BE RIVETED BY FRENCH CINEMA: THE 38TH FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL

Amongst the films to look forward to: the inspiring Ride Above by Christian Duguay, starring Mélanie Laurent and Pio Marmaï, and the light-hearted comedies Wilderness Therapy by Edouard Deluc and Rumba Therapy by Franck Dubosc. 

There are movies inspired by actual events: November, a thriller by Cedric Jimenez with Jean Dujardin that relates the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in Paris in November 2015; Notre Dame on Fire, a dramatization by Jean-Jacques Annaud paying tribute to Paris firefighters’ exceptional commitment during the 2019 fire with both real-life footage and fictional material; and Simone: The Journey of the Century, an inspiring biopic about Simone Veil, a prominent woman pioneer in the French government and European Union in the 20th century. 

Viewers can also look forward to jaw-dropping thrillers like Kompromat by Jerôme Salle, starring Gilles Lellouche, and Vanishing by Denis Dercourt, with Olga Kurylenko.

The festival also presents a special selection of adaptation movies, such as The Patience Stone and Our Lady of the Nile by Atiq Rahimi, Germinal by Claude Berry and The French Minister by Bertrand Tavernier, in partnership with the Singapore Writers Festival. 

Young audiences are not forgotten as the festival features the animated film Little Nicolas – Happy As Can Be by Amandine Fredon and Benjamin Massoubre and Belle and Sebastian by Pierre Coré. To promote French cinema and bring it closer to Singaporean homes, free screenings are organized at selected public libraries in partnership with the National Library Board. 

And finally, paying tribute to the legendary film director Jean-Luc Godard who passed away recently, a retrospective of his most influential films is shown at The Projector.