The city of Washington is to welcome its very first French Film Festival in October this year, with a selection of around ten new French titles on the menu.
"C'est Chic: New Films from France" is organized with the support of the French Embassy, the French-American Cultural Foundation, and Unifrance.
A wide range of recent French films will be showcased at the event, including "Tiger Brigades" by Jérôme Cornuau, "Inside Paris" (aka “In Paris”) by Christophe Honoré starring Romain Duris, the latest Chabrol, "L'ivresse du pouvoir" ("Comedy of Power"), "The Little Lieutenant" by Xavier Beauvois starring Nathalie Baye, and the animated film "Kirikou and the Wild Beasts."
As Murray Horwitz, director of the American Film Institute (AFI), states, some of the world’s film cultures are of great significance, and French film culture is one of these. The AFI is America’s only large not-for profit Cinematheque, where the majority of the festival’s screenings will be held. The AFI is located in Silver Spring, in the suburbs of Washington DC.
Mr. Horwitz notes that this event marks the first effort to set up an annual festival devoted to contemporary French film production, which, he claims, upholds its traditional vigor and liveliness. He adds that French films continue to attract local audiences.
Among other French titles (subtitled in English) selected at the event are "Un ami parfait" ("A Perfect Friend") by Francis Girod, "Les amants réguliers" ("Everyday Lovers”) by Philippe Garrel, and "Chats perchés" (“The Case of the Grinning Cat”) by Chris Marker. The festival also features a screening devoted entirely to short films.
During the festival, French television serials (such as “Maigret") will be broadcast on the cable television channel MHZ Networks.
The AFI also organized their 17th Latin American Film Festival in September this year, at which some forty feature films from Latin America and the Caribbean were presented; and November will see a European Film Festival, featuring films from all over Europe.
