The seventeenth edition of the Rendez-Vous with French Cinema festival will take place from March 1 – 11 this year, showcased by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and Unifrance Films. Hosted at the Film Society, the IFC Center, and BAMcinématek, Rendez-Vous will feature more than twenty-four French films premiering for the first time in New York City. They include The Intouchables by celebrated French directors André Téchiné, Benoit Jacquot, and Alain Cavalier, as well as Marcel Carné’s Children of Paradise and the beloved Audrey Tautou (Amélie) will present Delicacy on closing night.
This year, Rendez-Vous is also collaborating with Emerging Pictures, featuring films like Delphine Gleize’s Moon Child, Rabah Ameur-Zaïméche’s Smugglers’ Songs, Alain Cavalier’sPater, Laurent Achard’s The Last Screening, Daniel Auteuil’s The Well-Digger’s Daughter, and Mathieu Amalric’s The Screen Illusion. These screenings will include live Q&As with the filmmakers.
Other features of note include a hand-drawn animated film Zarafa, as well as Jean-François Laguionie’s lauded animated tale The Painting.
If you find yourself away from New York during this exciting week and a half, never fear – according to Régine Hatchondo, Executive Director of Unifrance Films, they will be “offering a selection of films in fifty cities throughout the United States,” which will correspond with the festival’s schedule.
For more information, please visit one or more fo the following websites:
www.rendezvouswithfrenchcinema.com
A schedule of screenings can be found below:
OPENING NIGHT
The Intouchables (Intouchables)
Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, 2011, France; 112m
A phenomenon in France, where it shattered box-office records to become the second most successful film of all time, The Intouchables tells the true story of the unlikely friendship between a handicapped white millionaire (François Cluzet) and his unconventional Senegalese caretaker (breakout star Omar Sy). A Weinstein Company release.
*Thurs., March 1, 7:30pm – ATH; *Sun., March 4, 1:05pm – IFC
*In person: Eric Toledano, Olivier Nakache and François Cluzet
CLOSING NIGHT
Delicacy (La Délicatesse)
David and Stéphane Foenkinos, 2011, France, 108 min.
Audrey Tautou returns with this touching portrait of a woman trying to put her life back together after the loss of her husband, including embarking on an unexpected affair with a co-worker. A charming adult fable about starting over. A Cohen Media Group release.
*Sun., March 11, 6pm & 9pm – WRT
*In person: David & Stéphane Foenkinos and Audrey Tautou
17 Girls (17 Filles)
Delphine Coulin and Muriel Coulin, 2011, France, 90 min.
Based on a headline-grabbing incident in the U.S., sisters Delphine and Muriel Coulin’s provocative debut feature follows the fallout in a sleepy French coastal town when a group of teenage girls all decide to become pregnant at the same time. A Strand Releasing film.
*Fri., March 2, 9:15pm – WRT; *Sat., March 3, 9:30pm – IFC; *Sun., March 4, 1pm – WRT
*In person: Delphine and Muriel Coulin
18 Years Old and Rising (J’aime Regarder les Filles)
Fred Louf, 2011, France, 92 min.
As France prepares for a presidential election that will determine the fate of François Mitterand, a young man from the provinces falls head over heels for a bourgeois girl from Paris in this charming and inventive spin on a classic tale of first love.
Mon., March 5, 6pm – IFC; *Sat., March 10, 3:45pm – WRT
*In person: Frédéric Louf
38 Witnesses (38 Témoins)
Lucas Belvaux, 2012, France/Belgium, 104 min.
A woman is brutally murdered in front of an apartment building, but all of the residents claim to have seen and heard nothing in this taut, haunting thriller from RAPT director Lucas Belvaux. Inspired by New York’s infamous 1964 Kitty Genovese case.
Fri., March 2, 7pm – IFC; Sat., March 10, 6:15pm – WRT; Sun., March 11, 1:30pm – 
WRT
Americano
Mathieu Demy, 2011, France, 105 min.
When thirty-something Martin (played by actor-writer-director Mathieu Demy) travels from Paris to Los Angeles to settle his estranged mother’s estate, the journey dredges up long-submerged emotions…and unexpected revelations about a woman he hardly knew. Salma Hayek and Geraldine Chaplin co-star. An MPI release.
*Sat., March 3, 6:30pm – WRT; *Sun., March 4, 6:45pm – IFC; *Tues., March 6, 7:30pm – BAM
In person: Mathieu Demy
Special CENTERPIECE Screening!
Children of Paradise (Les Enfants du Paradis)
Marcel Carné, 1945, France, 163 min.
