Discoveries from France World Cinema

While working on a documentary about the city of Bruges, an artistically frustrated filmmaker must deal with the increasing difficulties in his marriage.

A small child, fascinated by a lighter-than-air balloon, clambers aboard. The balloon takes flight, lifting the child upward to an amazing adventure. The land-bound adults have conniptions as the balloon wafts by; the child has nothing more than a great time.

A teenager comes out to her parents by asking them to guess whether she is pregnant or a lesbian.

Mr. Pelletan's rascal son Bébert son got another F for playing in class. His punishment is an essay on the Merovingian king Dagobert. All they know is he had eight wives and reunited Francia. The ignorant knave's irreverent imagination turns that into a harem and a ludicrous war without armies, loaded with anachronisms, in a race against rival king Charibert for the crown of Reims. The king's right hand, archbishop Eloi, the later patrons saint of carpentry, is portrayed as an inventor.

A story of two dogs which can find false money end two mafioso losers. One tries to be a tough guy and the other eats only pizza and listens to zen music, but both are totally terrified by dogs.

Burdened by debt after a long dry spell, actor Marius de Villeduc finds himself forced to accept the lead role in the new film by Richard Favard, a promising actor-director whom he knows nothing about. However, in order to receive his full fee, he must agree to one condition: participate in the preview tour! Alongside Richard, Colette, and Lulu, Marius reluctantly sets off on a chaotic and colorful road trip across France.

The implantation of African traders in Guangzhou is a recent phenomenon, on which Marie Voignier reports through her interlinking portraits of Jackie, Julie, Shanny who have come to set up their business on site. Amidst the monstrous accumulation of merchandise on the endless markets of the megacity, the film follows these African businesswomen grappling with the globalised Chinese economy.

Serge, alias Count Fornari, is hired by a mysterious employer to try to steal the Nabob, an exceptionally valuable diamond that Jeannette, alias Aménita (Perrette Pradier), the companion of a billionaire, wears as a locket. She covets the diamond and steals it from the safe. About to be caught in the act, she keeps it hidden in a handkerchief in her hand and manages to conceal it in Serge's pocket during the hotel ball. When she rejoins the billionaire, he asks her to open her hand, but the diamond is gone. The result is a chase full of misunderstandings and twists and turns between the three protagonists.

A valuable painting has been stolen from an art gallery in Paris.. On a train travelling between Paris and Rome, Zutra, a mysterious and sinister character, tries to find the stolen painting.

A behind-the-scenes look at the of how the Paris Opera is run under the direction of Stephane Lissner.

Clint Ross's skill at fisticuffs earns him the town marshal's job in Cheyenne. Thanks to the string-pulling of political boss Big Bill Harmon, Ross makes it all the way up to the governor's office. But when Ross figures out that Big Bill is a big crook, it's showdown time.

Barnie lives in Calais but works in London. Everyday, he takes the Eurostar to go to his office. Although he is married to Lucie, Barnie has two lovers in London: Margot, a young and fresh advertising executive, and Mark, a hot 35 years old auctioneer. Everything could work out fine like that, until Margot, Mark and Lucie separately offer Barnie the same birthday present: a return ticket to Venice on the Orient-Express, and on the same dates. What will Barnie do? Who will he choose to go with? After thinking that going with Lucie could actually save his marriage, problems are not over: Margot and Mark both show up at Barnie and Lucie's house, pretending to be a couple, and asking Barnie for some explanations. Which he obviously can't give...

Ballet Mécanique is a Dadaist, post-Cubist art film conceived, written, and co-directed by the artist Fernand Léger in collaboration with the filmmaker Dudley Murphy. It has a musical score by the American composer George Antheil.

In a college, three friends form a secret society. Their objective - going to America. One night, after one of their secret meetings, one of them sees a man coming out from a wall. The next day, after he talks about it, he disappears. Then, the second one vanishes. Are they gone to their dreams? That's when the art teacher is murdered. Suspicions now are too high so the third one decides to investigate.

Christel and Christoph have no education, no morals - they are working as servants in wealthy homes in order to clean out their hosts. Having decided to combine their talents and efforts, they are starting to work in the the house of Therions - wealthy bourgeoisie of Mulhouse...

