Rendez-Vous with French Cinema
Marc 3–8
North America's leading showcase for the best in contemporary French film, presented annually at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, arrives at AFI Silver for a special one-week engagement!
Coinciding with the series' run in New York City (March 1–11), six films from the program are featured, including a live webcast with interactive Q&A accompanying the screening of PATER on March 4.
MOON CHILD [La permission de minuit]
Romain is a "moon child," afflicted since birth by a rare genetic deficiency that makes him unable to stand exposure to daylight. Since infancy he has been cared for by David, a consultant dermatologist who is fascinated with his case and with whom he has developed an unusually close relationship. Now David has to leave, and doesn't know how to tell Romain. The day of the separation draws near... a new ordeal for them both.
DIR/SCR Delphine Gleize; PROD Jerome Dopffer. France, 2011, color, 110 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No passes accepted.
Sat, Mar 3, 9:30; Mon, Mar 5, 3:45
PATER
Interactive Q&A with star Vincent Lindon LIVE from Lincoln Center on March 4!
France's most unpredictable filmmaker, Alain Cavalier, teams up with actor Vincent Lindon for a witty, semi-improvised look at men, power and politics, starring Cavalier himself as a fictional French president and Lindon as his newly-appointed prime minister.
DIR/SCR Alain Cavalier; SCR Vincent Lindon; PROD Michel Seydoux. France, 2011, color, 105 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No passes accepted.
Sun, Mar 4, 3:30 (w/ interactive Q&A); Mon, Mar 5, 9:00
THE SCREEN ILLUSION
Commissioned by La Comédie-Française, actor/director Mathieu Amalric's (THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY, QUANTUM OF SOLACE, A CHRISTMAS TALE) wildly inventive update of Pierre Corneille's popular 17th century tragicomedy follows a hotel concierge on the trail of a missing young man who seems to have left many a young female heart aflutter.
DIR Mathieu Amalric; SCR Pierre Corneille; PROD Hughes Charbonneau, Marie-Ange Luciani, Gilles Sandoz. France, 2011, color, 77 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No passes accepted.
Sun, Mar 4, 9:00; Tues, Mar 6, 4:00
LAST SCREENING [Dernière séance]
CINEMA PARADISO meets PSYCHO in this provocative horror film about the dutiful manager/projectionist of a repertory cinema in the French provinces...and the many secrets he holds.
DIR/SCR Laurent Achard; SCR Frederique Moreau; PROD Sylvie Pialat. France, 2011, color, 81 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No passes accepted.
Tue, Mar 6, 9:00; Wed, Mar 7, 4:00
SMUGGLERS' SONGS [Les chants de Mandarin]
The 18th century folk hero and bandit Louis Mandrin is the inspiration for this strikingly relevant period tale, tracing the efforts of Mandrin's followers to distribute his songs and stories in the build-up to the French Revolution.
DIR/SCR/PROD Rabah Ameur-Zalmeche; PROD Mathilde Henrot. France, 2011, color, 97 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No passes accepted.
Wed, Mar 7, 9:30; Thu, Mar 8, 4:00
THE WELL-DIGGER'S DAUGHTER [La fille du puisatier]
Daniel Auteuil, veteran of Marcel Pagnol adaptations JEAN DE FLORETTE and MANON DES SOURCES, returns to Pagnol for his first work as a director, telling the moving story of a hardscrabble well-digger, his eldest daughter and her passion for the son of a local shopkeeper. A Kino Lorber release.
DIR/SCR Daniel Auteuil; PROD Alain Sarde. France, 2011, color, 107 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No passes accepted.
Thu, Mar 8, 9:30