Bonjour!

Get ready for the 15th Annual VCU French Film Festival. Check out this blog all weekend for all sorts of French film goodness.

Check out our slideshow for an introduction to the event.

Ah Paris—remember, it’s pronounced pa-ree, folks—how I long to be walking your streets and taking in your extensive culture.

But for now, Richmond will have to do.

Cary Street has already started making itself more like the City of Love. French national flags are waving on every corner and there’s a certain je ne sais quoi in the air.

If you have three and a half hours to spare tonight, stop by the Byrd Theatre at 7 p.m. and check out the full version of The Phantom of the Cinémathèque, a documentary about Henri Langlois, founder of the French Cinémathèque. The shorter version will be screened tomorrow night followed by a roundtable tribute to Langlois.

Playing tonight at the Byrd Theatre is the abridged version (52 minutes) of the documentary The Phantom of the Cinémathèque, which tells the story of Henri Langlois, the father of French cinema.

This event, which is free and open to the public, is followed by a round table tribute to Langlois with director Jacques Richard, Jean Roy and Rob Tregenza.

A brief history:
Henri Langlois created the French Cinémathèque in 1936. In doing so, he saved many films from being cast into obscurity.

He organized screenings of preserved films from around the world and soon many rushed to the Cinémathèque to discover the history of cinema.

Langlois was forcibly removed from the Cinémathèque in 1968 for alleged mismanagement. The film community joined forces in support and Langois was reinstated.

Langlois died in 1977 and it is believed that his ghost still wanders the Cinémathèque to this day.

Jacques Richard, Jean Roy and Rob Tregenza talk to the crowd about
French cinema after the screening of The Phantom of the Cinémathèque

According to the previous documentary and the discussion that followed, I’ve learned that the art of preserving French cinema was no easy task for Henri Langois. He fought for French film to be available to the public despite rampant censorship, natural disasters and enemies in high places.

The best scene: footage of film lovers defending Langois and the Cinémathèque which almost became a riot. Nothing says dedication to an art form like an unruly mob.

The festival officially kicked into high gear today with a free Master Class with French director Gérard Krawczyk on film production and independent cinema.

Krawczyk spoke in his native French (don’t worry, there was a translator) to a large crowd at the Byrd and showed clips from his various films.

“Timing is everything,” Krawczyk said, referring to comedic as well as technical timing. I now that if I ever make a film, I will not for the life of me let it have a car chase scene in it. Way too complicated.

Check out Dan Neman’s article on the master class and Krawczyk

It takes a lot more effort to watch a foreign film. Not only do you have to pay attention to what’s happening on-screen, you also have to read whenever anyone talks. Honestly, who goes to a movie to read?

Maybe I should have worked harder brushing up on my high school French. I can only blame myself.

La vie est à nous!, which translates to “the life of us,” tells the story Louise and her mother, Blanche. They run a small café called “The Stopover” in a small village in France.  On the other side of the main road is another café called “The Bend,” run by Lucie and her daughters.

The tensions and hostility is a recipe for disaster. It’s very funny to see people who hate each other try and be civil (which almost always never works out).

The rivalry between the two cafés reaches a breaking point when a truckers strike seals off the village with roadblocks. Complicating matters even more is Pierre, the leader of truckers, who disrupts the lives of all the women and the routine of the small town.

This is a laugh out loud kind of movie. Even though it’s nothing like normal life, you can see a bit of the everyday world in it.

Watch the trailer for the film, but be warned. The whole thing is in French with no subtitles. See if you can figure out what’s going on.

Wow. This movie hit me like a ton of bricks. If you want to cry (the kind where you feel terrible afterwards), then go see Bamako.

The movie takes place in the city of Bamako, the capital of Mali. A trial is taking place between the African society and the World Bank and International Monetary Fund over the current state of many African countries.

The scene is set amidst the home of Chaka and his wife Melé. While the two try to go about their day-to-day life, the fallout from the ensuing trial slowly begins to spill over them.

Yes, the emotion runs rampant throughout the movie. It hits you like a sucker punch to the stomach. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

What I loved most about this film was that it was a French film actually set outside of France. There are so many French-speaking countries in the world, but most don’t think outside of France.

On a random side note - Danny Glover, one of the executive producers in the film, makes a brief appearance as an actor in a western movie. I was definitely not expecting that.

Check out the trailer. This one has English subtitles, so it will be a little easier to understand.

Abderrahmane Sissako, the director of Bamako is speaking on his filmmaking experience. And I’m getting tired. It’s been a long day at the festival.

But there’s one more film coming up: Nos jours heureux (Our Happy Days). It tells the story of Vincent, a summer camp counselor and deals with the life lessons of growing up.

I’m starting to fade, but maybe I can make it just a little longer. I’ll keep you posted.

OK. I decided to ditch Nos Jours Heureux. I know, I’m a terrible person, but the eyes are drooping and bed is becoming much more enjoyable.

But here are some links to reviews of the movie.

So I say good night to you all and hope to see you tomorrow for the excitement of Day 2. Check out our slideshow of the opening night by clicking here or on the image below. Comments (1)

Bon matin - or good morning to the non-French speaking. Another day is upon us for the festival. Better get ready.

