Sébastien Leconte, French Film Festival: „The most challenging part remains of course the coordination between all the cities in terms of screening dates, film selection and communication”

Sébastien Leconte, the Audiovisual Officer at the French Institute in Bucharest, sheds light on the distinctiveness of the 28th edition of the French Film Festival in Romania. This year’s festival transcends traditional boundaries, embracing innovation and exploration in cinema. From showcasing alternative forms of cinematography to fostering industry dialogues on gender equality, the festival promises a dynamic cultural exchange.

What makes the 28th edition of the French Film Festival in Romania stand out from previous editions, and are there any special events or themes being highlighted this year?

For its 28th edition, the French film festival in Romania fulfills the core values of cinema : innovation and exploration. This year, we give voice to more alternative and original forms of cinematography with a proper section of genre films, MAUVAIS GENRES, a selection of the finest 2023 French films of fantasy, sc-fi, gore and film noir. Also and unprecedented, we present a brand new section called VERTIGES VR, showcasing a selection of 5 VR films in Bucharest for 2 days (March 23rd and 30th).

Each year the French film festival also organizes an Industry focus, bringing Romanian and French professionals together. This year we are pleased to associate with F-SIDES Cineclub to organize an unprecedented workshop program tackling « gender equality and safe space in the Romanian film industry ». A professional member from the French Collectif 50/50 will participate and share her experience. The program is based on a two-day workshop where 20 Romanian film professionals will define guidelines that the film industry could implement in the future. On March 28th at the French Institute in Bucharest, a public event will outline the work, guidelines and perspectives that out of this program and it will be the occasion to have a further talk with the audience.

In Bucharest, 5 talents will be presenting their films and meet the audience at the Festival :

– Karim Leklou, main actor in VINCENT DOIT MOURIR and GOUTTE D’OR (on March 27th and 28th)

– Angela Ottobah, director of PAULA (on March 23rd)

– Felix Lefebvre, actor in RIEN A PERDRE (on March 24th)

– Sandra Parfait and Claire Duburcq, actresses in CONANN on March 28th).

Furthermore, an afterparty at Control Club on March 29th will take place at Control Club.

Considering the scale of the event across multiple cities and the diverse range of films being showcased, what were the main challenges faced by the organizers in planning and executing this edition?

This year again, we are working closely with a wide network of cinema venues and institutional partners across the country to ensure the audience from all cities the best experience of the French film festival. We try to provide the most diversified and adapted films to each different audience. For instance the « Jeune Public » section has been created in this regard, as it was one demand from our city partners to screen more films for children and family. The most challenging part remains of course the coordination between all the cities in terms of screening dates, film selection and communication. Finally, all the cities are provided the same communication materials and we include the audience from Cluj, Timisoara and Iasi (where the French Institute has its delegations) to the Audience Award.

What role do these additional cities play in fostering a diverse and inclusive cultural exchange through cinema?

With the help and involvement of the 12 additional cities, the French Institute pursues its mission to propose and spread a diversified range of cultural experiences, inspire and enhance cultural exchanges and collaborations between Romania and France, most notably as for cinema. Cinema is an art where discussions and debates rise from so this is a great opportunity that audiences can take from all across Romania.

What is the opening film of the festival in Bucharest, and what distinguishes it?

The Opening film is UNE ANNEE DIFFICILE, directed by Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, distributed in Romania by Independenta Film. From the director’s duo of the internationally-acclaimed INTOUCHABLES, the film follows a pair of 40ish friends from being lazy scams to being enrolled into environmental activism despite them. The two directors strike once again with a powerful social comedy that encountered quite a success in France, carried by a 3-star cast with Jonathan Cohen, Pio Marmai, Noémie Merlant and Mathieu Amalric.

In the competition section for young talents, what are some of the debut films being showcased, and what is the significance of the Audience Award offered by the French Institute in Romania?

