14th French Film Festival in Manila

The 14th French Film Festival in Manila (June 5-14, 2009)

The festival opens on Friday, June 5, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. at the Grand Atrium Level 2 of Shangri-La Plaza

The 62nd Cannes film festival marks a milestone in the history of Philippine cinema as Brillante “Dante” Mendoza becomes the first Filipino to be awarded the “Best Director” prize for his film “Kinatay.” 2009 will also be remembered as the year that saw five Filipino films in the different sections of the festival: “Kinatay” in the Official Competition, “Independencia” by Raya Martin in Un Certain Regard, “Manila” by Adolfo Alix, Jr and Raya Martin in the Special Screening, “Sabongero” by Janice Perez and “Manong Maong” by Aissa Peñafiel and Miguel Ocampo in the Short Film Corner.

In celebration of this event, the 14th French Film Festival in Manila will be held from June 5-14, 2009 at the Shang Cineplex of Shangri-La Plaza. It will feature a retrospective of 14 French films which have been presented at the Cannes film festival, as well as a sneak preview of the Filipino film “Independencia”, which premiered at Cannes earlier this month.

The festival will open on June 5 with the film “Home” by the famous French photographer Yann Arthus Bertrand. Shot entirely from the sky in high definition, “Home” is a documentary about the stunning beauty of our planet and the alarming danger it faces. It will also be the first movie to be released simultaneously on all media (theatre, TV, DVD and Internet) across 5 continents, as part of World Environment Day, which also be celebrated worldwide on June 5 (www.goodplanet.org).

On June 12, Independence Day, the festival will present a sneak preview of “Independencia”. Produced by Arleen Cuevas, the film has received assistance from the French government through the Fonds Sud Cinema, a grant offered by the French Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs.

There will be four screenings each day of the festival. All films are open to the public with free admission on a first-come, first-served basis. The French films that will be screened include François Truffaut’s “Les 400 Coups” (1959), André Téchiné’s “Ma Saison Préférée” (1993), Michael Haneke’s “La Pianiste” (2001) and Benoît Jaquot’s “A tout de suite” (2004). For screening schedules, you may call 633-2277 or visit www.spot.ph.

For Filipino cinephiles who will not be able to attend the Manila screenings, there will also be a French Film Festival in Cebu which will run from June 19-21 at the Ayala Center Cebu. This event will feature many of the same films that will be shown in Manila.

The French Film Festival is organized by the French Embassy to the Philippines, together with CulturesFrance and Alliance Française de Manille, with the generous support of Shangri-La Plaza, the Shang Cineplex, Pioneer Films and Spot.ph. The French Film Festival in Cebu is organized through the efforts of Les Amis de la France and with the cooperation of the Arts Council of Cebu, and Ayala Center Cebu.

The logo of the festival shows the intertwined laurel branch of the Cannes Film Festival and a coconut branch to symbolize the strong cultural ties between France and the Philippines through cinema.