Good to see returning to Palace Cinemas for its 32nd incarnation, the Alliance Française French Film Festival, which will entertain audiences nationally from March 2 until mid-April at 25 locations, all of which will be adhering to stringent Covid protocols to guarantee Festival patrons a safe cinema experience.
After watching all the previews on media night, you’ll be hard pressed to choose the films to watch if time is your issue. All of them look like they will enthral and take you to another place with sensational cinematography and acting
We watched The Godmother, where Isabelle Huppert will leave you grinning from ear-to-ear in her performance as Patience Portefeux, a middle-aged police interpreter who switches sides to become a wholesale narcotics trafficker, Mama Weed. Armed with her insider knowledge of the law and a striking wardrobe of Hermès scarves, Patience reinvents herself as a drug lord. Highly entertaining, dramatic and accompanied with sensational acting, I would watch film again. Go and see it.
Here is a synopsis of some of the French films you can watch during the festival.
The Godmother (La daronne)
Directed by Jean-Paul Salomé
Cast: Isabelle Huppert, Hippolyte Girardot & Farida Ouchani
The magnificent Isabelle Huppert returns to the Festival with a triumphant performance in this laugh-out-loud, French noir comedy, where the gritty realism of Breaking Bad meets the stoner comedy of a Seth Rogen movie.
Eiffel
A sumptuous, romantic, costume drama which explores the passionate love affair between celebrated engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built France’s iconic Eiffel Tower, and Adrienne, a mysterious woman from his past. Portraying these ardent lovers will be French superstar Romain Duris, and the magnetic Emma Mackey.
Delicious
Directed by Eric Besnard
Cast: Grégory Gadebois, Isabelle Carré & Benjamin
Lavernhe
The mouth-watering new film from director extraordinaire Éric Besnard is sure to delight, as it depicts France’s enduring love affair with gastronomy. Premiering internationally, this splendid 18th century comedy is a wildly
enjoyable tale of reignited passion, mentorship and revenge.
De Gaulle
Directed by Gabriel Le Bomin
Cast: Lambert Wilson, Isabelle Carré & Olivier Gourmet
Spectacularly mounted, this fine film stirringly depicts a crucial period in the life of one of the most famous figures of modern French history. Fans of biographical drama will not be disappointed.
Love Affair(s)
Directed by Emmanuel Mouret
Cast: Camélia Jordana, Niels Schneider & Emilie Dequenne
When two strangers are left alone in the French countryside, they fill their time by regaling each other with stories of love gained and lost. Referred to as a “more serious Love Actually”, Love Affair(s) is an entertaining and surprising exploration of the complexities of modern love.
Summer of 85
Directed by François Ozon
Cast: Félix Lefebvre, Benjamin Voisin, & Valeria Bruni Tedeschi
Told in flashback and reminiscent of a retro 80s teen movie, François Ozon’s latest film is a thrilling and hot-blooded tale of love and obsession. Blending sensuality with mystery, Summer of 85 is France’s edgier answer to Call Me By Your Name.
#IAMHERE
An endearing culture-clash comedy from director Éric Lartigau (The Bélier Family), starring Alain Chabat as an eminent French chef who travels to the other side of the world after he falls in love via Instagram.
Antoinette in the Cevennes
Directed by Caroline Vignal
Cast: Laure Calamy, Benjamin Lavernhe, & Olivia Côte
School teacher Antoinette’s holiday plans are thwarted when her secret lover’s wife organises a surprise family trekking holiday in the Cévennes National Park, prompting Antoinette to follow their track, by herself, with Patrick, a protective donkey
The Wedding Speech
Directed by Laurent Tirard
Cast: Benjamin Lavernhe, Sara Giraudeau & Kyan Khojandi
35 year-old Adrian is stuck in a mid-life crisis. In addition to being a neurotic hypochondriac, tonight he’s trapped in an endless family dinner, his girlfriend is not answering his texts and his future brother-in-law asks him to prepare a speech for his wedding, even though he abhors public speaking. Could it get any worse?
Bye Bye Morons
Directed by Albert Dupontel
Cast: Albert Dupontel, Virginie Efira & Nicolas Marié
In this audacious dark comedy, a seriously ill woman tries to find her long-lost child with the help of a man in the middle of a bureaucratic burnout, and a blind archivist prone to over-enthusiasm.
