Ayala Malls Cinemas brings the 22nd French Film Festival

From the land of romance and haute couture, Ayala Malls Cinemas brings a slice of the good life from France with the upcoming 22nd French Film Festival that started June 9 until June 17 at Greenbelt 3 and Bonifacio High Street cinemas.  The film festival is in cooperation with the Embassy of France to the Philippines, Institut Français, the Alliance Français de Manille and Cebu and the Film Development Council of the Philippines.

One of the country’s highly-anticipated film festivals, the French Film Festival showcases twelve critically-acclaimed full-length films featuring the (French’s) charming culture.  The film festival aims to immerse the local audience with the French’s unique storytelling of their culture.

Included in this year’s French Film Festival are

Géronimo

Set in the south of France. In the sultry August heat, Geronimo, a young social educator, tries to ease tensions between the youngsters of the St Pierre neighborhood. The mood changes when Nil Terzi, a teenage girl of Turkish origin, flees an arranged marriage, running to the arms of her gypsy lover, Lucky Molina. Their escape sparks hostilities between the two clans. When the jousting and the musical battles begin, Geronimo struggles to quell the ensuing unrest around her.   

Le Dernier Diamant [The Last Diamond] 

Simon, a thief released on parole, accepts to carry out the biggest job of his life, which is to steal the "Florentin," a mythical diamond being auctioned by its owners. To succeed, he must get close to Julia, a diamond expert, for whom the sale is of considerable personal importance. Beyond the boldly daring theft, Simon will lead Julia toward a destiny that she could never have imagined.   

L’Ombre Des Femmes 

[In the Shadow of Women]

Pierre and Manon are poor. They make documentary films without a cent and they get by with odd jobs. Pierre meets a young intern, Elisabeth, and she becomes his mistress. But Pierre doesn't want to leave Manon for Elisabeth – he wants to keep them both. One day Elisabeth, Pierre's young mistress, discovers that Manon, Pierre's wife, has a lover. And she tells Pierre… Pierre focuses his attention on Manon once again, because she's the one he loved. And because he feels betrayed, he beseeches Manon and neglects Elisabeth. Manon breaks off with her lover right away. There's a good chance she does so because she loves Pierre.   

Jamais De La Vie [The Night Watchman] 

Franck, in his early fifties, is a night watchman in a suburban mall. Ten years ago, he was a skilled worker and union delegate, always on the bridge, always ready to fight for workers' rights. Today he's a man who's resigned himself to being a spectator of his own life - and it's boring. One night, he notices an SUV idling in the parking lot and senses that something is afoot. Curiosity makes him shake off his indifference and he decides to intervene. It's an opportunity for him take control of his life once again.   

Les Chevaliers Blancs [The White Knights] 

Jacques Arnault, head of Sud Secours NGO, is planning a high impact operation: he and his team are going to exfiltrate 300 orphans victims of Chadian civil war and bring them to French adoption applicants. Françoise Dubois, a journalist, is invited to come along with them and handle the media coverage for this operation. Completely immersed in the brutal reality of a country at war, the NGO members start losing their convictions and are faced with the limits of humanitarian intervention.  

Tour De France

Far'Hook is a twenty-year-old rapper. Following a settling of scores, he's obliged to leave Paris and lay low for awhile. His producer, Bilal, suggests that Far'Hook take his place accompanying his father Serge on a tour of all of the ports of France, following the path taken by the painter Joseph Vernet. Despite the shock between generations and different cultures an improbable friendship develops between the promising rapper and this builder from the North of France, during an adventure that will lead them to Marseille for a final concert, one of reconciliation.   

Je Suis Un Soldat (I Am a Soldier)

Thirty-year-old Sandrine is forced to return to live with her mother in Roubaix. Without a job, she accepts to work for her uncle in his kennels, which it turns out is a hub for trafficking dogs from Eastern Europe. She rapidly takes control in this male universe, wins the men's respect, and starts earning the money lacking from her freedom. But sometimes good soldiers cease to obey.   

Un Château En Italie [A Castle in Italy] 

A woman encounters a man. Her dreams resurface. It's also the story of her sick brother, and of their mother, a story about the destiny of a rich Italian industrialist family. It's the story of a family falling apart, of the end of an era, and of a budding romance.

Nocturama 

Paris, one morning. A group of young people from different backgrounds. They launch into a strange ballet in the metro tunnels and the city's streets. They seem to follow a plan. Their gestures are precise, almost dangerous. They converge towards the same point, a department store, at the moment it is about to shut. Night begins.  

Le Malheurs De Sophie [Sophie’s Misfortunes] 

From her castle, young Sophie can't resist the temptation of the forbidden and what she loves most of all is to get up to no-good with her cousin Paul. When her parents decide to go to Amercia, Sophie is delighted. A year later, she's back in France with her horrible stepmother, Madame Fichini. But Sophie will be able to count on her two friends, model little girls, and their mother, Madame de Fleurville to escape from her stepmother's clutches.  

21 Nuits Avec Pattie [21 Nights with Pattie] 

During the height of summer, Caroline, a forty-year-old Parisian and mother, arrives in a small village in the south of France. She must hastily organize the funeral of her mother, a flighty lawyer, whom she barely used to see.Caroline is welcomed by Pattie, who likes to talk about her love affairs with the local men to anyone who'll listen. While the whole valley gets ready for the traditional mid-summer dance, Caroline's mother's corpse mysteriously disappears.   

Bastille Day 

Michael Mason is an American pickpocket living in Paris who finds himself on the top of the CIA's most-wanted list when he steals a bag that contains more than just a wallet. Sean Briar, the field agent on the case, soon realizes that Michael is just a pawn in a much bigger game and decides to recruit him in order to uncover the source of a large-scale conspiracy. A race against time ensures, in which the two men discover they are both targets and must rely on each other to take down a powerful organization.  

As the French Embassy celebrates its 70th year anniversary of French-Philippine diplomatic relations, the festival also pays homage to Filipino films that have been selected at the Cannes Film Festival namely “Nakaw” by Noel Escondo and Arvin Belarmino; “Ma’Rosa” by Brillante Mendoza; “On the Job” by Erik Matti and “Anino” by Raymond Red.

Additionally, the festival dedicates one weekend for free public outdoor screenings at Circuit Lane (Hippodromo, Makati City) on June 17 and 18 with films such as Je Suis Un Soldat [I am a Soldier], Le Dernier Diamant [The Last Diamond], Tour De France, Un Chateau en Italie [A Castle in Italy].

An advocate of friendly relations among nations, Ayala Malls Cinemas continues to utilize its über -cinemas as a venue for institutional exchanges such as the French Film Festival as France reiterates its commitment to contribute to the country’s booming film industry.

Joie de vivre await at Ayala Malls Cinemas’ Greenbelt 3 and Bonifacio High Street as the French Film Festival runs June 9-17, tickets are priced at P100.  Check www.sureseats.com for the films’ schedules and advanced booking.

Experience it best at Ayala Malls Cinemas!