FILM SELECTION
The 13th Sacramento French Film Festival will present 12 of the most acclaimed, awarded, and talked about recent Premieres (including many 2014 César winners), three Classics, two Late Night Movies; and plenty of Short Films. Our 2014 film selection is one of our strongest ever. It includes every genre: romance, adventure, drama, comedy, musical comedy, dark comedy (yes it is a comedy year!), thriller, horror, biography, history, fantasy … But what most of these diverse films have in common is the presence of extremely strong and magnificent women characters of all ages and situations!
OPENING FILM
NOT MY TYPE (PAS SON GENRE) by Lucas Belvaux – ROMANCE
CLOSING FILM
TURNING TIDE (EN SOLITAIRE) by Christophe Offenstein – ADVENTURE, DRAMA
PREMIERES
9-MONTH STRETCH (9 MOIS FERME) by Albert Dupontel – DARK COMEDY
AGE OF PANIC (LA BATAILLE DE SOLFERINO) by Justine Triet – DRAMATIC COMEDY
ATTILA MARCEL by Sylvain Chomet – QUIRKY, MUSICAL COMEDY
BRIGHT DAYS AHEAD (LES BEAUX JOURS) by Marion Vernoux – ROMANTIC COMEDY
CAMILLE CLAUDEL 1915 by Bruno Dumont – BIOPIC, DRAMA
CHINESE PUZZLE (CASSE-TETE CHINOIS) by Cédric Klapisch – ROMANTIC COMEDY
ON MY WAY (ELLE S’EN VA) by Emmanuelle Bercot – ROAD MOVIE, DRAMA
SUZANNE by Katell Quillévéré – DRAMA
VENUS IN FUR (LA VENUS A LA FOURRURE) by Roman Polanski – DRAMA
YOUNG & BEAUTIFUL (JEUNE & JOLIE) by François Ozon – DRAMA
CLASSICS
DONKEY SKIN (PEAU D’ANE) by Jacques Demy – MUSICAL FANTASY
QUEEN MARGOT (LA REINE MARGOT) by Patrice Chéreau – HISTORICAL DRAMA
THE MURDERER LIVES AT NUMBER 21 (L’ASSASIN HABITE AU 21) by Henri-Georges Clouzot – THRILLER, COMEDY
LATE NIGHT MOVIES
INSIDE (A L’INTERIEUR) by Alexandre Bustillo & Julien Maury – HORROR
STRANGERBY THE LAKE (L’INCONNU DU LAC) by Alain Guiraudie – EROTIC THRILLER
FILM SYNOPSIS
OPENING FILM– Friday, June 20 – 8:30pm
Lucas Belvaux’s romance NOT MY TYPE (PAS SON GENRE), which was just released in France this April, will open the 13th Sacramento French Film Festival.
Parisian philosophy professor Clément Le Guern (Loïc Corbery) is sent to teach in the northern town of Arras, and
it makes him feel like he’s been sentenced to a year in the sticks… Things get better when he meets Jennifer (Émilie Dequenne, Rosetta), a fun and karaoke-loving hairdresser. Everyone knows that opposites attract, but can they sustain a relationship? Not My Type is our "coup de Coeur" this year and we are very excited to present it as our 2014 opening film.
2014 – Running time: 111 min / ROMANCE – ONE SCREENING ONLY!
CLOSING FILM– Sunday, June 29 – showtime TBA
TURNING TIDE (EN SOLITAIRE), Christophe Offenstein’s ambitious first feature will conclude the 2014 SFFF. Sailor Yann Kermadec (a fantastic François Cluzet, The Intouchables) is competing for the first time in the prestigious Vendée Globe round-the-world solo yacht race. Weathering storms like the seadog he is, he seizes the early lead… All is well, when Kermadec discovers a stowaway hidden on his boat. If it becomes known that he has a passenger, it would mean immediate disqualification…
2013 – Running time: 97 min / ADVENTURE, DRAMA – ONE SCREENING ONLY!
OTHER PREMIERES
9-MONTH STRETCH (9 MOIS FERME)by Albert Dupontel, with Sandrine Kiberlain, Albert Dupontel, Nicolas Marié, Philippe Uchan and cameos by Jean Dujardin, Yolande Moreau, Terry Gilliam.
