The Cesar Awards for those of you who do not know, are the equivalent of the Academy Awards in France and for French cinema. This year there are a few films that have made it to the States that have been nominated for one award or another. One is L'Arnacoeur, or Heartbreaker, a comedy where Romain Duris was nominated for Best Actor. Best Supporting Actor and Actress categories also have nominations for this as well. This was an amusing film and well done for its genre, but I am surprised that it was nominated. One excellent film that was nominated in a number of categories including Best Adaptation, Best Direction, and Best Film was The Ghost Writer adapted and directed by Roman Polanski. I am surprised an English-language film was nominated in this category, but Polanski is a French citizen, and the film was made in Europe despite its being set in New England. (Polanski can't travel to the United States because his charges of sex with a minor in 1977 in the US still stand).
Tete de Turc mentioned in my last post, was nominated for in the Best First Film category. In the Best Actress category, Catherine Deneuve was nominated for Francois Ozon's much acclaimed Potiche which I am sure will eventually be distributed in the United States. Kristin Scott Thomas who works more and more in French film, was also nominated for Best Actress. She lost in 2009 for her role in I've Loved You So Long, for which I thought she should have won. Catherine Deneuve has won the Cesar twice for Truffaut's masterpiece, Le Dernier Metro and for Indochine, another excellent film. Isabelle Carre another nominee, also won in 2003 for Se souvenir des Belles Choses (another great film), so I hope Thomas has a chance this year. Lastly, in my last post, I spoke of the film, Bus Palladium. Well, one of the young actors in it has been nominated for "Best Male Hope" (Meilleur Espoir Masculin), so I guess my picks from the French online film festival were good ones since they were nominated for Cesar Awards.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
My French Film Festival
This past week, I have been spending more time at my computer at home. No, not to do work thank goodness, but to watch French films streaming to my computer at My French Film Festival:
http://www.myfrenchfilmfestival.com/en/
It is organized by uniFrance (the organization that bring French film to foreign countries: http://en.unifrance.org/), and there are 10 feature films in competition fore best film prizes in a number of categories which include an prize awarded by an official jury of from the international, a prize voted for by film goers, and a jury of foreign bloggers. The films are very diverse in their subjects from comedies like Maiwenn's Le Bal des Actrices to dramas such as Pascal Elbe's Tete de Turc and Christopher Thompson's Bus Palladium. Many films are from first-time directors such as Maiwenn, Elbe, and Thompson who are all French actors. So far, my vote for the best film is Elbe's Tete de Turc. This gripping drama sensitively depicts some of the issues facing multicultural and multiracial France, but also is very humanistic in its depictions of family relationships. It is very reasonable to watch a film which is $2.63, but you can buy a package of all 10 films for $13.65. There is also a package to watch the shorts film selection as well. Subtitles in the language you choose are included. Except with some technical issues with streaming to my Internet service provider's server, this has been a good experience, and I have had access to some some really good French films I might not have been able to see otherwise.
http://www.myfrenchfilmfestival.com/en/
It is organized by uniFrance (the organization that bring French film to foreign countries: http://en.unifrance.org/), and there are 10 feature films in competition fore best film prizes in a number of categories which include an prize awarded by an official jury of from the international, a prize voted for by film goers, and a jury of foreign bloggers. The films are very diverse in their subjects from comedies like Maiwenn's Le Bal des Actrices to dramas such as Pascal Elbe's Tete de Turc and Christopher Thompson's Bus Palladium. Many films are from first-time directors such as Maiwenn, Elbe, and Thompson who are all French actors. So far, my vote for the best film is Elbe's Tete de Turc. This gripping drama sensitively depicts some of the issues facing multicultural and multiracial France, but also is very humanistic in its depictions of family relationships. It is very reasonable to watch a film which is $2.63, but you can buy a package of all 10 films for $13.65. There is also a package to watch the shorts film selection as well. Subtitles in the language you choose are included. Except with some technical issues with streaming to my Internet service provider's server, this has been a good experience, and I have had access to some some really good French films I might not have been able to see otherwise.
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