Contemporary French cinema that receives limited release in Australian cinemas will be heading to Armidale for the fourth running of the Alliance Française Touring French Film Festival at the Belgrave Cinema beginning Friday June 15 and concluding Sunday June 17.
Brought to the region by The Armidale Alliance Française, part of a worldwide network aiming to teach the French language and spread French culture.
This year’s Festival programme at the Belgrave Cinema contains five recent movies (all subtitled), with the first two, both huge French box-office successes, suitable for children as well as adults. It opens on Friday June 15 at 5.45pm with the comedy Nothing to Declare (M), directed by Dany Boon whose Welcome to the Sticks broke box-office records in France. It’s a story of conflict between French and Belgian customs officers, with a love story and some dodgy dealings.
Saturday June 16 at 3.30pm sees Yann Samuell’s War of the Buttons (PG), one of two 2011 film versions of a much-reprinted 1912 novel about rival gangs of kids and touches on the themes of integration, independence, innocence and growing up. At 5.50pm on the same day Romain Goupil’s Hands Up (MA15+) is a comedy-drama that casts light on a group of school children in Paris, many of whose parents lack legal status. The movie won the 2011 European Silver Ribbon.
The two films on Sunday June 17 also carry the Festival classification meaning that those under 15 must be accompanied by an adult. At 1.30pm Towards Zero (MA15+) is Pascal Thomas’s take on Agatha Christie’s 1944 novel, transferred to the Brittany coast and starring the revered Danielle Darrieux. The Festival ends at 3.30pm with Love like Poison (MA15+), the tale of a young Catholic girl struggling as she matures into adulthood. This tender debut feature by Katell Quillévéré won the Prix Jean Vigo.
Tickets for each of the five films are $15, with concessions $13, or $11 for children aged 3-14. They are now on sale at the Belgrave Cinema. Further information is available at www.belgravecinema.com.au or www.afarmidale.com.au Any queries to Chris Gossip on 6771 1409.
