2013
Films:
Thérèse Desqueyroux
Friday, March 8th at 7pm
Genre: Drama
Director: Claude Miller
Screenplay: Claude Miller, Natalie Carter
Running Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
Starring: Audrey Tautou, Gilles Lellouche, Anais Demoustier
Distributor: UGC Distribution
SYNOPSIS
In the French region of Landes, near Bordeaux, marriages are arranged to merge land parcels and unite neighboring families. Thus, young Thérèse Larroque becomes Mrs. Desqueyroux. But her avant-garde ideas clash with local conventions. In order to break free from the fate imposed upon her and live a full life, she will resort to tragically extreme measures...
38 Witnesses 38 Témoins
Saturday, March 9th at 9:30am
Genre: Drama
Director: Lucas Belvaux
Screenplay: Lucas Belvaux
Running Time: 1 hour 44 minutes
Starring: Yvan Attal, Sophie Quinton, Nicole Garcia, François Feroleto, Natacha Régnier, Patrick Descamps and Didier Sandre
Distributor: Films Distribution
SYNOPSIS
Louise returns home to discover that while she was away on business in China her street was the scene of a crime. There were no witnesses. Everybody was asleep. Apparently. Pierre, Louise’s husband, was at work. Apparently. As days go by, Louise learns that thirty-eight people saw or heard something. That Pierre was home that night. He heard. He saw. One of thirty-eight, keeping silent, lying... One of thirty-eight, her husband.
Tango Libre
Saturday, March 9th at 12pm
Genre: Comedy-Drama
Director: Frédéric Fonteyne
Screenplay : Anne Paulicevich
Running Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Starring: Francois Damiens, Sergi Lopez, Anne Paulicevich, Jan Hammenecker, Zacharie Chasseriaud
Distributor: Films Distribution
SYNOPSIS
JC is a prison guard. He is an ordinary man with an uneventful life. His only extravagance is taking tango classes one night a week. One day, he meets a newcomer, Alice. The next day, surprisingly, he sees her again during prison visiting hours. She has come to see two inmates: one is her husband, the other her lover… Prison regulations prohibit socializing with inmates’ families. Strangely attracted to this free woman who doesn’t live by any rules, JC ends up breaking all the rules that guided his life up until they met…
War Witch Rebelle
Saturday, March 9th at 2:45pm
Genre: Drama
Director: Kim Nguyen
Screenplay : Kim Nguyen
Running Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Starring: Rachel Mwanza, Alain Bastien, Serge Kanyianda, Ralph Prosper, Mizinga Mwinga
Distributor: Tribeca Film Festival
SYNOPSIS
Komona (Rachel Mwanza) is only 12 years old when she is kidnapped by rebel soldiers and enslaved to a life of guerrilla warfare in the African jungle. Forced to commit unspeakable acts of brutality, she finds hope for survival in protective, ghost-like visions (inspiring a rebel chief to anoint her "War Witch"), and in a tender relationship with a fellow soldier named Magician (Serge Kanyinda). Together, they manage to escape the rebels' clutches, and a normal life finally seems within reach. But after their freedom proves short-lived, Komona realizes she must find a way to bury the ghosts of her past.
Granny's Funeral Adieu Berthe
Saturday, March 9th at 5pm
Genre: Comedy
Director: Bruno Podalydès
Screenplay : Denis Podalydès, Bruno Podalydès
Running Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Starring: Denis Podalydès, Valérie Lemercier
Distributor: Wild Bunch
SYNOPSIS
Gran's dead. Berthe is no longer. Armand had "vaguely" forgotten his dear old grandmother... A druggist, he works with his wife Hélène in Chatou. Armand hides his magician's props in a medicine drawer because he is secretly preparing a show for the birthday of... his mistress's daughter. And now there's dear and dead gran! Should she be buried or should she be incinerated? Who exactly was Berthe?
Renoir
Saturday, March 9th at 7:15pm
Genre: Biopic
Director: Gilles Bourdos
Screenplay: Jérôme Tonnerre, Gilles Bourdos
Running Time: 1 hour 51 minutes
Starring: Michel Bouquet, Christa Théret, Vincent Rottiers, Thomas Doret, Romane Bohringer
Distributor: Wild Bunch
SYNOPSIS
The Côte d’Azur. 1915. In his twilight years, Pierre-Auguste Renoir is tormented by the loss of his wife, the pains of arthritic old age and the terrible news that his son Jean has been wounded in action. But when a young girl miraculously enters his world, the old painter is filled with a new, wholly unexpected energy. Blazing with life, radiantly beautiful, Andrée will become his last model, and the wellspring of a remarkable rejuvenation. Back at the family home to convalesce, Jean too falls under the spell of the new, redheaded star in the Renoir firmament. In their Mediterranean Eden – and in the face of his father’s fierce opposition – he falls in love with this wild, untameable spirit... and as he does so, within weak-willed, battle-shaken Jean, a filmmaker begins to grow.
