The French Film Festival is back at Ciné Lumière until the 12th November. The festival showcases the best and newest French Cinema. There are forty screenings, with UK premieres and talents attending Q&As. Guests include Charlotte Gainsbourg, Patrice Leconte, Blandine Lenoir and Eric Gravel.
This year, the festival presents some LGBTQ+ gems.
Peter Von Kant: Sat 05 Nov at 12 pm and Sat 12 Nov at 3.55 pm.
François Ozon’s tribute to Fassbinder stars Isabelle Adjani in Peter Von Kant. Peter Von Kant is a famous film director living in 197Os Germany. The phone awakens Peter; his mother is asking for money! Peter’s mute servant silently types up a copy of Peter’s screenplay while seeing to his needs. Peter gets a visit from Sidonie, an actress he helped turn into a superstar. They have drinks and commiserate about Peter’s lover leaving him. She mentions having a friend meet her at Peter’s. A young man enters the scene, and Peter is smitten and invites him to visit again.
The Blue Caftan: Fri 04 Nov at 6 pm and Fri 11 Nov at 3.50 pm.
Maryam Touzani’s The Blue Caftan is Morocco’s submission to the 2023 Academy Awards. Master tailor Halim (Saleh Bakri) and his wife Mina (Lubna Azabal) run a traditional caftan store in an old Moroccan medina in Salé. To keep up with the customers’ demands, a talented young man (Ayoub Missioui) joins them as an apprentice. Halim, secretly gay, finds himself attracted to the new apprentice. The Blue Caftan is Morocco’s submission to the 2023 Academy Awards. It exudes a warm, often humorous chemistry while presenting the beauty and challenges of being a craftsperson in today’s world.
Rodeo: Sat 05 Nov at 6.10 pm.
Lola Quivoron’s Rodeo is this year’s coup de coeur in Cannes and one of the year’s most animated French films. Lola Quivoron’s Rodeo is an action-packed film focusing on a young woman from the banlieue as she joins the macho world of illegal motocross or ‘rodeo’. Julie is an inexperienced but fearless rider who is also very good at getting fancy bikes through devious means, making her place in this underground world.
Close: Sun 06 Nov at 8.30 pm and Friday 11 Nov at 6.20 pm.
Leo and Remi have been friends since they were young and they appeared joined at the hip. However, when they return to school, their intimate friendship is threatened by the hostile attitude of their classmates to their apparent closeness. The aggression damages the delicate balance of their relationship, and the friends separate.
Tomboy: Sun 06 Nov at 12.40 pm and 1.25 pm.
Ten-year-old Laure isn’t like most girls, preferring sweaters to dresses and football to dolls. When the family move to a new neighbourhood, family life remains the same until a local girl mistakes Laure for a boy. Tomboy beautifully encapsulates the behaviour and mindset of a conflicted pre-adolescent, tackling themes of gender identity.
Book tickets at:
Cine Lumiere, 17 Queensberry Place, South Kensington, London SW7 2DT, United Kingdom.
