FILM FESTIVAL SPECIAL EVENTS

Mon 21 Aug 14:30

Sun

Sat

Tue 22 August 18:15

Tue 15 Aug 21:00

Thu 17 Aug 20:45

Sun 13 Aug 19:00

Fri 25 August 21:00

Vive La France

Premieres, Previews & New Releases of French Cinema

Institut Français in partnership with the Chichester International Film Festival are pleased to preview three new French films. In addition we present a further five quality French releases, including our Closing Gala ‘Along Came Love.’

Wed 16 Aug 16:15 – Auditorium

Thu 24 Aug 21:00 – Auditorium

About Joan Propos De Joan

Overwhelmed when a figure from her past re-emerges, Joan Verra (Isabelle Huppert) retreats to the countryside with her son Nathan. There she experiences fragmented recollections of her past romantic encounters.

On a Paris street corner Joan runs into her first love, a once young Irishman. Non-plussed, she leaves for her country house and revisits the last 40 years, building a fantasised picture of her life. Her son Nathan, just back from Montreal, accompanies her in these moments. In several passages of a long-awaited but liberating journey about coming to terms with the stories we tell ourselves Huppert narrates as Joan, speaking directly to the audience, controlling the moderation of her own story, although, because of a bombshell revelation in the third act, she can’t quite explain where we stop, start and transition. Huppert is as amusing as ever and there is a lilting, melancholic tone to her performance, especially as Joan in the present. When remembering her first love, the Irish rascal Doug (Eanna Hardwicke), she sends us back to 1970 Dublin, where most of the first act takes place. There is a lavish texture across each landscape and period, perhaps all seemingly attenuated for Huppert, but also delivering a rich visual flavour. Whether she is dancing in a German club or lounging morosely in the forest outside her home, it’s a beautifully shot showcase for her (and her various hair-dos), especially considering production took place in the early stages of the pandemic and spans three different periods across three different countries. (Subtitles)

FRANCE 2021 LAURENT LARIVIÈRE 101M

NB. Isabelle Huppert appears in two more films in the Festival: ‘By Heart’ (see pg34), and Chabrol’s ‘Merci pour le Chocolat’ (see pg77).

Vive La France

Preview ANGRY ANNIE ANNIE COLÈRE

Annie becomes pregnant. Since she doesn’t want to keep the child, she becomes involved with a movement that performs illegal abortions. It is the ’70s and Annie will encounter both allies and opponents along the way.

A village in France, 1974. When she accidentally becomes pregnant, Annie, a working mother of two teenagers, joins the Movement for the Liberation of Abortion and Contraception (MLAC): a network of doctors and women who carry out illegal abortions, but practise a free, safe and respectful method. The process is explained to her thoroughly, calmly and without judgement by two volunteers, Hélène and Monique, and performed by a liberal, sympathetic doctor. The experience, along with a personal tragedy, inspires her to help other women receive the same care, and she soon finds herself a dedicated member of MLAC, juggling a new purpose in life and existing obligations at home with her husband Philippe. Blandine Lenoir’s film is not too concerned with the political aspect of the quest to legalise abortions in 1970s France, but instead offers a gentle insight into the compassion, bravery and care the women and men of MLAC. (Subtitles)

Preview RISE

En Corps

Marion Barbeau, a Paris Opera dancer making her acting debut, is terrific as an injured performer who finds strength in a contemporary dance company. Élise thought she had the perfect life: an ideal boyfriend and a promising career as a ballet dancer. It all falls apart the day she catches him cheating on her; and after she suffers an injury on stage, it seems like she might not be able to dance again. The path to physical and emotional recovery will lead her away from Paris to Brittany – where her friends, a new love and the freedom of contemporary dance will help her reconnect with her father and most importantly, herself. A heartwarming and inspiring story that tells us how, sometimes, the worst thing that could happen may turn out to be the best. “For a first-time actor in a feature film, Barbeau, a trained ballet dancer in the Paris Opera, gives a beautiful performance that communicates the emotional interiority that exists in the physicality of dancing – bringing to mind Moira Shearer in ‘The Red Shoes’.” (Subtitles)

FRANCE 2021 CÉDRIC KLAPISCH 120M

Brought to you by:

Mon 14 Aug 18:30 – Auditorium

Tue 15 Aug 14:00 – Auditorium

Paris Memories Revoir Paris

Writer-director Alice Winocour offers an engaging account of severe PTSD and a possible path to recovery. ‘Paris Memories’ is a drama based on a terrorist attack and the profound marks left on those who survived, undeniably bringing to mind the Charlie Hebdo and Bataclan tragedies. Three months after being caught in a Paris bistro during the attack, Mia (Virginie Efira), a Russian translator, remains in limbo, a stranger to herself and to the city. By returning to the place where it all happened and where she hid for nearly two hours, she makes an effort to remember the details that will allow her to heal and move forward. Her taciturn accumulation of emotions finds some illumination in the optimism of Thomas (Benoît Magimel), another survivor who was celebrating his birthday on that fateful evening. Circumspectly shot, this heartbreaking description of how to overcome trauma is centred on the victims, not the murderers. The images are poignant, the sound is effective and Efira’s Mia shines as an emotionally adrift survivor in a drama that, while fictionalised, channels postBataclan sentiment with tact and humanity. It provides a soulful look at learning how to live again when you have miraculously escaped dying. ‘Revoir Paris’ was premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. (Subtitles)

