- Opening Reception starts on Friday, June 19 at 6pm in the lobby of the Crest Theatre with Open Bar and Music / Opening film, SAMBA, starts at 8:30pm.
- Closing Night Champagne Party starts immediately after the closing film, TIMBUKTU, on Sunday, June 28, with Champagne, Desserts and Live Music.
- Breakfasts prior to the screening of L’IL QUINQUIN on Saturday, June 27, and after the Saturday Late Night Movies, June 20 & 27.
- Film Screenings all day on Saturdays & Sundays June 20-21 & 27-28. Evening screenings on Friday June 26.
THE 2015 SFFF FILM SELECTION
The 14th Sacramento French Film Festival will present a record of 18 feature films this year including 13 of the most acclaimed, awarded, and talked about recent Premieres -with the most prominent 2015 César (French Academy Awards) winners; three Classics; and two Late Night Movies. Our program will also include too many short films to count…
Our 2015 film selection includes every genre and style to please every cinephile: romance, adventure, drama, comedy, thriller, fantasy …
OPENING FILM – Friday, June 20 – 8:30pm
- SAMBA (118 min) by Olivier Nakache & Éric Toledano – COMEDY/DRAMA
Starring Omar Sy (Intouchables, Mood Indigo – this year at the SFFF), Charlotte Gainsbourg (Jacky in the Kingdom of Women – this year at the SFFF) & Tahar Rahim (A Prophet).
The unlikely encounter between Samba (Omar Sy), an illegal immigrant on the verge of deportation, and Alice (Charlotte Gainsbourg), a senior executive volunteering at an immigration center leads to a bumpy love story… Samba, the latest feature by the duo of directors who brought us Intouchables combines humor and heart to tell its topical story.
CLOSING FILM – Sunday, June 28 – showtime TBA
- TIMBUKTU (97 min) by Abderrahmane Sissako – DRAMA
The most awarded French film of the year, winner of seven 2015 César Awards, including Best Film, Best Director & Best Original Screenplay. Nominated for the 2015 Oscar for Best Foreign Film.
The everyday life of a small village, not far from the ancient Malian city of Timbuktu, now ruled by religious fundamentalists, where people suffer, powerless but with dignity…
PREMIERES
- ALMOST FRIENDS (ON A FAILLI ETRE AMIES, 90 min) by ANNE LE NY – ROMANTIC COMEDY
Starring Karin Viard, Emmanuelle Devos & Roschdy Zem.
Marithé meets Carole. They could become friends, but Marithé falls in love with Carole’s husband, a renowned chef…
- GEMMA BOVERY (99 min) by ANNE FONTAINE – COMEDY/DRAMA
Starring Fabrice Luchini (In the House – SFFF 2013, The Women on the 6th Floor – SFFF 2011) & Gemma Arterton (Tamara Drewe, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time).
Bored baker Martin Joubert falls for his lovely new English neighbor whose name, Gemma Bovery, is so similar to Flaubert’s doomed heroine, Emma Bovary, that his wild imagination draws dangerous parallels between the literary and real-life women. Gemma Bovery will be paired with Claude Chabrol’s beautiful 1991 classic, Madame Bovary.
- GIRLHOOD (BANDE DE FILLES, 113 min) by CÉLINE SCIAMMA – DRAMA
Fed up with her abusive family situation, lack of school prospects, and the "boys' law" in her neighborhood, shy Marieme starts a new life after meeting a group of free-spirited girls.
- HIPPOCRATES (HIPPOCRATE, 102 min) by THOMAS LILTI – DRAMA/COMEDY
Starring Vincent Lacoste (French Kissers – SFFF 2010, Jacky in the Kingdom of Women – this year at the SFFF), Reda Kateb (César 2015 winner for Best Supporting Actor) & Jacques Gamblin (The Names of Love – SFFF 2011).
Benjamin, a young and eager medical intern in his first job, in his father’s ward, is confronted with his own limits and fears, as well as those of his patients, their families, fellow doctors, nurses, and hospital administrators. An experienced doctor, also interning because of his immigrant status in France, helps him find his way.
- IN THE COURTYARD (DANS LA COUR, 97 min) by Pierre Salvadori – DRAMA/COMEDY
Starring Catherine Deneuve & Gustave Kervern (co-director of Le Grand Soir– SFFF 2012 & Louise Michel– SFFF 2010).
