Sep 19, 2012
SFFILM
The San Francisco Film Society, in association with the French American Cultural Society, the Consulate General of France in San Francisco and Unifrance, presents the fifth annual French Cinema Now, October 24-30 at Landmark’s Embarcadero Center Cinema. The weeklong festival brings the most significant new work from international francophone cinema to discerning Bay Area audiences. Covering a broad spectrum of subject matter and genres, it offers a comprehensive snapshot of the current moment in French language cinema.
“It’s easy to understand why San Francisco has such an appreciation for francophone film when we continue to see exciting, high quality work of all kinds,” said Rachel Rosen, Film Society director of programming. “This year’s French Cinema Now once again highlights the variety and excellence of French-language filmmakers, featuring everything from crowd-pleasing comedies to challenging themes in works by master filmmakers to exhilarating discoveries from fresh, new voices.”
From the comedic delights of Mobile Home and My Worst Nightmare to more dramatic portraits of modern life such as Sister and Donoma, French Cinema Now 2012 has something for Francophile cineastes of all tastes. Gallic stars like Isabelle Huppert, Léa Seydoux and Pierre Richard–along with celebrated American actors Jane Fonda and Gillian Anderson notably appearing in French-language roles–come together with directors including Anne Fontaine, Noémie Lvovsky and newcomer Djinn Carrénard to present compelling stories of aging gracefully, sibling relationships and the difficulties encountered when trying to leave home.
Wednesday, October 24 OPENING NIGHT
6:30 pm Camille Rewinds
Noémie Lvovsky
How often do we wish that we could go back and do things differently? Camille, a 40-something mother in the midst of a painful divorce from her high-school sweetheart, gets the chance when she passes out at a New Year’s Eve party and wakes up back in the ’80s where everyone reacts to her as if she were 16 again. Noémie Lvovsky’s delightful take on Peggy Sue Got Married-style time travel features a charming cast and makes full comic use of the garish fashions and music of the era. (Camille redouble, France 2012. Written by Noémie Lvovsky, Maud Ameline, Pierre-Olivier Mattei, Florence Seyvos, Photographed by Jean-Marc Fabre. With Noémie Lvovsky, Yolande Moreau, Samir Guesmi, Denis Podalydès, Mathieu Amalric. 111 min. In French with subtitles. Distributed by Gaumont)
9:00 pm Opening Night Party A chic postscreening soiree with rustic Italian bites and sponsored drinks at Credo Restaurant, 360 Pine Street (at Montgomery).
9:15 pm Donoma
Djinn Carrenard
Impressively made with a very low budget, this bold and confident first feature from Haitian filmmaker Djinn Carrénard layers issues of race, class, religion and gender within a variety of intersecting storylines involving youngsters in Paris. From a Spanish teacher becoming increasingly and problematically involved with one of her students to a Ghana-born photographer negotiating a new affair to a young agnostic woman who claims to have received stigmata, Donoma depicts a vast cross-section of relationships and systems of thought to explore the point at which clarity falters. (France 2011. Written by Djinn Carrenard. Photographed by Djinn Carrenard. With Emilia Dérou-Bernal, Sékouba Doucouré, Vincente Perez, Salomé Blechmans. 136 min. In French and Spanish with subtitles. Distributed by The Festival Agency)
Thursday, October 25
6:30 pm Aliyah
Elie Wajeman
Low-level drug dealer Alex wants in on his cousin’s plan to open a restaurant in Tel Aviv, even if he lacks the spiritual motivation that spurs many Jews to make Aliyah-a return to the Holy Land. He begins preparations, taking Hebrew lessons and tracking down the documents that will officially certify him as a Jew, and starts dealing cocaine in order to raise the funds he needs. With elements of a thriller and a twist of romance, this assured debut feature is a moody portrait of a man in search of a new beginning. (Alyah, France 2012. Written by Gaëlle Macé, Elie Wajeman. Photographed by David Chizallet. With Pio Marmaï, Cédric Kahn, Guillaume Bouix. 88 min. In French with subtitles. Film Movement)
