Discover the man who wrote the movie ‘The Snows of Kilimanjaro” (SFIFF 2012) “Marius and Jeannette‘ with Robert Guédiguian, Jean Louis Milesi

Prudence Friedman is 17 and, having lost her mother a few days ago, she is left alone in the family apartment. She meets Marilyn, a rebellious student who does up cars and motorbikes and lives life to excess. In order to try and win his affection, Prudence begins to behave in a way that could see her own life unravel in a way she could never have imagined.  A remarkable film from France.

French cinema is witnessing an explosion of female talent—a golden age unlike anything the world has seen since the days of Hepburn, Davis and Garbo. Using film clips and excerpts from his new book, The Beauty of the Real, San Francisco Chronicle critic Mick LaSalle showcases the contemporary French actresses who are doing the best work of their lives.

"A perfect example of Rohmer's emphasis on people talking, relating and living ... his multiple story film – one of his most charming – describes the Aesop’s Fable-style friendship of two young women. The simpliest incident becomes the most momentous occasion ... belongs to that epiphanal period following Le Rayon Vert."
—Armond White, New York Press

Declared the best movie of the year in 1986 by Andrew Sarris, Le Rayon Vert is frequently cited as a career triumph in a filmography that includes numerous great films. Rohmer’s tale, the fifth in his “Comedies & Proverbs” cycle, follows the independent but insecure Delphine (Marie Rivière), a newly single young Parisian who cannot find a holiday companion for the month of August, as she glides and stumbles in her longing for connection.

One of the most eagerly awaited events at Cannes last year was the unveiling of Pathé’s newly restored version of Marcel Carné’s Children of Paradise (1946), arguably the most beloved masterwork of French cinema. Set in the Parisian theatrical world of the 1840′s, Children tells the ineffably witty tale of a women loved by four different man.

“A  MAGNIFICENT RESTORATION WE SHOULD ALL BE GRATEFUL FOR!”
– Martin Scorsese

“IF I HAD ONLY ONE FILM IN THE WORLD TO SAVE, IT WOULD BE GRAND ILLUSION.”
– Orson Welles

Juliette Binoche, surely one of the most inquisitive and daring actors working in cinema today, plays Anne, a wife, mother and—most importantly—a journalist currently researching an article about student prostitution. Anne finds herself drawn to two young women: a down-on-her-luck Polish student and a French girl who comes from one of Paris' many anonymous housing projects.

Infused with songs and dancing, this serio-comic fable of a community beset by conflict between two faiths speaks out the desire of every citizen to live in peace. Set in a remote village where a Christian church and Muslim mosque stand side by side, director/co-writer/actress Nadine Labaki's (Caramel) ironically humorous drama follows the antics of the town's women to keep their blowhard men from starting a religious war.

Maïwenn's vibrant crime drama Polisse, a smash hit from France, follows the daily lives of a tightly-knit team of men and women working in the Child Protection Unit of the Parisian police. Basing her richly textured script on real child investigation cases, co-writer/director/co-star Maïwenn has gathered an accomplished ensemble cast of French actors
Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival

The Intouchables is the inspiring true story of two men who should never have met—a quadriplegic aristocrat who was injured in a paragliding accident and a young man from the projects.

Showtime

Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, the deeply moving new film by brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne (L’Enfant, Rosetta) delves into the emotional life of troubled 11-year-old Cyril, played with riveting intensity by newcomer Thomas Doret

Showtimes

Nanni Moretti joins forces with the great French actor Michel Piccoli to tell the story of Melville, a cardinal who suddenly finds himself elected as the next Pope

Showtimes

At a Montréal public grade school, an Algerian immigrant is hired to replace a popular teacher who committed suicide in her classroom. While helping his students deal with their grief, his own recent loss is revealed.

Showtimes

Fiona Gordon and Dominique Abel, who wrote, directed and star in this comedy, have developed their own distinct style of performance, which mixes dance and silent film slapstick. They've honed it to perfection in this strange and mostly engaging film about mental patient who thinks she's a fairy.

The Lady is an epic love story about how an extraordinary couple and family sacrifice their happiness at great human cost for a higher cause. This is the story of Aung San Suu Kyi and her husband, Michael Aris. Despite distance, long separations, and a dangerously hostile regime, their love endures until the very end. A story of devotion and human understanding set against a background of political turmoil which continues today.

The Love Crime, Alain Corneau, 2010 READ MORE

To find out about French programs shown on TV5 MONDE : click here

White as snow, Christophe Blanc, 2009
The ex-wife of my life, Josiane Balasko, 2004
Meme en reve, Alice Taylor, 2006
Nom Dit, Gabriel Goubet, 2006
The Little Dragon, Bruno Collet, 2009
Merveilleusement Gris, Geoffroy Barbet, 2004
Cul de Bouteille, Jean-Claude Rozec, 2010

Tivi5MONDE will offer the best of French-language programming including animation,education and dramatic series targeting tweens and young teens. The new channelis being programmed to appeal to children and youth audiences ages 4-14.