Two croissants later, and I’m off.

I didn’t realize that there were going to be this many people showing up for the festival. There’s a line going out the door and down the street. People have compared this to the Sundance Film Festival. I wouldn’t go that far. But I can see how people would think that.

Inside isn’t much better. I could barely find a seat. Looking for an empty seat in the dark - not fun. I have to make sure to get in early for the next show.

Man, people sure love their French films.

If you don’t have the 90+ minutes to spare today, then these films are right up your alley.

Starting off the day is a collection of short films, running from 5 to 30 minutes.

The short film Coup de foudre was just that. Short. A whopping 4 minutes.

A lot can happen in 4 minutes, however.

Joseph and his friend are having a conversation when he suddenly falls deeply in love with a girl he sees. As he goes to talk to her, images of his possible future flash in his head. It all leads to a rather humorous ending.

Qui sommes-nous? ( or, “who are we?” ) tells the story of a woman who misses her train and finds herself looking into the life of the homeless. She hates this until she sees how her own life lines up with it… all in 10 minutes.

Next up: Demain la veille (Waiting on Yesterday). I can’t explain it as well as this description:

In a world where time runs backwards and each person “rewinds his life,” Bob is a young thirtysomething living like everyone else. One night, he realizes that the universe in which he has evolved isn’t as normal as it seems and he becomes a fugitive. As he launches himself in a mad and irrational escape on the streets of a world where he no longer belongs, he is chased by mercenaries sent from an uncertain future to force him back on the “right path.” 

Not everyone is running in the Monument Avenue 10K today. Granted, the Film Festival is much nicer with a few thousand less people. I would much rather be soaring the skies.

L’Avion ( French for ‘‘airplane’’ ) tells the story of young Charly who unhappily receives a toy plane from his father for Christmas. Days later, Charly’s father dies in a tragic accident and Charly’s toy plane comes to life.

Yes, you read that right.

Charly and his newly-living toy plane develop a bond and share a grand adventure full of excitement while drawing the attention of Charly’s mom and an envious former colleague of Charly’s father.

Director Cédric Kahn brings out various themes (death, escape from reality, the power of imagination) and thrusts them into the audience’s hearts using young Roméo Botzaris as a focal point with Charly.

This is a film for both children and adults to enjoy.

Everyone working here at the festival seems so dedicated to their job. I never realized exactly how many people are needed to run an event like this. You have security, ticket takers, ushers, lighting and sound workers, concessions, PR people, hospitality for the numerous directors and actors, and of course, people to coordinate all of the above.

Plus, they’ve got their own filming crew to capture the whole event.

All the volunteers say that they help out mainly because “it’s a fun experience and they meet lots of interesting people. The hard work is definitely worth it.”

Hats off to all the crew. Everything’s been going smoothly.

The French Film Festival is not only helping to spread the word on various cinematic masterpieces, it’s also helping increase shopping for nearby merchants.

Carytown stores have seen a huge increase in shoppers this weekend thanks to the festival.

The New York Deli and the Can Can Brasserie are dealing with the influx of hungry festival goers. Bygones Vintage Clothing store has all their French business suits out front prominently displayed hoping to attract window shoppers.

Ward Tefft of Chop Suey Books says he can hardly believe the amount of foot traffic the festival has brought to his store.

“People are walking by during the festival and see what’s going on. They come in to see what we’re about.  But I’m really surprised by the number of people coming who aren’t going to the festival.”

They’ve had so much traffic, they’ve even extended their store hours from the normal 7 p.m. time to 11:30 p.m. to accommodate the incoming customers.

Chop Suey Books even got into the spirit of the film festival by showing American remakes of French films in the store window.

“Last night we showed The Toy, and many just came by to hang out and watch.”

Other merchants in the area have gotten into the spirit as well with lots of French paraphernalia lining the windows and stores. French artwork, books maps and tasty treats are all being offered this weekend.

“Our manager is a huge fan of French film. He’s spending all weekend at the festival.” say the employees of Mongrel, who have decorated their store with books and maps of France and lined their store windows with boxes of popcorn and movie tickets.

“It’s kind of a staple in Carytown now and it always does well for us. There’s no way it doesn’t help our business.”

In Le Passager de l’été, a day laborer named Joseph comes to work on a farm during a busy summer. He ends up stirring up the life of Monique, the abandoned woman running the farm as well as her daughter.

Over time, Joseph becomes closer with the people around him. Monique feels like she can trust men and fall in love again. And lives are changed for the better… blah blah blah.

By no means is this film bad. But I saw this feel-good kind of drama coming from a mile away. Maybe I just need an action movie to balance out the drama.

If you’ve ever been to Paris, then you know not even to try driving in the city. Traffic is THAT insane.

Well now, Carytown can claim another thing taken from Paris. There is so much traffic right now. Nobody can get through thanks to all the excitement at the festival. Bumper to bumper. Horns honking.

Might as well put it in park, people. You’re not going anywhere. Check out Jean-Philippe which should be playing shortly.