Dawn Bonker
Francophiles and cinemaphiles – aren’t they usually one and the same? – can start counting down the days now. The second annual
Chapman University and Tournees French Film Festival
opens Thursday, March 24, with a U.S. premiere screening of
Espions
and a Q&A with its director,
Nicolas Saada
, and continues with a terrific lineup of French films through Sunday, March 27.
Thanks to sponsorship of the festival from Wilkinson College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Dodge College of Film & Media Arts, the Office of the Chancellor and the Department of Languages’ French Club, all screenings are free.
Thursday’s premiere, sponsored by
uniFrance Films
, is a sensual thriller starring Guillaume Canet and opens the festival at 7 p.m. in Folino Theater at Marion Knott Studios.
All other films will screen in Irvine Lecture Hall, including:
Friday, March 25
7 p.m. –
Paris
– explores the lives of eight strangers whose paths intersect in Paris. Director Cedric Klapisch.
9:30 p.m. –
Bluebeard
– a gruesome fairy tale about a man with a blue beard. Director Catherine Breillat.
Saturday, March 26
Noon –
Summer Hours
– a film about three siblings and their mother’s death. Director Oliver Assayas.
2 p.m. –
Coco before Chanel
– a chronicle of Coco Chanel’s early life. Director Anne Fontaine.
6 p.m. –
Welcome
– the story of a swim coach and an illegal immigrant. Director Phillippe Lioret.
8 p.m. –
The French Kissers
– a coming of age tale about a boy trying to fit in. Director Riad Sattouf.
Sunday, March 27
1 p.m. –
Le Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet
– a documentary about the making of seven ballets. Director Frederick Wiseman.
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