Brimming with a selection of must-watch French movies that offer fresh perspectives, twists and turns, literary adaptations, and advocacies at the SM Mall of Asia and SM Megamall cinemas.
Get ready to paint the city blue, red, and white as the French Film Festival makes it iconic and celebrates 26 years of bringing some of the best contemporary movies from France to the Filipino audience.
The French Embassy in the Philippines and Micronesia, in partnership with SM Supermalls and SM Cinema, stages the 26th French Film Festival from November 25 to December 3. A suite of about 21 French feature films will be shown simultaneously at SM Mall of Asia and SM Megamall, with a selection of new releases, some of the biggest box office hits of the year, and a few classics featuring icons of French cinema.
In a country that pioneered cinema in Asia, film is perhaps the most suitable medium to promote cultural understanding in the Philippines. Through the moving images, the values and traditions of society are conveyed and appreciated by the public, allowing them to identify or at least react to situations that may be shared by different people across the globe.
BERNADETTE (The President’s Wife), the latest movie starring French icon Catherine Deneuve provides a glimpse into French politics as she portrays the life of former First Lady Bernadette Chirac in the corridors of the Elysée Palace.
The festival selection also includes two films about the hip-hop scene in France: the fusion of opera singing and urban dance in INDES GALLANTES, and the birth of Suprême NTM.
Other films show different angles of modern-day French society: family life in the comedy ALIBI.COM 2, romantic relationships and friendships in LES CHOSES QU’ON DIT, LES CHOSES QU’ON FAIT (The Things We Say, The Things We Do), while forging new forms of familial love – father-son in a dystopic, sci-fi film LE REGNE ANIMA (Animal Kingdom).
The French Film Festival renews its partnership with the QCinema International Film Festival in bringing some of the most critically-acclaimed titles of World Cinema to the local moviegoers such as DAAAALI and LA PASSION DE DODIN BOUFFANT (The Taste of Things), the French entry in the Oscars.
The French Film Festival will also be the occasion to officially launch in the Philippines the campaign “Make It Iconic – Choose France.” This promotes the French “love of action and craftsmanship, the willingness to defend an original vision, the art of not doing anything like others do,” perfectly illustrated through this year’s movie selection.
This year’s selection presents the diversity of French cinema that may appeal to different types of audiences. French Cultural Counsellor Marc Piton states that through the French Film Festival, Filipinos will have the opportunity to see the new French movies that are released worldwide. “French films are commercially successful everywhere and that is why we partner with SM Cinema to be able to reach a wider audience in the country.”
In the words of French President Emmanuel Macron, “The French spirit continues to astonish, fascinate and change the world.” French cinema entertains the audience with unexpected twists and turns and delivers messages that can help build a better world. The French Film Festival in Manila is making it iconic.
Regular tickets are at P150 and P100 for students, seniors, and PWDs at the SM MOA and SM Megamall Cinema ticket booths. For the French Film Festival schedule and further information, visit the French Embassy’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/FrenchEmbassyPH
26th French Film Festival 2023
FILM INFORMATION
Title: Le Dernier Metro (The Last Metro)
Year: 1980
Directed by François Truffaut
Cast: Catherine Deneuve, Jean Poiret, Gérard Depardieu, Andréa Ferréol
Genres: Fiction
Sub-genre: Drama, Romance Language: French, German Runtime: 2 h 11 min
Synopsis: All Marion Steiner can think about is rehearsals for a new play she is staging at the Montmartre Theater, where she has taken over as director in place of her Jewish husband, who has disappeared. Everyone believes that Lucas Steiner has fled France, but he is, in fact, hiding in the basement of the theatre.
Title: Nelly et Monsieur Arnaud (Nelly & Mr. Arnaud)
Year: 1995
Directed by Claude Sautet
Cast: Emmanuelle Béart, Michel Serraut, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Claire Nadeau
Genre: Fiction
Sub-genre: Drama, Romantic Comedy Language: French
Runtime: 1 h 46 min
Synopsis: Nelly, 25, is on the verge of divorce. His life is destabilized. It was then that she met Pierre Arnaud, forty years her senior, with discreet elegance tinged with boredom. He offers her money, work and support, “in all honor”. Their accomplice face-to-face, rich in ambiguities, makes Monsieur Arnaud discover the taste of a first love that he cannot live, and offers Nelly a maturity that projects her towards her future.