8:45 pm My Worst Nightmare
Anne Fontaine
Opposites collide to humorous effect in Anne Fontaine’s satire of the Parisian bourgeoisie. Agathe (Isabelle Huppert) is a demanding, uptight gallerist whose partner François (André Dussolier) works in publishing. When a boorish Belgian named Patrick is hired to do a remodeling job for them, he manages, through numerous amusing circumstances, to thaw Agathe out a bit and show François the pleasures of playing the romantic field. Throughout, Fontaine cleverly shows that, while people of different temperaments might attract for a while, whether such relationships can last is a different question entirely. (Mon pire cauchemar, France 2011. Written by Anne Fontaine, Nicolas Mercier. Photographed by Jean-Marc Fabre. With Isabelle Huppert, Benoît Poelvoorde, André Dussolier. 103 min. In French with subtitles. Distributed by Strand Releasing)
Friday, October 26
4:00 pm All Together
Stéphane Robelin
Set against the backdrop of France’s economic crisis, this trenchant crowd-pleaser depicts a group of elderly friends who decide to live out their sunset years under the same roof. In this crew you have the irascible Claude who photographs nudes, Jeanne (Jane Fonda), recently diagnosed with cancer, her increasingly forgetful husband Albert (Pierre Richard), psychologist Annie and her politically active husband Jean. Throw a handsome young anthropologist interested in aging into the mix and you have a warm and star-studded portrait of years-long friendship and the dilemmas of getting older. (Et si on vivait tous ensemble?, France/Germany 2011. Written by Stéphane Robelin, Photographed by Dominique Colin. With Jane Fonda, Geraldine Chaplin, Claude Rich, Pierre Richard. 96 min. In French with subtitles. Distributed by Kino Lorber)
6:30 pm Mobile Home
François Pirot
Simon and Julien are handsome girl chasers, handicapped by the fact that they are out of work and living with their parents. Using money that his folks had set aside for his future, Simon decides to buy the titular vehicle and asks his best pal to leave the Belgian countryside and join him on the road toward new adventures and locales. What ensues is a marvelous comedy of errors involving vehicular malfunctions, financial difficulties and female temptations and offering a bittersweet message about friendship and the search for home. (Belgium/Luxembourg/France 2012. Written by François Pirot, Martine Loix, Jean-Benoît Ugeux. Photographed by Manuel Dacosse. With Arthur Dupont, Guillaume Gouix, Jackie Berroyer, Jean-Paul Bonnaire. 95 min. In French with subtitles. Distributed by Urban Distribution International)
9:15 pm A World Without Women U.S. Premiere
Guillaume Brac
Patricia and her daughter Juliette have rented a cottage in a lazy beachfront town. The former is flirtatious with men, verging on desperate, while her pretty and intelligent child is more timid and careful with her affections. Both of them play a back-and-forth emotional tease with Sylvain, the flat’s schlubby proprietor, and the resulting psychological effects on all parties are presented with subtlety and impressive acting. The film is accompanied by the director’s earlier short film Stranded (Le naufragé, 24 min, 2009), which offers another story featuring the character of Sylvain. (Un monde sans femmes, France 2011. Written by Guillaume Brac. Photographed by Tom Harari. With Constance Rousseau, Laurent Papot, Vincent Macaigne. 54 min. In French with subtitles. Distributed by Année Zéro)
Saturday, October 27
1:15 pm All Together see 10/26
3:30 pm Camille Rewinds see 10/24
6:30 pm My Worst Nightmare see 10/25
9:00 pm Hors Satan
Bruno Dumont
Suffused with elemental images, Bruno Dumont’s latest provocation concerns an unnamed drifter disturbing the balance in a seaside town. The mysterious man becomes involved with a young villager, also nameless, but his interest lies more in protecting her from men he sees as predatory than anything romantic. A series of violent deaths in the area draws attention to the newcomer from local police and residents, and as increasingly strange events occur, Dumont once again demonstrates his mastery of form and tone and his interest in both the sacred and the profane. (France 2011. Written by Bruno Dumont. Photographed by Yves Cape. With David Dewaele, Alexandra Lemâtre, Valérie Mestdagh, Sonia Barthélémy. 109 min. In French with subtitles. Distributed by New Yorker Films)
