MÁLAGA, October 12 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The 29th Malaga French Film Festival will take place from this Friday to October 20 in different spaces in the city and will benefit from an exclusive official section and previews in Spain.

Certainly, with the apoyo and the collaboration of the City of Malaga, this year inaugurated an official section with 12 shows and exclusive presentations, with the presence of French film figures Paul Kircher, Khalil Ben Gharbia and Jimmy Laporal-Trésor, among others.

The feature film which will open this year’s edition is ‘Anatomy of a Fall’ by Justine Triet, a director to whom the festival is paying tribute with a retrospective section looking back on her career.

The director of the French Festival and Festival, Sullivan Benetier, said that “this year, in the concept and image of the festival is the slogan ‘The pantalla of possibilities’ as a form of recoger the experience that occurs in the Movie room”. “The screen is a portal that unites the lives of those who create cinema and those who watch or consume it. But also a mirror, an opportunity to find our own relevant role.”

This year’s programming will take place at the Albéniz Cinema, but at the same time the Ateneo de Málaga and the San Telmo Art School will join as spaces for screening documentaries and other types of cinema.

OFFICIAL SECTION

29FCFM worked throughout last year to select these 12 films through a network with three main contacts: French-speaking production companies, international sellers and Spanish distributors. At the same time, the visit to the Cannes, Angoulême and Cinemania Festivals and the work of viewing more than 250 feature films gave birth to the complete festival program.

“This year, diversity goes beyond stories or representation in films; it is also present in the way opposing ideas and opinions are presented across different film genres,” added Julia Branché, head of the programming of the 29th Malaga French Cinema Festival.

Love is approached in some films in a more recent way; the fall and toxicity of the partner, the loss or its absence, or its permanence in our lives and the problems it causes. The body is another element common to many 29FCFM bands.

“Anatomy of a Fall” is the film (out of competition) with which the French Film Festival will open the Ciné Albéniz theaters to inaugurate its 29th edition. After winning the Palme d’Or at the last edition of the Cannes Film Festival, The festival presents this preview in Andalusia, before its premiere in Spain in December. Director Justine Triet will also star in this year’s festival retrospective session.

“Solo”, directed by Quebecer Sophie Dupuis, is a story about the toxic relationship between two drag queens and which has just won the award for best Canadian film at the Toronto Film Festival. Starring Théodore Pellerin, Félix Maritaud, it is one of the national previews which will take place in the official section.

Added to this is “Les Rascals”, the first film by Jimmy Laporal-Trésor, who will present the film at the festival, and which tells the experience of a group of young immigrants who defend themselves against racism in the Parisian suburbs in 1984.

Also in this category is ‘One Night’, Alex Lutz’s fourth feature film which presents a one-night romantic drama in which a couple experiences a fiery relationship. “Last Dance” is the fourth film that 29FCFM presents exclusively in Spain; directed by Delphine Lehericey with François Berléand and La Ribot.

The rest of the programming is completed by a total of eight Andalusian previews. “Acid,” by Just Philippot, features a fantasy action drama starring Guillaume Canet and Laetitia Dosch in which a family must deal with acid rain following a heatwave.

The lack of resources in the education system and the vocation of the teacher are the central theme of “A serious profession”, the comedy by Thomas Lilti performed by Vincent Lacoste, François Cluzet and Adèle Exarchopoulos.

The famous actress also takes part in another of the films in the official section. This is “The Animal Kingdom”, in which the actress plays alongside Romain Duris and Paul Kircher, and directed by Thomas Cailley in a fantasy genre film in which a wave of mutations gradually transforms certain humans into animals. Kircher will be present at the festival to present this out-of-competition film which will mark the closing of the competition.

Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel are starring in “The Passion of Dodin Bouffant”, directed by Tran Anh Hung, the story of a cook and a famous gourmet who oscillates between unique dishes and a romantic relationship. “Burning Casablanca” stars Fatima Attif and Khansa Batma, who bring to life the passionate love story between ex-rocker Larsen and street rider Rajae.

A more introspective cinema completes the program; the Belgian “Paradise” tells the complexities of desire within a correctional establishment for minors, directed by Zeno Graton, and with Khalil Gharbia, who will be present at the festival as a guest, as well as Julien De Saint-Jean and Eye Haidara.

Finally, “Simple Things”, an archetypal French comedy film in which two men with very different lives wonder which of them is living the one they really want. This film by Eric Besnard was seen by more than 500,000 spectators in France.

In these films, there are also revisions of the past to understand the present, through political issues which once again become a media object, such as the return of a racism very characteristic of the end of the 80s and the beginning of the 90s.

RETROSPECTIVE SECTION, SHORT FILMS AND DOCUMENTARIES

The director who won the Palme d’Or at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, Justine Triet, is the figure chosen by the festival for the retrospective section. In addition to the official preview of Anatomy of a Fall, the Festival offers a review of three feature films by the director and their particular articulation of the difficulties that the figure of women faces in the world; in their professional aspects, their friendships and their relationships. Thus “The Battle of Solferino” will be screened; “Victoria” and “Sibylle”.

On the other hand, the festival, and its commitment to being more eco-responsible, has dedicated the documentary section to climate change and environmental events. In collaboration with ARTE, “Once you know” is visible free of charge at the Ateneo de Málaga, in which director Emmanuel Cappellin analyzes the inevitable collapse of our industrial civilization; “Too hot to work”, where Mikaël Lefrançois carries out a study on the impact of increasing temperatures in the workplace; and finally ‘Low tech’, a documentary film on this ecological approach which fights against ecological excesses in our society, directed by Adrien Bellay.

One more year, the festival also offers its classic in the form of a short film. Two programs with a total of ten short films can be seen at the Center Pompidou Málaga. Likewise, La Térmica collaborates again with the festival, becoming the scene of this year’s farewell party, on Friday October 20.