French film fest marks its 24th year

“Sink or Swim”

Since I’m a Frenchwoman trapped in a Pinay’s body, I always look forward to the annual French Film Festival (FFF) mounted by the embassy of France.

As one of my favorite French directors, Jean-Luc Godard, puts it, “Parfois la réalité est trop complexe. Les histoires lui donnent forme “(Sometimes, reality is too complex. Stories give it form). He also said that “cinema is the most beautiful fraud in the world.”

The 24th edition of FFF offers audiences an alternative form of cinema with a lineup of 15 contemporary French films. It runs from June 12 to 18 in Greenbelt 3 and Bonifacio High Street cinemas. (For schedule and synopses, visit www.ph.ambafrance.org.)

As it approaches its silver anniversary in 2020, FFF expands its audience by organizing screenings in Metro Manila, Cebu, Davao and, for the first time ever, Bacolod.

This year, French director Nils Tavernier graces the red carpet in Greenbelt 5 to formally open the festival on June 11 with the screening of his latest film, “L’Incroyable histoire du Facteur Cheval” (The Ideal Palace). Set in Southern France in 1879, the film recounts the true story of an ordinary mailman who devotes 33 years of his life to build a castle for his daughter.

Other films in the selection, which were released between 2014 and 2018, include “The Finishers,” “Custody,” “Just a Breath Away,” “The House by the Sea” and “Sink or Swim.” There will be a special screening on June 14 of “Bande de filles” (“Girlhood”).

Filipino films that will be screened include Pepe Diokno’s “Above the Clouds,” Carlo Catu’s “Waiting for Sunset,” Carlo Manatad’s “Jodilerks dela Cruz, Employee of the Month” and Kidlat Tahimik’s “Perfumed Nightmare.”

Vive le cinéma Français et Philippin. Celebrons le talent artistique Francais et Philippin. (Long live French and Philippine cinema. Let’s celebrate French and Philippine artistry.) Ensemble, les Francophiles. On va au cinema. (Francophiles unite. Let’s go to the movies).