| 2017 – 116′ –  Comedy / Drama  – France- Italy co-production –
Co-Written by Francesca Archibugi and Paolo Virzi
Directed by Paolo Virzi.
Starring Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Micaela Ramazzotti, Bob Messini, Sergio Albelli, Marisa Borini, Anna Galiena, Tommaso Ragno.
Official Competitions COLCOA French Film Festival (Winner Audience Special Mention), Cannes Film Festival – Directors Fortnight.
In Italian with English subtitles.
A Strand Releasing release. |

Trailer

 
Actresses Valerie Bruni Tedeschi and Micaela Ramozzotti are at the height of their games as comically mismatched escapees from a mental institution. The story begins in a stately Tuscan villa converted into a retreat for unstable women. Beatrice (Tedeschi) is an entitled, manically motor-mouthed compulsive liar. Donatella is a withdrawn depressive, deeply damaged by life. As much as Donatella dwells on the past, Beatrice lives for the moment, so when she sees an opportunity to get away from hospital staff, she seizes it, with Donatella in tow. The two hit the road on an outlaw odyssey that includes sexy cars, expensive dinners, fortune tellers, an ex-this and a former-that, and any manner of self-medicating, all without a Euro to scrounge between them. They aim to find happiness, but that turns out to be a tricky thing to nail down. Even a lighthearted jaunt in the Tuscan sun can take you to a deeper, more emotionally resonant destination.

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The post LIKE CRAZY appeared first on The American French Film Festival in Los Angeles.

| 2015 – 102′ –  Drama -,
Written & Directed by Céline Sciamma.
Starring Karidja Touré, Assa Sylla, Lindsay Karamoh, Mariétou Touré, Idrissa Diabaté.
Official Selection Director’s Fortnight Cannes Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival.
In French with English subtitles.
A Strand Releasing release.|

Trailer

Fed up with her abusive family situation, lack of school prospects and the “boys’ law” in the neighborhood, Marieme starts a new life after meeting a group of three free-spirited girls. Her encounter changes everything. She changes her name, her style, drops out of school and starts stealing to be accepted into the gang. When her home situation becomes unbearable, Marieme seeks solace in an older man who promises her money and protection. Realizing this sort of lifestyle will never result in the freedom and independence she truly desires, she finally decides to take matters into her own hands. One of the best Coming-Of-Age films in years by the director of TOMBOY, WATER LILIES and PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE.

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

| 2016 – 79′ – Drama –
Written and Directed by Philippe Faucon.
Starring Soria Zeroual, Zita Hanrot, Kenza-Noah Aïche, Chawki Amari, Isabelle Candelier.
Official Competition COLCOA 2016 (Winner LAFCA Special Mention), Winner 3 Cesar Awards including Best Film and Best Adapted Screenplay.
In French and Arabic with English subtitles.
A Kino Lorber release |

This perceptive celebration of a resilient immigrant mother of two working as a house cleaner in Lyon, cleaned up at the 2016 César Awards, taking prizes for Best Film, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Most Promising Actress for bright newcomer Zita Hanrot. Adopting a grounded, episodic approach, the film focuses on the challenges of cultural assimilation as seen through the eyes of two generations of women. Fatima is a divorcee holding down several menial jobs. She emigrated from North Africa at 20, but 20 years later, she struggles to speak enough French to communicate with her own daughters Nesrine and Souad, whose lives she is tirelessly devoted to improving. Nesrine is trying to strike a balance between cramming for her pre-med exams and dating, while the younger and more rebellious Souad is testing her limits and her mother’s patience by acting out. Facing veiled racism, suspicion, awkwardness, and shame on a daily basis, Fatima discovers that the perfect outlet for her frustrations is also the best way to tell her daughters how she really feels.

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

CUSTODY

Trailer

The feature-length sequel to the director’s powerful Oscar-nominated short, Just Before Losing Everything, Custody recounts the harrowing post-divorce custody battle of the abused wife and violent, controlling husband of his previous film. Masterfully employing an icy, hyper-realistic style, totally devoid of music (which has been compared to the films of Maurice Pialat, Alfred Hitchcock and Claude Chabrol), the thriller comes to a slow boil, as tensions build and the situation becomes almost unbearable. Léa Drucker and Denis Ménochet reprise the roles they played in Legrand’s short with great complexity and nuance, while newcomer Thomas Gioria brilliantly captures all the conflicting feelings and terrors of the couple’s traumatized 11-year-old son.

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

IN SAFE HANDS

| 2018 – 107′ – Drama – Written and Directed by Jeanne Herry.
Starring Sandrine Kiberlain, Gilles Lellouche, Élodie Bouchez, Miou-Miou, Stéfi Celma.
Official Competition COLCOA 2019.
In French with English subtitles.
A Distrib Films U.S. release. |

When baby Theo’s birth mother surrenders him to adoption, child protection services, and officers such as Karine (Sandrine Kiberlain, Number 1 Fan), are called to action, and the harsh realities of the adoption process are pulled into sharp focus. Karine entrusts Theo to Jean (Gilles Lellouche, C’est la vie!) – no stranger to the foster system himself – who takes on the responsibility of the newborn until a suitable home can be found. Meanwhile, Alice (Élodie Bouchez) has never given up the fight to be a mother and faces the prospect of this dream finally coming true, although nothing is certain.

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