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19th Annual Focus on French Cinema Festival

Arts and Entertainment

March 15, 2024

From: Focus on French Cinema Festival

In-Person Schedule:

Friday, April 19th, 2024

7:00 PM - 9:00 PM: Driving Madeleine

A seemingly simple taxi ride across Paris evolves into a profound meditation on the realities of the driver, whose personal life is in shambles, and his fare, an elderly woman whose warmth belies her shocking past.

Location: Greenwich Library, Berkeley Theater

Thursday, April 25, 2024

7:30 - 9:00 PM: Rachel's Game (Les Rois de la Piste)

OPENING NIGHT FILM WITH COCKTAIL RECEPTION

Home cook Rachel, a sort of Ma Dalton, has raised her sons Sam and Jeremiah, and her grandson, Nathan, in the cult of conning. From bad plans to petty theft, this friendly family of broken arms is always after the big score. Luck or fate, during a burglary, they steal a painting by Tamara de Lempicka without knowing its value. Céleste, a shrewd and charming detective, sets out in pursuit.

Location: Avon Theatre

Friday, April 26, 2024

10:00 AM - 12:00 PM: L'Ocean vu du Coeur (Ocean Seen from the Heart)

A look at the ocean in its wholeness. Hubert Reeves, surrounded by passionate scientists and explorers, presents us with an overview of man’s impact on the ocean and the resilience the ocean demonstrates when measures of restoration are employed.

Location: Florence Gould Hall

Monday, April 29, 2024

7:30 - 9:00 PM: Alter Ego: Cloning in the Age of Reason

Alter Ego: Cloning in the Age of Reason is a documentary film produced by Luc Hardy, a French-American explorer and producer who is also an environmental advocate. The film explores cloning's benefits for humanity and the ecosystem, and the different perspectives on it.

Location: Avon Theatre

Thursday, May 2, 2024

7:30 - 9:30 PM: Just A Couple of Days (Quelques Jours pas plus)

After being reassigned from music to field reporting, a critic goes to a refugee camp near Paris during an evacuation. He experiences police violence and is thrust into becoming the face of the refugee cause.

Location: Avon Theatre

Virtual Schedule:

April 25 - May 6, 2024

A Real Job (Un Métier Serieux)

Benjamin is a PhD student without scholarship support. Under the pressure of his parents, and in need of money, he becomes a substitute teacher in a middle school. Without training nor experience, and facing a declining public educational system, he discovers how tough this job can be. Hopefully, his supportive and committed colleagues will lead him to take a fresh look at the profession.

All Your Faces (Je Verrai toujours vos Visages)

Since 2014, France's restorative justice programmes have offered a safe space for supervised dialogue between offenders and victims. Grégoire, Nawelle, and Sabine, victims of heists and violent robberies, agree to join one of these discussion groups alongside offenders Nassim, Issa, and Thomas, all convicted of violent robberies. Meanwhile Chloé, a victim of childhood sexual abuse, prepares for dialogue with her own agressor after learning he has moved back into town.

Marguerite's Theorem

Marguerite is a young and brilliant mathematician, the only girl in her class at the ENS, entirely devoted to her passion. The day she discovers an error in her thesis, she is devastated. In a dizzy spell, she leaves the school, wipes out the past. She then dives into the real world, discovers autonomy, befriends the young Léa, and makes love for the first time. Grown by her experiences, it is in this new momentum that she will find the solution to her theorem.

Temporaries (Richelieu)

After a bad breakup, Ariane moves home and gets a job as an interpreter for seasonal migrant workers. Witnessing workplace abuses, she must decide how to address this.

Toni (Toni en Famille)

Toni has spent her entire life putting other people’s needs before her own. When she was 20 years old, she was pushed by her mother to join a TV singing competition, becoming a national star. Twenty years and five children later, she is a full-time mom who spends all her time and effort on raising her teenage kids. As she helps her children plan their future after graduation, she begins to imagine what her life could be if - for once - she did what she really wanted. Will she be able to turn her life around and dare to be something other than a mother and a daughter?

Un Silence (A Silence)

A Silence (Un Silence) is a 2023 drama. The film is based on the real case of disgraced Belgian lawyer Victor Hissel.

Fest Date: April 25 - May 6, 2024

Locations:
Greenwich Library, Berkeley Theater, 101 West Putnam Avenue, Greenwich, CT 06830
Florence Gould Hall, 55 E 59th St, New York, NY 10022
Avon Theatre, 272 Bedford Street, Stamford, CT 06901

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