At last year’s Cannes Film Festival, one of the most eagerly awaited events was the unveiling of Pathé’s newly restored version of Children of Paradise, one of the best-loved masterworks of French cinema and our special Centerpiece at this year’s Rendez-vous. In 1830s Paris, theatrical mime Baptiste (the amazing Jean-Louis Barrault) falls in love with an actress and notorious woman about town, Garance (Arletty, enough said); when she’s falsely accused of a crime, Garance must seek the protection of one of her 
admirers. Yet Baptiste’s passion, once kindled, never really dies. Made in the last years of the War,Children boasted the largest set ever constructed for a French film, a tour-de-force for legendary production designer Alexander Trauner (who worked in secret because of the occupation) and a sparkling script from acclaimed poet and screenwriter Jacques Prévert. Carné moves the action effortlessly between stage and audience, teeming streets and intimate boudoirs, bringing the world of these characters to pulsing, vibrant life. A Janus Films release, opening on March 9th at Film Forum.
*Wed., March 7, 7pm – WRT
In person: Positif editor Michel Ciment
Farewell to the Queen (Les Adieux à la Reine)
Benoit Jacquot, 2012, France, 97 min.
A brilliant snapshot of the final days of Marie Antoinette, starring a terrific Diane Kruger as the ill-fated Queen and rising star Léa Seydoux (MIDNIGHT IN PARIS) as her quietly ambitious lady-in-waiting. This was the Opening Night Film, 2012 Berlin Film Festival.
*Fri., March 2, 6:30pm – WRT; *Sat., March 3, 1:30pm – WRT; *Sat., March 3, 7pm – IFC; *Sun., March 4, 6pm – BAM
*In person: Benoit Jacquot
Free Men (Les Hommes Libres)
Ismael Ferroukhi, 2011, France, 99 min.
During the German Occupation of France, an Algerian black marketeer (A Prophet star 
Tahar Rahim) is coerced into spying on the denizens of the Paris Grand Mosque, whereupon he discovers a clandestine operation to provide North African Jews with fake Muslim IDs. A Film Movement release.
Fri., March 2, 1pm – WRT; *Sat., March 3, 9:15pm – WRT; *Sun., March 4, 4pm – IFC
*In person: Ismael Ferroukhi and Tahar Rahim.
A Gang Story (Les Lyonnais)
Olivier Marchal, 2011, France, 102 min.
Based on the autobiography of a real crime boss, A Gang Story follows aging ex-gangster Momon (Gérard Lanvin) as he agrees to break his old partner (Tchéky Karyo) out of prison. A solid return to the gangster genre—in the French style, of course! A Weinstein Company release.
Sat., March 3, 4:45pm – IFC; Thurs., March 8, 8:45pm – WRT; Fri., March 9, 4pm – WRT
Guilty (Présumé Coupable)
Vincent Garenq, 2011, France, 102 min.
A breathtaking, fact-based journey into a Kafka-esque judicial nightmare: a provincial court bailiff (the extraordinary Philippe Torreton) is accused of horrifying crimes against children. Imprisoned, he maintains his innocence, even as his reputation and family life are destroyed.
Mon., March 5, 6:15pm – WRT; Tues., March 6, 1:30pm – WRT; Thurs., March 8, 
10:25pm – IFC
Headwinds (Des Vents Contraires)
Jalil Lespert, 2011, France, 91 min.
Benoît Magimel (The Piano Teacher) gives perhaps his greatest performance as a struggling writer who tries to start a new life in the coastal Brittany of his youth after his wife (Audrey Tatou) mysteriously vanishes. He is joined by an all-star cast, including Isabelle Carré, Bouli Lanners and Aurore Clement. Based on Oliver Adam’s best-selling novel.
Tues., March 6, 6pm – IFC; Thurs., March 8, 4pm – WRT; Fri., March 9, 6:15pm – WRT
Here Below (Ici-Bas)
Jean-Pierre Denis, 2012, France, 100 min.
The brief, tempestuous relationship between a nun and a priest working for the French Resistance is the focus of director Denis’s taut, suspenseful look at closing months of WWII and the transformation of private passion into national politics.
Sat., March 3, 4:15pm – WRT; Sun., March 4, 9:30pm – IFC; Wed., March 7, 4:40pm – WRT
The Last Screening (La Dernière Séance)
Laurent Achard, 2011, France, 81 min.
Cinema Paradisio meets Psycho in a provocative genre film about the dutiful manager/projectionist (Pascal Cervo) of a repertory cinema in the French provinces…and the many secrets he holds.
*Tues., March 6, 8:30pm – WRT; *Thurs., March 8, 6pm – IFC; *Sat., March 10, 1:30pm – WRT
*In person: Laurent Achard, Pascal Cervo and producer Sylvie Pialat
Louise Wimmer
Cyril Mennegun, 2011, France, 80 min.
In a tough, unapologetic work of social realism, director Mennegun observes the daily life of a middle-aged chambermaid (the riveting Corinne Masiero) who lives out of her car while desperately trying to make a fresh start.
Sat., March 3, 3pm – IFC; Mon., March 5, 2pm – WRT; Tues., March 6, 6:15pm – WRT
Low Life
Nicolas Klotz and Elisabeth Perceval, 2011, France, 120 min.
By Jake Flanagin
