The crème de la crème of French and Francophone Cinema comes to the fore in over 35 cinemas nationwide and especially at Ciné Lumière for the 27th French Film Festival UK (at Ciné Lumière from 7 to 15 November and nationwide from 1 November to 15 December).
Presenting an all-embracing range of films, from the most anticipated releases to ground-breaking documentaries, from animation films to literary adaptations, the Festival welcomes all to a celebration of French and Francophone cinema.
Cinephiles will get a chance to discover some of the year’s hottest titles from the Cannes Film Festival, including Céline Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Portrait de la jeune fille en feu, 9 Nov) which won the Queer Palm and Best Screenplay award, and Christophe Honoré’s On a Magical Night (Chambre 212, 8 Nov) which won its lead actress Chiara Mastroianni the Best Actress Award in the Un certain regard competition. Also presented in Cannes, Nicolas Pariser’s Label Europa Cinemas-winning Alice and the Mayor (Alice et le maire, 8 Nov) and Arnaud Desplechin’s film noir, Oh Mercy! (Roubaix, une lumière, 7 Nov), featuring actors Léa Seydoux and Sara Forestier caught up in a murder investigation.
The festival includes literary adaptations from French and Francophone celebrated authors. From Algerian writer Yasmina Khadra’s novel The Swallows of Kabul (10 Nov), portraying the life of women under the Taliban control of the Afghan capital adapted into an animation film by Zabou Breitman and Eléa Gobbé-Mévellec (present at the festival), to Franco-Moroccan author Leila Slimani’s Goncourt Prize-winning Lullaby (14 Nov) in an adaptation by Lucie Borleteau starring French leading actress Karin Viard, and French author David Foenkinos, whose novel The Mystery of Henri Pick ( 7 Nov) was adapted by director and scripwriter Rémi Bezançon (also present at the festival) starring France favourite actors, Fabrice Luchini and Camille Cottin, seen in the acclaimed series Call My Agent.
Several talents are announced for this year’s edition, such as Cédric Klapisch who will present his much-anticipated film Someone, Somewhere (15 Nov), the prestigious Prix Jean Vigo-winner Stéphane Batut (Burning Ghost, 10 Nov), Callisto Mc Nulty with a tribute to actress Delphine Seyrig (Delphine and Carole, 15 Nov) and the acclaimed Belgian director Joachim Lafosse (Keep Going, 9 Nov).
To top it all off, this year’s programme presents some tense thrillers à la française, including Roshdy Zem’s Persona Non Grata (13 Nov), Antoine Baudry’s The Wolf’s Call (12 Nov) and the 1969 classic La Piscine (10&13 Nov) starring Alain Delon, who will also be celebrated in the film season, The Talented Mr Delon, at Ciné Lumière from 20 October to 26 November.
The Festival will also screen a different selection of titles at the Regent Street Cinema in London on various dates in November and December. Full details on www.frenchfilmfestival.org.uk
