w 9 November – 7 December 2011 w w d e . v U o K l P f e re B mie r n r i e e i : n B n el a o n i ve o by Ch d r ris t top he c s Hono a ré M h a r a fi i h C l & e m v u e n e f D e e n i r s e h t a t C i v a l . o r g . u k la: ning Ga Ope tics Roman s nymou no Améris A -Pierre by Jean London I Glasgow I Edinburgh I Aberdeen I Dundee I Inverness I Stirling I Bo'ness I Warwick I Manchester INDEX Guest List 4 / 5 Bienvenue Preview 7 Opening Gala Romantics Anonymous / Les Emotifs anonymes (12A) 7 Angele & Tony / Angèle et Tony (15) 8 The Fairy / La Fée 8 and welcome The Look (12) 9 The Well-Digger’s Daughter / La Fille du puisatier (12) 9 “Acting is working with people who invite you into their dreams and trust you with Christophe Honoré Focus 11 / 12 / 13 their innermost being.” So said Catherine Deneuve who has had a few invitations in her Beloved / Les Bien-aimés (15) 13 time most recently from Christophe Honoré to appear alongside her daughter Chiara Belgian Cinema 15 Mastroianni as mère et fille in Beloved premiered as part of the official selection for Abel & Gordon – The Language of Laughs 15 /16 this year’s 19th French Film Festival UK, a celebration of Francophone cinema from Bouli Lanners – Heartbreak and Hilarity 17 France, Quebec, Switzerland, Belgium, and Luxembourg (and, indeed, any country Panorama Horizons 19 where French is spoken). Beirut Hotel (18) 20 Honoré, just one of many guests noted on the pages to follow, will be on hand to talk The Conquest / La Conquête (15) 20 about the collaboration in a special focus on his work. The Giants / Les Géants ( 15) 21 Hands Up / Les Mains en l’air (12A) 21 Daniel Auteuil invited himself into his own dream of remaking Marcel Pagnol’s classic Carte Blanche: The Names of Love / Le Nom des gens (15) 22 The Well-Digger’s Daughter (he acts and directs) and will talk to London audiences about No and Me / No et moi (15) 22 the experience while in Scotland another Daniel (Armogathe, President of the Marseille Pater (15) 23 Cinematheque) will share his Pagnol insights at screenings of the film in Edinburgh Route 132 (15) 23 and Glasgow. Service Entrance / Les Femmes du 6ème etage (12A) 25 Following the festival’s recent celebrations of Jacques Tati and, last year, Pierre Etaix, Unforgivable / Impardonnables (15) 25 we salute in their presence a Belgian burlesque duo in the same tradition Fiona Gordon Discovery Horizons 27 and Dominique Abel and their Cannes hit The Fairy. All the Suns / Tous les soleils (12A) 28 Robert Mitchum is Dead / Robert Mitchum est mort (15) 28 For many of the titles this may be your last chance to see them: they do not have a Top Floor, Left Wing / Dernier étage, gauche, gauche ( 15) 29 UK release in prospect. A handful, however, will be distributed in the coming months 2 Frogs in the West / 2 Frogs dans l’Ouest (15) 29 including the delightful opening choice of Romantics Anonymous starring Isabelle Carré Sounds of silence 30 and Benoît Poelvoorde and directed by Jean-Pierre Améris who will accompany his film Juvé Against Fantomâs / Juvé contre Fantomâs (12) 30 at most screenings. The First Great Movie Experience 31 RadioMentale 31 The mix is as engaging and varied as ever: from superb documentaries such as Oceans, Chabrol in Brittany 32 / 33 Special Flight, Think Global and a portrait of Charlotte Rampling ( The Look ) through The bon viveur of cinema 32 animation (Zep’s colourful Titeuf and A Cat in Paris ) to significant new works by Alain Grand Manège (15) 33 Cavalier, André Techiné, Philippe Claudel, Danielle Arbid and Philippe Le Guay. Short Cuts 35 Classic cinema has not been neglected: seek out: Jean Delannoy's collaboration Tremblay-en-France (15) 35 with Jean Cocteau Love Eterna l and Fantomas by Louis Feuillade, the first great master Brittany Focus (15) 35 of feature length film-making, accompanied with a live electronic score by two cult Documentary 36 Parisian DJs. Oceans / Océans (PG) 36 In Search of the Living World 37 Besides Christophe Honoré (Breton born and bred) we focus on one of France’s most Think Global, Act Rural / Solutions locales pour un désordre global (PG) 39 independent regions as part of a special year at the French Institute in Edinburgh, Special Flight / Vol Spécial (15) 41 culminating in presentations of films made there by the late great Claude Chabrol, Animation 42 / 43 as well as shorts and a Scottish link with the British Film Festival in Dinard whose A Cat in Paris / Une Vie de chat (PG) 42 director is given carte blanche to choose his favourite film of