Delete History
Directed by Gustave Kervern & Benoît Delépine
Cast: Blanche Gardin, Corinne Masiero, Denis Podalydès & Vincent Lacoste & Benoît Poelvoorde
If the complexities of the online world leave you feeling lost, confused or furious, then this laugh-out-loud film is for you. Directed by renegade duo Gustave Kervern and Benoît Delépine, Delete History won the 70th Silver Bear Berlinale prize at Berlin International Film Festival
Aline
Directed by Valérie Lemercier
Cast: Valérie Lemercier, Sylvain Marcel & Martine Fontaine
Inspired by the extraordinary life of singing sensation Céline Dion, Aline is the story of a teenager from Quebec whose powerful voice propels her onto the world stage to become the darling of millions.
The Rose Maker
Directed by Pierre Pinaud
Cast: Catherine Frot, Melan Omerta & Fatsah Bouyamed
The brilliant Catherine Frot takes centre stage as Eve, a world-renowned rose farmer on the verge of bankruptcy, who hires three workers with no horticultural skills and must train them to help save her business.
Arab Blues
Directed by Manele Labidi
Cast: Golshifteh Farahani, Majd Mastoura, & Aïcha Ben Miled
When Parisian psychotherapist Selma returns to her hometown in Tunisia, she is met with an eclectic town of locals that are both bewildered by her practice, and in desperate need of her help.
The Big Hit
Directed by Emmanuel Courcol
Cast: Kad Merad, Marina Hands & David Nelo Ayala
Inspired by remarkable true events, multi-award-winning writer Emmanuel Courcol’s rousing, Cannes-selected directorial debut follows a dedicated out-of-work actor whose life takes an unexpected career turn.
Fahim, The Little Chess Prince
Directed by Pierre-François Martin-Laval
Cast: Ahmed Assad, Gérard Depardieu & Isabelle Nanty
Finished The Queen’s Gambit and looking to fill the chess-sized hole in your life? Try this inspirational underdog story about a Bangladeshi refugee boy who takes on the world of chess (with a charmingly gruff Gerard Depardieu by his side).
Final Set
Directed by Quentin Reynaud
Cast: Alex Lutz, Ana Girardot & Kristin Scott Thomas
A tense and nail-biting drama about the high-pressure world of professional tennis playing, which follows a once promising tennis player’s last shot at winning the French Open.
Miss
Directed by Ruben Alves
Cast: Alexandre Wetter, Pascale Arbillot & Thibault de Montalembert
Starring androgynous model Alexandre Wetter as a young boy who dreams of conquering the Miss France pageant, Miss is an inspiring, though-provoking film that tears apart our preconceptions of gender and challenges us to rethink the status quo.
Calamity, A Childhood of Martha Jane Cannary
Directed by Rémi Chayét
Voice Cast: Salomé Boulven, Alexandra Lamy & Alexis Tomassian
Before she was Calamity Jane, great American frontierswoman, she was a high-spirited 12-year-old girl named Martha, fiercely loyal to her family with a defiant streak. Stunningly animated, this film will delight children and their parents alike. Winner of the Cristal for a Feature Film at the 2020 Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
Small Country: An African Childhood
Directed by Éric Barbier
Cast: Jean-Paul Rouve, Isabelle Kabano & Djibril Vancoppenolle
Inspired by an incredible true story, this is the powerful story of a young boy growing up in Burundi during the 1990s, whose world was turned upside down by the tidal wave of violence and unrest from neighbouring Rwanda
Skies of Lebanon
Directed by Chloé Mazlo
Cast: Alba Rohrwacher, Wajdi Mouawad & Isabelle Zighondi
A poetic blending of the personal and political, this Cannes selected film combines live action with animation to create a vivid picture of Lebanon and a heart-breaking story of love during wartime, inspired by the family history of filmmaker Chloé Mazlo.
Mandibles
Cult comedy maestro, Quentin Dupieux, is back with another absurdist film about two lovable losers and a giant fly in this totally bewildering, yet sweet and sincere story that is sure to tickle the funny bones of Festival audiences.
National dates and venues for the 2021 Alliance Française French Film Festival are on their website https://www.affrenchfilmfestival.org/
