Discoveries from France World Cinema

An innocent woman falls prey to her abusive husband, his wealthy father and a shady family friend.

Saint Charles County, Missouri, December 1863. Edmond, a prosperous French perfume merchant, decides to flee to a safer place when the storms of the American Civil War start knocking at his door, threatening the life and fortune of his family.

A few stories about marriage and its problems. Antoine is about to marry Gisèle. His friend Julien, an established bachelor, desperately tries to convince him not to do it, recounting his own painful experiences.

Jonathan is in love with Julie, the most beautiful girl of his school... However, Julie doesn't even know him. He becomes friend with Charles, Julie's brother. One day, he sneaks in Julie's room to steal her diary. Back home, he finds in the diary a drawn heart, with the quote "I love Jonathan"... Back to his new friend Charles' home, he realizes that the diary belongs to Charles, himself...

A married man who killed the wife of his best friend during a tryst feels compelled to turn himself in.

In Paris, the emotional and professional tribulations of a musician and his roommate. Freshly installed in Paris, David, a shy and clumsy musician, falls madly in love with his student, Julia. He tries everything to seduce her. His roommate, Anne, encourages, advises, and consoles... passionately!

Good Boys Use Condoms is a short story of a man changing condoms when changing sexual partner. It is from a series of short erotic films promoting condoms. These films were made for French TV.

A series of 3 shortfilms, shot for Canal+ and broadcasted during Cannes Film Festival 2005, starring Eva Herzigova.

Monique is dying of cancer, lying in bed in the apartment above the store her family owns. Her philandering husband carries on with life, her son remains aloof, and her daughter-in-law wonders if she is witnessing her own decline. They all struggle to express, or feel, their love for one another.

The happiness of a newly-married couple, Henry and Jeannie Saint Clair, is shattered when the husband is made a paralytic in an automobile accident. The wife still loves him, although he is incapable of any physical love. She is slowly drawn into a short-lived affair with a handsome athlete, Robert Vanier. When the husband learns of the affair, he commits suicide. But the wife cannot forget him and she sends her lover away.

Leslie Konda young talented French footballer spotted in his teens by Didier , a small-scale agent who was able to take under his wing , has signed its first contract striker in a large Spanish club . At the same time, his growing reputation and its origins Botswanga , small, poor state of Central Africa, earned him an invitation by the President of the Republic in person Babimbi Bobo , a football enthusiast, freshly installed in power after a coup military state. Leslie therefore went for the first time in the country of his ancestors accompanied by Didier to be decorated by the President Bobo which quickly turns out, despite his great humanist discourse be a megalomaniac and paranoid dictator under the bad influence of his wife .dropoff window Hardly have they landed Bobo enters into a sordid deal with Didier put pressure on his player so that it plays for the national team : Crocodiles of Botswanga ...

Pierre, in his thirties, is a breeder of dairy cattle. His life revolves around his farm, his veterinarian sister and his parents whose livestock he took over. As the first cases of a zoonotic outbreak are reported in France, Pierre discovers that one of his animals is infected. He cannot cope with the perspective of losing the whole herd. They are everything he has and he will do whatever it takes to save them.

Signed a civil partnership contract for thirteen years, Jérôme and François spoke about their desire of child since the beginning of their relation. After an assault course which led them of the adoption to the co-parenthood, they had almost abandoned all hope of starting a family when they saw, two years ago, a documentary on the surrogate mothers. This day, they took back hope and decided to restart the conquest of their paternity.

Feeling suffocated by a possessive boyfriend, work and suburban life, a young woman starts spending the weekends in her Paris apartment in order to reclaim some of her lost freedom.

Released in 2006, British filmmaker Stephen Frears' "The Queen" dramatizes the brief but intense conflict between Prime Minister Tony Blair and Elizabeth II in 1997, following the death of Princess Diana. The documentary underlines the film's boldness. By taking the living royal family as its subject, it breaks a taboo in British cinema and reveals a deeply human queen. Blending freedom of tone with documentary rigor, it offers a lesson in how fiction can serve historical truth.

After separating from the father of her son, a young French woman tries to find lodging and a fresh start in L.A. for herself and her son.

Dida Diafat plays himself in this story based around his thai boxing career.

A beautiful, cultured Parisian nurse working in a backwards French region, ends up falling in love with a seemingly crass farmer. She finds out that he actually is very intelligent, and she tries to help him to study again.

A couple’s verbal sparring intensifies with shoving, punching and wrestling, escalating to the point where their frequent fighting sessions become real love battles…

David, a professor of dermatology, has been treating 13-year-old Romain since he was a baby. Afflicted with a rare skin condition, Romain must avoid sunlight and is condemned to live in the shade. David and Romain have become the closest of friends and nothing can separate them. But then David learns that he is about to be transferred to another clinic in another town. How will he be able to break the news to Romain? And how will Romain cope with this new crisis in his life?

