Around the World: March 17, 2017

17 MARCH 2017

With destinations ranging from the Berlin Film Festival to the Rendez-Vous with French Cinema in New York, French actors and directors have continued to travel the world since early January, with a full program of debates, master classes, and promotional tours. French cinema remains a uniting force for movie-loving audiences across the globe.

The number of the month is 11: This is how many airplanes were taken over 13 days by Rebecca Zlotowski, who traveled to Australia to present her film Planetarium at the Alliance Française French Film Festival and accompany it on a tour of Australian cities. She then flew to New Zealand, joined by Emmanuelle Bercot.
As part of the France-Colombia Exchange Years program, Vincent Cassel and Denis Lavant carried the banner for France at the Cartagena Film Festival (March 1-6).
Nicole Garcia and Brigitte Roüan were in Kiev, Ukraine from January 24 through 27 for the Francophone Film Days and took part in discussions about their film From the Land of the Moon
Marie-Hélène Rebois, director of In the Steps of Trisha Brown, traveled to New York in February to attend the premiere of her film.
The Belgrade International Film Festival (February 24 to March 5) welcomed Laurent Teyssier, Alban Teurlai, Thierry Demaizière, and Finnegan Oldfield as festival guests.
Agnès Varda, who has gained true rock-star status in the USA, wins the prize this month for her selfies on Instagram from her trip to New York in March, where she had an exhibition at the Blum & Poe Gallery and took part in numerous meetings with American audiences.
Olivier Assayas and Kristen Stewart won acclaim in the United States at the preview screening of Personal Shopper. Olivier Assayas also brought his many US fans together at a Carte Blanche event and a Retrospective held at the Metrograph Theater in New York and at Cinefamily in Los Angeles.
Angelin Preljocaj and his co-director and wife Valérie Müller attended the Pina Mar Film Festival in Argentina (March 11-18) to present their film Polina, which is currently touring the international festival circuit.
Antonin Peretjatko completed an action-packed tour of the United States punctuated by master classes held as part of the Young French Cinema program, at which Struggle for Life was screened, with trips notably to New York and Washington DC (early March).
François Desagnat and his lead actress Julia Piaton were in Budapest to support the release of Roommates Wanted in Hungary as part of the Francophone Days event.
Lola Doillon was back in her beloved New York City to present her film Fanny's Journey at the Children Film Fest, along with her producer Saga Blanchard.
Alain Guiraudie made the trip to Mexico City, where Staying Vertical was screened at the Ficunam (7th edition, February 22-28). He gave his master class to a packed audience.
Stéphane Brizé was in Canada to take part in the Grand Nord workshop and promote the release of his film A Woman's Life.