FIVE MUST-SEE MOVIES AT THE 35th FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL

As the first week of the 35th Alliance Française French Film Festival’s national rollout draws to a close, the vast landscape of great French film that still lay before us is taking shape. In the mix are retro classics (Les Enfants du Paradis; The Intouchables); family viewing joys (Kina & Yuk; Princes of the Desert); and, sumptuous period dramas (Part of Fools; Bonnard, Pierre and Marthe). Starpower shines, with new films by Johnny Depp, in Maiween’s Jeanne du Barry; Daniel Auteuil and Emmanuelle Devos in A Silence; and La Grande Dame Catherine Deneuve in The President’s Wife.

To focus your movie-choosing even further, here are five films that are particularly high on our French film radar in the weeks ahead…    

LAST SUMMER 
Directed by  CATHERINE BREILLAT
Starring LÉA DRUCKER, SAMUEL KIRCHER, OLIVIER RABOURDIN, CLOTILDE COURAU / 104 mins / MA 15+) Always the boundary-pushing provocateur, filmmaker Catherine Breillat returns with a new taboo-breaking film that examines the relationship between a woman and her teenage stepson. This fearless erotic drama stars Léa Drucker as a well-respected child protection lawyer and a happily married woman. Her world is turned upside down when her husband’s 17-year-old son from a previous marriage moves in with them, stirring attraction and desire as well as the legal and moral barriers it threatens. Breillat’s fearless command of social critique, dark humour and uncomfortable detail has established her as one of the world’s most confronting and essential contemporary filmmakers.

THE ANIMAL KINGDOM
Directed by THOMAS CAILLEY
Starring ROMAIN DURIS, PAUL KIRCHER, ADÈLE EXARCHOPOULOS, TOM MERCIER / 128 mins / M ) This wild and inventive genre mash-up combines the warmth of a family drama with the disturbing visuals of a Cronenbergian body horror. Romain Duris and Paul Kircher play François and Émile, a father and son living in the not-so-distant-future when the planet is afflicted with a new crisis - people are mutating into animals. Amid the growing mystery, paranoia and fear emerges Émile's tender coming of age story. He discovers what it means to be human and how the next generation will adapt to a world where the forces of nature are changing forever. Filmmaker Thomas Cailley delivers a compelling, rule-breaking and convention-defying film.

TONI

TONI
Directed by NATHAN AMBROSIONI
Starring CAMILLE COTTIN, LÉA LOPEZ, THOMAS GIORIA / 96 MINS / M ) For Antonia 'Toni' Livesi, being the sole parent of five teenagers while earning a living as a bar singer is nearly impossible. Despite a brief taste of fame twenty years ago, Toni's life is very much an ordinary one. At 43, is there still time to try something new? With a winning blend of empathy and humour, Camille Cottin continues to impress with her versatility in the lead role of Toni, in a film that explores the dynamics of parenthood, family, and the delicate art of balancing work and life. Touching sincerity is offset by awkward humour in this tender and good-natured drama, one certain to resonate with audiences of all ages.

 
IRIS AND THE MEN
Directed by CAROLINE VIGNAL
Starring LAURE CALAMY, VINCENT ELBAZ / 104 MINS / M ) After the international success of Antoinette in the Cévennes, writer/director Caroline Vignal and the fabulous Laure Calamy reunite for provocative comedy about reignited desire in the modern age. “They’re not”, says Iris (Calamy) when her chiropractor asks how things are going with her husband (Vincent Elbaz). How long has it been since they last made love? Soon, Iris will be turning 50, and the seed of an idea has been planted - “Take a lover”. So begins this cheeky, joyous and conversation-starting delight, in which the leading lady completes her transformation from quirky character actress into unadulterated comedic star.

MARGUERITE’S THEOREM
Directed by ANNA NOVION
Starring ELLA RUMPF, JEAN-PIERRE DARROUSSIN, CLOTILDE COURAU / 103 MINS / M) Set within the world of elite academia at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, Ella Rumpf is Marguerite, a brilliant young mathematician who refuses to let her status as the lone woman in her class hinder her pursuit of excellence. However, her world crumbles when a new student discovers a flaw in her thesis, plunging Marguerite into the real world, unearthing new insights and gaining a fresh lease on life, in this crowd-pleasing and life-affirming film.

For all session and ticket information, visit the official website of the 35th Alliance Française French Film Festival.

