This month, the 22nd French Film Festival is bringing the Cannes experience to Manila and more!

Bon jour! Foreign language film enthusiasts, especially those from France, will be pleased to know that the red carpet is about to be rolled out for this year’s edition of French Film Festival!

A selection of thirteen (13) critically-acclaimed feature films that portrays French values culture and language will be screened at Greenbelt 3 and Bonifacio High Street Central Square cinemas from June 9 to 17.

On Independence Day watch Filipino films that have been selected at Festival de Cannes (which also celebrates its 70th anniversary) during the festival. This includes Noel Escondo and Arvin Belarmino’s Nakaw (Short Film Corner, 2017), Brillante Mendoza’s Ma’ Rosa (Main Competition, Best Actress award, 2016), Erik Matti’s On the Job (Director’s Fortnight, 2013) and Raymond Red’s Anino (Short Film Corner, Palme d’Or for Best Short Film, 2000).

Something new to look forward this year is the “plein air” free public outdoor screenings at Circuit Makati on the last weekend of the festival (June 17-18).

22nd French Film Festival movie line up

21 Nuits avec Pattie (“21 Nights with Pattie” / 2015 / Comedy / 115 min).

Jacques Arnault, head of Sud Secours NGO, is planning a high impact operation: he and his team are going to exfiltrate 300 orphan victims of the Chadian civil war and bring them to French adoption applicants. Françoise Dubois, a journalist, is invited to come along with them and handle the media coverage for this operation. Completely immersed in the brutal reality of a country at war, the NGO members start losing their convictions and are faced with the limits of humanitarian intervention.

Bastille Day (2016 / Action, Crime, Drama / 104 min).

Michael Mason is an American pickpocket living in Paris who finds himself on the top of the CIA’s most-wanted list when he steals a bag that contains more than just a wallet. Sean Briar, the field agent on the case, soon realizes that Michael is just a pawn in a much bigger game and decides to recruit him in order to uncover the source of a large-scale conspiracy. A race against time ensures, in which the two men discover they are both targets and must rely on each other to take down a powerful organization.

Géronimo (2014 / Romance / 104 min).

South of France. In the sultry August heat, Geronimo, a young social educator, tries to ease tensions between the youngsters of the neighborhood of St. Pierre. The mood changes when Nil Terzi, a teenage girl of Turkish origin, flees an arranged marriage, running to the arms of her gypsy lover, Lucky Molina. Their escape sparks hostilities between the two clans. When the jousting and the musical battles begin, Geronimo struggles to quell the ensuing unrest around her.

Jamais de la vie (“The Night Watchman” / 2014 / Drama / 95 min).

Franck, in his early fifties, is a night watchman in a suburban mall. Ten years ago, he was a skilled worker and union delegate, always on the bridge, always ready to fight for workers’ rights. Today, he’s a man who’s resigned himself to being a spectator of his own life – and it’s boring. One night, he notices an SUV idling in the parking lot and senses that something is afoot. Curiosity makes him shake off his indifference and he decides to intervene. It’s an opportunity for him take control of his life once again.

Je suis un soldat (“I Am a Soldier” / 2015 / Drama / 97 min).

From her castle, young Sophie can’t resist the temptation of the forbidden, and what she loves most of all is to get up to no-good with her cousin, Paul. When her parents decide to go to Amercia, Sophie is delighted. A year later, she’s back in France with her horrible stepmother, Madame Fichini. But Sophie will be able to count on her two friends, model little girls, and their mother, Madame de Fleurville, to escape from her stepmother’s clutches.

L’Ombre des femmes (“In the Shadow of Women” / 2015 / Drama, Romance / 73 min).

