French Film Festival returns with 27 titles, highlights film industry ties

THE 29^th French Film Festival will screen 27 films across Metro Manila from Nov. 6 to 30, featuring literary adaptations, historical dramas, feminist narratives, and animation, while highlighting growing cooperation between the French and Philippine film industries.

Organized by the French Embassy in the Philippines and Micronesia, the festival will hold screenings at SM Aura and SM City Manila from Nov. 6 to 15, Alliance Française de Manille from Nov. 7 to 28, and venues participating in QCinema and the Animahenasyon Festival. Heritage films will also be screened at the Cinematheque Centre in Intramuros. Most screenings will be free and subtitled in English.

“The selection of the films for this edition — you said it is the 29^th edition, so we should have at least 29 films, right? Well, it’s expensive. So, I think we’ve turned it down to 27 titles,” said Martin Macalintal, the Cultural and Audiovisual Attaché of the Embassy of France.

PARTNERS
The festival aims to widen access to French cinema through partnerships with local cinemas and film organizations, with two titles also set for commercial release in the Philippines.

“We have found partners who believe in the appeal of French cinema to Filipino audiences,” Mr. Macalintal said, citing QCinema, SM, and Pioneer Films as key partners.

Two festival titles, Le Fantôme de l’Opéra and Moulin, have been acquired by Pioneer Films for commercial release, allowing audiences to watch them beyond the festival.

“That is a big achievement because it means that we can watch French films on a regular screening schedule, not just during the festival,” Mr. Macalintal said.

He said the partnership with SM was particularly important in reaching a broader audience, noting that students lined up for screenings when the festival was first held at SM City Manila last year.

The festival will feature literary adaptations, including Les Misérables, directed by Fred Cavayé, and Le Fantôme de l’Opéra, directed by Alexandre Castagnetti. La Délicatesse, based on the novel by French author David Foenkinos, will also be screened.

Mr. Foenkinos is expected to attend a conference at Alliance Française de Manille on Nov. 26, followed by a special screening and question-and-answer session. The film stars Audrey Tautou, known for Amélie.

HISTORICAL FILMS
Historical films will also take center stage, including the two-part biopic De Gaulle: L’âge de Fer (Résistance) and De Gaulle: J’écris ton nom (Liberté), which follow General Charles de Gaulle’s refusal to accept France’s defeat in 1940 and his efforts to rally resistance against Nazi Germany.

The first film will be screened on Nov. 11 at 1 p.m. at SM City Manila, followed by a lecture and panel discussion at 4 p.m. with professors from Ateneo de Manila University, the University of the Philippines, and De La Salle University, as well as a visiting French academic.

Mr. Macalintal said the event would help Filipino audiences understand a part of World War II history that often receives less attention locally.

“In the Philippines, we know of the Japanese occupation. We know Pearl Harbor, but we don’t know what happened in France,” he said.

The festival will also feature Moulin, directed by László Nemes, which focuses on Jean Moulin, a leader of the French Resistance during World War II.

WOMEN-FOCUSED
Women’s representation and gender equality will be the focus of a Nov. 12 roundtable at SM Aura, featuring the films La Maison des Femmes (A Place for Her) by Mélissa Godet and L’Objet du Délit (Crescendo) by Agnès Jaoui.

Mathilde Séjourné, cooperation and cultural affairs counselor of the French Embassy, said the discussion would address both women’s representation behind the camera and their safety in the workplace.

The discussion will look at “making sure women are represented enough as directors, so through the female gaze, but also that women are safe in the workplace,” she said.

Mr. Macalintal said the festival’s focus on women’s rights forms part of France’s feminist diplomacy.

“In 2024, we even called the French Film Festival a feminist French Film Festival because it is really part of the advocacy of French feminist diplomacy of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” he said. “It really is about promoting gender equality and fighting for women’s rights.”

The roundtable will include Filipino actresses from theater and cinema, members of civil society, and representatives of women’s rights groups, including Gabriela.

FILIPINO FILMS
The festival will also showcase Filipino films that received French funding, including Filipiniana and Magellan, both directed by Lav Diaz. The films received support from Aide aux Cinémas du Monde, a funding program of France’s National Centre for Cinema and the Moving Image. Magellan also received funding from Franco-German audiovisual entity ARTE.

A co-production agreement between France and the Philippines, signed during the Cannes Film Festival last year and effective since September, is expected to open further opportunities for Filipino filmmakers. Projects certified by the Film Development Council of the Philippines and France’s National Centre for Cinema and the Moving Image can qualify as official co-productions and access funding programs in both countries.

“When a Filipino film becomes a French film, it becomes entitled to all the funding tools available in France,” Mr. Macalintal said, adding that the arrangement could improve production values and encourage exchanges between the two cultures.

He cited potential projects involving Filipino filmmakers Brillante Mendoza and Allenberg Ang, as well as an animation project by Puppeteer Studios being produced with a French entity, as possible candidates for official co-production.

The festival will also screen restored Filipino films Jaguar, directed by Lino Brocka, and Ginauhaw Ako, Ginagutom Ako at the Cinematheque Centre in Intramuros. The films were restored in France as part of cooperation between France’s National Centre for Cinema and the Film Development Council of the Philippines on film preservation and archiving.

ANIMATION
Animation remains another focus of the festival, with three French animated films in the program and director Julien Chheng expected to attend special screenings of Mouilly on Nov. 25 and 26.

Ms. Séjourné said the Philippines’ long history of animation work offered another avenue for cooperation between the two countries.

“We, as French Embassy, and with the French government, and especially the Film Development Council of the Philippines, are continuing that cooperation,” she said, referring to French-Filipino animation co-productions and upcoming projects.

Alliance Française de Manille Director Olivier Dintinger said the institution will screen eight films spanning science fiction, political thrillers, animation and romantic comedy, alongside its weekly Cine Club program.

“One of the unique aspects of this festival is that everybody will be able to discover different perspectives,” he said. “It’s an opportunity to broaden our horizons and discover new genres and new perspectives on different topics.” — Almira Louise S. Martinez