our festival. Titeuf / Titeuf, le film (PG) 43 We salute the continuing loyalty of our audiences, funders, sponsors, advertisers, Classic 44 / 45 supporters, industry colleagues and volunteers in helping to sustain your annual Light out of the Darkness 44 Fête du Cinéma. Love Eternal / L’Eternel retour (15) 45 Justin de Marseille (12A) 46 Que la fête commence! Learning / L’école du cinéma 49 Richard Mowe, Director French Film Festival UK Cast & Crew 53 Ilona Morison, Deputy Director French Film Festival UK Tickets & Booking 54 / 55 What’s on Where and When 56 / 57 Funders and Sponsors 58 Cover image: Catherine Deneuve and Chiara Mastroianni in Beloved 20th Anniversary 59 Certificates in this brochure, apart from the Preview Section, are advisory FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL UK 2011 // 3 Guests are a valued bonus to the French Film Festival UK – we extend a warm welcome to them all. At informal question and answer sessions after screenings you can meet and interact with directors, actors, and other personalities to talk about their work. Not all of them can make it to every date and location so check out the details on these pages. Some can be added at the last minute: see the website for updates. Occasionally, due to unforeseen circumstances, guests some guests drop out. Apologies in advance should that occur. www.frenchfilmfestival.org.uk is the place to check out the latest information. Fiona Gordon & Dominique Abel Daniel Auteuil Christophe Jean-Pierre Real life couple Dominique Abel, Over the years, Daniel Auteuil has Honoré a Belgian, and Fiona Gordon, an established himself as a performer Améris Australian-born Canadian have lived at ease in any number of genres, Christophe Honoré, born in Carhaix, After studying at the Paris film and worked in Brussels for many ranging from period dramas to Finistère in 1970, moved to Paris in school L’IDHEC he returned to his years. Together with Frenchman romantic comedies to crime thrillers. 1995. He wrote articles in Les Cahiers du native Lyon to make three shorts, Bruno Romy, the couple have directed The son of opera singers, he was Cinéma before starting to write books, one of which Interim won a major three features: L’Iceberg, Rumba and born in Algeria on January 24, 1950. mainly aimed at young people. His 1996 prize at the Clermont-Ferrand short The Fairy. After several years as stage novel Tout contre Léo / Close to Leo talks He started his career in musical film festival. He has directed 11 actors, Gordon and Abel have kept about HIV which he made it into a film in comedy and made his film debut in feature films since 1993. Unlike their burlesque roots as a source of 2002. He wrote other books for young 1972. His breakthrough was playing Romantics Anonymous the majority inspiration for their films. Acclaimed adults throughout the late 1990s. the scheming farmer Ugolin in Jean of his subjects are more realistic, in international festivals for their His first play, Les Débutantes , was dealing with more serious themes shorts, they burst on the film scene de Florette (1986). He won a Best performed at Avignon's Off Festival in such as a teacher working under the with their first feature , L’iceberg in Actor César and a Best Supporting 1998. In 2005, he returned to Avignon to Occupation in Le Bateau de mariage , 2005. Then they directed Rumba Actor BAFTA for his portrayal, and present his latest creation, Dionysos prison in Les Aveux de l’innocent and where they repeated the formula that same year he earned further impuissant. His 2006 film Dans Paris has dying in C’est la vie . Since Call Me that made their first movie a singular acclaim for his work in the film's led him to be considered by French success, stringing together a series of Elisabeth in 2006, a film about equally popular sequel, Manon critics as the heir to the Nouvelle Vague. surreal yet unfailingly hilarious gags des sources. It must have been In 2007, Love Songs was selected for the childhood fears, he has moved away with little music or dialogue to deflect predestined that he would himself competition at the Cannes Film Festival. from realism. With Romantics from the clever slapstick. The Fairy choose a Pagnol novel for his first He returned there this year with Beloved Anonymous , Amèris (born in 1961) follows in the same tradition. assignment behind the camera as in the official selection as the closing was keen to create a slightly unreal a director. film. Many of his features, as a writer world: a childlike, timeless place.