British cinemagoers see more French films on release now than they did a decade ago, but the French Film Festival UK (from 15 April to 4 May 2007) still has a vital role to play in throwing a spotlight on the vast majority of le cinéma français which never makes it across the Channel.
 

All the films in the festival in London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dundee do not as yet have a British distributor in place – but the aim is to make the industry more aware of the potential of films beyond the chosen few due for release.

The French Film Festival UK, under its honorary patron Sylvain Chomet, the award-winning director of Belleville Rendez-vous, will celebrate its 15th anniversary this year, having been established in Scotland and then spread around the UK. More than ever it maintains its aim of widening the choice of French cinema available to the British public – from mainstream successes to cutting edge discoveries. Besides some of the most recent titles, the British public will also be able to enjoy and appreciate a retrospective focusing on the talents of one of France’s most subtle and versatile directors : Christian Vincent. This year the selection of the French Film Festival UK will include films featuring some of the starriest names such as Isabelle Huppert, Carole Bouquet, Gérard Depardieu, Mylène Demongeot, Kristin Scott-Thomas, and Monica Bellucci. Directors Michel Hazanavicius and Patrick Grandperret as well as actress Bérénice Béjo and producer Claudie Ossard will travel to the festival both in England and Scotland to talk with audiences about their work. 


The Panorama section includes films by such celebrated names as Claude Chabrol (A Comedy of Power), Anne Fontaine (Oh La La!), Costa-Gavras (The Ax) as well as Bertrand Blier (How Much Do You Love Me).

The Discovery section gives pride of place to new talents: Emmanuelle Bercot (Backstage); Emmanuel Carrère (The Moustache), Michel Hazanavicius (OSS 117) and Philippe Faucon (The Betrayal).

The Rétro will look at the work of Christian Vincent by showing five of his films during the course of the festival. The director will travel to the UK for the first time to present his latest film Four Stars and will give Masterclasses in three cities: Edinburgh, Glasgow and London.

Cinéma Junior devoted to providing films suitable for a young audience, many of them attending in school groups, will feature two films: A Year In My Life by Daniel Duval and The Aeroplane by Cédric Kahn.

The event is arranged by the French Film Festival UK, with the support of the Institut Français, the Alliance française, Total, Blason de Bourgogne, Scottish Screen, Unifrance and many other collaborators.