French Film Festival - 3-5th June

The Alliance Francaise of Armidale inc. and Belgrave Cinema present the Twentieth French Film Festival, 2022. 

Encompassing drama, comedy romance & thriller, this exceptional package of French cinema will delight fans of upscale cinema and transport them to another place.

  • Friday 3rd of June – Lost Illusions
  • Saturday 4th of June – Farewell, Mr. Haffmann
  • Saturday 4th of June - Maigret
  • Sunday 5th of June – A Tale of Love and Desire
  • Sunday 5th of June - The Young Lovers 

All Films are presented in their original language with English Subtitles​​

Ticket prices:

  • $70 for a festival pass. Available from the box office only.
  • Regular pricing for individual tickets
  • Belgrave Plus tickets available if purchased before each session.

Please arrive early to purchase your tickets, preferably 10-15mins before the session,

Films will not be delayed if you are late.

Thank you for your understanding.

 

Lost Illusions - 6pm Friday 3rd June

Lost Illusions

An all-star cast dazzles in the spectacular and exhilarating new film by Xavier Giannoli (The Singer, Marguerite), an adaptation of Balzac’s classic novel about a young idealist who learns that anything can be bought and sold.

1821. Handsome poet Lucien (Benjamin Voisin, in a star-making turn) is poor, but highly ambitious. Failing to make a name for himself in his provincial hometown, he naively follows his married patroness (a radiant Cécile de France) to the glamorous beau monde of Paris.

But Lucien has entered a society far more dangerous than he realised, and the venomous denizens of the salons (brought to life by a superb ensemble including Jeanne Balibar, Gerard Depardieu and Xavier Dolan) conspire to keep him out of their ranks. Lucien is forced to abandon his principles and find work at a low-brow newspaper, where his scathing critiques soon cause a sensation and arouse the interest of admirers and publishers. But in a society where profit and status rule, what is really left for Lucien?

Epic in scope and impact, LOST ILLUSIONS is an eerily prescient fable bracingly attuned to the anxieties of the modern media age. This is grand French cinema at its most lavish, and finest.

Release Date:
Friday, 3 June 2022
Starring
Benjamin Voisin Cécile de France Vincent Lacoste
Directed by
Xavier Giannoli
Farewell, Mr. Haffmann - 3pm Saturday 4th June

Farewell, Mr. Haffmann

Occupied Paris, 1941: all members of the Jewish community are instructed to come forward and identify themselves to authorities. Dedicated jeweller Joseph Haffmann (Auteuil), fearing the worst, arranges for his family to flee the city and offers his employee François Mercier (Gilles Lellouche) the chance to take over his store until the conflict subsides. But his own attempts to escape are thwarted, and Haffmann is forced to seek his assistant’s protection.

It’s a risky proposition for both men, and one that Mercier’s wife Blanche (a wonderful Sara Giraudeau) is sceptical of. As the couple move in to the Haffmann home, the agreement turns into a Faustian bargain, one that will forever change the fate of all...

Superbly directed by Cavayé, FAREWELL, MR. HAFFMANN masterfully guides the viewer through the world of Vichy France, where lives are irrevocably shaped by the twin scourges of war and the black market. Rich in moral complexity and empathy, with several twists too good to spoil, this is grand, big-screen adult entertainment at its finest.

Release Date:
Saturday, 4 June 2022
Starring
Daniel Auteuil, Gilles Lellouche, Sara Giraudeau
Directed by
Fred Cavayé
Maigret - 6pm Saturday 4th June

Maigret

Paris, 1953. The body of a beautiful young woman is discovered at Place Ventimille, dressed in an elegant evening gown. There is nothing to identify her, and no witnesses. Pensive and world-weary Inspector Jules Maigret (Depardieu) endeavours to piece together her story, and in doing so uncovers details about her past and character. In his enquiries, he encounters Betty (Jade Labeste), a woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to the victim, but who also reminds him of one even closer to his own life…

Simenon (and Leconte’s) formidable protagonist - a French counterpart to Agatha Christie’s Poirot and P.D. James’ Dalgiesh - has been brought to the screen before, but Depardieu leaves an indelible stamp on the character, bringing tenderness and dignity to a man prepared to listen before he speaks, and to stand up for those without a voice.

Release Date:
Saturday, 4 June 2022
Starring
Gérard Depardieu, Aurore Clément, Mélanie Bernier, Jade Labeste
Directed by
Patrice Leconte
A Tale of Love and Desire - 3.40pm Sunday 5th June

A Tale of Love and Desire

Ahmed (the remarkable Sami Outalbali, Sex Education) is a talented 18-year-old Algerian from the outer Parisian suburbs, who has received a grant to study literature at the prestigious Sorbonne. Though the same city, it’s a disorientingly-foreign world for the conservative Ahmed, and he is rattled by the discovery of a rich canon of ancient, erotic Arabic texts in his new surroundings, works in which he recognises a reflection of his own secret yearnings.

Ahmed has been struck by the beautiful Farah (magnetic discovery Zbeida Belhajamor), a vibrant Tunisian student who exudes curiosity and has fully embraced the freedoms and opportunity of studying in a new city. Ahmed is both overwhelmed with desire and afraid to surrender to his impulses…

Intelligent and engaging with its themes of identity, courtship and romantic expectations, Bouzid’s thoughtful and surprising fable of young love is a romance with a difference, celebrating passion and curiosity, culture and desire.

Release Date:
Sunday, 5 June 2022
Starring
Sami Outalbali, Zbeida Belhajamor
Directed by
Leyla Bouzid
The Young Lovers - 6pm Sunday 5th June

The Young Lovers

Elegant, retired architect Shauna (a radiant, never-better Ardant, La Belle Epoque) crosses paths with Pierre (Poupaud), a married oncologist in his 40s, who first made an impression on her in a brief meeting over a decade earlier. Both are drawn to each other, and begin a passionate affair. While Pierre’s family life is soon turned upside down - his wife (de France) incredulous at the age difference - Shauna struggles with feelings she thought well-belonged to the past, and the promise of what may remain…

Inspired by real events experienced by the mother of one of Tardieu’s closest friends, the late Sólveig Anspach, this wonderful new film deftly avoids sentimentality, and empathises as equally with those affected by the couple’s unexpected connection as it does with them. Capturing the thrill, guilt and vulnerability of December-May romances, THE YOUNG LOVERS is a hugely moving call to arms to fully appreciate life, no matter society’s preconceptions.

Release Date:
Sunday, 5 June 2022
Starring
Fanny Ardant, Melvil Poupaud, Cécile de France, Florence Loiret Caille
Directed by
Carine Tardieu