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Home , Ariane Labed, Audrey Tautou, Catherine Frot, Elsa Zylberstein, Emmanuelle Bercot, Gaspard Ulliel

Media Release 1 February 2017

Embark upon an exhilarating Odyssey with the 2017 Alliance Française French Film Festival

Replete with dramas, thrillers, romantic comedies, haunting stories of bygone years, and, as MGM Studios once proclaimed ''more stars than there are in heaven'', the 2017 Alliance Française French Film Festival will celebrate multiple Première screenings and fabulous special events to be revealed today when the Festival’s website goes live at: http://www.affrenchfilmfestival.org

Returning to Palace Cinemas from March until mid-April, this exuberant event is held by the Alliance Française in association with the Embassy of in Australia and the support of esteemed, Principal Sponsor, Renault Australia.

For the Festival’s 28th season, Artistic Director, Philippe Platel, who is celebrating his first year at the helm, has sourced a bewitching selection of 43 features and 2 documentaries that celebrates the ‘crème de la crème’ of contemporary French cinema by blending the work of established filmmakers with that of France’s cinematic luminaries of tomorrow

Courtesy of Madman Entertainment, The Odyssey (L'odyssée), a fascinating biopic that tells the tempestuous story of celebrity oceanographer and filmmaker, Jacques Cousteau, will open the 2017 Festival. Directed by Jérôme Salle and starring Lambert Wilson and this dazzling epic, with stunning cinematography, will transport audiences to the underwater realm that Cousteau dedicated his life to exploring.

And Closing Night Festival devotees will be entranced by the uproarious romantic comedy, A Bun in the Oven (Le petit locataire) from first-time director Nadège Loiseau, starring the radiant as Nicole, a reluctant, 49 year-old mother-to-be. Already overloaded with the responsibility of managing four family generations under one roof, Nicole’s life couldn’t be any more hectic…that is until she discovers she’s pregnant! But in a series of wonderfully comedic scenes, Nicole learns for the very first time, how to put herself first.

Additional highlights of the 2017 line-up include:

150 MILLIGRAMS (La fille de Brest) Director: Cast: , Benoît Magimel, Charlotte Laemmel Reminiscent of a French Erin Brokovich, Irène, a lung specialist, embarks upon a path fraught with shady cover-ups and high-level corruption, when she suspect a link between recent patient deaths and a medication called Mediator, in this drama about a lone woman against the system.

A BAG OF MARBLES (Un sac de billes) Director: Christian Duguay Cast: Dorian Le Clech, Patrick Bruel, Based on the acclaimed memoirs of Joseph Joffo, this story follows two young Jewish boys who, armed with nothing but a map and scant money, embark on a dangerous quest to escape Nazi-occupied during WWII by travelling alone to the South of France.

A WOMAN’S LIFE (Une vie) Director: Stéphane Brizé Cast: , Jean-Pierre Darroussin, In this Le Prix Louis-Delluc award-winning drama that evokes the lush cinematic style of Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon, we observe the story of Jeanne, a young noblewoman, who embraces the path of adulthood, only to experience the harsh realities of a woman’s life in the 19th century. Based upon Guy de Maupassant’s first novel of the same name.

THE COUNTRY DOCTOR (Médecin de campagne) Director: Thomas Lilti Cast: François Cluzet, Marianne Denicourt A dedicated country doctor, whose role often extends beyond the mere physical wellbeing of his patients, is forced by ill health to step aside, but struggles to relinquish responsibility to his young, female replacement.

DAGUERROTYPE (La secret de la chambre noire) Director: Cast: Constance Rousseau, , A haunting Gothic tale, where Jean, who works as the assistant to a famed, yet obsessive photographer, falls in love with his master’s daughter and muse, who in turn, longs to escape the pervasive gloom of her father’s house.

