The New Orleans French Film Festival in One Minute Bursts

February 10, 2020 Peter Buffo

We examine art of the trailer before the festival starts on February 27.

New Orleans, La. (Feb. 10, 2020) –– Tickets for the 23rd annual New Orleans French Film Festival are on sale now, but what to see? The festival runs from February 27 to March 4 at the Prytania Theatre, but the films don't come with the usual hype because they're in French. In total, the festival brings together 12 narrative and eight documentary features alongside one documentary short film, and they will all be screened in their original French-language with English subtitles.

So what's playing?

OPENING NIGHT FILM: SIBYL

Notable quote from the trailer: “I’m in a positive place. I’m completely obsessed by my book.”

Trailer in one sentence: Intensity goes nose to nose with the objectification of characters living in fiction.

LA VEILLE

La Veille / Cajun and Creole (trailers) from Marshall Woodworth Films on Vimeo.

Notable quote: “The language ain’t doing well. I really hope it all works out.”

In one sentence: French is butchered as two men try to dredge up the last remnants of a dead horse.

VARDA BY AGNÈS

Notable quote from the trailer: “What you shoot indicates what you will do with it.”

Trailer in one sentence: Reflection in the face of when the sidewalk ends.

CELEBRATION

Saturday, February 29, 12 p.m, Dir. Olivier Meyrou | France | 2018 | 74min. | Documentary

Notable quote from the trailer: “*Background buzzing*”

In one sentence: A portrait of Yves Saint Laurent painted with a horror aesthetic.

MATTHIAS & MAXIME

Notable quote from the trailer: “That film meant nothing to me! I didn’t even wanna do it!”

Trailer in a sentence: Friendships & running & closeups.

CHILDREN OF PARADISE / LES ENFANTS DU PARADIS

Friday, February 28, 2:15 p.m, Dir. Marcel Carné | France | 1945 | 190min. | Narrative

Notable quote from the trailer: “Murderer!”

In a sentence: Old and up to you to find the gold.

ON A MAGICAL NIGHT / CHAMBRE 212

Friday, February 28, 8:15 p.m, Dir. Christophe Honoré | 2019 | France | 86min. | Narrative

Notable quote from the trailer: “This video may be inappropriate for some users.”

In a sentence: Sex, French, and a piano-did I mention French?

CHINCHINETTE: THE ACCIDENTAL SPY

Saturday, February 29, 2 p.m, Dir. Nicola Hens | Germany, France | 2019 | 86min. | Documentary

Notable quote from the trailer: “My sister Stephanie was deported.”

In one sentence: Ex-French Resistance fighter tells people of today to be engaged and not to accept attacks on the conscience.

YOUNG AHMED / LE JEUNE AHMED

Saturday, February 29, 4:30pm, Dir. Luc Dardenne, Jean-Pierre Dardenne | France, Belgium | 2019 | 84min. | Narrative

Notable quote from the trailer: Ahmed!

In one sentence: A precocious Muslim boy is caught in a crossfire between fundamentalism and secularism.

DEERSKIN / LE DAIM

Saturday, February 29, 8:30pm, Dir. Quentin Dupieux | France | 2019 | 77min. | Narrative

Notable quote: “Just cool? You took a good look, right?”

In one sentence: Gore finds its way into a French take on tropes-Americana and selfie-culture.

THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG / LES PARAPLUIES DE CHERBOURG

Sunday, March 1, 10 a.m. + Wednesday, March 4, 10 a.m., Dir. Jacques Demy | France, West Germany | 1964 | 95min. | Narrative

Notable quote: [Music]

Trailer in one sentence: Music meets movie as man stares woman in the eyes.

MR. KLEIN

Sunday, March 1, 12 p.m. + Monday, March 2, 12 p.m., Dir. Joseph Losey | France, Italy | 1976 | 123min. | Narrative

Notable quote from the trailer: “So someone with the same name...a Jew...took off and left you with his problem.”

Trailer in one sentence: In Occupied France, a man’s identity is questioned by the Occupying Authority.

FINDING CAJUN

Sunday, March 1, 3 p.m., Dir. Nathan Rabalais | USA, Canada | 2019 | 60min. | Documentary

Notable quote from the trailer: “And the commercialization of the Cajun ‘brand’”

Trailer in one sentence: An outsider perspective with a French lens.

SINK OR SWIM / LE GRAND BAIN

Sunday, March 1, 7:45pm, Dir. Gilles Lellouche | Belgium, France | 2019 | 121min. | Documentary

Notable quote from the trailer: “I don’t have my running gear with me.”

Trailer in one sentence: Middle-aged men montage as synchronized swimming meets French comedy.

AND THE BIRDS RAINED DOWN / IL PLEUVAIT DES OISEAUX

Monday, March 2, 5 p.m., Dir. Louise Archambault | Canada | 2019 | 127min. | Narrative

Notable quote from the trailer: “I wonder who I’d be if I had just stayed here.”

Trailer in one sentence: Looks like a cute tale for those who like stories about the circle of life.

HOUSE OF CARDIN

Tuesday, March 3, 5:15pm, Dir. P. David Ebersole, Todd Hughes | USA | 2019 | 97min. | Documentary

Notable quote from the trailer: “He has a total, global, imperial vision.”

The trailer in one sentence: Helvetica abounds as an older gentleman is called modern while he professes his disgust for mixing water and wine.

BY THE GRACE OF GOD / GRACE À DIEU

Tuesday, March 3, 7:30pm, Dir. François Ozon | France, Belgium | 2019 | 137min. | Narrative

Notable quote from the trailer: “Contact des enfants.”

The trailer in one sentence: Maybe I’m the reflexive one, but without reading the subtitles I’m gonna guess that the slow piano music leads to a revelation that a clergy member got inappropriate.

A BROTHER’S LOVE / LA FEMME DE MON FRÈRE

Wednesday, March 4, 5 p.m., Dir. Monia Chokri | Canada | 2019 | 117min. | Narrative

Notable quote from the trailer: “Karim, mindless sex gets boring.”

The trailer in one sentence: La Femme De Mon Frere looks like a French take on 70’s aesthetic with topical undertones.

MISSISSIPPI RAMBLIN’

MISSISSIPPI RAMBLIN - NICOLAS FINET - THE TRAILER from MEDIASHAKE on Vimeo.

INTENTION

Intention - Trailer from Honest Art Productions on Vimeo.

Visit https://www.neworleansfilmsociety.org to see the full lineup, schedule, and to purchase festival passes.