The distribution lineup for the online film festival “My French Film Festival (MyFFF),” which will be held from January 19 (Fri.) to February 19 (Mon.), has been announced.
MyFFF is an annual online film festival that allows viewers to watch nearly 30 French films with multiple subtitles that have not yet been released in Japan. This year’s lineup includes 26 films, 9 feature-length films and 14 short films, which will be available in Japan for free, while feature-length films will be charged according to each site’s regulations.
Feature films include the animated film “Canines and Italians, No Thanks! (The Green Perfume), the closing film of the Directors’ Fortnight at the 2022 Cannes International Film Festival, and “The Jungle Monster” based on the novel of the same title by Henry James. Short films include “Woman and Dog,” an early work by Sophie Filiere, who died in 2023.
In addition, the Institut Franco-Japonais de Tokyo Espace Image in Shinjuku, Tokyo, will host a joint project, “Let’s see it on the screen! My French Film Festival 2024” as a joint project. In addition to “Green Perfume,” “Spare Key,” “Nora Inu,” and “Jungle Monster” from the festival lineup, there will be encore screenings of “Ava” and “We,” two popular films from the past festival, and “I Am Beautiful 20 Years Later” and “Woman and Dog” as a memorial to director Sophie Filiere. and “A Woman and Her Dog” will be screened in memory of Sophie Filiere. The schedule can be found on the Institut français website.
Outline of the 14th My French Film Festival
Period : January 19~February 19, 2024
Films to be distributed (in Japan): 8 feature films, 14 short films (including 4 animated films for children)
Line-up release date : January 9, 2024 at 23:00 JST
Fee: Feature films – Paying (fee depends on each site’s rule) / Short films (under 60 minutes) – Free
Official website:www.myfrenchfilmfestival.com
Feature film:
The Spare Key
Fifi / Comedy / 108 min / 2021 / France
Directed by Jeanne Aslan & Paul St. Tirand
Starring Celeste Brunckel, Cantandremer
Nancy, a town in eastern France. Fifi, or Sophie, a 15-year-old girl living in a low-rent house, wants to escape from her troubled family environment. One day as summer approaches, Fifi runs into her old friend Jad, who is leaving for a vacation, and secretly borrows the spare key to her spacious house in the city center. While she is relaxing freely in Judd’s room, Judd’s brother, Stefan, suddenly returns. Stefan does not kick Sophie out, but allows her to come and go as she pleases as a refuge. Sophie’s unexpected summer begins.
The film depicts a young girl’s awakening to life and freedom over the course of one summer. The fresh performances by Celeste Brunkel and Cantandremer in the lead roles are memorable. Jeanne Aslan and Paul Saint-Tirand team up to send us their feature debut, backed by a sense of humor and poetry.
Winner of the Best New Director Award at the San Sebastian International Film Festival.
Trailer:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utCLOliFKlsz
Chien de la casse
Drama / 93min / 2022 / France
Director: Jean-Baptiste Durat
Starring Antony Bajon, Raphael Kenard
A small village in the south of France. Dog and Miralles, childhood friends, spend most of the day hanging out in the streets. Miralles enjoys teasing Dog aggressively and looking down on him, but when Elsa arrives in the village, the balance in their twisted relationship is upset. Dog falls in love and Miralles is tormented by jealousy. Will they be able to grow together and find their true selves by keeping their distance?
This film brings social issues to light through its themes of loneliness and love, and makes us think about what it means to be kind and what it means to be masculine. The outstanding performances of Antony Bajon and Rafael Kenard are sure to captivate you.
Winner of the Audience Award in the International Panorama section at the Montreal Nouveau Cinema Festival.
Trailer:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCMcSQEXAY4
Interdit aux chiens et aux italiens
Animation / 70 min / 2021 / France, Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, Portugal
Director: Alain Uguette
Ugettera, Northern Italy, early 20th century. The Ughetto family, forced to live in poverty by the rise of Fascism, dreams of a better life abroad. The head of the family, Luigi, set out to change the fate of his beloved family, crossing the Alps to start a new life in France… The director, a grandson, takes us back in time and recounts Luigi’s life and family history.
A stop-motion film that delicately depicts the family history of director Alain Uguette, an Italian immigrant, with a touch of humor. A superb story that will move your heart.
Winner of the Grand Prix at the 2023 Tokyo Anime Awards Festival
Winner of the Best Animated Film Award at the 2022 European Film Awards
2022 Annecy International Animated Film Festival, Jury Prize and Cancer Foundation Distribution Prize
La bête dans la jungle
Drama / 103 min / 2022 France, Belgium, Austria
Director: Patrick Cicha
Starring Anaïs Demoustier, Tom Mercier, Beatrice Dalle
A story of love and obsession that evolves as a pair of men and women go in and out of a huge nightclub for 25 years, waiting for a mysterious “event” to happen, from 1979 to 2004, as the club transitions from disco to techno. Eventually, the “event” takes shape, but its shape is far more tragic than imagined. Based on the novel of the same name by Henry James.
