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At the 16th opening of the Francophone Film Festival of Angoulême, scheduled to run until Sunday, August 27, a solemn inauguration took place on Tuesday, August 22. It was in tribute to the iconic New Wave director, Jean-Luc Godard, a dual citizen of France and Switzerland, who tragically passed away nearly a year prior. To commemorate the occasion, a poignant excerpt from his film, Le mépris (Contempt), released in 1963 and featuring stars Brigitte Bardot and Michel Piccoli, was showcased. This homage holds particular resonance this year, as Swiss cinema is prominently highlighted.
Dominique Besnehard, the esteemed co-founder of the Angoulême Francophone Film Festival, stated, “For 16 years, Marie-France Brière and I have served as conduits for our fervent devotion to cinema.” Moments before the opening ceremony commenced, the organizers announced that all cinema venues within the city had reached full occupancy.
The jury president, Laetitia Casta, was also duly celebrated through a cinematic retrospective of her most pivotal roles, eliciting her heartfelt appreciation before the gathered audience. Furthermore, she was bestowed with the honor of becoming a distinguished citizen of the city.
Inaugurating the festival was La Petite (The Little One) a poignant dramedy delving into surrogacy, directed by Guillaume Nicloux and starring the venerable Fabrice Luchini. Among the cinematic contenders, eight originate from France and seven are the culminations of female directors’ endeavors.
It is imperative to note the inclusion of films previously unveiled at the Cannes Film Festival in May, as well as an eagerly-anticipated non-competitive feature: the thriller Visions by Yann Gozlan, which follows the resounding success of Boîte noire (Black Box).
With AFP.
