The Citizen (Gauteng)

A breath of French air

FESTIVAL: FOREIGN MOVIES YOU CAN ENJOY ONLINE ON YOUR COUCH

- Citizen reporter

A month feature and short films – and it’s free.

Registerin­g nearly seven million viewings in 200 countries across the globe last year, MyFrenchFi­lmFestival is the world’s first entirely online French-language film festival. The eighth festival starts today until February 19.

Over the month you can watch a selection of 14 feature films, and 13 short films.

All films are subtitled in 10 languages (French, English, German, Korean, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese and Russian).

With comedies, thrillers, rom-coms, dramas, and cinema classics, the festival honours the diversity of genres in French-language cinema, offering worldwide visibility to the films selected.

The films will be accessible on the MyFrenchFi­lmFestival.com platform.

The platform is adaptable to all media devices and viewers from around the world are invited to cast their votes on the festival platform to elect their favourite feature film and short film.

The Audience Award, Filmmakers’ Jury Award and Internatio­nal Press Award will be announced at the end of the festival. The festival is free. The 2018 selection of films is divided into six categories, exploring various French narratives for different ages and tastes.

WTF…RENCH!?

Whether they’re looking for love, recognitio­n, freedom, or a ski resort deep in a tropical forest, our French heroes are sometimes right in the middle of the most absurd situations. Films include:

Struggle for Life by Antonin Peretjatko Rock’n Roll by Guillaume Canet Willy the 1st by Ludovic Boukherma, Zoran Boukherma, Marielle Gautier, and Hugo P Thomas

Delectable You by Axel Courtière Lazare by Tristan Lhomme The Screenwrit­er by François Paquay

HIT THE ROAD

Highways, gas stations, vacation clubs, ice-cream vendors, karaoke - this category is about journeys, be they profession­al or during summer. Films include:

Ava by Léa Mysius Crash Test Aglaé by Éric Gravel Before Summer Ends by Maryam Goormaghti­gh

The Summer Film by Emmanuel Marre

TEEN STORIES

Centred around the idea that your teen years is the time when you become aware of yourselves, when everything is possible, even if this brings us into conflict with our families and friends. Films include:

A Wedding by Stephan Streker Swagger by Olivier Babinet 1:54 by Yan England Chasse Royale by Romane Gueret and Lise Akoka

FRENCH AND FURIOUS

A Belgian serial killer, a dad who resembles a psychopath, an ex-convict wandering at night in the streets of Pigalle ... Although they may be tortured and withdrawn characters, they are, above all, trying to attract attention and find redemption. Films include:

Into the Forest by Gilles Marchand

Paris Prestige by Hamé and Ékoué

Man Bites Dog (It Happened in Your Neighbourh­ood) by André Bonzel, Rémy Belvaux, and Benoît Poelvoorde

Please Love Me Forever by Holy Fatma

The Death, Dad & Son by Denis Walgenwitz and Winshluss

The Stroke by Morgane Polanski

LOVE ‘THE FRENCH STYLE’

What would French cinema be without love stories? Whether they’re from yesterday, today, or tomorrow, they all share that je-ne-sais-quoi that makes them unique and ... so French. Films include:

In Bed with Victoria by Justine Triet

The Last Metro by François Truffaut No Drowning by Mélanie Laleu Long Live the Emperor by Aude Léa Rapin

The Taste of Vietnam by PierLuc Latulippe

A Summer Dress by François Ozon

NEW HORIZONS

With this new section, MyFrenchFi­lmFestival wishes to emphasize the ability of new generation French artistic creation to reinvent itself. These new kinds of images and writing will move and disturb you. The films selected are:

Planet by Momoko Seto Phallaina by Marietta Ren Wei or Die by Simon Bouisson

 ?? Swagger. ?? YOUTH TALES. A scene from teen film
Swagger. YOUTH TALES. A scene from teen film
 ?? ’n Roll. ?? MUSIC MAN. A scene from Rock
’n Roll. MUSIC MAN. A scene from Rock
 ?? With Victoria ?? LOVE STORY. A scene from In Bed
With Victoria LOVE STORY. A scene from In Bed
 ??  ?? NEW BLOOD. Wei or Die shows what new filmmakers are creating.
NEW BLOOD. Wei or Die shows what new filmmakers are creating.
 ??  ?? DRAMATIC. The Screenwrit­er is a celebratio­n of French cinema.
DRAMATIC. The Screenwrit­er is a celebratio­n of French cinema.
 ??  ?? DOUBLE VISION. A scene from Will the 1st.
DOUBLE VISION. A scene from Will the 1st.

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