Title: Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg)
Year: 1964
Directed by Jacques Demy
Cast: Anne Vernon, Catherine Deneuve, Nino Castelnuovo, Marc Michel
Genres: Fiction
Sub-genre: Musical, Drama Language: French Runtime: 1 h 30 min
Synopsis: Cherbourg, November 1957. Madame Emery and her daughter, Geneviève, run a store called The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. Geneviève is in love with Guy, a mechanic working in a garage. When her mother learns of the relationship, she disapproves. Guy live with his aunt, who is seriously ill. He is called to do his military service in Algeria. The two lovers must part.
Title: Un Silence si Bruyant (Such A Resounding Silence)
Year: 2023
Directed by Emmanuelle Béart, Anastasia Mikova
Genres: Documentary Sub-genre: Drama Language: French Runtime: 1 h 30 min
Synopsis: Through this documentary, Emmanuelle Béart wishes to lift the veil on incest. Coming out of silence, the actress, accompanied by Anastasia Mikova, director, confronts her reality with that of others. Victim of incest in her youth, her objective is to make a film on the ravages of incest over time, and to put into words the fight of the victims, facing those around them, facing justice, facing the silence of society, to move forward and be able to rebuild.
Title: Acide (Acid Rain)
Year: 2023
Directed by Just Philippot
Cast: Guillaume Canet, Laetitia Dosch, Patience Munchenbach
Genres: Fiction
Sub-genre: Drama, Sci-Fi Language: French Runtime: 1 h 40 min
Synopsis: Selma, 15, grows up between her two separated parents, Michal and Élise. Clouds of acidic and devastating rain fall on France. In a world that will soon collapse, this fractured family will have to come together to face this climatic catastrophe and try to escape it.
Title: Bernadette (The President’s Wife)
Year: 2023
Directed by Lea Domenach
Cast: Catherine Deneuve, Denis Podalydès, Michel Vuillermoz
Genres: Fiction
Sub-genre: Comedy Language: French Runtime: 1 h 32 min
Synopsis: Bernadette expected to finally get the position she deserved when she arrived at the Elysée Palace because she had always worked behind her husband's back to elect him president. She took revenge by becoming a major media figure.
Title: La Passion de Dodin Bouffant (The Taste of Things)
Year: 2023
Directed by Trần Anh Hùng
Cast: Juliette Binoche, Benoit Magimel, Emmanuel Salinger, Patrick d'Assumçao
Genres: Fiction
Sub-genre: Drama, Historical Language: French
Runtime: 2 h 14 min
Synopsis: 1885. Peerless cook Eugenie has worked for the famous gourmet Dodin for the last 20 years. As time went by, the practice of gastronomy and mutual admiration turned into a romantic relationship. Their association gives rise to dishes, one more delicious than the next, that confound even the world’s most illustrious chefs. But Eugenie is fond of her freedom and has never wanted to marry Dodin. So, he decides to do something he has never done before: cook for her.
Title: Astérix et Obélix: L'Empire du Milieu (Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom)
Year: 2023
Directed by Guillaume Canet
Cast: Guillaume Canet, Gilles Lellouch, Marion Cotillard
Genres: Fiction
Sub-genre: Comedy Language: French Runtime: 1 h 51 min
Synopsis: It’s the year 50 BC. The Empress of China has just been imprisoned following a coup d’état incited by Deng Tsin Qin, a traitorous prince. Helped by Finalthesis, the Phoenician merchant, and her faithful bodyguard Mai Wei, the Empress’ only daughter Princess Sass-Yi flees to Gaul to ask for help from two valiant warriors Asterix and Obelix, who are endowed with superhuman strength thanks to their magic potion.