A Greek soldier leads the fight against an invading Persian army.

The notorious and mysterious criminal Furax steals France's famous monuments, replacing them with replicas.

Bénédicte, a famous opera singer, leads the life of a diva between Parisian palaces and social gatherings. After an evening of excess, she sees her career crumble. Fatou, also a palace regular but as a cleaning lady, is the only one to reach out to her. Passionate about singing, Fatou has one idea in mind: to convince Bénédicte to take part in the big national karaoke contest. The perfect vocal mastery of one and the tenacity of the other could well create sparks and take them very far.

At the time of Nero, the Empire is at the height of its power, but Rome, where a million inhabitants live, is afraid of its enemies, of foreigners, of barbarians. Rome is afraid of the Tyrant and of its own power. And all these fears seem to crystallize in that of fire, more than anything else feared in this megalopolis that so often catches fire. In 64 A.D. the most terrible fire that the city has ever known broke out. It is said that it was set on the orders of Nero, in order to overwhelm the Christians who were accused of it. The watchmen, Celer and Theseus, intervene at the risk of their lives. This fictional documentary tells the story of the adventures of these two "firemen" in Rome during the Empire. An astonishing journey through time, the story of the life of men: customs, family, lifestyle, politics, education, leisure.

Tamara has been separated from Diego for two years. She finally leaves home to live the student adventure in Paris with his girlfriend Sam. In a galley apartment, they accept a cohabit with Wagner. Problem: Diego is part of the lot, and he is no more single.

During the summer of 1968, a young French woman staying in an isolated country house reflects upon her involvement in the events of that May.

A woman journalist, Zoe, knows better than to go into a story with her mind already made up. But that's exactly what she does when she heads off to Spain to write about its men and their macho take (as she sees it) on relationships. As she tries to prove her thesis, she soon realizes that she doesn't know as much about the male sex as she thought. She also finds herself involved in relationships with the wrong men.

An Arab surgeon living in Tel Aviv discovers a dark secret about his wife in the aftermath of a suicide bombing.

A composer and a French film star, both of whom are married to others, meet and fall in love while shooting a film in the United States.

Carrying his son on his back, a man travels from place to place looking for a doctor to treat the sick boy. As they journey, the indio father tells the boy stories to keep him distracted. These stories reveal the life of native peoples in Mexico, both in the countryside and in cities, and they shed light on characteristic beliefs and rituals.

Saint Tropez. Julie Wormser and her lover, writer and neighbour Jeff Marle, plan the murder of her wealthy husband Louis, an alcoholic impotent. She hits him, and leaves the rest of the task to Jeff. Julie finds herself alone the following day, and becomes therefore the prime suspect. Where is Louis' body? Where is Jeff? Is there any secret beyond a door?

A married woman, Anne Lambert has a child with her lover. But her lover becomes afraid and refuses to recognize the baby. Very invested in her career, Anne, an architect, decides to raise her child alone.

Tony Curtis, the man who influenced Elvis Presley and James Dean. A sex symbol, a matinee idol, a powerful and magnetic actor, Tony Curtis was the original movie star.

Imprisoned as an accessory to murder, Catherine gives birth to a son she conceived in prison. Eighteen years later, her sentence served, she is reunited with the boy, Simon, who has remained in an orphanage the entire time. She is accompanied by toothsome prison buddy Sarah, and gradually these people whose lives have been frozen in time "thaw" and get on with the business of living.

Three women live together in an old rectory on the seashore. Alda lends her body to a string of carnal relationships but never commits her feelings. Olga, the elder sister, has opted for a reclusive life as the soul of the household. Her daughter, Sigga, is a young adolescent. The house harbors a finely balanced marriage between desire and memory—until Olga’s destiny tips the scales.

Handsome dentist Herve Dandieu, temporarily separated from his delectable new wife Virginie by a lovers' tiff, is picked up by sexy dance teacher Anita Flores. Sensing trouble, Virginie follows him, only to find him circumstantially incriminated in murder. Soon, the dance school has a gorgeous new instructress, whose slightly scatterbrained attempts to clear her husband's name confuse both police and suspects...and bringing potential danger.

Jean Duclos has extraordinary adventures after taking the train and mistakenly taking the luggage of a young dancer, Lola Wanda. An oil tycoon appoints him as a proxy for his future company, and then he marries his beautiful cousin, Suzy.

An Iranian family survives the shah and the ayatollah and moves to France. This story follows the family through it all. Despite the politics, revolution, prison, beatings, assassinations and suicides this is a comedy.

Narcoleptic Finnish naturist as beautiful as Venus is on vacation in Southern France with her husband. She goes for a walk in the field naked and gets lost. A local kid takes her to his village to help her as well as brag to his friends.

