OPENING NIGHT
Friday 17 May - 7pm
drama
The three musketeers d'artagnan / les trois mousQUetaires (M)
ACTION, ADVENTURE, HISTORICAL, THRILLER | FRANCE | 2023 | 121 MINS
Directed by: Martin Bourboulon
Starring: François Civil, Vincent Cassel, Romain Duris, Pio Marmaïi, Eva Green, Louis Garrel
D'Artagnan, a spirited young Gascon, is left for dead after trying to save a young woman from being kidnapped. When he arrives in Paris, he tries by all means to find his attackers. He is unaware that his quest will lead him to the heart of a real war where the future of France is at stake. Allied with Athos, Porthos and Aramis, three musketeers of the King with a dangerous temerity, D'Artagnan faces the dark machinations of the Cardinal of Richelieu. But it is when he falls madly in love with Constance Bonacieux, the Queen's confidante, that d'Artagnan truly puts himself in danger. For it is this passion that leads him into the wake of the one who becomes his mortal enemy: Milady de Winter.
"Dumas’s classic novel finally gets an epic adaptation worthy of its scope, rendered in delicious French by its dangerously sexy cast. Swashbuckling of the highest order."
WINNER - 2024 César Best Production Design
SATURDAY 18 MAY - 2PM
drama
Àma gloria (PG)
DRAMA | FRANCE | 2023 | 84 MINS
Directed by: Marie Amachoukeli-Barsacq
Starring: Louise Mauroy-Panzani, Ilca Moreno Zego, Abnara Gomes Varela, Arnaud Rebotini
Vivacious, personable young six years old Cléo lives with her widowed father, but has mostly been raised by her beloved Cape Verdean carer, Gloria, in whose comforting arms she finds refuge and emotional stability. So when Gloria’s mother passes away – a life-changing blow for both of them – Gloria must return to her homeland to care for her own children. To ease the anguish of the impending separation, Gloria invites Cléo to her island community to spend one last summer together… There, the young girl will discover an entirely different culture and a new family, and must learn to understand that the world does not revolve around her.
"Deeply moving. A debut made dazzling by an astonishingly intricate performance from its six-year-old star. The considerable power of Ama Gloria lies not in its take on colonial conscience, nor even in its insights into the complex economical and emotional dynamics of the child-nanny bond. It is in its unmatched portrait of one brave little heart."
OPENING NIGHT SELECTION (CRITIC’S WEEK) – 2023 CANNES FILM FESTIVAL
WINNER - 2023 JERUSALEM FILM FESTIVAL - Best International Film Prize
SATURDAY 18 may - 4:30pm
COMEDY
THE PRESIDENT'S WIFE / BERNADETTE (M)
COMEDY, BIOPIC | FRANCE | 2023 | 93 MINS
Directed by: Léa Domenach
Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Denis Podalydès, Michel Vuillermoz, Sara Giraudeau, Laurent Stocker
Legendary French actress Catherine Deneuve plays Bernadette Chirac in this uproarious comedy based on actual true events
when in 1995, Jacques Chirac is elected French President. When Bernadette Chirac steps into the Elysée, she expects to finally get the
respect she deserves after working in her husband's shadow. Set aside as old-fashioned, cold and sour-tempered,
Bernadette decides to take her revenge by becoming an essential media figure.
"a joyful comedy anchored in French political history" including behind-the-scenes political dealings and a style makeover
from Karl Lagerfeld.
Lisa Nesselson FRANCE 24
SATURDAY 18 may - 7pm
DRAMA
THE THREE MUSKETEERS - MILADAY / LES TROIS MOUSQUETAIRES - MILADY (M)
ACTION, ADVENTURE, HISTORICAL, THRILLER | FRANCE | 2023 | 121 MINS
Directed by: Martin Bourboulon
Starring: François Civil, Vincent Cassel, Romain Duris, Pio Marmaï, Eva Green, Louis Garrel, Vicky Krieps
Following the events of D’ARTAGNAN, a secret from the past shatters old alliances in THE THREE MUSKETEERS: MILADY, the spectacular second chapter to Martin Bourboulon’s lavish, all-star adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ classic adventure, the first French cinematic treatment in over 30 years. Strap in for the unforgettable conclusion.
"This follow-up is even more enjoyable, its appeal boosted by Milady - a mercurial, merciless and irresistible Eva Green,
slinking on to centre stage, her weaponised sexuality backed up by her private collection of daggers and swords. Breathless, the film
fairly gallops."
SUNDAY 19 may - 2pm
COMEDY
A DIFFICULT YEAR / UNE ANNÉE DIFFICILE (M)
COMEDY, ROMANCE | FRANCE | 2023 | 108 MINS
Directed by: Éric Toledano, Olivier Nakche
Starring: Pio Marmaï, Jonathan Cohen, Noémie Merlant, Mathieu Amalric
Both in debt up to their necks, Albert and Bruno have turned to a community worker to try and help get a grip on their lives. However, at one of their group sessions, they stumble into an adjoining meeting room hosting a gathering of young social activists, led by a vivacious organiser.
Attracted more by the free beer and chips than the group's struggle against consumerism and protection of the environment (whilst acknowledging the hugs are quite nice), Albert and Bruno join the movement without any particular conviction, but soon sense an opportunity... if they don't get arrested first.
"Intelligent and hilarious! A social comedy that makes us laugh, moves and questions us at the same time."
Juliette Hochberg
MARIE CLAIRE
SUNDAY 19 may - 4:30pm
BIOPIC
BONNARD, PIERRE AND MARTHE / BONNARD, PIERRE ET MARTHE (ma15+)
BIOPIC, HISTORICAL, ROMANCE | FRANCE | 2023 | 122 MINS
Directed by: Martin Provost
Starring: Vincent Macaigne, Cécile de France, Stacy Martin, Anouk Grinberg, André Marcon, Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet
1893. When aspiring French painter Pierre Bonnard - a protégé of Claude Monet - meets Marthe de Méligny, he has no idea that this self-proclaimed aristocrat will become the cornerstone of his life and work. From this moment, though she appears in over a third of his work, she's more than just a muse; together over five decades, the couple will explore creative fulfillment, love and jealousies that challenge the standards of the time, as the film interrogates the great mystery around their relationship.
"Beautiful and poetic, but also deeply compelling and wonderfully provocative in tasteful and earnest ways, Bonnard, Pierre
and Marthe is an extraordinary and well-crafted drama, a spirited examination of desire and artistry, two deeply intertwined concepts."
Cédric Succivalli INTERNATIONAL CINEPHILE