Review of the French Film Festival in Japan

The 23rd French Film Festival in Japan was held in Tokyo from Friday, June 26, to Monday, June 29, 2015, at the Yurakucho Asahi Hall (701 seats) and the Toho Cinemas Nichigeki (522 seats), two theaters located in the heart of the Ginza district. The festival lineup for 2015 included 12 feature films presented in Japanese premieres, subtitled in Japanese. Selected by Japanese distributors, the lineup offered a mix of auteur films, classical French cinema, and documentaries. The majority of titles presented had already secured distribution deals (with the exception of three films), with the festival paving the way for their upcoming commercial release, boosted by the presence of French artists to promote the films.

Japanese audiences—who are invariably friendly and respectful—came out in force for this year's event, particularly to attend the meet and greet sessions with the high-profile artists in the delegation.

A host of French actors and directors traveled to Japan to present their films alongside the patron of this year's festival, Emmanuelle Devos: Éric Lartigau, Louane Emera, Anaïs Demoustier, Martin Provost, Xavier Beauvois, Abderrahmane Sissako, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado, Olivier Assayas, Anne Fontaine, Félix de Givry, and Sven Love.

All delegation members met with audiences at Q & As held after each film screening and took part in autograph sessions held in the lobby of the Asahi Hall and at the Barbara Le Mieux café, which is a festival partner festival and the official festival café.

A number of films were screened to packed houses, including The Bélier Family, The New Girlfriend, Clouds of Sils Maria, Violette, and Serial (Bad) Weddings.

Japanese audiences were particularly enthusiastic about meeting the actress Anaïs Demoustier. In Tokyo to present The New Girlfriend by François Ozon, the up-and-coming star took part in an autograph session that lasted over 45 minutes! The other actors and directors also participated in autograph sessions, a highly popular tradition with Japanese spectators.

A meeting with the director Anne Fontaine was organized at the Apple Store in Ginza as part of a series of "Meet the Filmmaker" events. This meeting will be released at a later date on iTunes as a podcast to coincide with the release of the film Gemma Bovery. Director Olivier Assayas was also invited to give a master class at The Film School of Tokyo, hosted by the Japanese director Shinji Aoyama.

And finally, director Abderrahmane Sissako led a master class that attracted a strong turnout, held at the French Institute in Tokyo on June 27, featuring a presentation of his film Timbuktu.

The festival's only prize, the Audience Award, was presented to La Famille Bélier, which will hit the screens in Japan on October 31 this year.