It’s time to get your berets and baguettes out for the 2025 Alliance Francaise Film Festival. Here are my tips for this year.
This year marks the 36th edition of The Alliance Française French Film Festival, the largest celebration of French film outside France. From March 13 to April 16 Perth screens will be showing an eclectic mix of 42 films. Films will also be screened in Bunbury from April 10 to 13.
“We’re excited to introduce Australian audiences not only to the iconic figures of French cinema, but also to a new wave of emerging directors—many of whom are women—who are shaping the future of French filmmaking.” said AF FFF CEO Frédéric Alliod.
“While France is recognised as an avant-garde country in the arts, the festival will explore the real-life stories of prominent French cultural figures—universal and captivating tales of hope, struggles, failures, and extraordinary achievements.”
My tips for this year are:
- Range of genres. I often get stuck on one or two genres, but festivals give you an excuse to explore beyond the usual. This year there’s the usual broad range, from dramas to comedies and biopics of France’s most iconic artists;
- New story tellers. Sure you could stick to the well-known directorial teams by why not check out some of the new generation of French filmmakers;
- The actors. Alternatively you could pick your films based on the tried-and-true actors. I can’t go past Vincent Cassel, I don’t think he’s ever let me down. There’s also Charlotte Gainsbourg, Laure Calamy and Camille Cottin, Pierre Niney and Louis Garrel to name a few;
- Opening Night. The opening film is usually a good bet. This year it’s biography Monsieur Aznavour about the well-loved entertainer some of us grew up with. The film sold nearly 2 million tickets at the French box office so I’d say it’s worth a look;
- Lucky Winners. A black comedy showing interweaving stories about four people who win big. But what if their dreams turn into nightmares and fortunes become burdens? Marriages are tested, friendships sour, and buried secrets are revealed, forcing the winners to question whether life really is better after the jackpot;
- The Count of Monte Cristo. This film sold close to 10 million tickets in France. Set in Marseille, 1815, the dreams of principled young sailor Edmond Dantès are about to come true; promoted to ship’s captain, he can finally marry the love of his life, Mercédès. But his success inspires jealousy… betrayed by his rivals, Dantès is denounced as a member of a pro-Napoleon conspiracy and incarcerated without trial in an isolated prison. After years of solitude, Dantès befriends the inmate in the adjacent cell, Abbé Faria, who reveals the location of a hidden treasure on the island of Monte Cristo. An extraordinary plan is hatched to exact revenge on the three men who wronged him;
- The Scammers. Is it bad luck to rob a dead man if everyone wins? On one of Brittany’s smaller isles, best friends Jean-Jean and Henri find their quiet, ordinary life disrupted when a local claims the “hyper million” national lottery. Convinced they can rub shoulders, and euros, with the winner, the two set out, only to find that luck is already on their side – the local has died with the winning ticket in his hand! Armed with a spark of ingenuity and more than a bit of bad improvisation, Jean-Jean and Henri settle on a foolproof plan: a lottery scam with the whole village on side. What could go wrong?;
- The Stolen Painting. Inspired by true events, the film follows a self-assured auctioneer whose professional and personal integrity is challenged by the discovery of a long-lost masterpiece, a painting by Egon Schiele, long assumed destroyed by Nazi officials during WWII;
- Others. Some others that sound interesting are: Riviera Revenge, Beating Hearts, The Story of Souleymane and Holy Cow;
- Tickets. As always, buy your tickets early as the key films will sell out fast.
For more information go to Luna cinemas.