Judge Ariane Felder (Kiberlain, 2014 César for Best Actress) is pregnant. This comes as a surprise because Ariane is a confirmed bachelorette, and doesn’t remember anything… Even more surprising is the fact that, according to DNA tests, the father is none other than Bob (Dupontel), a.k.a. the Eye Gobbler, a dangerous criminal… This inventive, pitch-black and laugh-out-loud comedy took the French box office by storm. The film also won the 2014 César for Best Original Screenplay.
2013 - Running time: 82 min / DARK COMEDY – June 27-29, showtimes TBA.
AGE OF PANIC (LA BATAILLE DE SOLFERINO) by Justine Triet, with Laetitia Dosch, Vincent Macaigne.
Panic is on for TV reporter Laetitia (Dosch). It’s presidential Election Day, and she is late leaving home for work when her ex, Vincent (Macaigne), shows up unexpectedly to visit their two daughters. Writer/director Justine Triet is part of a group of directors championed by Cahiers du Cinéma as the representatives of a New-New Wave of French filmmakers. Much of the film was shot in the streets of Paris during the 6 May 2012 national elections.
Star Laetitia Dosch will attend the Festival.
2013 – Running time: 94 min / DRAMATIC COMEDY – June 21-22, showtimes TBA.
ATTILA MARCELby Sylvain Chomet, with Guillaume Gouix, Anne le Ny, Bernadette Lafont, Hélène Vincent.
After The Triplets of Belleville and The Illusionist, Sylvain Chomet's first live action film, Attila Marcel, continues to display his fascination with the directors Tati and Demy. The film is a tender and unpredictable comedy seasoned with dreamlike musical numbers. Paul (Gouix) is a young piano virtuoso who hasn’t spoken since his parents died in mysterious circumstances when he was a toddler. He lives with his two overly protective, oddball aunts (Vincent and the late Lafont, who died last July). A chance encounter with an eccentric neighbor will send him on a journey of self-discovery that will change his life forever.
2013 – Running time: 102 min / QUIRKY, MUSICAL COMEDY – June 21-22, showtimes TBA.
BRIGHT DAYS AHEAD (LES BEAUX JOURS) by Marion Vernoux, with Fanny Ardant, Laurent Lafitte, Patrick Chesnais, Jean-François Stévenin, Fanny Cottençon, Catherine Lachens.
For recently retired, 60-year-old dentist Caroline (the sumptuous Fanny Ardant, 8 Women, Confidentially Yours), a new life of freedom and opportunity lies before her. To celebrate her retirement, her daughters give her a one-year membership to the local Seniors' Club. Needless to say, the sophisticated Caroline is not impressed by either her daughters' present, or by the ceramics and amateur theater classes that the club has to offer… That is until she meets the club’s computer instructor…
2013 - Running time: 94 min / ROMANTIC COMEDY – Dates & showtimes TBA.
CAMILLE CLAUDEL 1915 by Bruno Dumont, with Juliette Binoche, Jean-Luc Vincent, Emmanuel Kauffman, Marion Keller.
In Camille Claudel 1915, Binoche gives a mesmerizing performance as sculptor Camille Claudel, Auguste Rodin's protégé (and mistress), and sister of Christian poet and playwright Paul Claudel. Inspired by the correspondence between Paul and Camille, writer/director Bruno Dumont (Flanders - SFFF 2007, Outside Satan - SFFF 2012) chronicles Camille Claudel's reclusive life in the asylum where she has been confined by her family for two years. She awaits a rare visit from her beloved brother Paul (Vincent), whom she hopes will help release her from the mental institution. Dumont provides his signature stark realism in perfect blend with Binoche’s raw emotions to tell Claudel’s tragic story.
2013 -Running time: 95 min / BIOPIC DRAMA – Dates & showtimes TBA.
CHINESE PUZZLE (CASSE-TETE CHINOIS)by Cédric Klapisch, with Romain Duris, Audrey Tautou, Cécile de France.
Recently divorced Xavier (Duris) decides to trade the comforts of his native Paris for the cultural kaleidoscope of New York City in order to be close to his kids who have moved there with their mother. And this change of scenery, which reunites him with old roommate Isabelle (de France) and old flame Martine (SFFF favorite Tautou), may be just what he needs to cure his writer's block and put his life back together. This is the third installment of Klapisch’s trilogy that began with L’Auberge Espagnole and continued with Russian Dolls. But you need not have seen the earlier films to appreciate this charming romantic comedy!
2013 – Running time: 117 min / ROMANTIC COMEDY – Date & showtime TBA – ONE SCREENING ONLY!