A film that pays homage to club culture by freely interpreting Henry James’ novel of the same title. The film appeals to the senses with its depictions of a man and woman fascinated by the night and in pursuit of the absolute something that it encompasses.
Panorama section entry at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AJsXlus6Hc
Le parfum vert
Comedy 101min / 2021 / France, Belgium
Director: Nicolas Palliser
Cast Vincent Lacoste, Sandrine Kiberlai
An actor of the Comédie Française is poisoned in the middle of a performance. Martin, a member of the troupe who witnessed the crime, is not only marked by the police, but also threatened by the mysterious “Green Perfume” organization that may have ordered the murder. With the help of bande dessinée illustrator Claire, Martin and Claire set out to solve the mystery and travel across Europe to foil the plans of the “Green Perfume”.
The latest film by Nicolas Palliser. A multifaceted work that mixes elements of theater and cartoons with spy films, it also evokes the rise of fascism in Europe. The tone, rhythm, and sharpness of the direction are pleasing, and the duo of Vincent Lacoste and Sandrine Kiberlain is hard to take your eyes off.
Closing film of the Directors’ Fortnight at the 2022 Cannes International Film Festival.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e78wNtnZlOw
Le Paradis
Comedy-drama / 83 min / 2021 / Belgium, France
Director: Zeno Graton
Cast: Halil Bengarbia (“Bitter Tears”), Julien de Saint-Jean, Ai Aidara
Joe is a 17-year-old about to be released from a juvenile reformatory. He will be free once the judge releases him from prison, but then he meets a newcomer named William. Joe is torn between his attraction to William and his desire for freedom. What is it that he really wants, freedom from?
Zeno Graton’s feature debut depicts a prison romance between two young men. The film, which views kindness as a form of personal freedom, transcends the boundaries of LGBTQ films to become a more universal work.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HSLb8NVBul
Polaris
Documentary / 78min / 2022
France, Greenland
Director Aninara Vella
Ayat is a skilled captain sailing the Arctic Ocean, distanced from human contact and her past life in France. However, when her sister Leila gives birth to a daughter, the sisters’ lives are transformed. The North Star guides them as they take a new step forward to break away from their family’s negative history.
The film is a moving portrayal of two sisters who are polar opposites, while at the same time highlighting the status of female navigators from a resolute political perspective. What is there when you reach the other side of the divide, both physically and spiritually?
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0604XieSRQ
Rodéo
Road movie / 180min / 2022 / Canada (Invitation film)
Director: Joel Desjardins-Paquette
Starring Maxime Le Flage, Liroux Roy-Lanouette
Serge Jr. leaves his wife after a bitter divorce and sets off on a transcontinental journey with his 9-year-old daughter Lily in the passenger seat of his truck to a town in western Canada where a legendary truck race (rodeo) he and his daughter had dreamed of is to be held. Along the way, Serge becomes acutely aware of the responsibility of his actions as he watches his daughter’s eyes grow increasingly anxious. A poignant and poetic road movie that delves into the mystery of the relationship between father and daughter.
A road movie that crosses Canada, centered on Joel Desjardins-Paquette’s childhood memories of a truck racing event, a rodeo. The film delicately depicts the relationship between a father and daughter who are torn between love and responsibility.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqDLzoPA841
Super bourrés
Comedy / 79 min / 2023 / France
Directed by Bastien Milou
Starring Pierre Gomme, Nina Paulette
It’s the last day of high school. Janus and Sam, who have decided to bring alcohol to their graduation party, ransack the basement of Janus’ father, who died of alcohol poisoning, to find a bottle that looks interesting. Then they find a strange device…
Set in the French countryside, this humorous and warm coming-of-age comedy skillfully depicts the gap between childhood friends as they grow into adults.
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSIKwhDbRZO
A mon seul déir
Drama / 119 min / 2022 / France
Jane b by Agnes V.
Drama / 81 min / 1987 / France
These two films are not available in Japan.
Short
Cålinel
Animation / 15 min / 2022 / France, Belgium
Director: Margo Roumont
When Corinne, now an adult, is cleaning up her old things in her parents’ childhood room, the lid of her sealed memories opens.
This animation approaches the difficult subject of “incest” head-on with care and modesty. R-10
Jeanne Dinde
Fantasy / 23min / 2022 / France
Director: Pauline Ouvrard
Jeanne is 13 years old. Her only friend, a turkey in the garden, repeats to her that growing up is a betrayal. But Jeanne is disturbed by her admiration for her classmate Lorraine. The turkey tries everything to keep her in line.
Through the imaginary friend, the turkey, the film reveals the anxieties of an introverted girl.
