This year marks the 20th anniversary of the French Film Festival in the Czech Republic, which will once again take place in five cities across the country (Brno, České Budějovice, Hradec Králové, and Ostrava), in addition to Prague, from November 22 through 29, 2017.
It is hard to believe that twenty years have passed since the French Film Festival in the Czech Republic first opened its doors! Over the years, this event has established itself as a key gathering for Czech movie-lovers. UniFrance will pay tribute to this year's anniversary celebrations with the attendance at the festival of our president Serge Toubiana, who will take part in the opening ceremony.
Festivities will be launched with a screening of Redoubtable, the first of nine titles included in the Official Selection. This screening will be held in the presence of Catherine Frot and Martin Provost for The Midwife; Jacques Doillon for Rodin; Édouard Deluc for Gauguin; and Laurent Cantet for The Workshop.
The customary festival sections will be presented, with the "Czech Critics' Choice" placing the spotlight on music this year (Barbara, Dalida, Django), in addition to the "French Cinema Successes" section, and a Short Film Evening to be attended by the directors Axel Courtière and Jessica Palud.
The festival will also present a series of films by the Lumière brothers and, only in Prague, a selection of French films that were screened in Competition at Cannes between 2011 and 2016, as well as a retrospective of the work of Jean-Pierre Melville, to coincide with celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the filmmaker's birth. To top it off, there will be the traveling exhibition Gaumont—120 Years of Cinema, which will finish its national tour at Gallery 35 in the Czech capital, along with a French Film Market, and a string of music performances.
Selections
Opening film
Preview screenings
- See You Up There by Albert Dupontel
- Endangered Species by Gilles Bourdos
- Gauguin by Édouard Deluc
- Happy End by Michael Haneke
- The Workshop by Laurent Cantet
- Racer and the Jailbird by Michael R. Roskam
- Ismael's Ghosts by Arnaud Desplechin
- Ismael's Ghosts by Arnaud Desplechin
- Lumière! by Thierry Frémaux
- My Life as a Courgette by Claude Barras
- Madame by Amanda Sthers
- My Son by Christian Carion
- Rock'n Roll by Guillaume Canet
- Rodin by Jacques Doillon
- The Midwife by Martin Provost
- Bright Sunshine In by Claire Denis
French Cinema Successes
- BPM (Beats Per Minute) by Robin Campillo
- Back to Burgundy by Cédric Klapisch
- Two is a Family by Hugo Gélin
- Amant double by François Ozon
- C'est la vie! by Éric Toledano, Olivier Nakache
- The Jungle Bunch (The Movie) by David Alaux
- A Bag of Marbles by Christian Duguay
- Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets by Luc Besson
- À bras ouverts by Philippe de Chauveron
Czech Critics' Choice
- Ava by Léa Mysius
- Barbara by Mathieu Amalric
- Corporate by Nicolas Silhol
- Django by Étienne Comar
- The Paris Opéra by Jean-Stéphane Bron
- Mr & Mrs Adelman by Nicolas Bedos
- A Woman's Life by Stéphane Brizé
- A Journey Through French Cinema by Bertrand Tavernier
Short Film Evening
- Delectable You by Axel Courtière
- At Home by François Raffenaud
- Garden Party by Florian Babikian, Vincent Bayoux, Victor Caire, Théophile Dufresne, Gabriel Grapperon, Lucas Navarro
- The Childhood of a Leader by Brady Corbet
- The Winkles by Alice Vial
- Marlon by Jessica Palud
- Thank You Mister Imada by Sylvain Chomet
- Negative Space by Max Porter, Ru Kuwahata
- Nothing Happens by Michelle Kranot, Uri Kranot
Cannes Retrospective: Official Selections 2011-2016
- Love by Michael Haneke
- Two Days, One Night by Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
- Dheepan by Jacques Audiard
- House of Pleasure by Bertrand Bonello
- Blue is the Warmest Color by Abdellatif Kechiche
- Saint Laurent by Bertrand Bonello
- Clouds of Sils Maria by Olivier Assayas
Feature Films: A Tribute to Jean-Pierre Melville
- Bob le flambeur by Jean-Pierre Melville
- Army of Shadow by Jean-Pierre Melville
- The Red Circle / Le Cercle rouge by Jean-Pierre Melville
- Doulos: The Finger Man by Jean-Pierre Melville
- Le Silence de la mer by Jean-Pierre Melville
- Léon Morin, Priest by Jean-Pierre Melville
All further information can be found on the festival's official website.