HEAD SOUTH BOUND FOR ROTTERDAM AS IFFR 2024 OPENER

Jonathan Ogilvie’s spirited post-punk coming-of-age comedy Head South will open the 53rd International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) on Thursday 25 January 2024, with the festival running until Sunday 4 February.

“With Head South, Jonathan Ogilvie returns to the festival with an unpredictable coming-of-age story that delights in its shifting tone,” said Vanja Kaludjercic, IFFR Festival Director. “Quirkiness and nostalgia become sober and thoughtful, only to turn exuberant and then something else again, in a fitting tribute to post-punk subculture. Ogilvie is the kind of filmmaker we cherish at IFFR: those for whom the art is, above all, an adventure of discovery.”

"I am honoured to have IFFR select Head South as their opening film,” Ogilvie told Screen-Space. “I admire and appreciate the festival's consistent commitment to adventurous filmmakers and the art of cinema." The dramatic comedy, about a private schoolboy who becomes desperately enamoured with all things post-punk in 1979 Christchurch, is a semi-autobiographical work. Ogilvie’s slot in the 2024 edition is his first since his speculative hi-tech thriller Lone Wolf screened in the festival’s Big Screen Competition in 2021.

In her first year as Managing Director of IFFR, Clare Stewart has embraced the role just as the city and the festival team have embraced her. “We are buoyed by the enormous goodwill of [this] vibrant, film-loving city, and hugely grateful to the funders and partners who enable IFFR to remain a fierce defender and champion of independent filmmakers and artists at a time when the world needs diverse stories more than ever.”

“The strength and courage of the Tiger have prevailed as we work to shape the 2024 edition of IFFR. Like film festivals everywhere, we face significant challenges and our focus is on continuing to rebuild resources, consolidate partnerships and diversify audiences,” says Stewart.

In addition to Head South, first-wave titles also announced include the World Premiere of Indian filmmaker Ishan Shukla’s dystopian sci-fi animation Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust (pictured, above), featuring the voices of Golshifteh Farahani and Asia Argento, as well as filmmakers Gaspar Noé, Anurag Kashyap and Lav Diaz; Mário by US auteur Billy Woodberry, a biographical documentary of writer and nationalist leader Mário de Andrade, a central figure in the struggle for pan-African independence; So Unreal, the latest film from genre-expanding U.S. filmmaker Amanda Kramer; Elegies, from Hong Kong cinema legend Ann Hui; and, Egypt’s 2024 Oscars submission Voy! Voy! Voy! (pictured, below) by Omar Hilal.

Other news out of Rotterdam highlights the launch on Friday 26 January of IFFR Pro, the festival’s industry program, which this year will include the opening of the Pro Hub. This meeting space will allow filmmakers and industry professionals to gather for mentoring, meetings, as well as host the IFFR Pro Dialogues programme of panel discussions, covering urgent and enlightening issues facing the industry.  

Also, the 41st edition of IFFR’s co-production market CineMart begins on Sunday 28 January, with Spotlight presentations by project teams returning this year on Monday 29 January. On Tuesday 30, the second edition of the Pro Darkroom presents a curated selection of work-in-progress screenings, and is followed by the IFFR Pro Awards in the evening.

ALL NEWS REGARDING IFFR 2024 WILL BE AVAILABLE VIA THE OFFICIAL 'TIGER ALERT' NEWSLETTER. SUBSCRIBE HERE.

PREVIEW: 2023 IRANIAN FILM FESTIVAL AUSTRALIA

The Iranian Film Festival of Australia (IFFA) will celebrate the resilience and creativity of Iranian cinema at this year’s event. The festival takes on a sombre but defiant tone in 2023, in the wake of the murder of Dariush Mehrjui, the acclaimed director of such iconic Iranian films as The Cow (1969) and The Pear Tree (1998); on October 14, the filmmaker and his wife were found stabbed to death in their home in Karaj, near Tehran. A retrospective of his work has been curated to honour his legacy.

Forced to pause in 2022 in response to the social and political changes in Iran, the IFFA returns with thirteen films, including eleven Australian premieres, as well as six award winning shorts. “The 11th IFFA carries extra significance this year,” said Festival Director Armin Miladi. “We’ve shifted our focus to films about filmmaking, particularly highlighting the burgeoning underground cinema movement in Iran. Amid bans and societal divides, a new wave of underground and independent cinema has emerged, demonstrating the resilience of Iranian filmmakers.”

Opening this year’s festival is The LOCUST (pictured, right), written and directed by Faeze Azizkhani and winner of this year’s Global Award at the South By Southwest Festival. The film stars Pegah Ahangarani, who has now left Iran, and Hanieh Tavassoli, who was temporarily detained this year because of her political remarks on social media.

