2017 IFI FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL OPENS NOV 15TH!

November 15th 2017: The Irish Film Institute’s 18th annual IFI French Film Festival opens tonight with a sold-out gala screening of Claire Denis’ Let The Sunshine In starring Juliette Binoche. Ireland’s largest French cultural event will run over the next twelve days until Sunday 26th, showcasing 19 Irish premières, and welcoming guests Agnès Jaoui, Léa Mysius, and this year’s Cannes Grand Prix winner Robin Campillo.

Highlights of this year’s festival include Campillo’s 120 BPM (Beats Per Minute), the November 20th screening of which will be followed by a Q&A with the director, hosted by GCN’s Brian Finnegan; Faces Places, the new documentary from veteran director Angès Varda and street artist JR; Happy End, which sees director Michael Haneke reunite with Isabelle Huppert and Jean-Louis Trintignant; the return of Oscar-winner Michel Hazanavicius with his affectionate and irreverent ode to Jean-Luc Godard, Redoubtable; veteran director Philippe Garrel’s Lover for a Day, plus a retrospective of master director, Jean-Pierre Melville.

French superstar Agnès Jaoui will attend the festival to present Aurora, Blandine Lenoir’s joyous comedy about a woman facing the menopause and impending grandmotherhood; she will participate in a Q&A, moderated by Newstalk’s Orla Barry, following the 18.30 screening this Friday. Jaoui will also give a masterclass this Saturday, the 18th, in conversation with director Rebecca Daly, organised in conjunction with Screen Training Ireland, before introducing a sold-out screening of her Oscar-nominated hit The Taste of Others later that afternoon.

Writer-director Léa Mysius will participate in a Q&A, hosted by IADT’s Maeve Connolly, following Sunday’s screening of her début feature Ava, the story of a young girl’s last holiday before she loses her sight; the screenings of Ava will be preceded by Mysius’s short Thunderbirds (Les Oiseaux-tonnerre). Mysius will also introduce a screening of Arnaud Desplechin’s Ismael’s Ghosts starring Mathieu Amalric, which she co-wrote.

To celebrate the centenary of the birth of auteur Jean-Pierre Melville, we are delighted to present four features, plus a rare screening of his only short film, during the festival. Best known for his ultra-cool, austere, mesmerising exploration of the human psyche, Melville’s influence has been considerable on the work of Jim Jarmusch, Michael Mann, Quentin Tarantino and John Woo. Screenings will include the 1949 classic The Silence of the Sea, preceded by his short 24 Hours in the Life of a Clown, Bob the Gambler, Léon Morin, Priest, and Army of Shadows, starring Simone Signoret.

Other films screening during the festival include Cannes Caméra d’Or winner Jeune Femme starring Laetitia Dosch, Gauguin starring Vincent Cassel, The Price of Success starring Tahar Rahim, Robert Guédiguian’s ensemble drama The House by the Sea, Mathieu Amalric’s Prix Jean Vigo-winning Barbara, Stéphane Brizé’s critically acclaimed A Woman’s Life, immigrant drama A Season in France, and Hubert Charuel’s psychological thriller Bloody Milk.

The festival will also include a family screening of Lola Doillon’s emotive World War II drama, Fanny’s Journey, on Sunday 26th.

Tickets for the IFI French Film Festival are now on sale from the IFI Box Office on 01-6793477 and in person. Multi-ticket packages are also available for 5 and 10 films, only from the IFI Box Office – terms and conditions apply.

For further information, interview availability, and high-res images, please contact Stephen Boylan (sboylan@irishfilm.ie) or Michelle McDonagh (mmcdonagh@irishfilm.ie) at the IFI Press Office – (01) 6795744.

The IFI French Film Festival is supported by Airbus, Air France, CRH, Brooks Hotel, The Irish Times, RTÉ Supporting the Arts, Europa Cinemas, Unifrance, Institut Français, and the Embassy of France in Ireland.

IFI is principally funded by the Arts Council.

FULL SCHEDULE:

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15TH
20.00 Let the Sunshine In (Un Beau soleil intérieur)

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 16TH
16.20 The Price of Success (Le Prix du succès)
18.30 Endangered Species (Espèces menacées)
20.40 Redoubtable (Le Redoutable)

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 17TH
15.50 Félicité
18.30 Aurora (Aurore) + Q&A with actress Agnès Jaoui
20.50 The House by the Sea (La Villa)

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 18TH
13.00 Agnès Jaoui Masterclass
13.30 The Silence of the Sea (Le Silence de la mer)
15.00 The Taste of Others (Le Goût des autres)
15.45 120 BPM (Beats Per Minute) (120 Battements par minute)
18.40 Lover for a Day (L’Amant d’un jour)
20.30 Just to be Sure (Ôtez-moi d’un doute)

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 19TH
13.00 Bob the Gambler (Bob le Flambeur)
13.10 The House by the Sea (La Villa)
15.30 Redoubtable (Le Redoutable)
17.40 Ava + Q&A with director Léa Mysius
20.40 Ismael’s Ghosts (Les Fantômes d’Ismaël)

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 20TH
18.15 The Paris Opera (L’Opéra)
19.30 120 BPM (Beats Per Minute) (120 BPM Battements par minute) + Q&A with director Robin Campillo
20.30 Aurora (Aurore)

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 21ST
18.20 Faces Places (Visages, villages)
20.20 A Season in France (Une Saison en France)

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 22ND
16.15 Ava
18.30 The Price of Success (Le Prix du succès)
20.30 Happy End

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 23RD
16.00 Gauguin (Gauguin – Voyage de Tahiti)
18.10 Félicité
20.40 120 BPM (Beats Per Minute) (120 BPM Battements par minute)

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 24TH
16.30 Lover for a Day (L’Amant d’un jour)
18.20 A Woman’s Life (Une vie)
20.45 Ismael’s Ghosts (Les Fantômes d’Ismaël)