The incredibly popular Alliance Francaise French Film Festival is set to open its 31st year in Adelaide on March 17th at PalaceNova Eastend and Prospect.
Celebrating his fourth year as Artistic Director, Philippe Platel, has spent the past year reviewing hundreds of films in order to select the superlative array of 49 features and documentaries, along with two thrilling television shows, that form this year’s programme – many of which will be screening in Australia for the first time.
Showcased via nine distinct categories with expressive titles such as Eternal Odyssey, Intense & Unsettling, The Voice of the Countryside, Magnetic Love, and City of Lights, the 2020 line-up has a strong emphasis on social engagement and altruistic endeavours. These qualities are depicted in films such as the multi-award-winning Les Misérables, Ladj Ly’s searing snapshot of corruption and simmering tensions in modern-day Paris; School Life, a comedy/drama set within a Saint Denis high school; Invisibles, which follows the unorthodox antics taken by an illegal women’s shelter to avoid closure; Oh Mercy!, a darkly compelling exposé of the human condition as observed by a police chief in Northern France; the poignant rural drama, In the Name of the Land, starring Guillaume Canet as a farmer battling to maintain his dignity in the face of incessant setbacks, and many more extraordinary films.
In times of social, environmental and political uncertainty, cinema also looks to heroic figures for inspiration, a trend which is echoed via themes ranging from space travel (Proxima and How to Become an Astronaut); fairytale princes (The Lost Prince and Donkey Skin), political leaders (Alice and the Mayor and Savages); submarine soldiers (The Wolf’s Call) and spirits (Zombi Child).
High on the list of 2020 highlights is the international premiere of director Martin Provost’s How to Be a Good Wife. Set at a time when women were still expected to be largely subservient, this delicious comedy stars the luminous Juliette Binoche as the pristine head of a housekeeping school who, when faced with adversity, takes her first steps towards emancipation.
There’s also the hotly anticipated La Belle Époque, which tells the story of Victor (Daniel Auteuil) a disillusioned man who is given the opportunity to relive the great love-affair of his youth, and the whimsically romantic Notre-Dame – shot before last year’s horrific fire – about an architect who wins a competition to redesign the Notre-Dame esplanade – a movie which, given events of the past year, is now considered visionary.
And in celebration of its 50th anniversary, the Festival will present a restored version of Donkey Skin, a luscious fairy-tale musical from legendary New-Wave director Jacques Demy, featuring a soundtrack by Michel Legrand and starring the eternal Catherine Deneuve who headlines four films in this year’s programme.
Special events this year include the opening night gala with a screening of The Extraordinary, on Tuesday 17th March, including pre-film reception and after-party. On 26th March there is a special reception and conference on innovation, along with a screening of The Wolf’s Call. On 2nd April La Belle Epoque screens along with a wine and cheese tasting. On 9th April you can taste a delicacy from Brittany, drink a glass of wine, and then watch The Mystery of Henry Pick. And finally, closing night includes a champagne reception and the screening of The Bare Necessity.
Click here for further details and to book tickets.
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