In a small town in the West of France, during the German Occupation, a room is requisitioned by a Wehrmacht captain, Werner von Ebrennac. The house where he now stays is inhabited by young Jeanne, who makes a living by giving piano lessons, and by her grandfather. Quite upset, the two "hosts" decide to resist the occupier by never speaking a word to him. Now Werner is a lover of France and its culture, and he tries to persuade them that a rapprochement between Germany and France would be beneficial for the two nations. Quite unexpectedly Jeanne, little by little, falls in love with Werner. At the same time, the Francophile officer loses his illusions, realizing at last that what Nazi Germany actually wants is to thrall France and to stifle its culture...

On April 26, 1986, a 1,000 feet high flame rises into the sky of the Ukraine. The fourth reactor of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant just exploded. A battle begins in which 500,000 men are engaged throughout the Soviet Union to "liquidate" the radioactivity, build the "sarcophagus" of the damaged reactor and save the world from a second explosion that would have destroyed half of Europe. Become a reference film, this documentary combines testimonials and unseen footage, tells for the first time the Battle of Chernobyl.

A son in denial of a serious illness. A mother facing the unbearable. And between them a doctor fighting to do his job and bring them to acceptance. The three of them have one year and four seasons to come together and understand what it means to die while living.

In the city of Lyon, despite the police's best efforts, an elusive assassin is targeting ordinary citizens. They all share one thing in common: suspected of serious crimes, they have all managed to escape justice. In the press and among some of the public, a name is circulating: "The Vigilante." A local police commissioner and a somewhat self-important Parisian profiler, Marie Sainz and Claire Legendre, team up to try and unmask and stop this overconfident killer.

At 33 years old, and after numerous failed attempt to make it as a musician, Chris still lives with his mother. One day he crosses paths with a young missionary in need of a guitarist for his new religious band, he recruits Chris and disguises him as Father Christophe.

Conceived as a reflection on the theme of time at the turn of the millennium, "Dans le noir du temps" functions as a Pandora’s box which hides all the horrors of the world: the last moments of youth, fame, thoughts, memory, love, silence, history, fear, eternity and, of course, cinema.

Michel Piccoli reads the first pages of Victor Hugo's 'Promontoire du songe'. In this text, Hugo describes his sensations when he sees, enlarged 40 times, the Moon through the telescope of the Observatorium of Paris. His visions drive him into a meditation about the relationships in between dream, reality and poetry.

George, a charismatic and adventurous young woman, born from an old, catholic family, falls in love, in her teens, with a female teacher named Sybil. Devastated by her lover's eventual suicide, some years later, George embarks on an exciting and reckless journey to the depths of Pigalle's nightlife, circa 1960. After an encounter with a very wealthy, still attractive, but older woman, Odete, who offers her money and gifts in return for sexual favours, George becomes Gigola, a kind of gigolo for women only.

To overcome their financial problems, Justine, her husband and their whole group of friends organize a fake romantic cruise for Franck, a big investor, who is trying to seduce a woman.

Vincent returns from Rabat, where he has failed to find the childhood home of his father, who left Morocco at independence. On the way to the hospital where his father is dying, Vincent meets Ahmed, a Moroccan student.

On a work assignment in Germany, failed journalist Albin crosses paths with Andreas, a successful writer, and his wife Hélène, who quickly becomes the apple of Albin’s eye. While Andreas is off on a business trip, Albin tries to seduce Hélèn and, eventually, take over Andreas’ life.

Join renowned explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau as he investigates aquatic habitats worldwide, showcasing whales, sharks, and diverse marine life. The film highlights the brutal realities of nature while capturing the wonder of underwater exploration, as the team ventures into previously unseen ocean depths.

Vincent works the night shift on the construction site of a futuristic district. When a worker goes missing, Vincent and his colleagues suspect that their superiors are covering up an accident. But soon another worker disappears.

Edouard and Félix work in a real estate agency. One day, they are threatened with dismissal if they don't manage to sell a very isolated house to an elderly, silver and somewhat unusual Englishwoman. In the house, they discover a corpse. The visit is spent dragging the corpse from room to room, cupboard to chest, so as not to frighten the otherwise impressed buyer. But the corpse disappears. He has to be found before the deed can be signed. The two salesmen become detectives, tracking down the dead man's many female acquaintances. All the seducer's conquests are sifted through, to find the one who left her jewels at the scene of the crime.

A small industrialist from Toulouse, goes to Paris to negotiate the buyout of his company from an American financial group. During his stay, the representative of the large firm calls on a luxury call girl to facilitate their "business".

Maya and her dad, Michel Gondry, live in two different countries. In order to stay in touch, her dad asks her every evening, “Maya, give me a title”. Based on her answer, he creates a short animated reply in which Maya is the hero. Michel Gondry brings to life a poetic and amusing journey that will have the little ones dreaming... and the grown-ups smiling.

Mima and her Italian family live in France. When her grandfather is killed, she discovers that they have a long-running family feud with the mafia.

A mild-mannered banker is forced to masquerade as a notorious gangster and pimp.