Your guide to the IFI’s French Film Festival

This year’s programme features over 35 French films, with options to suit every taste from drama to comedy, action to documentary, and thriller to animation. There is also a short film on the schedule, a family-friendly screening and even a collection of four films chosen as a special tribute to the French novelist and playwright, Marguerite Duras.

Highlights in the programme include Being Maria, which explores Maria Schneider’s experience making Bertolucci’s controversial Last Tango in Paris with Marlon Brando (played here by Matt Dillon); Holy Cow, the heartfelt coming-of-age story about an 18-year-old whose father dies and is left with a little sister and a failing farm to look after; and the deeply moving Souleymane’s Story.

Running from November 13 to 24 at the IFI in Temple Bar, we’ve picked out some of the best films to have on your radar below.

Out of Season

Directed by Stéphane Brizé, Out of Season is a charming romance about two former lovers who unexpectedly cross paths in a sleepy seaside town. Approaching his 50th birthday, successful screen actor Mathieu (Guillaume Canet) is facing a crisis of confidence; just weeks out from his much-anticipated stage debut, he has fled rehearsals to check into a luxury health spa on the Brittany coast, leaving both the play’s perplexed director and his wife back home in Paris. Out of the blue, he receives a text from Alice (Alba Rohrwacher), a woman he dated fifteen years ago. They agree to meet for lunch, each torn by the manner in which they parted. Beautifully written, Brizé’s story of what might have been is brought to life by the chemistry between the film’s two leads.

Souleymane’s Story

Directed by Boris Lojkine, Souleymane’s Story is this year’s film supported by the Alliance Française Dublin. As he pedals through the streets of Paris to deliver meals, Souleymane, an undocumented migrant, repeats the spiel he’s been taught to say by a fellow Guinean. He’s only two days away from the interview that will determine whether his asylum application will be approved… but he’s far from ready. According to one critic, this film was “the best discovery of this year’s Cannes Film Festival”.

This Life of Mine

Directed by Sophie Fillières, This Life of Mine centres on poet-turned-advertising-copywriter Barbie Bichette (Agnès Jaoui). Once an attractive, devoted mother and partner, she faces newfound challenges as she turns 55, descending into darkness, violence, and absurdity while grappling with her identity, relationships, and life’s complexities. Fillières was terminally ill during the film’s production, and the film was completed by her children following her death. The subject matter is heavy at times but the film’s strength lies in its ability to make light of the darkness.

Sauvages

This year’s family-friendly screening, Sauvages is brought to you by Claude Barra, the director of the memorable, award-winning stop-motion, Ma Vie de Courgette. In Borneo, at the edge of the tropical forest, Kéria is given a baby orangutan. With the forest under greater threat than ever, Kéria, her forestry worker dad and her cousin Selaï set out to save the animal from destruction. Beautifully animated, this film will inspire important conversations and with a 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating, you know it’s good.

Trois Amies

Joan is no longer in love with Victor and feels guilty for being dishonest with him. When Joan finally decides to leave Victor and he disappears, the lives and stories of the three friends are turned upside down. Directed by Emmanuel Mouret, the IFI posits that this film is “redolent of Woody Allen in his heyday”.

Misericordia

Jérémie returns to Saint-Martial – the village where he grew up – for the funeral of his late friend and former boss, Jean-Pierre. He decides to stay on for a few days with Martine, Jean-Pierre’s widow, much to the concern of Vincent (Martine’s only son), Walter (Vincent’s friend), and the village priest, each of whom has a troubled past with Jérémie. Things take an unexpected turn and soon Jérémie finds himself a ‘prisoner’ of the village. One of this year’s funniest films, tickets are in high demand so get yours while you can.

Being Maria

Based on Vanessa Schneider’s book, You Were Maria Schneider, this biopic is based on the life of actress Maria Schneider and dramatises her experiences working on Bernardo Bertolucci’s feature film Last Tango in Paris (1972). It stars Anamaria Vartolomei in the title role, with Céleste Brunnquell, Giuseppe Maggio, Yvan Attal, Marie Gillain, Jonathan Couzinié and Matt Dillon in supporting roles.

India Song

Directed by Marguerite Duras and released in 1975, India Song is widely considered to be one of Duras’ best. The film centres on Anne-Marie (Delphine Seyrig), the wife of a disgraced French diplomat who suffers from a “leprosy of the soul,” or ennui. Although set in India, the film was shot mostly on location at the Château Rothschild. It was selected as the French entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 48th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated. The screening will be introduced by Marie-Pierre Richard, Programme Curator of the IFI French Film Festival.

Wild Diamond

Nineteen-year-old Liane, daring and fiery, lives with her divorced mother and little sister on the outskirts of Fréjus in the South of France. Obsessed with beauty and driven by a need to become “someone”, she sees reality TV as her opportunity to be loved. All her dreams seem to come true when she lands an audition for a reality show called Miracle Island but after weeks of hearing nothing, her hope begins to wane and she lashes out at those around her. The film was selected to compete for the Palme d’Or and Caméra d’Or at the 77th Cannes Film Festival.

Block Pass

A beautiful coming-of-age story, the film stars Amaury Foucher as Jojo, a teenager living in Longué-Jumelles who is training as a motocross racer, and Sayyid El Alami as Willy, his longtime best friend whose support and loyalty prove critical to Jojo’s survival after he is outed to the community as gay.

Holy Cow

Eighteen-year-old Totone spends most of his time drinking and partying with his friends in the Jura region. But reality soon catches up with him and following the sudden death of his father, he finds himself responsible for taking care of his seven-year-old sister and must find a way to make some money to support them both. With his friends in tow, he sets out to make the best Comté cheese in the region, one that will win him the gold medal at the local agricultural competition and a hefty €30,000 in prize money.

A Woman of Paris

 

Written, directed, produced and later scored by Charlie Chaplin, A Woman of Paris centres Marie St. Clair (Edna Purviance), a desperate young woman who suspects she has been dumped by her flighty fiancé Jean (Carl Miller) after he mysteriously stands her up at a railway station, where they were to meet to travel to Paris together. She goes off to Paris alone, where she meets wealthy Pierre Revel (Adolphe Menjou) and becomes his mistress. But a year later she meets Jean again and, suddenly caught between two men, isn’t sure where her heart truly lies. A departure from Chaplin’s usual comedic roles, it remains one of his best-loved works with the likes of Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino both citing it as a major influence in their lives.

DS Automobiles are partnering with the IFI French Festival for the third year. Cinema tickets for screenings part of the IFI French Film Festival cost €15 each, €65 for five films or €110 for 10 films. These packages can only be booked in person or by calling the IFI Box Office on 01 679 3477. Membership is required for all in-cinema screenings. Daily membership costs €1.50 and is applicable to all festival screenings for non-members.