Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Richmond Announce the 18th Annual French Film Festival

By Brian Eckert and Mike Porter

The 18th annual French Film Festival will present an outstanding selection of feature films and short films, including several North American premieres. 

This year’s festival takes place March 25 through March 28 at the historic Byrd Theatre, 2908 W. Cary St., in Richmond.

Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Richmond  are presenting this year’s festival, which includes12 feature films from award-winning French directors and 12 short films, all of which will be presented by their directors or actors. The festival seeks out the latest French films that best illustrate the diversity and richness of today’s French cinema. All films are subtitled in English and most are North American premieres.

The goal of the festival is to introduce the American public to French films and to provide the audience with an opportunity to engage the actors and directors in a question-and-answer session following each film.

This year, actress Josiane Balasko will lead a delegation of 45 actors and directors. Officials from the French Embassy, including Pierre Vimont, French ambassador to the United States, will be present.   

The March 25 opening of this year’s French Film Festival takes place on the last day of the James River Film Festival. This bridging of the festivals allows organizers to jointly present the screening of “Marching Band” by French filmmaker Claude Miller. Miller, directors Héléna Cotinier and Pierre-Nicolas Durand and producer Annie Miller spent the fall of 2008 filming band members at Virginia State University and the University of Virginia.

“Virginia is a wonderful state in which to make films. The Virginia Film Office, the James River Film Festival and the French Film Festival are promoting Thursday night’s joint presentation of ‘Marching Band’ as a way to celebrate the talent and resources available in the commonwealth to make films here, even for foreign directors to do so,” said Peter Kirkpatrick, Ph.D., French Film Festival co-founder and co-director.

On March 26, director Gérard Krawczyk; Alain Besse and Rip Hampton O’Neill, experts from the Commission Supérieure Technique (CST); and CST President Pierre-William Glenn will lead a master class in the latest technology in 3D filmmaking. The new technology will premiere in the United States in a short film shown at the French Film Festival.

The French Film Festival has had great success in attracting a large and diverse audience. Last year, admissions were estimated at a record 22,000, making this the largest French film festival in the United States. The audience includes foreign dignitaries, students, teachers, film enthusiasts, families and art aficionados. Some audience members travel from as far as Oregon, California and Texas.

This year’s festival is sponsored by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Unifrance, L’ARP (French Guild of Authors, Directors and Producers), the CNC, the CST, and the SACD (Society of Dramatic Actors and Composers), Paris film school La Femis, DigImage, and Laser Video Subtitling. Style Weekly magazine is the official media sponsor of the festival.

Visit www.frenchfilm.vcu.edu for the 2010 festival schedule and a synopsis of each film.

EDITORS NOTE: For photographs or interviews before or during the festival, please contact Peter or Françoise Ravaux-Kirkpatrick at 804-827-FILM (3456).