As the only UK festival devoted exclusively to contemporary and classic French-speaking cinema, the French Film Festival UK has earned an unrivalled reputation as a showcase for Francophone cinema. Most of the 20 films presented in Chichester are previews or UK premieres. Many of them had their world premieres in Cannes earlier this year. Also on the agenda are three classic French films: Truffaut’s Day for Night and Claude Lelouch’s A Man and a Woman, and César & Rosalie supported with illustrated talks The films feature such luminaries as Isabelle Huppert, Catherine Deneuve, Anouk Aimee, Léa Seydoux, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Yves Montand and Fabrice Luchini
There’s also an exclusive preview of Woody Allen’s latest film in French Coup de Chance and a possible guest: with actor Mathieu Amalric (tbc) introducing Filmlovers!. Roger Gibson 1 Nov – 12 Dec 2024
Cover image: Emmanuel Courcol’s The Marching Band
Wed 6 Nov (18:00) Thu 7 Nov (13:30)
The
Marching Band / En Fanfare (12A)
This French spin on Mark Herman’s Brassed Off (the British comedy-drama about colliery bands) has a beating emotional pulse of its own Thibaut (Benjamin Lavernhe) is an internationally renowned conductor of the Lille Symphony Orchestra who travels the world He discovers he was adopted – then also finds out he has a younger brother, Jimmy (Pierre Lottin), who plays the trombone in a school marching band An immensely touching and melodious work, bringing relationships and music to the fore
Director Emmanuel Courcol France 2024 I 103 mins I Subtitles
Fri 1 Nov (18:00)
Sat 2 Nov (16:00)
Sun 3 Nov (20:00)
Mon 4 Nov (13:30)
The Crime is Mine / Mon Crime (15)
François Ozon’s latest film is a joyous comedy set in 1935 Paris, which sees a young actress acquitted of murdering a famous French producer However, this is where the story just begins Opened the 2024 Chichester International Film Festival Madeleine (Nadia Tereszkiewicz), a pretty, young, penniless and talentless actress, is accused of murdering a famous producer (Jean-Christophe Bouvet) Helped by her best friend Pauline (Rebecca Marder), a young unemployed lawyer, she is acquitted on the grounds of self-defence Delicious feel-good French farce
Director François Ozon
France 2023 I 102 mins I Subtitles
Fri 8 Nov (18:00)
Wed 13 Nov (16:45) Thu 14 Nov (15:30)
Emilia Pérez (15)
From renegade auteur Jacques Audiard (A Prophet), comes this audacious fever dream that defies genres and expectations Set in the world of Mexican drug cartels Emilia Peréz; is art, theatre, narco-thriller and social commentary, all wrapped up into one It’s an award-worthy masterpiece and easily one of the best films of the year
Director Jacques Audiard France 2024 I 130 mins I Subtitles
Sat 9 Nov (15:30)
Toni / Toni en Famille (15)
Toni (played by Call My Agent’s Camille Cottin) is raising her five children alone She also sings at bars and had a hit single 20 years ago Today, as her two eldest prepare to go to college, Toni wonders: what will she do when all of her offspring have left home?
