French Film Festival reveals opening and closing films

French Film Festival reveals opening and closing films

The Alliance Française French Film Festival announces Opening and Closing Night films and the 2017 Education Outreach Programme

Celebrating 11 years of bringing the best of French cinema to New Zealand, the Alliance Française French Film Festival is delighted to reveal the Opening and Closing Night titles for the 2017 Festival.

Launching in Wellington on 1 March, the Festival will open with Jérôme Salle’s breathtaking The Odyssey (L’Odyssée), starring Lambert Wilson, Audrey Tautou, and Pierre Niney.

Based on the life of oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau, The Odyssey invites the audience to marvel at the magic that lies underwater. Combining elements of biopic and romantic fresco full of family drama, the film will take you on an adventurous journey.

In the spirit of celebrating French cinema, the Festival will close with Bertrand Tavernier’s magnificently epic documentary A Journey Through French Cinema (Voyage à travers le cinéma français). 

A lifetime in the making, Tavernier explores the French films from the 30s through to the 70s that inspired him to start out as a director. From giants like Renoir, Godard, and Melville (for whom he worked as an assistant) to now overlooked figures like Edmond T. Gréville and Guy Gilles, he rediscovers and reassesses filmmakers, films, and composers, taking us on a voyage through time and stories.

The 2017 Alliance Française French Film Festival programme will showcase over 30 French-language feature films, offering audiences a chance to immerse themselves in one language, and a world of emotions.

The full 2017 programme will be available online and in print from Thursday 2 February 2017.

Education Outreach

The Education Outreach Programme is designed to engage, educate and inspire student audiences by exposing them to French language in context, and encouraging discussion in the classroom through comprehensive study guides, which are provided free of charge.

The 2017 Education Outreach films are:

• My Mommy is in America and she met Buffalo Bill (Ma maman est en Amérique, elle a rencontré Buffalo Bill) by Marc Boreal and Thibaut Chatel, recommended for ages 6+

• Adama by Simon Rouby, recommended for ages 8+

• Fanny’s Journey (Le voyage de Fanny) by Lola Doillon, recommended for ages 10+

• Standing Tall (La tête haute) by Emmanuelle Bercot, in cross section with the main programme, is recommended for ages 16+

French-language study guides will be available to download free of charge from the Festival website following the full programme launch on Thursday 2 February. For more information on the Education Outreach programme, visit www.frenchfilmfestival.co.nz/education-outreach

The Alliance Française French Film Festival will run from 1 March - 12 April 2017 in 12 cities across New Zealand. For dates and venues information, visit www.frenchfilmfestival.co.nz