2021 Academy Award Nomination for Best International Feature Film.

| 2021 – 103′ –  Drama – A French-Tunisian-German-Belgium Co-Production
Co-Written & Directed by  Kaouther Ben Hania.
Starring Yahya Mahayni, Dea Liane, Koen De Bouw, Monica Bellucci, Saad Lostan, Darina Al Joundi, Jan Dahdoh, Christian Vadim.
Official Selection Venice International Film Festival, Rendez-vous with French Cinema in New York.
In Arabic, English and French with English subtitles.
A Samuel Goldwyn Films release .|

Trailer

Sam Ali, a young sensitive and impulsive Syrian, left his country for Lebanon to escape the war. To be able to travel to Europe and live with the love of his life, he accepts to have his back tattooed by one of the World’s most sulfurous contemporary artists. Turning his own body into a prestigious piece of art, Sam will however come to realize that his decision might actually mean anything but freedom.

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The post THE MAN WHO SOLD HIS SKIN appeared first on The American French Film Festival in Los Angeles.

| 2015 – 99′ –  Comedy / Romance –
Written by Anne Fontaine & Pascal Bonitzer.
Directed by Anne Fontaine.
Starring Gemma Arterton, Fabrice Luchini, Jason Flemyng, Isabelle Candelier, Gilles Schneider, Elsa Zylberstein.
Official selection COLCOA French Film Festival. Special presentation Toronto International Film Festival. In French with English subtitles. A Music Box Films release.|

Trailer

In this vibrant seriocomic re-imagining of Flaubert’s literary classic Madame Bovary, life imitates art in uncanny ways when earthy British beauty Gemma Bovery (Gemma Arterton) and her furniture restorer husband Charles (Jason Flemyng) move to a charming ramshackle old farmhouse in the very same Norman village where the novel was written a century earlier. Their welcoming neighbor, local baker and Flaubert expert Martin Joubert (Fabrice Luchini), becomes entranced with Gemma and sets out to be her guide and mentor to her new surroundings. It doesn’t take long before he is drawing parallels between the literary and real life woman, while he insinuates himself into her life. As reality sets in on the fantasy of rural French domesticity, the Boverys’ marriage begins to fray and Gemma finds herself at loose ends. She soon catches the eye of a handsome young playboy and when her magnetic ex suddenly reappears, she finds herself at a crossroads and seems to be fulfilling Joubert’s worst fears that her destiny is linked to that of Flaubert’s doomed heroine. Director Anne Fontaine’s (COCO BEFORE CHANNEL, NIGHT SHIFT) clever adaptation of Posy Simmonds’ graphic novel Gemma Bovery is at once a cheeky literary mash-up, a sensuous romance, a witty feminist commentary and a heady celebration of French provincial life.

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The post GEMMA BOVERY appeared first on The American French Film Festival in Los Angeles.

| 2020 – 107′ –  Romance / Comedy / Fantasy  –
Written and Directed by Christophe Honoré.
Starring Chiara Mastroianni, Benjamin Biolay, Vincent Lacoste, Camille Cottin, Carole Bouquet.
Official Selection Cannes International Film Festival / Un Certain Regard, Winner Best Actress Chiara Mastroianni.
North American Premiere COLCOA French Film Festival.
In French with English subtitles.
A Strand Releasing release.|

Trailer

Chiara Mastrioanni won the Best Actress Award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival for her delicious star turn in Christophe Honoré’s quirky, song-laden, fantasy-drenched romantic farce, ON A MAGICAL NIGHT (Think A Midsummer Night’s Dream meets Scenes From a Marriage.) Mastrioanni is surrounded by a delightful cast of somewhat unexpected characters, beautifully brought to life by the likes of Camille Cottin (“CALL MY AGENT”), Vincent Lacoste, and a wonderfully wise Carole Bouquet. The plot is triggered by a sudden marital crisis (and quite a bit of genre-appropriate bed-hopping), and takes place over the course of one life-changing night in Paris. Yet, under its frothy surface, the film is actually a kind of deconstructed love story, in which the dreams of youth are held in sharp contrast to the world-weariness of middle age. But maybe the key to happiness lies somewhere in between… As Barry Manilow ponders, “Could this be the magic, at last?”

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The post ON A MAGICAL NIGHT appeared first on The American French Film Festival in Los Angeles.

| 2019 – 138′ –  Drama  –
Written and Directed by François Ozon, based on a true story
Starring Melvil Poupaud, Denis Ménochet, Swann Arlaud, Eric Caravaca, François Marthouret, Bernard Verley, Josiane Balasko
Official Selection Berlin International Film Festival – Winner Silver Bear Jury Grand Prix.
In French with English subtitles.
A Music Box Films release.|

Trailer

BY THE GRACE OF GOD tells the story of three adult men—Alexandre (Melvil Poupaud), François (Denis Ménochet), and Emmanuel (Swann Arlaud)—who band together to expose the code of silence that continues to enable a priest who abused them as boys. Their experiences powerfully illustrate the varying effects that the trauma of abuse causes on individuals and their families for years. The true story upon which the film is based is a scandal that happened in France, with Philippe Barbarin, Cardinal of Lyon, convicted in March 2019 for concealing the conduct of Father Preynat.

“One of the most powerful movies in Ozon’s filmography … A great film that will stick with you long after it ends.” ~ Peter Sobczynski, rogerebert.com

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SLALOM

| 2021 – 90′ – Drama – Written and Directed by Charlène Favier.
Starring Noée Abita, Jérémie Renier, Marie Denarnaud.
Official Selection Cannes Festival 2020.
A Kino Lorber release. |

Trailer

15 year-old Lyz, a high school student in the French Alps, has been accepted to a highly selective ski club whose aim is to train future professional athletes. Taking a chance on his new recruit, Fred, ex-champion turned coach, decides to make Lyz his shining star regardless of her lack of experience. Under his influence, Lyz will have to endure more than the physical and emotional pressure of the training. Will Lyz’s determination help her escape his grip?

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