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French Film Festival, in Bucharest March 15-26
The police comedy "L'Innocent," by Louis Garrel, opened, on Wednesday evening, at the Elvire Popesco cinema hall in Bucharest, the 2023 edition of the French Film Festival, an event to be followed by the launch of the TV5MONDEplus platform in Romania.
The film was presented in the emblematic section of the festival, Panorama, which includes the most beloved recent French films.
In the context of the 30th anniversary of Romania's accession to the International Organization of La Francophonie, the francophone streaming platform TV5MONDEplus will be launched in Romania, in partnership with TV5 Monde, at the French Institute, in the presence of the French ambassador to Bucharest, Laurence Auer, and of the general director of TV5 Monde, Yves Bigot.
The 27th edition of the French Film Festival in Romania takes place between March 15-26, with more than 110 film screenings scheduled in cinemas and alternative cultural spaces in 13 cities in the country: Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara, Iasi, Arad, Brasov, Braila, Constanta, Craiova, Sfantu Gheorghe, Sibiu, Suceava and Targu Mures.
This year's selection includes 32 feature films and short films.
* In addition to "L'Innocent", the Panorama section will also include other films appreciated by critics, which will be seen in Romania for the first time, such as "La Nuit du 12" by Dominik Moll, recently awarded the Cesar award for the best film, which invites us to follow the judicial police investigation into the murder of a young woman.
In the same section, "Revoir Paris" by Alice Winocour, a touching film about the trauma of the victims of the November 2015 attacks, will be presented, as well as "Les Enfants des Autres" by Rebecca Zlotowski, a bittersweet work about family and the desire to have children.
Also, the public will be able to discover "Le Lyceen," Christophe Honore's latest film, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival and follows the emotional journey of a teenager who faces the loss of his father.
The programme also includes "La Syndicaliste," by Jean-Paul Salome, a gripping thriller based on true events, as well as the comedy "Le Nouveau Jouet," by James Huth, with Jamel Debbouze and Daniel Auteuil, and films for young audiences such as "La Petite Gangs," by Pierre Salvadori.
* A special section entitled Pepites francophones will present award-winning films at international festivals.
Along with the film "La Ligne," by Ursula Meier, the public will be able to discover "Dalva," by Belgian film director Emmanuelle Nicot, who won the Fipresci prize at Semaine de la Critique in Cannes, in 2022, and who delicately tells the story of a young woman who tries to rebuild her life after being a victim of incest, "Ashkal," a thriller by Youssef Chebbi, presented at the Quinzaine des Cineastes in 2022, which takes place in Tunis, and "Si le vent tombe," by Nora Martirosyan, a tense film filmed in Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory in crisis. The comedy "Au revoir le bonheur," by Canadian director Ken Scott, completes the selection and presents the reunion of four brothers who lost their father.
* The Young Talents - Feature Film Competition will present talented debut directors competing for the Audience Award. Clement Cogitore, with his film "Goutte d'or," offers a mystical and dark vision of a working-class neighbourhood in Paris, while Heloise Pelloquet presents "La Passagere," a film about love and desire, in which the main role is played remarkably by Cecile de France.
* The Young Talents - Short Film competition will present five short films made by the new generation of French filmmakers, which will be evaluated by a jury made up of young Romanian film critics: Iulia Necsulescu, Codrin Vasile and Stefan Ristea.
* As part of Focus Jean Eustache, two of the director's masterpieces, "La Maman et la Putain" and "Mes Petites Amoureuses," will be presented for the first time to the Romanian public in restored copies. This will be an opportunity to discover or rediscover the work of the famous French director, known for his realistic and intimate approach to cinema.
The festival will enjoy, in Bucharest, the presence of special guests such as Francoise Lebrun, for the presentation of Jean Eustache's masterpiece "La Maman et la Putain", Clement Cogitore, director and contemporary artist, for the screening of his film "Goutte d'or," Jean-Paul Salome, the director of the film "La Syndicaliste," to be screened at the final ceremony that will close the Bucharest French Film Festival, and also author Marie NDiaye, who was awarded the Goncourt Prize in 2009 for her novel "Trois Femmes puissantes" and who co-wrote the script for the "Saint Omer" by Alice Diop.
In Bucharest, the Elvire Popesco cinema hall will host on March 22 a public debate about the future of cinemas in Romania, organized in partnership with the Films in Frame magazine. On March 23, "Carte blanche a la Femis" will present the best short films made by students of one of the most famous French film schools.
The French Film Festival is organized by the French Institute in Romania in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Iasi and Timisoara and co-organized by: the Arad Municipal Culture Centre, French Alliance Brasov, Cinefeel Braila, "Jean Constantin" Multipurpose Educational Centre Constanta, Inspire Cinema Craiova, Arta by Cityplex Sfantu Gheorghe, Radu Stanca National Theatre Sibiu, French Alliance Suceava and K'Arte Targu Mures Association.