Our Children A perdre la Raison
Saturday, March 9th at 9pm
Genre: Drama
Director: Joachim Lafosse
Screenplay : Joachim Lafosse, Matthieu Reynaert
Running Time: 1 hour 51 minutes
Starring: Niels Arestrup, Emilie Dequenne, Tahar Rahim
Distributor: Les Films du Losange
SYNOPSIS
Murielle and Mounir love each other passionately. Ever since he was a boy, the young man has been living with Doctor Pinget who provides him with a comfortable life. When Mounir and Murielle decide to marry and have children, the couple’s dependence on the doctor becomes excessive. Murielle finds herself caught up in an unhealthy emotional climate that insidiously leads the family towards a tragic outcome.
Little Lion Comme un lion
Sunday, March 10th at 11am
Genre: Family film
Director: Samuel Collardey
Screenplay: Catherine Paillé, Nadège Trebal, Samuel Collardey
Running Time: 1 hour 41 minutes
Starring: Marc Barbé, Mytri Attal, Anne Coesens, Marc Berman, Jean-François Stévenin
Distributor: Pyramide Distribution
SYNOPSIS
Mitri is fifteen and lives in a Senegalese village. Like all boys his age, he plays football and dreams of Barça and of Chelsea. When a recruiting agent picks him up out, Mitri believes his chance has come. But to get seen by the great European football clubs, one has to pay. His family chips in and puts itself into debt to help him. Once in Paris, everything collapses: Mitri finds himself abandoned, without a dime in his pocket, and unable to imagine dealing with the shame should he return to his village. An odyssey which will require all his resourcefulness hence begins. But his football dream will soon catch up with him...
Becoming Traviata Traviata et Nous
Sunday, March 10th at 1:30pm
Genre: Documentary
Director: Philippe Béziat
Running Time: 1 hour 52 minutes
Starring: Natalie Dessay, Jean-François Sivadier, Louis Langrée
Distributor: Sophie Dulac Distribution
SYNOPSIS
Spring, 2011. Jean-François Sivadier stages La Traviata at Aix-en-Provence, Louis Langrée conducts the London Symphony Orchestra, Natalie Dessay is Violetta. Over two months, from the rehearsal rooms to behind the scenes of the Théâtre de l’Archevêché, a film crew closely followed the production's development from up close How does one become La Traviata? How does the story appear to us on the theater stage? How does emotion spring to life again from a conductor's baton, between the orchestra and the choir? How is the magic of opera renewed and reproduced? How does one become a character? Each and every one of us has had a date at some time or another with this woman, this work, this myth: TRAVIATA.
You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet
Vous n'avez encore rien vu
Sunday, March 10th at 4:10pm
Genre: Fiction
Director: Alain Resnais
Screenplay : Alex Réval and Laurent Herbiet
Running Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Starring: Mathieu Amalric, Pierre Arditi, Sabine Azéma, Jean-Noël Brouté, Anne Consigny, Anny Duperey, Hippolyte Giradot, Gérard Lartigau, Michel Piccoli, Denis Podalydés, Michel Robin, Andrzej Seweryn, Jean-Chrétien Sibertin-Blanc, Michel Vuillermoz, Lambert Wilson
Distributor: Studio Canal
SYNOPSIS
From beyond the grave, celebrated playwright Antoine d’Anthac gathers together all his friends who have appeared over the years in his play "Eurydice". These actors watch a recording of the work performed by a young theater company, La Compagnie de la Colombe. Do love, life, death and love after death still have any place on a theater stage? It’s up to them to decide. And the surprises have only just begun...
Welcome to Argentina
Mariage À Mendoza
Sunday, March 10th at 8pm
Genre: Comedy
Director: Édouard Deluc
Screenplay: Édouard Deluc, Thomas Lilti, Philippe Rebbot, Anais Carpita
Running Time: 1 hour 34 minutes
Starring: Nicolas Duvauchelle, Philippe Rebbot, Gustavo Kamenetzky, Paloma Contreras
Distributor: Kinlogy
SYNOPSIS
Marcus and his brother Antoine head to Argentina for their cousin’s wedding. They plan to explore all that Buenos Aires has to offer before making the trip to Mendoza in the west. Marcus is thrilled to be on the road and determined to have fun, while Antoine is depressed after being dumped by his wife, who refused to come with them at the last minute. Marcus will do anything it takes to cheer up his little brother. After a very caliente evening in the capital, they hit the road, discovering Argentina vineyard’s and making unlikely encounters –with a crackpot receptionist, a divine beauty, a pregnant ewe, and a guy afflicted by Stendhal syndrome –until, at the end of their journey, the two brothers find peace.
