Potiche France, 2010, 103 Minute Running Time US Premiere Topics: Comedy, Gay/Lesbian Language: French Catherine Deneuve commands the screen with a regal wink as Suzanne Bujol, a trophy wife ("potiche") whose mettle is tested when catastrophe strikes in her husband's umbrella factory. Under the assured direction of prolific French filmmaker François Ozon, this stylish French farce is an irresistible romp through 1970s kitsch, politics and female eman...

    Potiche France, 2010, 103 Minute Running Time US Premiere Topics: Comedy, Gay/Lesbian Language: French Catherine Deneuve commands the screen with a regal wink as Suzanne Bujol, a trophy wife (“potiche”) whose mettle is tested when catastrophe strikes in her husband’s umbrella factory. Under the assured direction of prolific French filmmaker François Ozon, this stylish French farce is an irresistible romp through 1970s kitsch, politics and fem...

Le Festival International du Film de Comédie de l’Alpe d’Huez fêtera ses 10 ans du 16 au 21 janvier. Unique Festival de Film de Comédie en France, le Festival de l’Alpe d’Huez s’est construit une réputation et une notoriété autour d’une thématique qui aujourd’hui ne peut plus être délaissée ! Le succès des films de comédie en France et à l’étranger n’est plus à démontrer. La comédie fait vivre le cinéma, et rassemble un public de plus en plus nombreux. Jury(...

So much is happening here that the only way to keep track of events and films is this -- a free associational diary, plus a wing and a prayer. But let me preface it by noting that this is the most sensational film festival I have ever attended, period. SUNDAY: Two films and two remarkable press conferences. The day starts with a 9 AM press screening of Scorcese's "The Departed" in the big hall. This is followed by a meeting with the press with Scorcese and Di Caprio up on the stage, accompanie...

The French are coming, the French are coming….again. The annual RENDEZ-VOUS WITH FRENCH CINEMA, a leading showcase for new French films, returns to New York’s Film Society of Lincoln Center for an eleventh year. The program of fifteen new features will screen at the Society’s Walter Reade Theater in uptown New York, and, for the first time, have parallel screenings at the IFC Center Theater in Greenwich Village. Festival dates are March 10 to 19.The series is co-presented by Unifrance USA,...

The biggest and starriest showcase of French cinema ever seen will be presented around the UK during March 2006 – in both independent and multiplex cinemas.The Renault French Film Festival 2006 - a new fusion of two events that previously have promoted le cinema français in the UK, will deliver a stimulating and, at times, challenging array of films in nine key locations: London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dundee.The French Film Festival UK which...

After viewing Costa-Gavras' "Couperet" (Arcadia) screened at the opening ceremony as the festival curtain-raiser, (out of competition), I am still holding my breath trying to decide what to think of it. Yes, it did have certain Hitchcockian echoes of "black humor", and yes, it was a thriller of sorts, and yes, there were certain socio-political overtones, and the performances by Jose García (the harried serial killer) and Karin Viard (the harried wife of the harried serial killer) were good an...

FRENCH CINEMA HEATS UP SNOWY NEW YORKWhile winter continues to hold a grip on New York City just days away from the official start of Spring, the scent of optimism, passion and love is palpable, as the annual Rendez-Vous With French Cinema, an exquisite showcase of the finest films from la Belle France, begins this weekend at New York’s Lincoln Center.New York has had a long love affair with French cinema. From the pre-war classics of Jean Renoir, Jean Vigo and Marcel Carne, the film noir oeuv...

JURYPresident : CLAUDE ZIDI, director (France)DIANA BRACHO, actress (Mexico)JAIME CAMINO, director (Spain)ANITA CAPRIOLI, actress (Italy)BRETISLAV POJAR, director (Czech Republic)DENISE ROBERT, producer (Canada)JERRY SCHATZBERG, director (United States)FEATURE FILMSGrand Prix of the Americas:THE SYRIAN BRIDE (HACALA HASURIT) by Eran Riklis (Israel/France/Germany)Jury Award :Ex-aequo :THE PARKING ATTENDANT IN JULY (KAN CHE REN DE QI YUE) by An Zhanjun (China) AROUND THE BEND by Jordan Roberts (Un...

THE SYRIAN BRIDE IS TOP WINNER AT MONTREAL WORLD FILM FESTIVALThe Syrian Bride, an Israeli-French-German co-production, was the big winner at the Montreal World Film Festival, which concludes today after a 12 day run of more than 300 feature films from around the world.The Syrian Bride was awarded the Grand Prix des Ameriques, the Festival’s highest honor, as well as receiving the FIPRESCI International Critics Prize, the Ecumenical Prize and the Air Canada People’s Choice Award.The film, di...