BAM Presents New French Cinema Series

DEMENTED

Friday, October 19---------BAMcinématek, the repertory film program at BAM Rose Cinemas, presents its annual presentation of New French Films from October 24 to 28. The series returns with five new features from France, all New York premieres. The series includes comedies, thrillers, and dramas, as well as a documentary investigating the relationship between filmmakers and critics. New French Films is presented in association with Unifrance NY and the French Cultural Services in New York.

The series begins on October 24 with VERY WELL, THANK YOU (Très bien, merci), the second feature by director–screenwriter Emmanuelle Cuau, who will be present for a Q&A after the film. This Kafka–esque comic tale unfolds after an accountant is caught lighting a cigarette in a no–smoking area of the Paris Metro. In contrast, Laurent Achard’s gothic–tinged drama DEMENTED (Le Dernier des fous) is told from a child's perspective, combining the aesthetics of the coming-of-age story with a detached sense of emotional distance. The film was awarded the Prix Jean Vigo and the Silver Lion at the Locarno International Film Festival.

Actress/filmmaker Maria de Medeiros will present her documentary debut, JE T'AIME....MOI NON PLUS (2004), a thoughtful investigation of the love–hate relationship between filmmakers and critics, featuring interviews with a host of international filmmakers including Pedro Almodóvar, Amos Gitaï, Ken Loach, and Lloyd Kaufman, and film critics such as Michel Ciment, Jean–Michel Frodon, Todd McCarthy, and Elvis Mitchell. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with film critics Melissa Anderson, Kent Jones, Dave Kehr, and Dennis Lim. The series continues with ANNE M, a taut psychological thriller by Michel Spinosa. Up-and-coming actress Isabelle Carré plays a seemingly well-blanaced woman, who one day deliberately walks into traffic. While recuperating in the hospital, she falls in love with her physician and becomes increasingly obsessed with him.

The series concludes with THE BETRAYAL (La Trahison, 2005) by French-Moroccan director Philippe Faucon. The film set among soldiers during the Algerian War and skillfully tackles issues of race, prejudice and social justice. These fine French films, none of which currently has US distribution, deserve to be seen and appreciated by a wide audience. For more complete information on the films in the program, to view a screening schedule and to purchase tickets online, log on to the website of the Brooklyn Academy of Music at: www.bam.org

Sandy Mandelberger, Film New York Editor