On June 21st, an opening ceremony was held in Yurakucho, Tokyo, to mark the start of the French Film Festival 2013, with a distinguished guest list including festival director Nathalie Baye.

The 21st French Film Festival will screen a total of 14 films over three days from June 21st to 24th. The opening film will be François Ozon's "In the House." Also, as a classic screening, the complete digital restoration of Jacques Demy's debut feature film "Lola" (starring Anouk Aimée) will be shown in Japan for the first time.

Guests appearing on stage included Nathalie Baye of "Laurence Anyways," director François Ozon and Ernst Uhn Hauer of "In the House," and the late director of "The Typist!" The cast includes directors Regis Loinsal and Déborah François for "The Last Days of a Mother" (working title), Valeria Sarmint for "General Wellington: The Man Who Defeated Napoleon (working title)," Stéphane Brisé and Hélène Vincent for "The Last Days of a Mother," Catherine Corsini and Raphaël Personnaz for "The Man in the Black Suit," Philippe Beziat and Jean-François Sivadier for "The Making of La Traviata," Guillaume Braque for "The Lost Man (working title)/No Woman (working title)," Jacques Doillon and Lou Doillon for "Your Child," Ludivine Sagnier for "The Day of the Crow," Jean-Christophe Dessin for "The Boy Who Lived in the Woods," and Mathieu Ipoh for the short film collection "The Empty House."

On behalf of the guests, group leader Nathalie gave a speech, saying, "I'm grateful to this film festival for allowing us to introduce the latest French films to my beloved Japan. I hope you all enjoy the films to the fullest over the four days."

From the 1970s to the 1980s, Nathalie appeared in films such as François Truffaut's "Night in America" and "The Green Room," as well as Jean-Luc Godard's "Breathless" and "The Detective." She is considered to be on par with Catherine Deneuve and Isabelle Huppert. This time, a special program featuring "Nathalie Baye" will run from June 21st to July 7th, screening 15 films selected from her works.


[Event Information]
French Film Festival 2013
Venue: Yurakucho Asahi Hall, TOHO Cinemas Nichigeki
Period: June 21st to 24th
Admission: 1,200 yen in advance, 1,500 yen on the day (general admission), 1,200 yen for students

June 21st: "In the House", "The Lost Man (working title) / No Woman in the House (working title)"
June 22nd: "Short Films", "Laurence", "Lola", "Thérèse Desqueroux"
June 23rd: "The Day of the Crow", "Wellington: The Man Who Defeated Napoleon (working title)", "Your Child", "The Man in the Black Suit"
June 24th: "La Traviata", "The Last Days of a Mother", "Populaire", "The Thrill of Love"

編集部