Friday, November 25, 2011

Closing Weekend Highlights at the IFI French Film Festival

It's hard to believe that we're already hit the final weekend of the 2011 IFI French Film Festival, but don't despair - many would argue that we've saved the best for last, so don't miss out on the final weekend of big films and guests.

Jean-Pierre Darroussin in Early One Morning

We're very excited about one of our special Festival guests this year - the one and only Jean-Pierre Darroussin, star of Early One Morning. In this excellent drama he gives a riveting performance as a bank excecutive who calmly shoots his bosses dead and then reminisces on how he got to this point while he waits for the police to arrive. Darroussin will introduce the screening on Friday night and then will partcipate in a Q&A with esteemed French critic and documentary filmmaker Michel Ciment. This Q&A promises to be a real treat. Darroussin will also introduce the screening on Saturday (while Michel Ciment will also introduce his own film, Once Upon a Time . . . A Clockwork Orange).

The Minister

Winner of the FIPRESCI Prize in Un Certain Regard at Cannes, The Minister, Pierre Schoeller's study of a government minister dealing with political and personal crises, is a true highlight of this year's Festival. It has one screening only (Friday night) and tickets are selling fast, so we strongly urge you to book soon so you don't miss out on this incredible film.

Claude Miller

We were due to welcome Claude Miller, one of France's most influential and respected filmmakers, to the Festival to introduce his two films that we have on offer: I'm Glad my Mother is Alive  and See How they Dance. Unfortunately, we just received the news that Claude is unwell and he deeply regrets not being able to make it to Dublin on this occasion. Instead, critic and filmmaker Michel Ciment will introduce both of these films.

If you're still gagging for more guests, this Saturday (12pm) also sees a free panel discussion entitled French Cinema Now. Participating will be critic Michel Ciment, actor Jean-Pierre Darroussin, director Anna Novion, and members of the Irish film industry. The panellists will debate trends and movements in French cinema, and will examine comparisons with Irish filmmaking. The event is free but ticketed.

Beloved

It was chosen to officially close this year's Cannes Film Festival, and we've selected it to play twice over our closing weekend - Beloved finally hits our screens. You may have seen the image on posters all over town and adorning the cover of this year's Festival programme, and we're delighted to finally get to screen Christophe HonorĂ©'s thoroughly enjoyable 'musical' Beloved. The films spans four decades in the life of its protagonist Madeline and its sports an all-star cast including Catherine Deneuve, Chiara Mastroianni, Ludivine Sagnier and Louis Garrel.

So there's all this (and plenty more) to catch over the final weekend of the Festival. To see the full programme, please visit our website, and don't miss any Festival updates by following @IFI_Dub on Twitter and use #IFIFrench.

Ross Keane
Public Affairs & Marketing Director

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