Pierre and Manon are poor. They make documentary films without a cent and they get by with odd jobs. Pierre meets a young intern, Elisabeth, and she becomes his mistress. But Pierre doesn’t want to leave Manon for Elisabeth – he wants to keep them both. One day Elisabeth, Pierre’s young mistress, discovers that Manon, Pierre’s wife, has a lover. And she tells Pierre… Pierre focuses his attention on Manon once again, because she’s the one he loved. And because he feels betrayed, he beseeches Manon and neglects Elisabeth. Manon breaks off with her lover right away. There’s a good chance she does so because she loves Pierre.

Le Dernier diamant (“The Last Diamond” / 2014 / Crime, Drama, Thriller / 108 min).

Simon, a thief released on parole, accepts to carry out the biggest job of his life, which is to steal the “Florentin,” a mythical diamond being auctioned by its owners. To succeed, he must get close to Julia, a diamond expert, for whom the sale is of considerable personal importance. Beyond the boldly daring theft, Simon will lead Julia toward a destiny that she could never have imagined.

Les Chevaliers blancs (“The White Knights” / 2016 / Drama / 112 min).

Jacques Arnault, head of Sud Secours NGO, is planning a high impact operation: he and his team are going to exfiltrate 300 orphan victims of the Chadian civil war and bring them to French adoption applicants. Françoise Dubois, a journalist, is invited to come along with them and handle the media coverage for this operation. Completely immersed in the brutal reality of a country at war, the NGO members start losing their convictions and are faced with the limits of humanitarian intervention.

Les Malheurs de Sophie (“Sophie’s Misfortunes” / 2016 /  Comedy / 106 min).

From her castle, young Sophie can’t resist the temptation of the forbidden, and what she loves most of all is to get up to no-good with her cousin, Paul. When her parents decide to go to Amercia, Sophie is delighted. A year later, she’s back in France with her horrible stepmother, Madame Fichini. But Sophie will be able to count on her two friends, model little girls, and their mother, Madame de Fleurville, to escape from her stepmother’s clutches.

Nocturama (2016 / Drama, Thriller / 130 min).

Paris, one morning. A group of young people from different backgrounds. They launch into a strange ballet in the metro tunnels and the city’s streets. They seem to follow a plan. Their gestures are precise, almost dangerous. They converge towards the same point, a department store, at the moment it is about to shut. Night begins.

Tour de France (2016 / Drama / 95 min).

Far’Hook is a twenty-year-old rapper. Following a settling of scores, he’s obliged to leave Paris and lay low for a while. His producer, Bilal, suggests that Far’Hook take his place in accompanying his father, Serge, on a tour of all the ports of France, following the path taken by the painter Joseph Vernet. Despite the shock between generations and different cultures, an improbable friendship develops between the promising rapper and this builder from the Northern France during an adventure that will lead them to Marseille for a final concert, one of reconciliation.

Un Château en Italie (“A Castle in Italy” / 2013 / Comedy, Drama / 104 min).

A woman encounters a man. Her dreams resurface. It’s also the story of her sick brother, and of their mother, a story about the destiny of a rich Italian industrialist family. It’s the story of a family falling apart, of the end of an era, and of a budding romance.

Admission

Tickets are priced at P100 and can be purchased at the cinema counters or online.  All films will be screened with English subtitles.

Screening Schedule

Greenbelt 3 Cinemas

Central Square Cinemas

Note: Screenings are subject to chaneg without prior notice.

The 22nd French Film Festival is part of “PhilFrance : Feel French !”, a festival to celebrate the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between France and the Philippines this year. Expect a series of events in the field of music (Fete de la Musique, Ravel Unraveled French Classical Music concert), cycling (Tour de Manille), food (Bon Appetit: A French food market in Manila), business & education (job fair and employability form for the underprivileged youth; networking events, business meetings and start up programs involving the French business community), sciences (series of conferences on architecture and urbanism, agriculture and social sciences) and volunteerism that will give the Filipino public an opportunity to “feel France” in everyday life.

For more information visit the French Embassy Manila’s Facebook page or visit ph.frenchfilmfest.com. Share your French Film Festival story on social media using the hashtags #FrenchFilmFest22 #PhilFrance70 🙂