1 THE DANCER (La Danseuse) Director: Stéphanie Di Giusto Cast: Soko, , Mélanie Thierry, Lily-Rose Depp With her revolutionary “Serpentine” dance, Loïe Fuller was the toast of the Belle Époque cabarets. But it was her meeting with Isadora Duncan, an ambitious and beautiful young prodigy that threatened her stature, her confidence and her sanity.

ETERNITY (Éternité) Director: Tran Anh Hung Cast: Audrey Tautou, Bérénice Bejo, Mélanie Laurent Starring an exceptional trio of France’s leading ladies of the screen, this tale, which resonates with a Monet-like quality, is the story of the women and relationships that define one family across three generations.

FROM THE LAND OF THE MOON (Mal de pierres) Director: Cast: , , Alex Brendemüh The passionate story of Gabrielle, a spirited and willful woman suffocated by an arranged marriage, who yearns for what she believes to be the wild excitement and heady emotion of true love.

IN BED WITH VICTORIA (Victoria) Director: Justine Triet Cast: Virginie Efira, Vincent Lacoste, Melvil Poupaud In this sexy romance, featuring the sublimely comic pairing of Virginie Efira and Vincent Lacoste, a cynical, thirty- something, lawyer battles to survive in the wild and unpredictable worlds of the courtroom and the bedroom.

THE INNOCENTS (Les innocentes) Director: Cast: Lou de Laâge, Agata Buzek, Agata Kulesza In Poland at the end of World War II, a young doctor, responds to a plea from a Benedictine convent, where she is shocked to find several nuns in various stages of pregnancy, leading her on a complex quest for the truth. The latest film from acclaimed director Anne Fontaine (Gemma Bovery 2015 Festival, avant )

IT’S ONLY THE END OF THE WORLD (Juste la fin du monde) Director: Cast: Gaspard Ulliel, , , Marion Cottilard, Léa Seydoux Starring a megawatt ensemble of France’s finest actors, an acclaimed dramatist visits his estranged family, following an absence of 12 years, to impart some startling news. However, simmering resentments and long-suppressed tensions threaten to thwart his intentions.

KALINKA (Au nom de ma fille) Director: Vincent Garenq Cast: , Sébastian Koch, Marie-Josée Croze Based on a true story spanning 27 years, which rocked the headlines in both France and , this is the tale of a father’s relentless quest to bring justice to his daughter Kalinka, who died in suspicious circumstances.

THE MIDWIFE (Sage femme) Director: Martin Provost Cast: , , Olivier Gourmet A gifted and experienced midwife, struggling to adapt to the efficiency–driven methods of modern hospitals, reconnects with her father’s extravagant mistress after an estrangement of three decades in this drama starring the two “Catherine the Greats” of French cinema.

MONSIEUR CHOCOLAT (Chocolat) Director: Cast: , James Thierrée, Noémie Lvovsky The fascinating story of Chocolat, the first popular Afro-Cuban artist of the French stage. Catapulted to stardom in Paris’ Nouveau Cirque, Chocolat’s satisfaction with success soon starts to diminish when his desire for equality begins to take hold.

PENNY PINCHER (Radin!) Director: Fred Cavayé Cast: , Lawrence Arné, Noémie Schmidt In this comedy about taking obsession too far, France’s maestro of laughter, Dany Boon returns to the screen as François, a middle-aged violinist and compulsive ‘penny pincher’, whose parsimonious ways are upended by the surprise arrival of two new women in his life…a new love and the 16 year-old daughter whom he never knew he had!

PLANETARIUM (Planetarium) Director: Cast: , Lily-Rose Depp, Emmanuelle Salinger, Louis Garrel Searching for their big break, two American sisters, who earn their living through clairvoyance, arrive in 1930s Paris, where they beguile a movie-producer intent on shooting their séances as part of an ambitious new film.