Title: Les Trois Mousquetaires - D'Artagnan (The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan)
Year: 2023
Directed by Martin Bourbolon
Cast: François Civil, Vincent Cassel, Romain Duris, Pio Marmaï
Genres: Fiction
Sub-genre: Adventure, Literary Adaptation Language: French
Runtime: 2 h 1 min
Synopsis: D'Artagnan, a spirited young Gascon, is left for dead after trying to save a young woman from being kidnapped. When he arrives in Paris, he tries by all means to find his attackers. He is unaware that his quest will lead him to the heart of a real war where the future of France is at stake. Allied with Athos, Porthos and Aramis, three musketeers of the King with a dangerous temerity, D'Artagnan faces the dark machinations of the Cardinal of Richelieu. But it is when he falls madly in love with Constance Bonacieux, the Queen's confidante, that d'Artagnan truly puts himself in danger. For it is this passion that leads him into the wake of the one who becomes his mortal enemy: Milady de Winter.
Title: Le Règne Animal (Animal Kingdom)
Year: 2023
Directed by Thomas Cailley
Cast: Romain Duris, Adele Exarchopolous, Paul Kircher
Genres: Fiction
Sub-genre: Sci, Fantasy, Drama Language: French
Runtime: 2 h 8 min
Synopsis: In a world plagued by a wave of mutations which are gradually transforming certain humans into animals, François does everything to save his wife, affected by this mysterious illness. As the region becomes populated with creatures of a new kind, he takes Émile, their 16-year-old son, on a quest that will forever change their lives.
Title: Alibi.com 2
Year: 2023
Directed by Philippe Lacheau
Cast: Philippe Lacheau, Elodie Fontan, Tarek Boudali, Julien Arruti
Genres: Fiction
Sub-genre: Comedy Language: French Runtime: 1 h 30 min
Synopsis: After closing his Alibi.com agency and promising Flo that he would never lie to her again, Greg's new life became quiet, too quiet... Not for long! When he decides to propose to Flo, Greg is up against the wall and must resolve to introduce his family. But between his crook father and his ex-charm film actress mother, there is a strong risk of ruining his future union. He therefore has no other choice than to reopen his agency with his former accomplices
for a final Alibi and to find more presentable false parents.
Title: Goliath
Year: 2022
Directed by Frédéric Tellier
Cast: Gilles Lellouche, Pierre Niney, Emmanuelle Bercot
Genres: Fiction
Sub-genre: Thriller, Drama Language: French Runtime: 2 h 2 min
Synopsis: France, a sports teacher by day, and a worker by night, actively campaigns against the use of pesticides. Patrick, an obscure and solitary Parisian lawyer, is a specialist in environmental law. Mathias, a brilliant lobbyist and a man in a hurry, defends the interests of an agrochemical giant. Following the radical act of an anonymous person, these three destinies, which should never have crossed paths, will jostle, collide and burst into flames.
Title: Indes Galantes (Gallant Indies)
Year: 2021
Directed by Philippe Béziat
Genres: Documentary Sub-genre: Dance Language: French Runtime: 1 h 48 min
Synopsis: It's a first for 30 hip-hop, krump, break, voguing dancers... A first for director Clément Cogitore and for choreographer Bintou Dembélé. And a first for the Paris Opera. By bringing together urban dance and lyrical singing, together they reinvent Jean-Philippe Rameau's baroque masterpiece, Les Indes Galantes . From rehearsals to public performances, it is a human adventure and an encounter with political issues that we follow: can a new generation of artists take the Bastille today?
Title: Supremes (Authentik)
Year: 2021
Directed by Audrey Estrougo
Cast: Sandor Funtek, Theo Christine
Genres: Fiction
Sub-genre: Biopic, Drama Language: French Runtime: 1 h 52 min
Synopsis: 1989. In the deprived cities of 93, a group of friends find a means of expression thanks to the hip-hop movement which has just arrived in France. After dancing and graffiti, JoeyStarr and Kool Shen began writing rap lyrics imbued with the anger brewing in the suburbs. Their feverish rhythms and their rebellious lyrics soon galvanize the crowds and… clash with the authorities. But no matter, the Supreme NTM was born and with him, French rap made its sensational debut!
