truly capable of making an honest living?
Inspired by Louis Garrel’s own experiences, the writer, director and star of The Innocent creates a film applauded by France Inter as “joyful and original.” A storyline you couldn’t make up, Garrel reimagines the memory of his own mother marrying a prison inmate.
A genuine hilarious romp through all genres, the film moves deftly between fiercely funny comedy, romance and action. It’s a film filled to the brim with irrespirable charm and a certain je ne sais quoi.
BROTHER AND SISTER (Frère et Sœur)
Director: Arnaud Desplechin
Cast: Marion Cotillard, Melvil Poupaud, Golshifteh Farahani, Benjamin Siksou, Patrick Timsit
Duration: 108mins
Country of Origin: France
Watch trailer here
OFFICIAL SELECTION – 2022 CANNES INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (In Competition)
Academy Award-winner Marion Cotillard (We’ll End Up Together, AF FFF20) and Melvil Poupaud (The Young Lovers, AF FFF22) star in the intelligent and emotionally involving new drama from acclaimed writer/director Arnaud Desplechin (Kings & Queen, A Christmas Tale), as decades-long estranged siblings forced back into each other’s orbit by a family emergency.
Roubaix, France. Alice (Cotillard) is a famous stage actress, who graces billboards and fills theatres with adoring fans. One of her younger brothers Louis (Poupaud) found early success as an author, but after losing his young son in tragic circumstances, has retreated from the city with his wife Faunia (Goldshifteh Farahani) for the remote Pyrénées to write, filling his prose with family secrets, much to his sister's chagrin. For more than twenty years, the two have gone out of their way to avoid each other. But when their elderly parents are involved in an accident, Alice and Louis can no longer put off the inevitable…
A resounding critical success in France in late 2022, Desplechin’s film - his seventh to premiere in Official Competition at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival - convincingly tackles the dynamics of family ties and rivalries, exploring pride, jealousy and how (perceived) slights and infringements of the past can linger beyond logical explanation.
SAINT OMER
Director: Alice Diop
Cast: Kayije Kagame, Guslagie Malanda, Valérie Dreville, Aurélia Petit
Duration: 122mins
Country of Origin: France
Watch trailer here
OFFICIAL SELECTION – 2023 ACADEMY AWARDS – Best International Feature (France)
One of the most talked-about films of the 2022/23 awards season, the extraordinary narrative debut feature by acclaimed documentarian Alice Diop depicts the gripping story of a young novelist who is forced to confront her own complex family history as she attends a notorious murder trial.
Northeastern France, 2016. Rama (Kayije Kagame), a successful Parisian journalist and author, has travelled to the coastal town of Saint-Omer to document the trial of Laurence Coly (Guslagie Malanda), a well-educated young Senegalese Frenchwoman who is accused of abandoning her 15-month-old daughter on a beach at high tide. At work on a modern-day adaptation of Medea, Rama plans to incorporate Laurence’s story into her new novel, but the case affects her in unexpected ways and she soon begins to unravel, revisiting complex childhood memories and experiencing an increasing uncertainty over her own impending motherhood…
Inspired by true events, Saint Omer is an arresting and profound film of constantly shifting layers; at once a tense courtroom drama, an inquiry into female agency, and a provocative examination of myth. Announcing Alice Diop as a major new voice in world cinema, her film has been selected to represent France at the 2023 Academy Awards with very good reason.
LIE WITH ME (Arrête avec tes mensonges)
Director: Olivier Peyon
Cast: Guillaume de Tonquédec, Victor Belmondo, Guilaine Londez, Jérémy Gillet, Julien de Saint Jean
Watch trailer here
Based on Philippe Besson’s award-winning autobiographical novel Lie With Me, this moving adaptation takes audiences on an adventure of sexual awakening, heartbreak and the healing power of truth.
The story begins when renowned novelist Stéphane Belcourt (Guillaume de Tonquédec, Delicious, AF FFF21) is invited back to his hometown of Cognac as a guest of honour at a local celebration. At first, a bit unsettled at being thrust back into the childhood stomping-ground he abandoned 35 years earlier, he quickly changes his tune when he unexpectedly meets a young man named Lucas (Victor Belmondo, Fly Me Away, AF FFF22). Lucas turns out to be the son of Stéphane’s first and greatest love, Thomas Andrieu. The very “Thomas” who appears in every one of his novels.