For the 14th year running, the VCU French Film Festival will be held in Richmond, Virginia, from March 31 through April 2, 2006.
Under the permanent presidency of Claude Miller and in the presence of the director Bertrand Tavernier, 13 feature films and 11 short films – with a majority of United States premieres – will be presented to American audiences during the event by a delegation of 25 French actors and directors. After attracting over 17,500 spectators for its 13th edition in 2005, the VCU French Film Festival gives the general public in the United States – a wide and diverse audience – the chance to see the latest offerings from French film production and to join in discussions with French actors and directors after the screenings.
The festival will kick off with a tribute to Bertrand Tavernier, with the presentation of two of his films, "Clean Up" (aka "Clean Slate") and "It All Starts Today," with the former presented by the director and the cinematographer Pierre-William Glenn, and the latter introduced by Mr. Tavernier and the actor Philippe Torreton. The festival will be preceded by two master classes on the subject of cinematic creation, led respectively by the cinematographer Pierre-William Glenn and Bertrand Tavernier, to be held Tuesday, March 28 and Thursday, March 30.
Among the features to be showcased this year, audiences will have the opportunity to discover "Not Here to Be Loved," presented by Stéphane Brizé, " Vice & Versa," presented by Patrick Bouchitey and Laetitia Chardonnet, "Iznogoud" presented by Patrick Braoudé, "Genesis," presented by Marie Perennou and Claude Nuridsany, "Antony Zimmer" by Jérôme Salle, "Jaurès: naissance d’un géant," presented by Jean-Daniel Verhaeghe and Philippe Torreton, "Mon Ange," presented by Serge Frydman, "Ze film," presented by Guy Jacques, Clément Sibony, and Carine Lacroix, "Narco," presented by Tristan Aurouet, "The Last Mitterrand," presented by Jalil Lespert. The festival will close with a screening of "The Beat That My Heart Skipped," winner of eight Cesar awards.
The line-up also includes 11 short films: "Le Manie-tout," presented by Georges Le Piouffle, "Esperanto," presented by Mathieu Guetta, "Le Suicide du ventriloque," presented by Samuel Hercule, "Le Serment," presented by Marie-Paule Anfosso, "Comme un air," presented by Yohann Gloaguen, "Peter Pan a grandi et John Lennon est mort," presented by Alexandre Charlet , "L’Isle," presented by Chiara Malta, "For intérieur" by Patrick Poubel, "Paul," presented by Cécile Rousset, "Regards libres," presented by Romain Delange, and "Suzanne," presented by Mona Achache.
The VCU French Film festival benefits from support each year from Unifrance, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the SACD, and L’ARP. The television channel and radio station Community Idea Stations (PBS) are partners of the festival, which is also sponsored by the international television channel TV5Monde. With backing from the Virginia Film Office, the VCU French Film Festival also welcomes American distributors, such as Cinema Parallel, who have the opportunity to gauge audience reactions to French films and meet with filmmakers.
