Alliance Francaise French Film Festival 2018
Image: C'est la vie
France produced an astonishing 250 films last year and 50 of the highest quality and most successful will be screening at the highly anticipated 29th Alliance Francaise French Film Festival.
Popularity is on the increase for this film festival evident from the staggering 175,000 admissions recorded last year, which was a five percent increase from the previous year.
“Cinema is a massive industry in France, compared to other countries, which produces more films which are appealing to international audiences such as See You Up There. This is a very big movie which resembles a Hollywood style production,” Festival Artistic Director Philippe Platel explained.
“This year the programme is sprinkled with comedies. It’s a very optimistic line up and the opening night film C’est La vie! is a very funny film which has been nominated for many Cesar Awards. It’s very rare for a comedy to be nominated as nominations are usually dedicated to the more intellectual films and for the first time a comedy may have a chance of winning awards.”
Platel said he’d encourage audiences to go and see films which they may have little knowledge or expectations about, films such as Barbara and Bloody Milk, as these films will surprise.
“But if audiences go and see films like Two Is A Family, The Return Of The Hero or Back To Burgundy they will know what to expect – very good traditional comedies.” (MMo)
HOT FLICKS
BPM (Beats Per Minute): Explores the sexual and political activism during Francois Mitterrand’s Government of the Early 1990s and the fight for acceptance of people living with the HIV virus.
SCHOOL OF LIFE: A feel-good family film about a young boy whose life takes a remarkable change when he goes from a Parisian orphanage to live in rural France.
TWO IS A FAMILY: Omar Sy (The Intouchables) stars in this comedy/drama which revolves around a man’s life-changing experience when his former lover arrives and leaves their young daughter in his care. The most popular French-language film globally in 2017.
Feb 27-Mar 27. Palace Norton St, Palace Verona, Hayden Orpheum Cremorne, Chauvel Cinema. $22-$150 (10 film pass). Tickets & Info: www.affrenchfilmfestival.org