Title: Les Choses qu’on dit, les choses qu’on fait (The Things We Say, The Things We Do)
Year: 2020
Directed by Emmanuel Moret
Cast: Camélia Jordana, Niels Schneider, Vincent Macaigne, Emilie Dequenne
Genres: Fiction
Sub-genre: Drama, Romance Language: French
Runtime: 2 h 2 min
Synopsis: Daphné, three months pregnant, is on vacation in the countryside with her partner François. He has to be absent from work and she finds herself alone to welcome Maxime, her cousin whom she had never met. For four days, while they wait for François to return, Daphné and Maxime gradually get to know each other and confide increasingly intimate stories to each other about their present and past love stories.
Title: Les Deux Alfred (The Two Alfreds)
Year: 2021
Directed by Bruno Podalydès
Cast: Denis Podalydès, Sandrine Kiberlain, Bruno Podalydès
Genres: Fiction
Sub-genre: Comedy Language: French Runtime: 1 h 32 min
Synopsis: Alexandre, a downgraded unemployed person, has two months to prove to his wife that he can take care of his two young children and be financially independent. Problem: The Box, the very friendly start-up that wants to hire him on a trial basis, has the dogma: “No children! », and Séverine, her future superior, is a “killer” with an eruptive character. To obtain this position, Alexandre must lie... Will the
meeting with Arcimboldo, “self-entrepreneur” and king of odd jobs on apps, help this valiant and confused man to overcome all these challenges?
Title: Manon Des Sources (Manon of the Sources)
Year: 1986
Directed by Claude Berri
Cast: Yves Montand, Daniel Auteuil, Emmanuelle Béart
Genres: Fiction
Sub-genre: Drama, Literary Adaptation Language: French
Runtime: 1 h 53 min
Synopsis: "Jean de Florette 2nd part". Ten years later. Manon, a young goat herder, lives in the Baptistine cave, in the hills. Ugolin makes his fortune with his carnations. But the guilt haunts him all the more because he is madly in love with Manon. To take revenge, Manon diverts the spring that supplies the village, thus condemning it to die of drought. The catastrophe then makes the community aware of its sin by omission. Little by little, the village breaks the law of silence, and accuses the Pope and Ugolin. Ugolin declares his love to Manon who rejects him and marries the teacher. Desperate, Ugolin hangs himself. The Pope discovers, at the end of his life, the terrible truth: the man he pushed to death, Jean de Florette, was his own son. Definitely broken, the old man just has to die.
D’Argent de Sang (Of Money and Blood)
Year: 2023
Series by: Xavier Giannoli
Cast: Vincent Lindon, Niels Schneider, Judith Chemla
Genres: Fiction
Sub-genre: Drama, Thriller Language: French Runtime: 1 h
Synopsis: The scam of the century, which occurred in France and Europe between 2008 and 2009. Billions went up in smoke on the new financial market of "carbon quotas" invented to fight against global warming. The association of crooks from Belleville with a trader from the upscale neighborhoods, tracked by an obsessive investigator. When human passions are unleashed beyond simple interest.
Title: Daaaaaali!
Year: 2023
Directed by Quentin Dupieux
Cast: Édouard Baer, Anaïs Demoustier, Gilles Lellouche
Genres: Fiction
Sub-genre: Comedy Language: French Runtime: 1 h 17 min
Synopsis: A French journalist meets the iconic surrealist artist Salvador Dalí on several occasions for a documentary project that never came to be.
Title: Anatomie d'une chute (Anatomy of a Faill)
Year: 2023
Directed by Justine Triet
Cast: Sandra Huller, Swann Arlaud, Milo Machado Graner
Genres: Fiction Sub-genre: Drama Language: French
Runtime: 2 h 30 min
Synopsis: Sandra, a German writer, lives with her husband Samuel and their visually impaired son Daniel in a remote mountain chalet in the French Alps. When Samuel falls to his death in mysterious circumstances, the investigation cannot determine whether it’s suicide or foul play. Sandra is ultimately arrested for murder and the trial puts their tumultuous relationship and her ambiguous personality under the microscope. As her young son takes to the stand, doubt starts creeping in between them.
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