Closing the Festival is WINNERS, written and directed by Hassan Nazzer, and the United Kingdom’s official entry for the International Film Oscar. Set In a small provincial Iranian town, children working hard to support their families unearth a precious statue and set out to find the owner.

Iran’s controversial entry for the 2024 Academy Awards is THE NIGHT GUARDIAN, directed by Reza Mirkarimi.Forced to leave his village due to drought, a man takes a job as a night guardian at a construction site…something wrong is going on. As strange circumstances unfold around him, Rasoul finds himself trapped.

Two documentaries honour Iranian filmmakers who inspire audiences worldwide. SEE YOU FRIDAY, ROBINSON, direct from its world premiere at the 2022 Berlinale in 2022 is an ode to the friendship between two cinema greats - Jean Luc Godard and the late Ebrahim Golestan. Director Mitra Farahani’s film presents an insight into the role of the artist in the 20th and 21st centuries, with razor-sharp insight and humour. And KIAROSTAMI AT WORK showcases Abbas Kiarostami's boundless passion for work and creativity. The film features images captured by director Seifollah Samadian during their thirty years of friendship.

Other works include ZAPATA, Danesh Eqbashavi’s story of a young writer who tries to help her cousin make his next film, only to find the course of their lives altered irrevocably; DARK MATTER, written and directed by Karim Lakzadeh, about two actors rejected for career-changing roles who then set out to make their own film; and, Vahid Jalilvand’s gripping psychological thriller, BEYOND THE WALL, in which a near-blind man hides a terrified mother from the police after a protest turns into a riot.

But it will likely be the rare screening of THE COW that draws the bulk of the interest. Neorealism, surrealism and mysticism meld in this groundbreaking, deeply moving ‘Iranian New Wave’ masterpiece. Despite being funded by the Iranian government, the film was immediately banned due to its negative portrayal of rural Iranian poverty. It was smuggled to the Venice Film Festival in 1971 - two years after completion - where it won the FIPRESCI Critics’ Prize. The IFFA will screen Dariush Mehrjui’s film with a never-before-seen making-of featurette.

The Iranian Film Festival of Australia 2023 screens in the following locations:
Sydney 16 – 22 Nov, Dendy Newtown
Canberra 17 – 19 Nov, NFSA ARC cinema
Melbourne 23 – 29 Nov, Cinema Nova
Brisbane 30 Nov – 6 Dec, Elizabeth Pic Theatre
Adelaide 1 – 3 Dec, Mercury Cinema
Perth 7 – 13 Dec, Luna Cinema Leederville

IFFR ANNOUNCES CLARE STEWART AS NEW MANAGING DIRECTOR

International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) has appointed former Sydney Film Festival Director Clare Stewart to the post of Managing Director. Most recently Interim CEO at Sheffield DocFest and previously Director of BFI London Film Festival and BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival, she commences in the role at IFFR on 21 June.

In addition to her Sydney Film Festival tenure (2006-2011), Stewart had key roles in the Australian film culture sector as the inaugural Head of Film Programmes at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (2002-2006), Events Manager at the Australian Film Institute (1996-2001) and Programmer/Manager of the Melbourne Cinematheque (1995-2002). She will work alongside fellow Australian expat and former Melbourne International Film Festival Director Michelle Carey, now in her fourth year as a senior Selection Committee member at IFFR. 

Korrie Louwes, Chairperson of the Supervisory Board, said: “Clare has an unparalleled breadth of experience in strategically directing and truly championing festivals, with a track record including some of the foremost celebrations of cinema in the world. In previous roles Clare has channelled her unique combination of creative understanding and business acumen to growing audiences, accelerating commercial success, and raising the profile of those events. It’s a great coup to have her join the IFFR team and bring her multifaceted and insightful leadership to our organisation.”

“IFFR is a world-leading institution that creates meaningful, global impact for independent film and filmmakers,” said Stewart, “and it is also dear to my heart as the first international film festival I attended 25 years ago. It shaped my understanding of the interdependencies between cultural activity and industry development, and the importance of engaging a dedicated local audience while positioning a festival as vital for the international, independent film sector.” 

“Rotterdam is a city renowned for innovation, experimentation and discovery – characteristics that IFFR already champions through its artistic and industry programmes,” observes Stewart, who will relocate the Rotterdam from the position. “This emphasis on bold, new ideas provides a strong cultural base to collaborate with Festival Director Vanja Kaludjercic (pictured, left) on her inspiring vision for building a festival that is both agenda-setting and responsive to change.”