Sunday, October 28
1:30 pm Donoma see 10/24
4:30 pm Louise Wimmer
Cyril Mennegun
This devastating portrait depicts a woman in a desperate situation: Louise is living out of her car, her marriage has collapsed and she has few marketable skills. She trudges through several cleaning jobs, cadges food from buffet restaurants and tries to hide her present situation from her ex-husband and child. These circumstances are depicted with wonderful attentiveness through Corinne Masiero’s deeply-felt performance and a terrific, mostly observational, script, highlighting Louise’s dignity in the face of despair and putting a compelling face on the millions of people suffering from Europe’s current financial woes. (France 2011. Written by Cyril Mennegun. Photographed by Thomas Letellier. With Corinne Masiero, Jérôme Kircher, Marie Kremer. 80 min. In French with subtitles. Distributed by Films Distribution)
6:30 pm A World Without Women see 10/26
9:00 pm Mobile Home see 10/26
Monday, October 29
6:15 pm Hors Satan see 10/27
9:00 pm Aliyah see 10/25
Tuesday, October 30 CLOSING NIGHT
6:15 pm Sister
Ursula Meier
From director Ursula Meier comes this powerfully acted story of two siblings living near a Swiss ski resort: 12-year-old Simon, a petty thief who takes advantage of the tourist influx to ply his trade, and his older sister Louise (Léa Seydoux). With no parents in sight, Simon is the main breadwinner but looks to Louise for support and love, responses she is frequently unable to give. Reminiscent of the brand of social realism perfected by the Dardennes brothers, Meier makes remarkable use of her picturesque setting, sharply delineating the difference between the haves and the have-nots. (L’enfant d’en haut, France/Switzerland 2011. Written by Antoine Jaccoud, Ursula Meier. Photographed by Agnès Godard. With Kacey Mottet Klein, Léa Seydoux, Martin Compston, Gillian Anderson, Jean-François Stévenin. 100 min. In French and English with subtitles. Distributed by Adopt Films)
9:00 pm Louise Wimmer see 10/28
Every year, SFFS Youth Education, in partnership with the Consulate General of France in San Francisco, presents the French Films & Schools program as part of French Cinema Now. This program exposes high-school level students of French to the language and culture of France. Past offerings have included Brodeuses by Éléonore Faucher, Cyrano de Bergerac by Jean-Paul Rappeneau, L’Enfant by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne and The Class by Laurent Cantet. This year’s program, offered free to all participating students and their teachers, will feature two films: Sisters by Ursula Meier and A World Without Women by Guillaume Brac. Seats for the French Films & Schools program are available exclusively to Bay Area educators and students and may be reserved only through the Schools at the Festival office by contacting Keith Zwölfer at 415-561-5040 or kzwolfer@sffs.org.
Film tickets $11 for SFFS members, $13 general, $12 seniors, students and persons with disabilities; Opening Night film and party $20 for SFFS members, $25 general; Film Society CineVoucher 10-Packs $105 for SFFS members, $125 general. Fall Season Cinevisa $450. Box office opens September 19 for members and September 21 for the general public online at sffs.org.
To request screeners or interviews contact bproctor@sffs.org.
For photos and press materials visit: sffs.org/pressdownloads.
French Cinema Now is sponsored by the French American Cultural Society; Bank of the West; TV5 Monde; the Consulate General of France, San Francisco; Unifrance USA; Swiss International Air Lines; hotel sponsor The Fairmont San Francisco; media sponsors San Francisco Examiner and San Francisco Bay Guardian and event sponsor Credo. Special support is provided by William R. Hearst III.