VCU french• • • • film• festival 13th annual Byrd Theatre Richmond, Va. (804) 827-FILM www.frenchfilm.vcu.edu All films have English subtitles and are presented by their actors and directors. April 1-3, 2005 Virginia Commonwealth University Table of contents 3 Schedule and event 29 Shorts information La Dernière Minute 4 Les Soeurs fâchées Alea Jacta Est 6 Brodeuses Petite Routine 8 Mariages ! Félicitations 10 Le Rôle de sa vie Signes de vie 12 L’Ile de Black Mor Calypso is Like so ! 14 Malabar Princess La Méthode Bourchnikov 16 Qui perd gagne ! Le Carnet rouge 18 L’Equipier Ligne de vie 20 Triple agent Sirène Song 22 Le Soleil assassiné La Révolution des Crabes 24 Clara et moi Rien de grave 26 Vipère au poing Handicap 28 Le Convoyeur Jacques Villeret Jacques Villeret (1951-2005) On Jan. 28, 2005, Jacques Villeret, Un crime au Paradis (VCU FFF 2001) theatrical and cinematic comedian, and Effroyables Jardins (VCU FFF died of an internal hemorrhage at a 2004) by Jean Becker. hospital in Evreux, France. The VCU This year, the festival is proud to French Film Festival pays homage present two of his final films: Malabar to Villeret, who touched the hearts Princess, by Gilles Legrand, and a of our audience with his roles in cinematographic adaptation of the films such as, Un aller simple (VCU novel by Hervé Bazin, Vipère au poing, French Film Festival 2003) by Laurent by Philippe de Broca. Heynemann, Les Enfants du marais (VCU FFF 2000), Merci Jacques ... On cover: Actress Pauline Delpech; Photography: Pierre Courtois and Stéphane Esse. Information Thursday, March 31 Discussion with directors Matthieu Rozé, Arnaud 1-3 p.m. Special screening from works Demuynck and Bruno Collet of French director Claude Miller 11:45 a.m. Malabar Princess (details, page 36) Discussion with French 3-5 p.m. “Master Class” filmmaking director Gilles Legrand lecture with French director 1:45 p.m. Qui perd gagne ! Claude Miller: “My Career in Discussion with French French filmmaking” and “Arrival actor Thierry Lhermitte of DV small cameras and their 3:45 p.m. Presentation of the 2005 influence on film production, French Delegation, introduced directing and editing by His Excellency Jean-David (details, page 36) Levitte, the French Ambassador to the United States, and presided by French director Theatre Claude Miller The Byrd Theatre is located at 2908 W. 4:15 p.m. L’Equipier Cary St. in Richmond. A parking deck is Discussion with French located directly behind the theater. actor Philippe Torreton 7 p.m. Official Reception at the Official Reception Shafer Court Dining Center The Official Reception for all Festival 8:30 p.m. Gala Dinner at the Historic pass-holders (Student VIP, Faculty VIP, Scott House Regular VIP, and VIP Pass Plus) will be held on the evening of Saturday, April 2, 2005, Sunday, April 3 at 7 p.m. in the Shafer Court Dining Center, 8 a.m. Triple agent located at Shafer Court across from the Discussion with French Friday, April 1 actor Serge Renko Cabell Library. Parking will be available 10:30 a.m. Second Short Film at the West Broad Street Parking Deck. 3 p.m. Les Soeurs fâchées Series begins Maps will be provided. 5 p.m. Brodeuses Le Carnet rouge 7 p.m. Mariages ! Ligne de vie Gala Dinner Discussion with French Sirène Song The Gala Dinner for VIP Plus pass-holders director Valérie Guignabodet Discussion with French 9:10 p.m. Le Rôle de sa vie will take place on Saturday, April 2 at 8:30 directors Mathieu Simonet, 11 p.m. Handicap (short film) p.m., at VCU’s historic Scott House (909 Serge Avédikian, Fanny Discussion with Canadian West Franklin St). Special parking on both Jean-Noël and French director Lewis-Martin Soucy sides of West actress Toinette Laquière Le Convoyeur (feature) Franklin, from Laurel La Révolution des crabes Discussion with French to Harrison (two Rien de grave director Nicolas Boukhrief blocks), has been La Méthode Bourchnikov arranged exclusively Saturday, April 2 Discussion with French directors Arthur de Pins, for Gala Dinner 8 a.m. L’Ile de Black Mor Renaud Philipps and guests (VIP Plus Discussion with French Grégoire Sivan Pass holders). director Jean-François Laguionie 12:15 p.m. Le Soleil assassiné 10 a.m. First Short Film Series begins Discussion with Algerian La Dernière Minute director Abdelkrim Bahloul Alea Jacta Est Daylight savings time starts 2:15 p.m. Clara et moi Petite Routine Discussion with French Sunday, April 3 at 2 a.m. Move Discussion with French director Arnaud Viard directors Nicolas Salis, your watches ahead one hour. 4:15 p.m. Closing Ceremony Daniel Jenny and with French Delegation Matthieu Van Eeckhout and VCU dignitaries, Félicitations presided by French 3 Signes de vie VCUfrenchfilmfestival director Claude Miller Calypso is Like so ! 