“Her passion for IFFR is undeniable,” said Kaludjercic, “Clare brings a deep understanding of the artistic and commercial sides of a festival from her formidable career to date, which is perfectly suited to the dual leadership dynamic we have between our two roles." 

IFFR has a structure where the pairing of the Managing Director and the Festival Director oversee the commercial and creative elements of the organisation respectively, but working closely in partnership. Stewart previously consulted with the IFFR Board of Directors in 2021 in its first phase of re-evaluation prior to her joining DocFest, with a focus on the IFFR programme structure and content strategy.

Since 2020, Stewart is an elected member of the BAFTA Film Committee, where she has participated on the Learning, Inclusion and Talent Committee, and chaired the film selection for the BAFTA Breakthrough programme. She has served on the World Economic Forum’s Global Advisory Council for the Creative Economies (2014-2016), on competition juries at Sundance, Mumbai, Rio, Dubai, Hong Kong and Macau film festivals and the BAFTA Outstanding British Debut jury.

She is a previous recipient of the Queen's Trust Award for Young Australians and a Women and Hollywood Trailblazer Award in 2017 for her work promoting diversity and gender parity in the film industry.

QUEER SCREEN FIRST LGBTQIA+ FESTIVAL INVITED TO MARCHE DU FILM GLOBAL FEST SIDEBAR

Queer Screen will be representing five work-in-progress productions at the international marketplace Marché du Film, in conjunction with the 76th Cannes Film Festival.

Each year the Marché du Film offers renowned festivals the chance to showcase their selection of original work-in-progress feature titles to sales agents, distributors and festival programmers as part of the ‘Goes to Cannes’ initiative. 

Queer Screen, producers of Sydney’s Mardi Gras Film Festival and Queer Screen Film Fest, will join Festival de Málaga, Hong Kong Industry’s Asia Film Financing Forum, Spanish Screenings and the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in the marketplace. Their presence will represent the first ever LGBTQIA+ and Australian partner in what will be the eleventh edition of the event.

Queer Screen’s festival director, Lisa Rose (pictured, right), said the invitation is an enormous honour and a testament to the organisation’s international standing. “We are thrilled about being chosen,” she said. “To be the first ever Australian and the first ever LGBTQIA+ film festival involved is something we are very proud of and I can’t wait to champion these films.”

Marché du Film attendees can view an extract from the films and see pitches from the filmmakers, at an in-person event and online.

Rose has hand-picked four Australian and one international production to showcase, including SUNFLOWER, a gay coming of age drama from Melbourne filmmaker Gabriel Carrubba. “Earlier this year we gave Sunflower $15,000 from our completion fund,” Rose explained. “It’s the most we have ever awarded for a single project. To give emerging talent like Gabriel this opportunity on the global stage is very exciting.”

CLOSING NIGHT from filmmaker Timother Despina Marshall is a queer psychological horror that received $8,000 from the Queer Screen Completion Fund in 2021. “Tim is a Mardi Gras Film Festival alumni,” Rose said. “Three of his films have been finalists in our My Queer Career short film competition, with Gorilla winning the 2013 Iris Prize, the largest in the world for LGBTQIA+ shorts.”

Dark comedy-drama TRIPLE OH! is a mid-length film/episodic featuring a superb Brooke Satchwell (pictured, left). “It’s funny and sexy,” Rose said. “I loved it when I saw it, and it's so great to see director Poppy Stockell seamlessly deliver compelling narrative work after a much awarded factual career.”

Rounding out the Australian selections is ONE PERSON PROTEST from director Christopher Amos. It is the only documentary of the five films selected and is about Australian activist Peter Tatchell. 

The international project THE QUEEN OF MY DREAMS comes via Canada and Pakistan from writer/director Fawzia Mirza, who’s making her feature directing debut after having many of her shorts screened at Queer Screen’s festivals over the years. It tells the story of a Pakistani Muslim woman, and her Canadian-born daughter coming of age in two different eras.

“Fawzia was a guest at our most recent festival in February and I knew she was toiling away in post while she was here, so I jumped at the chance to offer her this opportunity, as we don’t see enough queer Muslim stories on screen,” Rose said.

Queer Screens selections will be shown on Saturday 20 May 2023 at 4:30pm at Palais K, with filmmakers pitching in person or via recorded video. The film extracts and pitches will also be available online for Marché du Film attendees to view the following day.