24/08/2021 - Boasting an abundant programme featuring a competition composed of ten titles, this year’s edition of the Francophone Film Festival is unspooling 24–29 August

Today’s European premiere of Martin Bourboulon’s Eiffel [+see also:
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film profile] and is once again offering up a bumper line-up, including a competition comprising ten titles and set to be deliberated upon by a jury led by Nicole Garcia (flanked by actor Reda Kateb, director Antonin Baudry, rapper Oxmo Puccino and novelist Marie Ndiaye, among other names).

Three notable titles battling it out for the 2021 Valois d’Or were unveiled to audiences in Cannes last month: A Tale of Love and Desire [+see also:
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interview: Samuel Theis
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interview: Rachel Lang
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Likewise in the running for the award are Rose [+see also:
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film profile] by Jérémie Elkaïm, Black Box [+see also:
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film profile] by Yann Gozlan, The Way to Happiness by Luxemburg’s Nicolas Steil, the brilliant Night of the Kings [+see also:
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interview: Philippe Lacôte
film profile] by Philippe Lacôte and Une révision by Canada’s Catherine Therrien.

18 premieres are also stealing focus on the agenda, including Cannes competitor Paris, 13th District [+see also:
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film profile] by Jacques Audiard, another two titles unveiled on the Croisette (during Critics’ Week) in the form of Anais in Love [+see also:
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interview: Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet
film profile] by Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet and A Radiant Girl [+see also:
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film profile] by Sandrine Kiberlain, not to mention Drift Away [+see also:
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interview: Xavier Beauvois
film profile] by Xavier Beauvois (well received in competition in Berlin), The Man in the Basement [+see also:
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film profile] by Philippe Le Guay, Third Grade [+see also:
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film profile] by Jacques Doillon, The Young Lovers [+see also:
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film profile] by Carine Tardieu, The Test [+see also:
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film profile] by Emmanuel Poulain-Arnaud, Beautiful Minds [+see also:
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film profile] by the directorial duo Bernard Campan and Alexandre Jollien, Hear Me Out [+see also:
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film profile] by Pascal Elbé, and Aline, The Voice of Love [+see also:
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film profile] by Valérie Lemercier (screened out of competition in Cannes).The section going by the name of Les Flamboyants will present The Love Letter [+see also:
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film profile] by Jérôme Bonnell, alongside two Cannes films (competitor The Restless [+see also:
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interview: Joachim Lafosse
film profile] by Belgium’s Joachim Lafosse and Love Songs for Tough Guys [+see also:
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interview: Samuel Benchetrit
film profile] by Samuel Benchetrit), while the Premiers Rendez-Vous line-up includes Besties [+see also:
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film profile] by Marion Desseigne Ravel, Pierre et Jeanne by Clémentine Célarié and L’horizon [+see also:
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film profile] by Émilie Carpentier.

There’s also a new section in the festival line-up: Les Nouveaux Regards, which will showcase The Braves [+see also:
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interview: Souheila Yacoub
film profile] by Anaïs Volpé (discovered in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight), Roaring 20s [+see also:
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making of
film profile] by Elisabeth Vogler (which scooped an award in Tribeca), Les lendemains de veille [+see also:
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film profile] by Loïc Paillard and Savage Days by David Lanzmann.

The remainder of the festival’s copious programme further boasts a documentary section, various screening events (notably involving Cannes titles Jane by Charlotte [+see also:
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film profile] by Haiti’s Gessica Généus), the usual Bijoux de Famille distributor focus which will be dedicated to Memento Distribution, a spotlight on the work of director Martin Provost (who is set to deliver a masterclass, alongside Nicole Garcia and costume designer Catherine Leterrier), a tribute to Algerian cinema (showcasing La famille by Merzak Allouache, and Lina Soualem’s documentary Their Algeria [+see also:
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interview: Lina Soualem
film profile], to name just two), a mega screening for Denis Imbert’s Vicky and Her Mystery [+see also:
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film profile] by Nabil Ayouch, and Arnaud and Jean-Marie Larrieu’s side-splitting flick Tralala [+see also:
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(Translated from French)