Paris under Watch Aux yeux de tous
Thursday, March 7th at 8pm
Genre: Thriller
Director: Cédric Jimenez
Screenplay : Arnaud Duprey, Cédric Jimenez, Audrey Diwan
Running Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Starring: Olivier Barthelemy, Mélanie Doutey
Distributor: Films Distribution
SYNOPSIS
A bomb attack in Gare d'Austerlitz: the government accuses Islamic groups, but a computer hacker, an anonymous upholder of the law, finds images of the bombing and tracks down a young couple responsible for it. With the help of the video surveillance cameras in the city, he starts spying on them and manipulating them, meanwhile realizing that truth can have many faces...
Events:
Opening Night
Friday, March 8th, 2013
Red Carpet Reception & Silent Auction Preview 6:30pm
Premiere Screening of Thérèse Desqueyroux 7pm
Gala Dinner & Silent Auction
Following the Opening Night film, sip champagne donated by FFC Gala sponsor Perrier-Jouët, along with invited dignitaries, guests and friends at our OPENING NIGHT GALA designed by Winston Flowers. A feast of French cuisine will be presented by Les Maîtres Cuisiniers de France and L'Académie Culinaire de France. Stop by the "Silent Auction" and bid on everything from luxurious ski resort packages and yacht cruises to a weekend at the breathtaking Ocean House in Watch Hill, Rhode Island. Fabulous French wines and fashion, fine art and Restaurant gift certificates will be available for Opening Night guests to bid on. 10% of the net proceeds of the event will benefit Action Against Hunger.
La Table Ronde
Saturday, March 9th, 2013
Join us Saturday morning for a discussion with our visiting actors and directors moderated by Cinema Studies expert Dr. Anne Kern of Purchase College. Take an insightful look at our 2013 film selections through the personal commentaries of guest Directors and Actors as well as local film experts.oin us Saturday morning for a discussion with our visiting actors and directors moderated by Cinema Studies expert Dr. Anne Kern of Purchase College. Take an insightful look at our 2013 film selections through the personal commentaries of guest Directors and Actors as well as local film experts.
Rue des Restaurants
Be sure to visit our French dining destination throughout the weekend! Indulge in “Paris at the PAC” all weekend long with a selection of our favorite French fare. Grab a cup of coffee or a glass of wine and enjoy everything from croques-monsieur, quiches, pâtés from D’Artagnan or Swiss Cheeses, Caneles by Celine , "Cafes Garnis", homemade soups as well as chocolates and desserts! You can even buy tablecloths and napkins from Provence en Boite! La Rue des Restaurants will be located in the upper lobby of the Performing Arts Center. Cash and credit cards accepted.
Guests:
Gilles Bourdos, Director - Renoir
Saturday March 9
Born in Nice, Provence, Gilles Bourdos started in the early 90s as a short-film’s director, including L’éternelle idole and Relache. After co-writing the screenplay for Michel Spinosa’s Emmène-moi, he created with him the production company Persona Films. In 1998, he directs his first full-length, Disparus, the story of a Jewish worker hounded by Staline’s police. His next movie, Inquiétudes (2002), a subtle thriller based on the encounter of two strong personalities unlikely to meet, earns him great praise from the critics. Particularly, his ambitious narrative and aesthetic constraints get noticed. His next movie, Et après ? (Afterwards, 2007), includes a great international cast, led by RomainDuris and John Malkovich, and is selected to Toronto International Film Festival. In 2012, he directs Renoir, with Michel Bouquet as the impressionist painter, Vincent Rottiers playing his son, Jean, and Christa Théret as Andrée, a muse to both these great men. A critical and commercial success in France, it is also expected to get international appreciation. This movie is his third collaboration with Mark Ping Bin Lee, famous for his photography work on Wong KarWai's In The Mood For Love. Gilles Bourdos lives in Brooklyn, NY.
