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Distributed February 7, 2000 For Immediate Release |
News Service Contact: Mark Nickel
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Sixteen films, English subtitles Brown to offer French Film Festival at Cable Car Cinema Feb. 10-20 The Department of French Studies at Brown University will present a Festival of French Film, Feb. 10 through 20, 2000. All films, in French with English subtitles, will be screened at the Cable Car Cinema, 204 South Main St. in Providence. PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The Department of French Studies at Brown will present a French Film Festival from Thursday, Feb. 10, through Sunday, Feb. 20, 2000, at the Cable Car Cinema, 204 South Main St. Sixteen films will be featured, all in French with English subtitles. Faculty from Brown, the Rhode Island School of Design and Boston College will participate in three roundtable discussions as part of the festival. “Cinema and Society” will be the topic on Sunday, Feb. 13, at 6 p.m.; “The Films of Claire Denis” will be discussed at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 19; and “Making Films in France” will be the final discussion at 1:45 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 20. Admission to individual films will be $3, with festival passes available for $15 ($10 for students). A complete schedule and a summary of the films appear below. For additional information, call (401) 272-3970. The Festival Schedule Thursday, February 10
Friday, February 11
Saturday, February 12
Sunday, February 13
Monday, February 14
Tuesday, February 15
Wednesday, February 16
Thursday, February 17
Friday, February 18
Saturday, February 19
Sunday, February 20
The Films Same Old Song (On Connaît La Chanson) In this tribute to the British screenwriter Dennis Potter, the legendary director Alain Resnais of “Hiroshima mon amour” has created a film about a circle of friends who express their secret desires by breaking into snatches of popular songs. The film shows Paris and Parisians at their best and worst, all the while lip-synching to tunes by France Gall, Johnny Haliday, the rock group Telephone, or Maurice Chevalier. The story follows six intertwined characters as they try to find happiness in the great city of lights. Starring Pierre Arditi, Sabine Azéma, Jean-Pierre Bacri, André Dussolier Agnès Jaoui, Lambert Wilson. In The Land Of Deaf (Au Pays Des Sourds) Anyone who has ever journeyed to the “land of the deaf” has been struck by the silent signs with which deaf people express themselves. With their profound deafness in common, the children and adults featured in this film communicate their dreams and thoughts through signs. Philibert focuses his camera on group of schoolchildren who are learning how to communicate in a world where they must read lips and speak words. “Au pays des sourds” has won countless international prizes at festivals around the world from San Francisco to Bombay to Vancouver and Valladolid. Those Who Love Me Can Take The Train (Ceux Qui M’aiment Prendront
Le Train) A visually striking film in its hand-held cinemascope photography. United by their love for a deceased man, an array of colorful personalities converge on the train to his burial. Love, sex, fidelity, drug addiction, and suicide become topics of conversation on their four hour journey. The aftermath, in the mansion of the dead man’s brother, attains revelatory proportions and evokes the kind of emotion that only talented directors can achieve. Starring Charles Berling, Dominique Blanc, Valéria Bruni-Tedeschi, Marie Daems, Pascal Gregory , Sylvain Jacques, Bruno Todeschini, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Roschdy Zem L’ennui Martin, a philosophy professor, is undergoing a mid-life crisis. Through a set of strange circumstances, he meets a girl who was responsible for driving an old painter to his death. Fascinated by the story of her relationship with the old man, Martin slowly succumbs to her charms. But as their relationship continues, she only seems to become more and more enigmatic, alternating between alluring innocence and utter indifference, fueling his inexorable destruction. Starring Maurice Antoni, Charles Berling, Arielle Dombasle, Alice Grey, Sophie Guillemin, Robert Kramer Life On Earth (La Vie Sur Terre) Part of the series “2000 Seen By,” this film offers a unique look into the culture of Mauritania, a community rarely seen on film. On the eve of the 21st century, Sissako, an African filmmaker living in France returns to his native village of Sokolo where the coming of the millennium has aroused little interest. Free from the frenzy of the year 2000, Sissako’s pilgrimage home offers an oasis of peace and simplicity. Starring Nana Baby, Bourama Coulibaly, Abderrahmane Sissako, Mohammed Sissako. Tomorrow and Again Tomorrow (Demain Et Encore Demain) Images of a life, country, and an era scarred by doubt as a troubled and questioning woman takes a camera and films her everyday life. This autobiographical film is an intimate piece of reality – painful, yet filled with hope; a sensitive portrait of the artist behind the camera. Starring Dominique Cabrera Nadia and The Hippos (Nadia Et Les Hippopotames) In winter, 1995, during a