POLINA (Polina, danser sa vie) D: Angelin Preljocaj & Valérie Müller-Preljocaj Cast: Anastasia Shevtsova, , A young girl working-class girl from Moscow realises her dream to join the Bolshoi Ballet, where she falls in love with a fellow-dancer who awakens her desire to explore the passion of modern dance.

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SAINT AMOUR (Saint Amour) Directors: & Benoît Delépine Cast: Gérard Depardieu, Benoît Poelvoorde Set on helping his offspring to appreciate France’s rural traditions, a father takes his disillusioned son on a chaotic journey through the wine-growing regions of France with a young Parisian taxi-driver as their chauffeur.

SLACK BAY (Ma loute) Director: Bruno Dumont Cast: Fabrice Luchini, Juliette Binoche, Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi In this gleefully slapstick detective story set in 1910, bourgeois holidaymakers mysteriously disappear from a coastal town, whilst the incompetent Inspector Machin and his shrewd assistant Malfoy search for the culprits. Nominated for 9 César Awards, including Best Film.

SOUVENIR (Souvenir) Director: Bavo Defurne Cast: , Kévin Azaïs, Johan Leysen A factory worker’s dreary life changes when she is recognised as a finalist of a once famed singing competition. Encouraged to return to the spotlight, it’s not long before old ghosts and bad habits from her bitter past resurface. Featuring music by the world’s biggest ‘little’ orchestra, Pink Martini.

THE STOPOVER (Voir du pays) Directors: Muriel & Delphine Coulin Cast: Soko, Ariane Labed, Ginger Romàn This hard-hitting and absorbing character study follows two female soldiers dealing with the traumas of war during a hedonistic three-day leave in Cyprus after finishing their tour of duty in Afghanistan.

THINGS TO COME Director: Mia Hansen-Løve Cast: Isabelle Huppert, André Marcon, Édith Scob, Roman Kolinka A middle-aged philosophy teacher is forced to reinvent her life when her husband suddenly leaves her for another woman, thereby sparking a chain of events that unravel her world.

TOMORROW (Demain) Directors: Mélanie Laurent & Cyril Dion Renowned actor/filmmaker Mélanie Laurent teams with ecological rights advocate Cyril Dion to address the world’s environmental problems, and to explore how local communities across the globe are creating solutions.

THE UNKNOWN GIRL (La fille inconnue) Directors: Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne Cast: Adèle Haenel, Olivia Bonnaud, Jérémie Renier A doctor, wracked with guilt, attempts to uncover the identity of a patient who died after she refused her treatment, and in doing so embarks upon a journey fraught with danger.

WÙLU (Wùlu) Director: Daouda Coulibaly Cast: Quim Gutiérrez, Olivier Rabourdin, Ibrahim Koma In this searing drama, which has been likened to an African Scarface, a young man, sick of his dead-end job as a bus driver, begins trafficking drugs and quickly ‘moves up the ranks’. But with responsibility comes greater risk and little chance of escaping the world of brutality surrounding him.

National dates and venues for the 2017 Alliance Française French Film Festival are:

SYDNEY: 7-30 March Palace Norton Street, Palace Verona, Chauvel Cinema & Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace MELBOURNE: 8-30 March Palace Balwyn, Palace Brighton Bay, Palace Cinema Como, Palace Westgarth, The Kino Cinemas & The Astor Theatre CANBERRA: 9 March – 4 April Palace Electric Cinema PERTH: 15 March - 5 April Cinema Paradiso, Luna on SX & Windsor Cinema BRISBANE: 16 March - 9 April Palace Barracks & Palace Centro ADELAIDE: 30 March - 23 April Palace Nova Cinemas HOBART: 30 March – 8 April State Cinema PARRAMATTA: 6-9 April Riverside Theatre CASULA: 8-9 April Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre

For session details and ticket sales visit: http://www.affrenchfilmfestival.org

MEDIA ENQUIRIES: Neil Ward Publicity: Angela Tolley 0438 160 320 [email protected] Neil Ward 0438 095 580 [email protected] 3