4:30 p.m. Vipère au poing Les Soeurs fâchées English description Description en français feature Louise, a beautician in Le Mans, comes Louise, esthéticienne au Mans, vient to spend three days at the home of her passer trois jours chez sa soeur Martine North American premiere sister, Martine, who lives in Paris. Martine qui vit à Paris. Martine a apparemment of Les Soeurs fâchées apparently has everything! Everything tout ! Tout sauf l’essentiel. Et l’essentiel, except what counts. Actually that’s exactly justement, Louise l’a ! En l’espace de trois what Louise has! It takes only three days jours, Louise et son bonheur évident for Louise and her constant cheerfulness exaspèrent Martine au plus haut point to exasperate Martine and to shake the et font voler sa vie en éclats. foundations of her life. Interview with Isabelle Huppert Entretien avec Isabelle Huppert Why did you choose to be involved in this film? Qu’est-ce qui vous a décidé à rejoindre ce projet ? The evolution of the characters and the plot L’évolution des personnages et des situations attracted me to it. First, you find yourself in some- était séduisante. On est d’abord dans quelque thing rather light, something that would classify this chose de léger, ce qui permettait de qualifier ce film as a comedy, then, bit by bit, you move toward film de comédie, puis au fur et à mesure, on va something more profound, more serious. The film vers quelque chose de plus profond, de plus grave. deals with sensitive issues like family, sisterhood Le film traite de sujets sensibles comme la famille, la and marriage. This mix of sour, funny and violent fratrie, le couple. Ce mélange de nuances acides, nuances constantly places you on the edge, as drôles et violentes vous place constamment sur le if teetering on the rim of an abyss. And the crisis fil, en équilibre au bord du précipice. Et la crise finit eventually occurs. d’ailleurs par survenir. The script also deals with choices in life. Le scénario aborde aussi les choix de vie. Il It talks about Paris and provincial France with all parle de la province et de Paris, avec tout ce que the consequences of a world centered around cela implique dans l’imaginaire de gens qui vivent the capital. Paris evokes a certain sense of success, dans un pays assez centralisé. Paris évoque un good taste, guise, the gap that can exist between certain sens de la réussite, le bon goût, l’apparence, outward appearances and inner sanctum. Martine le fossé qu’il peut y avoir entre le paraître et la vie represents all of these external representations intérieure. Martine présente tous les indices of success: she is rich, well dressed and she has extérieurs de la réussite : elle est riche, bien habillée, a beautiful apartment. But something in her has elle a un bel appartement. Mais quelque chose en always been repressed. At her own emotional elle ne s’est jamais réalisé. A ses dépens, elle va expense, she quickly realizes this upon seeing her l’éprouver très vite au contact de sa soeur. Martine sister again. Martine is going to understand that va comprendre que Louise, moins assurée en Louise, while seemingly less assured of herself, apparence, est en train d’accomplir quelque chose. is in the middle of accomplishing something real. Comment Alexandra vous a-t-elle dirigée ? How did Alexandra direct you? Alexandra avait beaucoup travaillé le découpage et Alexandra had worked a lot with the n’a jamais hésité sur l’emplacement de la caméra. decoupage and never hesitated about the placement L’écriture était limpide, précise. Etonnamment, il n’y of the camera. The script was clear and precise. avait pas de plan en trop. Je l’ai observée sans Surprisingly, there was just the right number of jamais oublier qu’elle réalisait son premier film. La shots. I was always aware that she was shooting voir avancer m’intriguait et me touchait. Sa maîtrise her first film. Watching that process advance both ne la plaçait pas au niveau des débutants, ce qu’elle intrigued and touched me. Her command of the était pourtant. Cela soulevait aussi pour moi plusieurs camera was far from amateur, which in fact is what questions : qu’est-ce que le cinéma, le savoir-faire, she was. That raised many questions within me: l’expérience ? Qu’est-ce qui fait que, tout à coup, what is cinema? the know-how or experience? quelqu’un qui à priori n’a ni formation ni expérience, How is it that someone without training or experi- réussit un bon film ? Cette réussite n’est pas due ence can make a good film? This success is not au fait qu’Alexandra traitait un sujet qu’elle portait just because Alexandra was working with a subject en elle.