Director Nathan Ambrosioni (Paper Flags) crafts both a poignant portrait of a woman and a moving family tableau
Director Nathan Ambrosioni
France 2023 I 96 mins I Subtitles
Sun 10 Nov (16:00)
All Your Faces / Je Verrai Toujours Vos Visages (15)
Victims of violent crime and perpetrators meet up in a restorative justice group in order to have a dialogue and heal from their trauma
Among the participants are Chloé (Adèle Exarchopoulos), a victim of sexual assault; Grégoire (Gilles Lellouche), Nawelle (Leïla Bekhti) and Sabine (Miou-Miou), victims of burglary and snatching Exarchopoulos, won Best Supporting Actress César Award
Director Jeanne Herry
France 2023 I 118 mins I Subtitles
Tue 12 Nov (18:00)
Day For Night / La Nuit Américaine (12A)
Filmed at Nice’s fabled Victorine Studios, François Truffaut explores the joys and strife of moviemaking in one of his most beloved films This is a congenial tribute to the self-afflicted madness that is making a movie Truffaut himself appears as the harried directorplagued by the whims of a neurotic actor (Jean-Pierre Léaud), an ageing but still forceful Italian diva (Valentina Cortese) and a British ingenue haunted by personal scandal (Jacqueline Bisset)
Director François Truffaut France 1973 I 116 mins I Subtitles
Sun 17 Nov (18:00)
Faithful / De Nos Frères Blessés
(15)
With his second feature, writer-director Hélier Cisterne recreates the tragic true story of a young communist worker devoted to the struggle for Algerian independence Fernand Iveton (Vincent Lacoste) became the only Algerian of European background to be executed as a political prisoner by the French authorities during Algeria’s War of Independence Cast also includes Vicky Krieps and Jules Langlade The film benefits from a very passionate script along with two main actors who exude conviction
Director Hélier Cisterne France 2022 I 95 mins I Subtitles
Tue 19 Nov (16:00)
Julie Keeps Quiet / Julie Zwijgt (15)
Julie (Tessa van den Broeck) is a star player at an elite tennis academy When her coach falls under investigation and is suddenly suspended, all of the club’s players are encouraged to speak up But Julie decides to keep quiet Belgian director, Leonardo Van Dijl, follows her each step of the way, always keeping the right distance Sometimes silence is louder than words
Director Leonardo Van Dijl Sweden / Belgium 2024 I 97 mins I Subtitles
Sat 23 Nov (18:00)
Stroke of Luck / Coup de Chance (15)
Woody Allen features in the French Film Festival UK for the first time with a thriller set in the upper-class echelons of Paris society and written, acted and filmed entirely in French For his 50th film Allen deals with a bored wife in Paris (Lou de Laâge) who cheats on her wealthy and aloof husband (Melvile Poupaud) with an old high school friend (Niels Schneider) The Observer said: “Restores the masterful filmmaker to his deserved position as one of the screen’s most profound storytellers ”
Director Woody Allen France/USA/UK 2024 I 96 mins I Subtitles
Thu 21 Nov (20:00)
Being Maria
(15)
Maria Schneider’s rise to fame after Last Tango in Paris and the controversial production’s impact on her life and career. As an aspiring young actress, Maria Schneider (Anamaria Vartolomei) seemingly could not have asked for a better opportunity: co-starring alongside the legendary Marlon Brando (Matt Dillon) in Last Tango in Paris But the experience proved scarring and Schneider never entirely recovered
Last Tango in Paris will screen as a companion piece.
Director Jessica Palud France 2024 I 100 mins I Subtitles S P E C I A L
Fri 20 Nov (20:15)
Last Tango in Paris / Ultimo Tango a Parigi (18)
Bernardo Bertolucci’s landmark and controversial erotic film focuses on a young Parisian woman meeting a middle-aged American businessman, who demands their clandestine relationship be based only on sex Distraught following his wife’s suicide, American hotelier Paul (Marlon Brando) becomes transfixed by the beautiful younger Frenchwoman Jeanne (Maria Schneider) This is a vivid exploration of pain, love and sex
Director Bernardo Bertolucci
Italy/France 1972 I 129 mins I Some subtitles
Mon 25 Nov (18:00)
César and Rosalie (12A)
A man is in love with a woman But she isn’t making it easy for him, especially when her old flame enters the picture One of Claude Sautet’s most celebrated films, this film reunited the director with his on-screen muse Romy Schneider The cast also includes Bernard Le Coq, Eva Maria Meineke and Isabelle Huppert A tribute to Sautet in the centenary year of his birth
Director Claude Sautet France 1972 I 111 mins I Subtitles
TA L K
Sat 23 Nov (10:30)
Claude, Romy, Michel… and the Others – The Cinema of Claude Sautet (15)
This talk looks back at the remarkable career of director Claude Sautet who worked repeatedly with some of the finest actors in French cinema, including Romy Schneider and Yves Montand Patrick Hargood, the Cinema Education Officer, illustrates the talk with a range of clips
100 mins including Q&A