ON MY WAY (ELLE S’EN VA)by Emmanuelle Bercot , with Catherine Deneuve, Nemo Schiffman, Gérard Garouste
Now in her early sixties, former beauty queen Bettie (a superb Deneuve) finds herself jilted by her lover and left alone to deal with the financial problems facing her family’s restaurant... What begins as a quick drive to clear her head turns into a full-fledged road trip that may end up turning her life around for the better.
2013 – Running time: 111 min / ROAD MOVIE, DRAMA – June 21-22, showtimes TBA
SUZANNEby Katell Quillévéré, with Sara Forestier, François Damiens, Adéle Haenel, Paul Hamy, Corinne Masiero.
Suzanne (a touching Forestier, The Names of Love - SFFF 2011) is close to her family, but between her widower father (Damiens, Delicacy– SFFF 2013) and her quiet sister (Haenel, 2014 César for Best Supporting Actress), she is the troublemaker of the bunch. Her forgiving family endlessly endures the consequences of her dreams, her whims, and her bad choices. Largely set in 1990's Marseille, the story elliptically takes us through 25 years of Suzanne’s turbulent life: childhood, early pregnancy, single parenthood, and above all, her destructive love for an aspiring bad boy.
2013 - Running time: 94 min / DRAMA – Dates & showtimes TBA.
VENUS IN FUR (LA VENUS A LA FOURRURE)by Roman Polanski, with Emmanuelle Seigner and Mathieu Amalric.
Thomas (Amalric, the spitting image of a young Roman Polanski) still hasn’t found the right actress for his new play, an adaptation of the novel by Sacher-Masoch (whose name gave us the word masochism) , Venus in Fur. When a vulgar woman (Seigner, Polanski's real-life wife) shows up late for the auditions, he first refuses to hear her, but she persuades him and as she starts reading, a transformation occurs, one that arouses much more in Thomas than curiosity. This two-character film is based on the play that took Broadway by storm, and you will have no choice but to submit to this engrossing psychosexual -and often comical- confrontation.
2013 - Running time: 96 min / DRAMA – Date & showtime TBA – ONE SCREENING ONLY!
YOUNG & BEAUTIFUL (JEUNE & JOLIE) by François Ozon, with Marine Vacth, Géraldine Pailhas, Frédéric Pierrot, Fantin Ravat, Nathalie Richard.
In his most complex and mature film to date, François Ozon (In The House - SFFF 2013, 8 Women, Swimming Pool) tells an unsettling comingof-age story, inviting us to follow, over the course of four seasons, the sexual and personal awakening of Isabelle (Vacth), an arrestingly beautiful sixteen-year old. Ozon’s 14th feature explores, with new depth and subtlety, his favorite themes of voyeurism and precocious adolescent sexuality.
2013 - Running time: 95 min / DRAMA – Date & showtime TBA – ONE SCREENING ONLY!
CLASSICS
DONKEY SKIN (PEAU D’ANE)by Jacques Demy, with Catherine Deneuve, Jean Marais,Jacques Perrin, Delphine Seyrig, Micheline Presle, Fernand Ledoux.
Jacques Demy (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg - SFFF 2004, and The Young Girls from Rochefort - SFFF 2011) adapted Donkey Skin from the classic fairytale by Charles Perrault (of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Little Red Riding Hood fame) published in the 17th century, and a favorite of French children. With catchy music by Michel Legrand, Donkey Skin is a dreamlike, eccentric, and joyful musical fantasy.
1970 - Running Time: 90 min / MUSICAL FANTASY – June 21-22, showtimes TBA.
QUEEN MARGOT (LA REINE MARGOT)by Patrice Chéreau, with Isabelle Adjani,Daniel Auteuil, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Vincent Perez, Virna Lisi, Dominique Blanc.
Incest, kingslayers and kinslayers, a powerful queen mother, intrigues, betrayals, slaughters, poisonings, beheadings... Game of Thrones has nothing on the darkest pages of French history! Based on the historical novel by Alexandre Dumas, the film centers on Catholic Marguerite de Valois, nicknamed Margot (Adjani), sister of King Charles IX (Anglade), as she is forced into a loveless marriage to Protestant Henri, King of Navarre (Auteuil). The union has been planned by Margot’s infamous mother, Catherine de Medici (Lisi), in order to put an end to the religious war plaguing the kingdom. But even the most carefully premeditated plans don’t always work out the way they should…
The SFFF is pleased to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Queen Margot, and honor one of France’s most acclaimed filmmakers and stage directors, Patrice Chéreau, who passed away last October. The triumphant winner of five César Awards is presented in a digitally restored director’s cut that is not to be missed!
