Festival Director and Programme Curator Marie-Pierre Richard introduces this year's installment of the French Film Festival, the Irish Film Institute's annual celebration of du cinéma français, which runs from November at IFI Dublin.
The programme for the 26th IFI French Film Festival this November reaffirms cinema's vitality, showcasing established and exciting new filmmakers whose work we love!
Firstly, we have wonderful guests! Lucile Hadžihalilović, whose breakthrough feature Innocence (2004) established her as one of France’s most distinctive, daring filmmakers, will give a Masterclass and present her latest hypnotic feature, The Ice Tower. Documentarian Jean-Baptiste Bonnet accompanies his poignant, Save our Souls, witnessing political and human stakes for refugees rescued at sea. Rising talent Samuel Kircher, star of Catherine Breillat’s Last Summer, and Belgian filmmaker Valéry Carnoy presents Wild Foxes, a vibrant portrait of a young boxer.
French film classic À bout de souffle (Pic: Netflix)
Compelling films by women directors offer fresh perspectives on reality: our opening film, Summer Beats, is an energetic portrait of multicultural teens at summer-camp, while That Summer in Paris, filmed during the Paris 2024 Olympics, presents an empathetic portrait of a young woman’s personal awakening. The stunning debut, Silent Rebellion, is a profound wartime tale of a 15-year-old woman who resists oppression to carve her own path in life. Several LGBT dramas explore identity and motherhood through carefully observed filmmaking. The Little Sister, an affecting coming-of-age portrait of a young French Algerian woman navigating her Muslim faith and her emerging attraction to women; Love Letters, a touching portrait of a lesbian married couple expecting their first child while navigating legal challenges; and Enzo, scripted by the late Laurent Cantet and directed by longtime collaborator Robin Campillo, delivers a luminous queer youth portrait of a boy defying his privileged family’s expectations.
We have festival regulars Sophie Letourneur, whose L’Aventura continues her trilogy with another tender, cacophonic slice-of-life family comedy; Stéphane Demoustier’s The Great Arch presents a brilliantly reconstructed account of the realisation of Paris' Grande Arche de La Défense; Dominik Moll’s Case 137 is a precise fictional investigation into police violence during the yellow vest riots.
Luminous black-and-white cinematography is back with two fantastic films: Nouvelle Vague, Richard Linklater’s love letter to Godard’s Á bout de souffle; and François Ozon’s The Stranger, a nuanced adaptation of Camus’ L’Étranger. Screening in parallel to Chris Marker’s groundbreaking La Jetée, Dominique Cabrera’s thrilling documentary weaves personal diaries, photographs, political and film history.
Social drama, Adam's Sake follows a nurse's shift in an hospital paediatric unit; and the high-paced thriller Dog 51, questions our (near) future with tools powerful enough to bypass justice.
Two programmes of classic and early cinema present beautifully restored versions on the big screen: four of Claude Chabrol’s finest films from the early 1970s, plus the extraordinary Lumière films shot 130 years ago.
Tender and playful comedies not to be missed include the moving docudrama bicycle road trip, Ride Away; The Musicians, a heartfelt comedy about a quartet of mismatched personalities; and Stages of Love, where love, art and work are intimately linked.
Two unique animated films complete the selection: the glorious Arco for the youngest!, and A Magnificent Life celebrates the life of the incomparable Marcel Pagnol.
I hope the richness of this year’s selection reveals how cinema never ceases to bring us new forms, ideas and conversations which fascinate, astonish and inspire!
The IFI French Film Festival is at the Irish Film Institute, Dublin from Wednesday, November 19th to Sunday, November 30th - find out more here