massive transportation strike, Nadia and her six-month old son leave Paris in search of the father. Encounters with a group of strikers lead to a personal-cum-political odyssey in which the government’s labor policies are seriously questioned. Starring Laurent Arnal, Ariane Ascaride, Pierre Berriau, Michel Bony, Marilyne Canto, Thierry Frémont, Philippe Fretun, Olivier Gourmet, Nadj Hamou-Medja, Sasha and Ruben Nakache The Banned Woman (La Femme Défendue) Adultery might seem like a tired subject, but here its banality is surpassed by the subtlety of the script and the quality of the mise-en-scene. A French comedy-drama filmed with a subjective camera, the film presents the first-person point-of-view of a married man as he meets, flirts with, seduces, and falls in love with a beautiful young woman. Starring Isabelle Carré, Natalie Conio, Philippe Harel, Julien Niedergang, Sophie Niedergang. Late August, Early September (Fin Août, Début
Septembre) Originally given the title of “Snapshots,” Late August, Early September captures the experience of a group of thirty-something Parisians and their slow passage out of painful adolescence. When an old illness begins to take its toll on one of the group, the others are forced to take notice that time is passing and they are growing older. Starring Mathieu Almaric, Jeanne Balibar, François Cluzet, Virginie Ledoyen. Chocolate (Chocolat) Visually breathtaking and emotionally haunting, this stunning directorial debut by Claire Denis presents a side of 1950s Africa – and of youth – never before captured on film. France Dalens, the daughter of a colonial official, has returned to trace her past. Soon, the rush of sights, sounds and smells sweep her back to her childhood, to a desolate land of harsh, haunting beauty. Stifling isolation and sexual frustration create an undercurrent of tension that threatens to explode as an assortment of Europeans pass through their sun-baked outpost. Starring Guilia Boschi, Isaach de Bankole, François Cluzet, Richard Courget, Beatrice Dalle, Alex Descas. No Fear, No Die (S’en Fout La Mort) Dah, an African immigrant, and Jocelyn, a West Indian man hook up to supply and train fighting cocks for a sleazy French saloon owner. The two live in the back of the club, and while Jocelyn trains the birds, Dah becomes entangled with the owner’s mistress. Soon all four are cast into a violent circle of gambling, desire and agony, spinning out of control. Starring Isaach de Bankolé, Jean-Claude Brialy, Alex Descas, Solveig Dommartin. I Can’t Sleep (J’ai Pas Sommeil) A Latvian in Paris, a couple of homosexuals, an old lady’s murderer, some African immigrants, a hotel manager protecting the young Lativan, a transvestite who performs at a local night club, crime, and assorted odd occurrences all come together in the complex plot of Claire Denis’ third film, her follow-up to “No Fear, No Die.” Starring Richard Courcet, Béatrice Dalle, Alex Descas, Vincent Dupont, Yekaterina Golubyova, Patrick Grandperret, Irina Grjebina, Line Renaud, Sophie Simon. Nenette and Boni (Nénette et Boni) Nenette and Boni, is a thoroughly engaging tale about sibling bonds. Set in working-class Marseilles, the film focuses on a sister and brother who are brought together following the death of their mother. Denis brings both pathos and more than a small measure of humor to bear in portraying their conflicted feelings for each other, toward their parents, and about their own needs and desires. Starring.Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi, Grégoire Colin, Alex Descas, Jamila Farah, Vincent Gallo, Alice Houri, Gérard Meylan, Jacques Nolot. Good Work (Le Beau Travail) Inspired by Melville’s Billy Budd, Beau Travail is the most provocative film yet by Claire Denis, an exploration of a special, very enclosed male world through its rituals, codes and barely contained emotional conflicts. In the east African enclave of Djibouti, the men of a small French Legion outpost spend their days in isolation. Barely older than his charges, Sergeant seems a perfect Legionnaire, running his troop like a well-oiled machine until the arrival of new recruit, Sentier, threatens to upset the delicate balance that is his life. Starring Grégoire Colin, Richard Courcet, Denis Lavant, Michel Subor. I Stand Alone (Seul Contre Tous) Gaspard Noe’s feature film debut is a harsh portrait of contemporary French life. “Seul contre tous” centers around a middle-aged unemployed butcher who is trying to salvage a life that has long been on the skids. As his hopes of finding work are crushed, his bitterness towards the world begins to take on frightening proportions. Motivated by racism, misogyny and a hair-trigger temper, the butcher seems ready to blow at any minute. Be forewarned, a journey inside this man’s mind, as difficult as it is to watch, will change the way you see French culture forever. Starring Martine Audrain, Blandine Lenoir, Frankyle Le Pain, Philipp Nahon. Aid El Kébir In eastern Algeria, a family prepares for the feast of sheep. The father, who is dying, wants his youngest daughter, Hanifa, to marry. In this ambience of domestic morbidity, Hanifa must make a difficult personal choice. Starring Faitha Berber, Soria Moufakkir, Smaïl Mekki, Hichem Mesbah, Nina Tahar. ###### | ||