1994 - Running time: 162 min / HISTORICAL DRAMA – Date & showtimes TBA.
THE MURDERER LIVES AT NUMBER 21 (L’ASSASIN HABITE AU 21) by Henri-Georges Clouzot, with Pierre Fresnay, Suzy Delair,Jean Tissier, Pierre Larquey, Noël Roquevert, René Génin.
One of the first films by Henri-Georges Clouzot (Wages of Fear - SFFF 2013, Quai des Orfèvres - SFFF 2005, Diabolique), the French grandmaster of suspense, The Murderer Lives at Number 21 is part Agatha Christie mystery, part screwball comedy. Inspector Wens (Fresnay) is hunting down a serial killer calling himself Mr. Durand. The trail leads him to 21, rue Junot, the address of a boarding house that an assortment of misfits and oddballs call home, and among them, Mr Durand himself.
1942 - Running time: 84 min / THRILLER, COMEDY – Dates & showtimes TBA.
LATE NIGHT FILMS
STRANGERBY THE LAKE (L’INCONNU DU LAC) by Alain Guiraudie, with Pierre Deladonchamps,Christophe Paou,Patrick d'Assumçao,and Jérôme Chappatte.
Handsome Franck (Deladonchamps, 2014 César for Best Supporting Actor) spends his summer days searching for companionship at a popular gay cruising spot on the shores of a lake in rural southern France. One day, he meets Michel (Paou), an attractive and darkly mysterious man, and falls blindly in love. When one of the regulars is found murdered, Franck and Michel become the primary suspects. But Franck chooses to ignore the danger and instead continues to engage in his passionate and potentially lethal relationship with Michel. One of the most talked about and acclaimed French films of 2013, the risky and original Stranger by the Lake garnered eight Cesar nominations this year, including Best Film and Best Director. Note: this is a sexually explicit film.
2013 - Running time: 97 min / EROTIC THRILLER – Saturday, June 21, showtime TBA.
INSIDE (A L’INTERIEUR) by Alexandre Bustillo & Julien Maury, with Alysson Paradis, Beatrice Dalle, Jean-Baptiste Tabourin, and Claude Lulé.
To celebrate our lucky 13th edition, we are happy to present one of the best -and most scary- French horror films of all time. A pregnant widow (Paradis) waiting for her ride to the hospital must fight for her life, and that of her unborn child, against a mysterious woman (Dalle) in this daring tale of Caesarian terror.
2007 - Running Time: 87 min / HORROR! – Saturday, June 28, showtime TBA.
SPECIAL GUEST
- Award-winning actress LAETITIA DOSCH, star of Age of Panic (La Bataille de Solferino), will attend the SFFF and present her film on our first weekend (June 20-22).
INFORMATION
ADDRESS: CREST THEATRE – 1013 K Street, Downtown Sacramento.
WEBSITE: www.SacramentoFrenchFilmFestival.org
PHONE: 916 44-CREST
TICKET PRICES: From $11 (Single Tickets) to $95 (Full Festival Access)
§ Single Ticket: $11 / $10 (Discount for Students & Seniors with ID, members of the deaf community, and members of the following organizations: EFSac, Sacramento Jewish Film Festival, Alliance Française, and Club Français, with membership card).
§ Passes:
o Bleu Opening Night Pass: $50 / Access to Opening Night Reception and Film - Valid June 20 only.
o Blanc First Weekend Pass: $40 / Access to All Screenings, Opening Reception not included - Valid June 20 (film only)-22.
o Rouge Second Weekend Pass: $45 / Access to All Screenings & Closing Party - Valid June 27-29.
§ Passes Combinations:
- Bleu + Blanc + Rouge = $95 / Two-Weekends Full Access to all Screenings & Parties - Valid June 20-29.
- Bleu + Blanc = $75 / First-Weekend Full Access to All Screenings & Opening Reception – Valid June 20-22.
- Blanc+ Rouge= $70 / Two-Weekend Experience, Access to All Screenings, Opening Reception not included - Valid June 20 (film only)-29.
§ Closing Night Film & Reception: $16 / $15 (Discount for Students & Seniors with ID, members of the deaf community, and members of the following organizations: EFSac, Sacramento Jewish Film Festival, Alliance Française, and Club Français, with membership card.)