DURBAN va bientôt avoir un goût français! No, this is not a typo, just thought I’d start gearing up for a French Film Festival which will kick off at Suncoast cinemas soon.
Translated it reads: Durban is about to get a taste of all things French. And if what Sarah Doignon, the director at Alliance Française de Durban says, is anything to go by, locals are headed for just that.
“The Festival du Film Français is part of a national project being conducted by the French Embassy and Alliance Française. This is the first time we are having a proper French Film Festival in South Africa. These films are intended to give a glimpse into French culture,” she explained.
The festival will run in Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth and Pretoria.
On offer are what Doignon describes as a mix of artistic and underground films that are all of a good quality.
“We’ve tried to show the best of what current French cinema has to offer. But there is also a bridge to South Africa, for example, the closing film is La Vénus Noire (Black Venus), which tells the story of Sara Baartman. It was made under a French director with South African actors. White Material was also shot in Africa,” she elaborated, adding that the festival’s curator, and Cape Town-based respected director, is Oliver Hermanus.
The festival kicks off in Cape Town from February 2 to 4, then comes to Durban from February 3 to 5. Thereafter it moves to Joburg (4 to 6), Port Elizabeth (9 to 11) and Pretoria (10 to 12).
In Durban, day screenings take place at Alliance Française de Durban in Morningside at 2pm and 4.30pm, while night screenings take place at Suncoast cinemas at 7pm.
Before some of the night screenings, brief words will be shared by Hermanus and some French and South African actors from the various films, including local Andre Jacobs, who stars in La Vénus Noire.
Doignon said the project looks set to become an annual feature, with even bigger expectations for next year. “The French government and the French Embassy are organising a French season for South Africa for next year, where over three months different areas including film, music, science and other areas of French culture will be shared with South Africans,” she said.
On offer at this year’s fest are several highly rated films, some of which have won awards at the Cannes Film Festival.
These include Tournée (On Tour), which looks at the journey of a group of striptease dancers as they travel the provinces of France; Le Silence de Lorna (Lorna’s Silence), about two Albanian immigrants who long to set up their own business and along the way get caught up in dodgy dealings; and Des Hommes et des Dieux (Of Gods and Men), in which Albanian villagers find themselves under threat from terrorists and their only hope is a group of monks stationed nearby, but will the monks stick around or leave?
Hermanus is also set to host a three-hour workshop on cinema at the festival.
l For the full screening details and times of screenings visit www.ifas.org.za/filmfestival. For workshop and Durban enquiries call 031 312 9582.