Anne Consigny, Actress - You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet
Sunday March 10
Anne Consigny was only 9 years when she performed on stage for the first time in Le Soulier de Satin by Paul Claudel, under the direction of Jean Louis Barrault. She later performed with Peter Brook and joined the Comedie Francaise. She branched out to cinema in the early 2000’s and appeared with great force as the female lead in 36 Quai des Orfevres (Department 36) in 2004. Police thrillers are familiar genres for her and she played in both Mesrine (2008) and Rapt (2010). She received a Best Actress Award nomination for her memorable performances in Not Here to be Loved (2004). She is known for her pivotal role in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly ( 2007). Consigny was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in A Christmas Tale (2008). She has worked with director Alain Resnais in his films Wild Grass and You Ain’t Seen Nothin’ Yet.
Nathalie Dessay, Soprano - Becoming Traviata
Sunday March 10
French soprano Natalie Dessay is one the stars of today’s operatic world, thrilling audiences as both a singer and an actress.
Now an admired interpreter of bel canto and lyric heroines such as Violetta (La traviata), Lucia di Lammermoor, Marie (La Fille du régiment), Amina (La sonnambula), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Manon, Juliette, Ophélie (Hamlet) and Cleopatra (Giulio Cesare), Dessay originally made her reputation with showpiece coloratura roles such as Offenbach’s Olympia, Mozart’s Queen of the Night and Strauss’ Zerbinetta.
Born in Lyons in 1965, Natalie Dessay grew up in Bordeaux. She first dreamed of becoming a dancer, but later studied acting and singing at the Bordeaux Conservatoire. She progressed with extraordinary rapidity, completing five years’ worth of study in just one year and graduating with First Prize at the age of twenty. In 1989, after a brief period in the chorus of the Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse, she entered France’s first Concours des Voix nouvelles and won second prize. This led Dessay to further studies at the Paris Opéra and also brought her to the attention of the agent Thérèse Cédelle – still her agent today – and to her first major engagements as a soloist.
Jean- Francois Sivadier, Stage Director - Becoming Traviata
Sunday March 10
After having graduated from the l’Ecole du Théâtre National de Strasbourg, Jean-Francois Sivadier, became a comedian, author and stage director. In 1996 he directed and achieved great success with the play Italienne avec Orchestre. Afterwards, he directed plays for different theaters in France including Don Juan, le Mariage de Figaro, and la Vie de Galilée by Brecht for the Avignon Festival in 2001. In 2005, he received the Moliere Award for directing La Mort de Dante by Buchner. In 2007 he directed King Lear for the Avignon festival. He states his vision as being “what is important for me as a director is to suggest a theater which gives the feeling that it is live and re-invents itself in front of spectators”. Parallel with his stage activity, Sivadier is deeply involved in the Opera field directing such classics as Madame Butterfly, Les Noces de Figaro, and Carmen. In 2011, he directed The Traviata for the Aix en Provence festival.
Read Jean-Francois Sivadier's Interview for Focus on French Cinema and Greenwich Post > Here
Christa Theret, Actress - Renoir
Saturday March 9
In 2005 at the age of 11, Christa Theret started her movie career when she was spotted by a casting director at her school playground. Five years later she played a Gothic teenager in Et toi, t'es sur qui?. At 17, she was chosen by Lisa Azuelos to play the rebellious daughter of Sophie Marceau in LOL - Laughing Out Loud which increased her fame. She was nominated for a César Award as the most promising actress in 2010 for this role. She then played the mistress of Jean Dujardin in Bertrand Blier’s Le Bruit des glaçons and later took the top credit in the first film by Fouad Benhammou, Le Village des ombres, before handling a more serious topic, that of childbirth in the movie La Brindille. She later became a favorite among the world of car enthusiasts playing in Lars Blumers’ Mike and Christopher Sahr’s Tuning dans Voie rapide. In 2012 the actress joined the cast of L'Homme qui rit where a young man with a huge scar disfiguring his face, enters the nobility. In Renoir, she embodies the painter’s last muse.
Speakers:
Anne M. Kern is Assistant Professor and Coordinator of Cinema Studies at Purchase College, State University of New York. Professor Kern has a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature and Film Studies from Yale University, and has published work on European and American film, surrealism and psychoanalysis, including essays in Cinema Journal and various anthologies. She is currently revising a book-length project on instances of the ludic in French film and literature. Dr. Kern also serves as a Board Member of both the Alliance Française of Greenwich and the Focus on French Cinema film festival.
Paul Master-Karnik earned his PhD. in modern art history from Rutgers University. He has taught at Rutgers and New York University, and was Director of the New Jersey Center for Visual Arts and the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park in Lincoln, MA. Master-Karnik became Executive Director of the Greenwich Arts Council in 2008.
Take a Glance at our 2013 Festival