Antoine, an ex-musician who suffers from depression, is hired as the caretaker of an old residential building in Paris where Mathilde, recently retired, lives with her husband. Through a confusion of misfires and anxiety, the two develop an awkward friendship.
- THE KIDNAPPING OF MICHEL HOUELLEBECQ (L'ENLEVEMENT DE MICHEL HOUELLEBECQ, 96 min) by GUILLAUME NICLOUX – COMEDY
France's most controversial and talented writer, Michel Houellebecq, plays himself in this quirky, absurd comedy from director Guillaume Nicloux. Houellebecq, who in real life disappeared for a time and was rumored to have been kidnapped by Al Qaeda, helps perpetuate the legend surrounding what really happened to him during that time by participating in this fictionalized account of his kidnapping. Instead of Al Qaeda, he is taken by a group of amateur and strangely likeable criminals, with whom he forms improbable friendships.
- LI’L QUINQUIN (P'TIT QUINQUIN, 200 min, shown in two parts) by BRUNO DUMONT – THRILLER/COMEDY
French auteur Bruno Dumont, best known for uncompromising and austere dramas, proves with the comedy Li'l Quinquin that he is capable of shifting gears without conceding his signature style. This absurdist, metaphysical murder mystery, set -as most Dumont’s films- in the North of France, opens with the discovery of a human body stuffed inside a cow - a literal “bête humaine.” Originally made for TV, Li'l Quinquin has been compared to Twin Peaks and True Detective. It is "a wonderfully weird and unexpectedly hilarious" (Scott Foundas, Variety) masterwork from one of France’s most important contemporary directors.
- LOVE AT FIRST FIGHT (LES COMBATTANTS, 98 min) by THOMAS CAILLEY – DRAMA/ROMANCE
Starring Adèle Haenel & Kévin Azaïs. Winner of three 2015 César Awards: Best First Film, Best Actress (Adèle Haenel), Most Promising Actor (Kévin Azaïs).
In a small French coastal town, Arnaud meets and falls for the apocalypse-obsessed Madeleine. Together, they join an army boot camp to learn military and survival skills to prepare for the upcoming environmental collapse.
- THE NEW GIRLFRIEND (UNE NOUVELLE AMIE, 108 min) by FRANÇOIS OZON – COMEDY/DRAMA
Starring Romain Duris (The Beat That My Heart Skipped– SFFF 2005, Heartbreaker– SFFF 2010, Chinese Puzzle– SFFF 2014, Mood Indigo– this year at the SFFF), Anaïs Demoustier (Thérèse– SFFF 2013) & Raphaël Personnaz (Three Worlds– SFFF 2013, Marius, Fanny– 1st Mini Fall French Film Festival, Oct 2014).
The New Girlfriend, the latest feature from prolific filmmaker Francois Ozon (Young & Beautiful - SFFF 2014, In the House - SFFF 2013), stars Anaïs Demoustier as Claire, a young woman whose best friend passes away leaving behind a husband, David (Romain Duris), and a newborn baby. One day she drops by David's house unexpectedly and finds him dressed in his dead wife's clothes. As usual, Ozon manages to tackle sensitive social topics with flair, compassion, and a comedic touch.
- NUMBER ONE FAN (ELLE L’ADORE, 105 min) by JEANNE HERRY – COMEDY/THRILLER
Starring Sandrine Kiberlain (9 Month Stretch – SFFF 2014), Laurent Lafitte (Bright Days Ahead – SFFF 2014).
Muriel Bayen (another fantastic comical performance by Sandrine Kiberlain who was nominated for a 2015 César) is a huge fan of singer Vincent Lacroix, so when Vincent knocks on her door and asks for her help, she cannot refuse... A charming, laugh out loud comedy!
- PARTY GIRL (96 min) by MARIE AMACHOUKELI, CLAIRE BURGER, SAMUEL THEIS – DRAMA
An aging nightclub hostess decides to settle down and get married. Angélique Litzenburger and her family play their own roles in this touching real life, docu-style drama directed by her son Samuel.
CLASSICS
- MADAME BOVARY (1991, 143 min) by CLAUDE CHABROL – DRAMA/ROMANCE
Starring Isabelle Huppert. Based on one of France’s most iconic novels by Gustave Flaubert (1856).
In nineteenth-century France, the romantic Emma Rouault marries Charles Bovary, a dull country doctor. To escape boredom, she throws herself into love affairs with a suave local landowner and a law student and runs up ruinous debts. Madame Bovary will be paired with Anne Fontaine’s newest film, Gemma Bovery.
