Second Rendezvous with French Cinema from December 2

As IFFI 2009 got under way to a colourful start in Goa, the metropolis is readying itself for a similar cinematic treat in the French film festival commencing December 2.

The five-day fest--'2nd Rendezvous with French Cinema in India', organised by Embassy of France in India and Unifrance, will be held in the city till December 6.  In all, eight French movies would be screened at Fun Cinemas, Andheri which recently hosted the Mumbai Film Festival.

The special highlight of the festival would be screening of 'New Wave' director Jean Luc Jean-Luc Godard’s classic Pierrot le fou. It is a 1965 film directed by Jean-Luc Godard, starring Anna Karina and Jean-Paul Belmondo. The film is based on Obsession, a novel by Lionel White. It was Jean-Luc Godard's tenth feature movie.

The print of 'Pierrot..' has been restored by La Cinematheque française and StudioCanal, presented by Cultures France.

The other movies which will be screened at the festival are: Female Agents (Les femmes de l’ombre), A Prophet (Un prophète), Mutants (Mutants), High Lane (Vertige), Regrets (Les Regrets), Paris and The First Day of the Rest of Your Life (Les Premier Jour du reste de ta vie).  Each film will be presented by their respective cast or filmmakers.

Filmmakers-- Jean-Paul Salome of Female Agents, David Morley of  Mutants, Cédric Kahn of Regrets, Cedric Klapisch of  Paris, Abel Ferry of High Lane, Remi Bezançon of 'The First Day of the Rest of Your Life'and actors--Déborah François ( Female Agents and The First Day of the Rest of Your Life) Hélène de Fougerolles (Mutants), Fanny Valette (High Lane),Tahar Rahim (A Prophet) will attend the festival.

Also, Cedric Klapisch will be the guest of the students for a master class on ‘On Set with French Cinema’ on December 3 at Whistling Woods.

Commenting on the strength of this year's selection, Unifrance said, "The film selection, mixing works from renowned filmmakers with films from promising new talents, offers a large panorama of contemporary French cinema. Its ambition is to seduce, move, provoke, surprise and thrill moviegoers that are increasingly open to foreign films."