FRANCE 2022 ALICE WINOCOUR 105M

UK Premiere THE PRINCIPAL LE PRINCIPAL

A middle school vice-principal Sabri Lahlali is prepared to do whatever it takes to ensure that his son will achieve the best possible academic record. But he has no idea just how far his plan will take him.

‘The Principal’ explores not only the theme of cheating and education, but also family relationships and ambitions. Secondary characters, such as Estelle and Sabri’s brother, Said, bring extra depth to the story by shedding light on the different facets of Sabri’s life. Visually and verbally, this character seems inscrutable. The film shows him indulging in a race in the woods, symbolising his constant quest to surpass himself. The relationship between Sabri and Estelle, is particularly touching. Estelle represents support and understanding in a world where Sabri often feels isolated because he stands apart from his fellow teachers. Chad Chenouga’s film is a fascinating exploration of moral dilemmas, family relationships and challenges. The combination of a captivating script, powerful performances and skilful staging makes it a fascinating work for anyone interested in questions of ethics, honesty and the quest for success. (Subtitles)

Wed 16 Aug 18:30 – Auditorium

Thu 17 Aug 14:30 – Auditorium

FRANCE 2022 CHAD CHENOUGA 82M

Our thanks to Wild Bunch for this screening.

Wed 16 Aug 20:30 – Auditorium

Mon 21 Aug 12:00 – Auditorium

Preview LIE WITH ME ARRÊTE AVEC TES MENSONGES

After agreeing to be the brand ambassador for a famous cognac celebrating its bicentennial, novelist Stéphane Belcourt returns to his hometown for the first time in many years. What is fiction but a collection of memories, experiences and ideas rehashed, shaped and embellished? Many writers will tell you that while their work is framed by their imagination, nuggets of reality creep into every story they write, including unspoken thoughts, past pain and lost loves. Oliver Peyton’s exquisite adaptation of Philippe Besson’s autobiographical novel adds new layers as we follow the successful author Stéphane Belcourt on a the long-overdue trip back to his hometown. The stunning screenplay dovetails moments of exquisitely timed comedy with deep emotional undercurrents in a movie that takes you from laughter to tears at the click of its fingers. Peyton’s character-focused direction. ‘Lie with Me’ is a stunning exploration of love found, lost and regained through blood memory, prose and a need for shared healing and individual closure. (Subtitles)

FRANCE 2022 OLIVER PEYTON 98M

Our thanks to Peccadillo Pictures for this screening.

English Premiere MADELEINE COLLINS

Judith has a husband and two sons. She also has a lover and a daughter – and a second identity. Entangled in secrets and lies, her double life begins to shatter.

Fri 25 Aug 13:00 – Auditorium

Sat 26 Aug 18:15 – Auditorium

Virginie Efira’s character is a duplicitous woman attempting vainly to reconcile herself to others’ expectations. As Margot Soriano, she lives in Switzerland with her partner Abdel (Quim Gutiérrez) and their little girl, Ninon. But when she travels, ostensibly for work, it’s often to her husband, Melvil (Bruno Salomone), in France. There she goes by the name Judith Fauvet and has two more children. As the veil is skilfully and progressively lifted on the double life of a woman split between two households in two countries, an atmosphere of discomfort and mystery builds and builds. Thanks to the film’s solid construction and Efira’s superbly detailed rendering of a complicated woman, the film feels utterly coherent. With echoes of Patricia Highsmith and Hitchcockian tonality (‘Vertigo’), ‘Madeleine Collins’ slowly reveals itself to be a bewitching exploration of a woman’s torments. A great performer was required to play such a troubled personality: Efira is perfect. A woman hinting at vast and inscrutable depths beneath a perfect mask of beauty. (Subtitles). (Subtitles)

FRANCE/SWITZERLAND 2021 ANTOINE BARRAUD 102M

Our thanks to Charades for this screening.

UK Premiere

Along Came Love

A sweeping melodrama, beginning in the aftermath of World War II and unfolding over two decades.

Sun 27 Aug 18:30 (Closing Gala Dinner & Film)

Sun 27 Aug 10:00 (Film Only)

See Galas on pg9 for full details.

The Chichester International Film Festival was launched in 1992 as the the Festival of Chichester, a summer programme of the arts in the city. Roger Gibson has programmed every edition since its inception, and has seen the Festival grow

Find out more Festival Facts throughout this brochure. Or visit: festival-archive