La Grande arche
Animation / 11 min / 2022 / France
Director: Camille Autouard
With nearly 70 magnificent works of public art, Paris’ La Defense district is the largest open-air museum in Europe. Sitting at the feet of the giant “Red Spider,” one wonders why one has never noticed it before.
A poetic exchange is created between the director, who gazes at La Defense where his grandmother lived, the sculptures scattered about the area, and a homeless man. A stimulating film that appeals to both the visual and emotional senses.
Des filles et des chiens
Drama / 6 min / 1991 / France
Director: Sophie Filiere
Two girls play their favorite game on the street. Which is better? This one or…?”
This film is emblematic of the new generation of filmmakers who emerged in the early 1990s. Humorous, original, intimate, and poetic, it foreshadows the style of Sophie Filiere’s later films. One of the first films in which actress Sandrine Kiberlain appeared.
La Lute est une fin
Documentary / 27 min / 2022 / France
Director: Arthur Thomas Pavlowsky
June 26, Marseille. In Marseille, boxers from the “Massilia Boxing Association” step into the ring to the cheers of the crowd in the trade union hall.
This documentary portrays a group of boxers who dedicate themselves to boxing in order to protect themselves, overcome stereotypes, and gain freedom from a society infested with gender norms, stereotypes, and discrimination.
Fairplay
Social drama / 17 min / 2022 / France, Switzerland
Director: Zoël Eschbacher
A young boy’s need for recognition, a worker’s desperation to win a mountain, and a senior executive’s belief that he is still in the workforce at the end of his career. The film depicts the lives of three people who are on the verge of being swept away by a competitive society.
This short film is a scathing critique of the supremacy of performance. The three men are depicted as mean-spirited in three different ways, and the film is a stirring commentary on the way modern society pursues success.
Les Grandes vacances
Travels, encounters / 25 min / 2022 / France
Director: Frédéric Roset
Over the weekend, Sarah takes her same-sex partner’s 10-year-old daughter, Hermione, to celebrate her father’s birthday. But the absence of her partner, the girl’s mother, invites questions from those around her.
The bloodless parent-child relationship, which is about to be separated, is laid bare. The film offers a warm look at a family at the mercy of an exemplary sexuality.
Les Grandes vacances
Travels, encounters / 25 min / 2022 / France
Director:Valentine Caddick
Blandine, seeking solitude, decides to spend a summer at a small campsite at the foot of the mountains. However, she cannot escape the noise, the crowds, and the rain. Then she meets a new journalist, Elio, by the lake.
The heroine, played by Blandine Madec, becomes stronger with each failure. A cheerful and tender comedy.
Speed
Comedy / 24min / 2022 / France
Director:Paul Rigoux
Jean is a slow learner at all times. He is anxious and thinks he is not suited for social life. His roommate Alex, on the other hand, is a “speedy” type who lives at a fast pace and believes in aerodynamics and Eurodance. One day, when Alex invites his “speedy” friend Lou over, Jean brings his “slow” friend Caroline to the house.
This is a wry comedy that mixes humor and anxiety to depict the “speed supremacy” that has become a modern-day disease.
Oasis
Youth / 15min / 2022 / Canada (Invitation film)
Director: Justine Martin
Adolescent twins Raphael and Remi. One of them has a disability that prevents him from climbing the ladder to adulthood.
This short documentary film sadly but beautifully depicts the twins’ ability to forget their differences when they are alone together in the wilderness, away from the eyes of society. The pure boys’ honesty in front of the camera is heart-wrenching.
Charbon
Social drama, 20 min.
Director: David Arslanian
Not available in Japan
Lineup for children without dialogue
Deux amis
Animation / 4 min / 2014 / France
Director: Ekaterina Mikeva
Dance, friendship, group, beatbox, movement, hip hop, freestyle, cypher. A lot of different kinds of dance!
Two are friends
Deux amis / Animation / 4 min / 2014 / France
Director: Natalia Schernysheva
A caterpillar and a tadpole. They come from different backgrounds, but they are friends.
Entre deux soeurs
Animation / 7min / 2022 / France
Director: Anne-Sophie Gousset et al.
Sisters share deep bonds and laughter. Sisters are motivated by love. However, these sisters are a little different.
Atomic Chicken
Animation / 7 min / 2023 / France
Director: Thibault Hermeneux et al.
A chicken coop at the foot of a nuclear power plant. One after another, slapstick, messy, up-and-down mayhem ensues.
My French Film Festival 2024
Dates: Thursday, January 25 – Sunday, January 28, 2024
Venue Institut Franco-Japonais de Tokyo Espace Image
Price: 1,100 yen (all seats unreserved, in order of numbered tickets)
Tickets will be on sale at Peatix from 12:00 on 1/17 (Wed.) (Please note that tickets will not be on sale at the box office on the day of the screening.)
Films to be screened
Green Perfume
Spare Key
The Spare Key ・Nora Inu
The Beast of the Jungle
Ava
We.
I’ll be beautiful in 20 years.
A woman and her dog