Astolfo, a retired professor evicted from his apartment, decides to move into an old noble but decrepit palace, the last remnant of his family patrimony in a remote village of Abruzzo, where he hasn't been for decades. Soon enough, as a newcomer, he befriends a vagabond, a retired chef and a young handyman. A group of four live harmoniously at his place when he comes across Stefania, a charming and generous woman of his age. Astolfo falls in love and struggles with feelings he thought belonged to the past. Encouraged by his loyal group, Astolfo makes a brave step and learns delightedly that it's never too late to fall in love.

When a pandemic strikes the world, Victor and his family get stuck within a hippie community.

Recently released from prison, Samuel Malakian, a wealthy architect, investigates the disappearance of his daughter, Nathalie, kidnapped by thugs linked to the underworld. When he discovers that she is a prostitute, he will descend into the slums of the city and rub shoulders with these dangerous environments. For him, from now on, all means will be good in order to find the fruit of his entrails.

One hot afternoon in the south of France, several paths are converging towards a tragic conclusion. Those involved are: Stéphane and Luigi, two cousins who have just emerged from adolescence; Georges, a retired old man; Amélie, Luigi’s girlfriend; and Amélie’s mother Anne. Little do they know how their lives, scarred by fear, humiliation and weariness, will become intertwined and propel them to a terrible outcome...

On April 2, 1995, the television channel Canal+ censored the documentary "Pas vu à la télé" (Not Seen on TV), directed by Pierre Carles, which had been commissioned a few weeks earlier by the program director, Alain de Greef. "Pas vu à la télé" was slated to be featured in Canal+'s "TV Day" segment, under the heading "Television, Power, Morality." Carles recounted this censorship in the feature film "Pas vu pas pris" (Not Seen, Not Caught), released in theaters on November 18, 1998. It drew over 160,000 viewers. Eighteen years later, "Pas vu à la télé" remains unaired on French television. As for "Pas vu, pas pris," it has still not been broadcast on French television. However, it has been shown on television in Belgium, Quebec, and Switzerland. Since then, nine billionaires now control more than 80% of the media in France, while eleven of them account for 57% of the television audience.

This film, directed by Dominique GAUTIER, takes the viewer on a worldwide excursion into the history and structure of the Esperanto language, introducing its present-day speakers. The words of these users of the language are reflective of a variety of activities and viewpoints, and in the film they are interwoven so as to reveal bit by bit how the utopia of its initiator, Ludwig ZAMENHOF, is concretised every day.

Alone in a small white house on the edge of national road 1, the Trans-Saharan road, which connects Algiers to Tamanrasset crossing the immensity of the desert, Malika, 74, one day opened her door to the director Hassen Ferhani, who came there to scout with his friend Chawki Amari, journalist at El Watan and author of the story Nationale 1 which relates his journey on this north-south axis of more than 2000 km. The Malika of Amari's novel, which Ferhani admits to having first perceived as a "literary fantasy", suddenly takes on an unsuspected human depth in this environment naturally hostile to man. She lends herself to the film project as she welcomes her clients, with an economy of gestures and words, an impression reinforced by the mystery that surrounds her and the rare elements of her biography which suggest that she is not from the region, that she left the fertile north of Algeria to settle in the desert where she lives with a dog and a cat.

The film concerns the famed 19th century French writer, proto feminist George Sand, in discussion with the new early 1970s feminist movement and a critique of the limitations of her progressivism.

A cinematographer and soundman, Morgan and Cricket, head to a remote Idaho ranch to film the pilot episode of “Spirit Seekers,” a new reality TV show about ghost hunters. When the host dies during filming, the production shuts down. Unbeknownst to the cast and crew, the show’s director planned the host’s death to boost ratings. Dr. Randolf Fairfax (Doug Jones) fears the bloodshed has awoken supernatural spirits that are now hellbent on their own revenge! The crew must try to survive, dodging bullets, ghosts, and scheming television producers (played by Star Trek’s Robert Picardo and Michael Dorn) as they race to find out what is really going on at the end of the road.

Based on a novel by Jean-Claude Izzo, this melancholic movie focuses on three sailors being the last remaining crew members on their ship which is aground in the harbor of Marseille. After the owner has sold the "Aldébaran", only the Lebanese captain Aziz, the Greek Diamantis and the Turk Nelim are stuck on the boat for a lack of prospects. Aziz doesn't want to return to his wife, Diamantis tries to find a girl he left at the age of 20 and Nelim, young and foolish, just wants to have fun...

