The French Film Festival was first launched in Scotland in 1992 as a fairly small event taking place in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Over the years it has expanded nationally and now goes on the road around the country to Dundee, Kirkcaldy, Inverness, Aberdeen, London, Bristol, Warwick and Manchester.
Founder director Richard Mowe was recently honoured at a special gala reception in Paris hosted by the British Ambassador to France in tribute to this fabulous celebration of French cinema and culture each November across the UK.
This year’s 20th anniversary programme, which runs from 8 November to 2 December at Filmhouse and the Dominion Cinema in Edinburgh, offers an appetising feast of movies from France, Belgium, Quebec and Senegal embracing every genre - farce, fantasy, classics (with Yves Montand and Alain Delon), vintage movies, animation, comedies, thrillers, shorts, children’s films and documentaries.
As always there are appearances by actors and directors to discuss their films with the chance for the audience to ask questions.
The Festival opens with an exclusive premiere of “Asterix and Obelix – God Save Britannia” an epic Roman historical drama set at the time of Julius Caesar. Adapted from the children’s beloved comic book Astérix in Britain (1966), it stars Gérard Depardieu (Obélix) and Catherine Deneuve as the Queen of England. Special guests from the film will be attending the screenings in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee.
The work of Belgian film-maker Chantal Akerman is the subject of a major retrospective with ten films dating from the 1970s to 2011. These include “Night and Day”, inspired by Truffaut’s Jules et Jim, a portrait of the legendary choreographer, "On Tour with Pina Bausch", “A Couch in New York”, (Juliette Binoche and William Hurt), about a transatlantic love affair and also her latest film, "Almayer’s Folly" adapted from Joseph Conrad’s first novel set in Malaysia.
Highly recommended is the charming, whimsical, quasi-philosophical tale about 40 year old Camille, recently separated from her husband, who finds herself time travelling back to her teenage years to cope with school, parents, zany classmates and first boyfriends. It makes us question how we would cope if we knew what fate was in store in our future life.
Woody Allen expressed his passion for French cultural life with his brilliant movie, “Midnight in Paris.” Now writer and director Sophie Lellouche has created her personal tribute to Woody Allen’s stylishly witty movies with her romantic comedy, “Paris-Manhattan”.
A musician in residence at the Festival, classical pianist Jason Kouchak will be performing at select events, and there is also an exhibition of photographs illustrating 20 years at the FFF on show at the Edinburgh Filmhouse and London Sofitel St. James.
Pick up the FFF programme or check out the website, www.frenchfilmfestival.org.uk.