To celebrate cinematic excellence and contribution to the art of filmmaking, every year one country is honoured as the country of focus. At the 53rd International Film Festival this year, France has been elected as the country of focus. A special presentation of selected films will be featured in this segment.
Organised in collaboration with the Embassy of France and Institute François, India, the Country Focus segment will commence on November 21, 2022, at INOX Panjim, IFFI – Goa.
These eight contemporary films have been selected to represent the potential and the versatility of French cinema.
Other people’s children
(Les enfants des autres)
Director: Rebecca Zlotowski
Writer: Rebecca Zlotowski (screenplay)
Cast: Virginie Efira, Roschdy Zem, Chiara Mastroianni and Yamée Couture
Duration: 104 minutes
Synopsis: A childless woman forms a deep bond with her boyfriend's young daughter.
Other People’s Children is the opening film of the Country Focus section. It is a tragicomedy about a middle-aged woman who starts a new relationship and creates a close bond with her partner’s young daughter. It premiered at the 79th Venice International Film Festival.
The crossing (2021)
(La traversée)
Director: Florence Miailhe
Writers: Marie Desplechin, Florence Miailhe
Cast: Emilie Lan Dürr (voice), Florence Miailhe (voice), Maxime Gemin (voice)
Duration: 84 minutes
Synopsis: An animated feature film following the dramatic journey of two siblings, Kyona and her brother Abriel, who are running away because they are being pursued by an unspecified Eastern European country.
An acclaimed film, winning 12 international awards, it was nominated at 13 festivals.
Belle and Sebastian: The nouvelle generation (2022)
(Belle et Sébastien: Nouvelle generation)
Director: Pierre Coré
Cast: Robinson Mensah Rouanet, Michèle Laroque, Alice David
Duration: 96 minutes
Synopsis: 10-year-old Sebastien reluctantly spends his vacation in the mountains with his grandmother and aunt. Helping them with the sheep is hardly an exciting prospect for a city boy like him – but that is without considering his encounter with Belle, a huge dog mistreated by her owner. Ready to do anything to fight injustice and to protect his new-found friend, Sebastien will spend the craziest summer of his life.
Between two worlds (2021)
Director: Emmanuel Carrère
Writers: Florence Aubenas (essay "Le Quai de Ouistreham"), Emmanuel Carrère (screenplay), Hélène Devynck
Cast: Hélène Lambert, Louise Pociecka, Steve Papagiannis, Aude Ruyter
Duration: 96 minutes
Synopsis: It is based on French journalist Florence Aubenas's bestselling non-fiction work Le Quai de Ouistreham, investigating the rising job precarity in French society through her experiences in the northern port city of Caen.
In the film, Marianne Winckler, a well-known author, goes to live in northern France to research her new book on the subject of job insecurity. Without revealing her true identity, she gets hired as a cleaner, working with a group of other women.
The velvet queen (2021)
(La panthère des neiges)
Director: Marie Amiguet, Vincent Munier
Cast: Vincent Munier, Sylvain Tesson
Duration: 96 minutes
Synopsis: Two men explore the high-altitude wilderness of Tibet with many cameras, filming wildlife from a respectful distance and searching for the rare snow leopard.
Sixteen (2022)
Director: Philippe Lioret
Cast: Nassim Lyes, Teïlo Azaïs, Sabrina Levoye
Duration: 94 minutes
Synopsis: Philippe Lioret’s Sixteen narrates the story of two teenagers from contrasting social backgrounds falling in love. The film explores how their love story is tested to its limits after accusations of theft bring their families into conflict.
Director Philippe Lioret is considered a contemporary auteur with his films bagging multiple César Awards and nominations at various festivals across the world.
The vanished president (2022)
(Le Tigre et le president)
Director: Jean-Marc Peyrefitte
Writers: Marc Syrigas, Jean-Marc Peyrefitte
Cast: Jacques Gamblin, André Dussollier
Duration: 98 minutes
Synopsis: It is 1920. Against all odds, Paul Deschanel, an idealist unknown to the public, is elected president of the French Republic. His first steps into power are impressive. He makes a series of audacious proposals: abolition of the death penalty, the right to vote for women and universal suffrage! But the cynicism of the political world, the game of institutions and the violence of media campaigns catch up with him and soon derail him. One evening, he falls off a train and vanishes… The whole world wonders: what happened to the French president?
The Green Perfume
(Le Parfum Vert)
Director: Nicolas Pariser
Cast: Sandrine Kiberlain, Vincent Lacoste, Rüdiger Vogler, Léonie Simaga
Duration: 101 minutes
Synopsis: An actor was poisoned and died on stage in the middle of a performance. Martin, a member of the troupe and friend of the victim, becomes a primary suspect while being chased by a mysterious organisation named the Green Perfume.