A violinist passes on to his daughter three rings which represent three passions of his romantic past, and urges her to save each for men who truly deserve one.She squanders them all on one man who is undeserving.

A courageous judge tries to dismantle a drug traffickers ring.

A wayward young man finds himself involved with two mysterious people of a previous generation. After an affair with the married Hélène, the young man tries to escape her obsessions on a road trip with Serge, a taciturn relic of the 60s.

Shakespeare wrote this fantastic comedy in 1594. It features Lysander and Hermia, whose love is thwarted by Hermia's father, who wishes to marry her off to Demetrius, himself loved by Helena. In a magical forest, the couple cross paths with Obéron, king of the elves, who is quarreling with his wife and in possession of love potions.

Documentary on the French comedian, actor, humanitarian and legend Coluche.

Catherine Guérande, a 19-year-old Parisian girl, decides to become a prostitute after a messy love affair. She did not count on Pornotropos, a brutal racketeer who runs the profitable business of model agencies, cabarets, and camping sites, backed by Thanatos, his brother, who runs the mugging and murder side of their business. Pornotropos is not taking it well that a freelancer is around reducing his profits, and he sets his girls to harass and beat her up. Catherine does not take his mistreatment and moves to another brothel. But luck has it that an old man dies in her room, and that he was the owner of a marketing agency. Paul, a young and handsome executive in his company, decides to investigate the shady causes of death of his late boss, and when Paul meets Catherine it's love at first sight.

A government agent tries to prevent foreign spies from obtaining a scientist's formula for a solid-rocket-fuel.

Unaware that they are both involved with Capucine, Henri and Charles debate historical and literary figures in a Parisian bookstore.

In San Luis de la Paz, a small and and very poor town in northern Mexico, the priest Father Victorio manages an orphanage with nearly 50 children. He does wrestling, disguised with a golden mask, to get some money for the children. His dream of reconstruct the town begins to see a light when he is invited to become a professional wrestler

Every summer, Charles Lemoulec, director of an insurance company, takes his family to the Île de Ré. But this year, the vacation is in jeopardy because the family business is facing bankruptcy. To avoid disappointing his loved ones, who are unaware of the situation, Charles decides to swap his residence in Saint Germain en Laye for a superb hacienda in the South of France...

This documentary consists mainly of archive interviews of Jean Cocteau, and it features interesting contributions by Jean Marais and especially Jean-Luc Godard, who discusses Cocteau's foray into cinema. The film documents all the artistic media explored by a man who defined himself, first and foremost, as a poet.

A film in which the director captures the beautiful and accurate qualities of reality when building the energetic portrait of a 16-year-old girl immersed in the macho culture of urban suburban south-west France, just a stone’s throw away from the nearby countryside.

Athanase Pernath is a gem cutter in the Prague ghetto. In spite of himself, he becomes embroiled in the lives of his neighbors. Family feuds, swindles, jealousies and revenge lead Pernath to prison, while the threat of the Golem, a monster created by a rabbi and awakening every thirty-three years, hangs over the city.

At 18, Claire is torn between swim practice and the pangs of first love. The elderly and eccentric Maurice Reverdy takes her in in his big house, but the girl carefully avoids this faraway figure, who is none other than her grandfather. Proud, rebellious, solitary, they represent two generations that are simultaneously attracted to and repelled by one another. Their lives will intertwine, as one seeks out her future and the other is tormented by his past.

In Portugal, during the night of April 24-25, 1974, a peaceful uprising put an end to the last government of the Estado Novo, the authoritarian regime established in 1933 by dictator António de Oliveira Salazar (1889-1970), paving the way for full democracy: a chronicle of the Carnation Revolution.

On a Saturday night during lock down, a group of very good friends go online to share a virtual aperitif. Suddenly, one of them is attacked and kidnapped live by an unknown man in front of his friends who watch helplessly from behind their screens. They soon discover that this mysterious stranger knows all their worst secrets, which he intends to bring to light one after the other.

With a maddening sensuality, the unforgettable actress of the film "A Special Day" embodies the golden age of Italian cinema. From the suburbs of Naples to Hollywood, this biographical documentary looks back at the flamboyant career and destiny of Sophia Loren.