- THAT MAN FROM RIO (L’HOMME DE RIO – 1964, 112 min) by PHILIPPE De BROCA –ADVENTURE/COMEDY
Starring Jean-Paul Belmondo (Breathless – SFFF 2013, Pierrot Le Fou – SFFF 2011) & Françoise Dorléac (TheYoung Girls from Rochefort– SFFF 2011).
A young man comes to the rescue of his girlfriend, who has been abducted by thieves and brought to Rio. Extravagant adventures ensue in this fast-moving spoof of James Bond type movies. The film was a huge success upon its original release in France.
- THE BEAUTY AND THE DEVIL (LA BEAUTÉ DU DIABLE – 1950, 95min) by RENÉ CLAIR –FANTASY/ROMANCE/COMEDY
Starring Gérard Philipe & Michel Simon.
The Faust story retold with a lighter touch. An aged alchemist accepts the gift of renewed youth from the devilish Mephistopheles, but refuses to fulfill his share of the bargain and to give his soul in exchange...
LATE NIGHT MOVIES
- JACKY IN THE KINGDOM OF WOMEN (JACKY AU ROYAUME DES FILMS, 90 min) by RIAD SATTOUF – FANTASY/COMEDY
Starring Vincent Lacoste (French Kissers – SFFF 2010, Hippocrates– this year at the SFFF) & Charlotte Gainsbourg (Samba– this year at the SFFF).
In the Kingdom of Bubunne, women are in power while men wear veils and do domestic tasks. When it is time for the daughter of the ruling Generale to find a husband, a ball is organized…
- MOOD INDIGO (L’ÉCUME DES JOURS, 125 min) by MICHEL GONDRY – FANTASY/ROMANCE/DRAMA
Starring SFFF’s darling, Audrey Tautou, Romain Duris (The Beat That My Heart Skipped– SFFF 2005, Heartbreaker– SFFF 2010, Chinese Puzzle– SFFF 2014, The New Girlfriend– this year at the SFFF), Omar Sy (Intouchables, Samba–this year at the SFFF) & Gad Elmaleh (Priceless). Based on Boris Vian’s cult novel (1947).
Colin and Chloe meet, fall in love, get married and live happily until Chloe is diagnosed with an unusual illness caused by a flower growing in her lungs. There couldn’t be a director better suited than the eminently inventive Michel Gondry (The Science of Sleep, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Be Kind Rewind) to adapt Boris Vian's visionary, surreal and romantic love story to the big screen. Shown in its Extended Cut version, never released in the U.S.
TICKET PRICES: from $11 (Single Tickets) to $95 (Full Festival Access)
PLEASE NOTE THAT STARTING THIS YEAR, THE CREST THEATRE ADDS A FACILITY FEE TO ALL SINGLE TICKETS AND PASSES SOLD, regardless of how/where they are purchased. NO EXCEPTION.
§ Single Ticket: $12 / $11 (Discount for Students & Seniors with ID, members of the deaf community, and members of the following organizations: EFSac, Sacramento Jewish Film Festival, Alliance Française, Club Français, with membership card). Price includes a $0.75 facility fee.
§ Passes:
o Bleu Opening Night Pass: $53 / Access to Opening Night Reception and Film - Valid June 19 only. Includes a $3 facility fee.
o Blanc First Weekend Pass: $42.50 / Access to All Screenings, Opening Reception not included - Valid June 19 (film only)-21. Includes a $2.50 facility fee.
o Rouge Second Weekend Pass: $47.50 / Access to All Screenings & Closing Party - Valid June 26-28. Includes a $2.50 facility fee.
§ Passes Combinations:
- Bleu + Blanc + Rouge = $98.50 / Two-Weekends Full Access to all Screenings & Parties - Valid June 19-28. Includes a $3.50 facility fee.
- Bleu + Blanc = $78.50 / First-Weekend Full Access to All Screenings & Opening Reception – Valid June 19-21. Includes a $3.50 facility fee.
- Blanc+ Rouge= $73.50 / Two-Weekend Experience, Access to All Screenings, Opening Reception not included - Valid June 19 (film only)-28. Includes a $3.50 facility fee.
§ Closing Night Film & Reception: $17 / $16 (Discount for Students & Seniors with ID, members of the deaf community, and members of the following organizations: EFSac, Sacramento Jewish Film Festival, Alliance Française, Club Français, with membership card). Includes a $1 facility fee.