Tue 26 Nov (18:00) Boléro (15)
The boundary-pushing Ida Rubinstein selects Maurice Ravel (Raphaël Personnaz) to compose the music for her next ballet, leading to the creation of his greatest and most timeless success ever – Boléro for which he is best and whose conception lies at the heart of Anne Fontaine’s elegant film Closing film at Chichester International Film Festival
Director Anne Fontaine
France/Belgium 2024 I 120 mins I Subtitles
Sun 24 Nov (20:30)
Rise / En Corps (15)
Marion Barbeau, a Paris Opera dancer making her acting debut, is terrific as an injured performer who finds strength in a contemporary dance company A heart-warming and inspiring story that tells us how sometimes, the worst thing that could happen may turn out to be the best
Director Cédric Klapisch
France 2021 I 120 mins I Subtitles
Wed 27 Nov (13:00)
Abel Gance and His Napoléon (12A)
This documentary focuses on the making of the 235-minute, silent epic Napoléon by director/writer/actor Abel Gance Nelly Kaplan, who became his assistant, uses vintage footage, such as Gance filming the famous snowball fight at the Brienne military school and still photographs and excerpts from Gance’s production diaries
Director Nelly Kaplan France 1985 I 60 mins I Subtitles
Fri 29 Nov (18:00)
It’s Raining Men / Iris et les Hommes
(15)
Iris (Laure Calamy) has everything: a wonderful husband, two perfect daughters, a successful business – but no sex life. Perhaps the time has come to find a lover She dares open Pandora’s box, and hesitantly registers herself on a dating app Immediately, men start to appear, as if it were raining
Director Caroline Vignal
France 2023 I 98 mins I Subtitles
Sat 30 Nov (13:15)
Dog on
Trial / Le Procès du Chien
(12A)
A young lawyer goes to great lengths to save her client, a repeat-offender dog, from capital punishment As the lawer Laetitia Dosch (who also makes her directorial debut), specialises in the defence of animals, and is prepared to do anything to save her client, Cosmos, who has been convicted of biting three people This is a film that will make you laugh, think and just hang out with Cosmos the dog (played by Kodi who won Cannes Palm Dog award)
Director Laetitia Dosch Switzerland/France 2024 I 80 mins I Subtitles
Sun 1 Dec (16:00)
Filmlovers! /
Spectateurs
(15)
What does it mean, to go to the movies? Why have people been going for over 100 years? This is an unmissable film for lovers of cinema as director Arnaud Desplechin sets out to celebrate cinemas and their manifold magic
We hope to welcome French filmmaker Mathieu Almaric for a Q&A after the screening
Director Arnaud Desplechin
France 2024 I 88 mins I Subtitles
Wed 4 Dec (17:45)
Beating Hearts / L’amour Ouf
(15)
Set in the 1980s in northern France, actor turned director Gilles Lellouche charts an improbable relationship between Jackie (Adèle Exarchopoulos) from an upper-middleclass family and Clotaire (François Civil) from a modest background
Director Gilles Lellouche
France/Belgium 2024 I 166 mins
Subtitles
Thu 5 Dec 18:00
Short Cuts (15)
Spot the film-making talents of tomorrow in this selection of garlanded francophone shorts from France, Belgium and Quebec, curated by Martine Pierquin.
Full film details are online.
Fri 6 Dec (17:45)
Marcello Mio
(15)
Chiara Mastroianni transforms herself into her father Marcello in this self-reflexive confection from Christophe Honoré Cast also includes Catherine Deneuve, Benjamin Biolay, Melvil Poupaud, Nicole Garcia, Fabrice Luchini, Stefania Sandrelli and Hugh Skinner
Director Christophe Honoré France 2024 I 120 mins I Subtitles
Sat 7 Dec (16:15)
A Man and a Woman / Un Homme et Une Femme (PG)
Written and directed by Claude Lelouch and starring the late Anouk Aimée and Jean Louis Trintignant this romantic classic shows a widow and widower who meet by chance at their children's boarding school and whose budding relationship is complicated by the memories of their deceased spouses
Screened in honour of Aimée who died earlier this year We present an illustrated talk on Anouk Aimee – ‘Enigmatic Icon of French Cinema’ as a companion piece to this classic
Director Claude Lelouch
France 1966 I 102 mins I Subtitles
TA L K
Sat 7 Dec (10:30) Auditorium
Anouk Aimée (1932–2024) – Enigmatic Icon of European Cinema (15)
Following her recent passing, we celebrate the extraordinary film career of this fine actor with a talk, illustrated with a range of clips from her most memorable films, by Dr Martine Pierquin (French Film Festival UK)
100 mins plus Q&A
Thu 12 Dec (18:00)
The President’s Wife / Bernadette (15)
Legendary French actress Catherine Deneuve plays Bernadette Chirac in this uproarious comedy based on actual events A wonderful film to close this year’s French Film Festival Léa Domenach’s directorial debut skilfully blurs the lines between fact and fiction A tale of female empowerment, Bernadette chronicles the Chirac years, with delightful gags and bright colours
Director Léa Domenach
France 2023 I 95 mins I Subtitles