An event actively supported by Unifrance, the Festival du Film Francophone de Grèce - 2010 is one of the most important film festivals in south-eastern Europe.
Produced and hosted by the French Institute in Athens and the French Embassy in Greece, this festival aims to promote French-language films by offering festival-goers the opportunity to discover 25 films, the majority of which have never been seen in Greece.
A screening of Gainsbourg: Je t'aime...Moi non plus by Joann Sfar will open the festival on April 15 in the presence of the director and this year's festival patron, Jean-Paul Gaultier. Jean-Paul Gautier will have "carte blanche" to share his personal favorites with audiences, including Falbalas by Jacques Becker, Crustacés et Coquillages (Côte d'Azur) by Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau, The Day Before by Loic Prigent, Avenue Montaigne by Danièle Thompson, and Callas Forever by Franco Zeffirelli.
A special tribute to Éric Rohmer will feature screenings of Le Signe du Lion, La Collectionneuse (The Collector), Les Nuits de la pleine lune (Full Moon in Paris), Le Rayon vert (Summer), and Triple Agent.
Festival guests include Jacques Perrin, who will present Oceans; Farida Khelfa and Gabriel Julien-Laferrière, who will present Neuilly sa mère!; Antoine De Caunes, who will present He Is My Girl by Jean-Jacques Zilbermann; François-Xavier Demaison and Grégoire Vigneron, who will present Sans laisser de traces; Jane Birkin, who will present Around a Small Mountain by Jacques Rivette; Riad Sattouf, who will present The French Kissers; Nathalie Besançon, who will present Skirt Day by Jean-Paul Lilienfeld; and Anne Consigny, who will present Rapt by Lucas Belvaux. Jean Reno and Richard Berry will present 22 Bullets at the festival's closing ceremony.
Greek distributors are highly active in the French film market, each year acquiring the rights to around 50 French productions. Recent acquisitions include The French Kissers, Gainsbourg (Vie Héroïque), as well as Skirt Day and Rapt, all scheduled to hit the screens in upcoming weeks. The Greek Francophone Film Festival, which benefits from strong backing from Unifrance, plays an important role in maintaining this active interest in French fare.