Clement is gay. Alex is gay. They are looking for a new roommate for their big apartment in Paris with only one demand: he must be gay. And they find Leo, a charming student who is in deep trouble to find a place to sleep. Leo will do anything to get that room, whatever it takes.

Maxime and Paulo are two young men in their very early twenties. Maxime is spending his summer holidays with his parents in a camping resort, which he hates, and Paulo is working in the nearest cafeteria. They hope to win a cruise to Bora-Bora by collecting capsules from pop-soda bottles. They are missing only one capsule, which is unfortunately found by Penelope, who works in the local supermarket. Unfortunately, because Penelope is not very attractive. The two boys make Penelope believe that Paulo is going to go on the cruise with her, but Maxime decides to ride along with them, in Penelope's old car, to Marseille, where the ship is leaving from. Actually the two boys plan to steal Penelope's capsule, get rid of her, and go on the cruise together. But, on their way to Marseille, they are going to meet a couple of very strange elderly people, Hermine and Gaspard.

Images and poems of the celebrated couple Louis Aragon and Elsa Triolet. Elsa’s youth as recalled by Aragon, with commentary by Elsa.

A magician conjures up a mermaid while fishing.

Jean has been the conservative mayor of a small town for several years. He intends to run for another term. Edith, his wife, is the paragon of the traditional devoted housewife and mother. So it comes as quite a shock when she tells her husband of forty years that deep down, she has always been... A MAN! Totally blindsided, Jean didn't see this coming. For a politician campaigning on family values, this is too much! But Edith, still the loving wife, make a deal with him: she will postpone her transition and stay a woman until after the elections. But as we know, campaigns are all about digging up dirt to keep the rumor mill turning

Cyrano de Bergerac is in love with his young cousin, Roxane, but does not dare to confess his love to her. It must be said that Cyrano's prominent nasal appendage attracts him constant mockery, which often forces him to defend his honor with weapons. When Roxane reveals to him that she loves the handsome Christian, a cadet of Gascony like Cyrano, the latter undertakes to take him under his protection. But the young man is cruelly lacking in spirit. It is therefore Cyrano who writes love letters to Roxane in her name, in which he expresses the ardent flame he also feels for his cousin. He even helps Christian to marry his beloved in secret. It is only years later and after having been the victim of an attack that Cyrano, on the verge of death, will finally declare his passion for her.

A soulful examination of two defeated middle-aged characters who aren't sure that life holds the possibility of a second act.

A young man becomes enraged when his mother remarries his wealthy uncle after his father dies.

Shadows have followed Harvey Keitel wherever he went, from his blasphematory childhood, to the army and his iconic roles in films such as Scorsese’s Mean Streets and Taxi Driver. Treated as an outcast after being fired from the set of Apocalypse Now, he made a triumphant return with directors such as Tarantino and Jane Campion.

Alix Cléo Roubaud, a photographer, describes her images to Eustache’s son Boris. An “essay in the shape of a hoax”, Eustache’s last film wittily questions the relationship between showing and telling as it gradually shifts Alix’s narration out of sync with what we see.

The quiet Luis commits a robbery. Two of his childhood friends try to help him get away with it.

When Valérie's husband Yves confesses he's in love with another woman, she happens into a judo club and begins lessons. She likes it, she's a natural, and she's attracted to Bruno, the quiet instructor. He likes her as well, but sees social class as a barrier, and Yves never seems to be too far away. Valérie's two close friends have their own stories: Annette is continuously looking for a husband, with little luck. Clara cares more about wealth and power, and takes up with the country's finance minister, an older man who flips for her. Meanwhile, Yves's lover doesn't seem in a hurry to leave her husband, so Valérie looks good to him from time to time. Will Bruno ever make a move?

It was the reign of Louis XV and, in 1750, France was at war all the time, and the people, suffocated by taxes, liked their beloved Louis less and less. When the governor of Dauphiné arrived in Saint-Étienne-de-Saint-Geoirs, he had to deal with opponents of the regime who had gathered around cooper Louis Mandrin. Mandrin becomes the vigilante who respects his king, but does not tolerate the oppression of the poor through taxation.

A documentary directed by Julien Lecat.

Eric and Sarah are detectives who are investigating the murder of a professor which it seems like a gay hate crime. Married Eric becomes attracted to the pathologist, Emmanuel.