20th French Film Festival in the Czech Republic

16 NOVEMBER 2017

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.