The Competition section for young talents programs 4 debut films:

CHIENS DE LA CASSE, from Jean-Baptiste Durand, a friendship between two young pals tormented by one girl (a revisited JULES ET JIM, one could argue) ;
PAULA, from Angela Ottobah, a young girl being slghtly isolated from the rest of the world by her father ;
RIEN A PERDRE, a social drama where a mother (interpreted by Virgine Efira) is withdrawn custody of her child ;
AMA GLORIA, an emotional story between one young girl and her nanny as she has to leave and go back to Cap Verde.

The Audience Award is a €1000 award granted by the French Institute in Romania to the awarded film’s director. Following its mission to support and promote young and alternative creation. Basing this award on the audience choice across the country (Bucuresti, Cluj, Timisoara and Iasi) is meaningful in order to ensure the widest connection to the young and new French cinematography and guarantee most of the audiences in the same Festival experience.

Who are some of the emerging voices in French cinema being introduced to Romanian audiences this year, and what are their notable works?

One of the most notable emerging voices is definitely Jean-Baptiste Durand, director of CHIENS DE LA CASSE, selected in the Competition section for young talents. The film was awarded Best debut film at the French 2023 Cesars Ceremony and Raphael Quenard starring as main character won the Best young talent award for his performance. Jean-Baptiste Durand directed many short films before and is always dedicated to genuinely set his films and stories in rural/small city contexts

Angela Ottobah is one new talented director who succeeded a first chilly and tormented feature PAULA. Stéphan Castang is also an emerging voice. Acting initially in several theater plays, he directed several short films before his first feature VINCENT DOIT MOURIR. The 24-year-old actor Felix Lefebvre, will be our guest in Bucharest for the movie RIEN A PERDRE (directed by Delphine Deloget, her first feature). He is one of the young emerging actors who already starred in ETE 85 (directed by François Ozon) and SUPRÊMES.

We’d like also to mention « re-emerging » voice with Thomas Cailley who successfully returned to film directing in 2023 with LE REIGNE ANIMAL (selected in the Panorama section, starring Romain Duris) after many years since his first feature LES COMBATTANTS (2014) who was awarded best first feature at the 2015 Cesars Ceremony.

Short films are of course to mention and notably Paul Rigoux who directed the absurd and funny RAPIDE (nominated for the best short film at the Cesars Ceremony) and Maia Kerkour for the beautiful drama LA CHALEUR.

Can you provide insights into the genre-focused sections of the festival, such as “Mauvais genres” and “Jeune Public»?

The genre-focused section MAUVAIS GENRES spans a diversified selection of genre films. VINCENT DOIT MOURIR is a dark and suspensful comedy mocking survival slasher films. In the presence of Karim Leklou, we’ll take the opportunity to showcase once again GOUTTE D’OR directed by Clément Cogitore, presented in the festival last year and in which he starred as main character.

Fantasy is well represented with Bertrand Mandico’s CONANN, revisiting the tragedy of Conan the Barbarian in a gore and queer-oriented partis-pris. Two actresses Sandra Parfait and Claire Duburcq, interpreting Conan at different ages, will be the film guest stars in Bucharest. Also, SALEM, a mystical and surrealistic Shakespearian tragedy anchored in Marseille suburbs. MARS EXPRESS is also to highlight, as a very ambitious and acclaimed animation sci-fi movie depicting a futuristic and dystopian intergalactic society where robots and humans have reached a shifting point in their long-standing coexistence.

Finally, more discrete but still outstanding, LE GANG DU BOIS DU TEMPLE echoes a French tradition of film noir, perhaps somehow inspired by the great Jean-Pierre Melville.

The Jeune Public section is a curation of 3 films for children and their parents. We have the two animated movies SIROCCO ET LE ROYAUME DES COURANTS D’AIR and NINA ET LE SECRET DU HERISSON, and an animal documentary LES GARDIENNES DE LA PLANETE a beautiful journey with whales narrated by Jean Dujardin.

The French Film Festival takes place between March 21-31 in Bucharest and 12 other cities in the country, namely Cluj-Napoca, Timişoara, Iaşi, Arad, Braşov, Brăila, Constanţa, Craiova, Sfântu Gheorghe, Sibiu, Suceava, and Târgu Mureş. More details about tickets here.

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