Highlights of the Hong Kong French Film Festival 2024
French Cinema Lovers Alert!
After a successful milestone edition in 2023 marking the 70th Anniversary of the Alliance Française de Hong Kong, the Hong Kong French Film Festival will return from 19 November to 10 December with more than hundred screenings across six cinemas.
Organised by the Alliance Française de Hong Kong, the festival will celebrate its 53rd anniversary this year, making it the oldest film festival in the city with more than 2,000 French films presented in the last five decades.
During the 3-week-festival, local cinephiles will get the chance to watch the best of French cinema, from classic movies to new films which haven’t even been released in France. French talents including actresses, actors and directors will also be present in Hong Kong to meet the local audience.
This year’s selection is divided into three categories:
Festival Exclusives, showcasing around 30 new French films released this Summer or during the coming Autumn and Winter.
Retrospective, paying tribute to directors, actors and actresses who continue to inspire us today.
On Design, presenting films and documentaries exploring fashion, architecture, visual arts and design. This new section is presented as part of the Business of Design Week (BODW), for which France is the guest country this year.
Un P’tit Truc en Plus (A Little Something Extra)
Filiation and father representation
This year’s selection includes several films focusing on the theme of filiation, in particular the father’s figure – devoted, absent or oppressive – and questioning the family structure and renewing its codes.
Dramatic, comic or poetic, the movies explore the realities of life and the different perceptions of fatherhood: Jim’s story (Le roman de Jim), a comedy-drama by the Larrieu brothers, Mikado by Baya Kasmi, A Little Something Extra (Un p’tit truc en plus) by Artus, and The Quiet Son (Jouer avec le feu) by Delphine and Muriel Coulin.
Les femmes au balcon (The Balconnettes)
Women’s empowerment
Feature films, dramas and biopics depict the struggle against patriarchy, the quest for freedom and emancipation from codes.
In the biopic Being Maria, Anamaria Vartolomei plays young actress Maria Schneider traumatised by the filming conditions of The Last Tango in Paris alongside Marlon Brando. The Balconettes (Les femmes au balcon), a horrific comedy by Noémie Merlant, is part of the post MeToo era, tackling head-on the trivialisation of rape.
La Piscine (The Swimming Pool)
Retrospective
In honour of the 40th anniversary of the death of director François Truffaut, icon of the French New Wave, the festival presents a retrospective of ten of his most emblematic films, including The 400 Blows (Les 400 coups), Jules and Jim and Shoot the piano player (Tirez sur le pianiste).
Two films in tribute to Alain Delon will also be screened: The Swimming Pool (La piscine) and Le Samourai.
Finally, Michel Blanc – who came for the festival in 2002 – will also be honoured with a special screening of French Fried Vacation (Les Bronzés font du ski).
Eiffel
Celebrating French art and design
Five documentaries and long features will pay tribute to French art and design, including Martin Bourboulon’s historical drama Eiffel, starring Romain Duris and Emma Mackey, the documentary Colette mon Amour ! which recounts the history of the famous Parisian concept store, and Stéphane Guez’s documentary Charlotte Perriand, Pioneer in the Art of Living, which looks at the career of the iconic architect Charlotte Perriand, who long remained in Le Corbusier’s shadow.
Camille Razat, Franck Dubosc, Mélanie Robert
Guests of honour
French artists will also be present in Hong Kong to meet the audience and participate in post screenings Q&As and master classes in several institutions in Hong Kong.
Franck Dubosc, French director, actor and scriptwriter. He has played and directed several comedies, including Rolling to You (Tout le monde debout) and How to Make a Killing (Un ours dans le Jura), both of which will be screened at the festival. He is also playing in Prodigieuses, also screened.
Antoine Chevrollier, French actor and filmmaker known for directing the series Le Bureau des Légendes and Le Baron Noir. His first film, Block Pass (La pampa), was selected for the Critics’ Week program at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and received the Queer Palm.
Camille Razat, French actress who rose to fame for her role as Camille in the American series Emily in Paris. She stars in the film Prodigieuses alongside Mélanie Robert and Franck Dubosc.
Mélanie Robert, young French actress who appeared in the crime thriller Murder in Burgondy (Dans l’ombre des dunes). Together with Camille Razat, they portray twin sisters in Prodigieuses.
L’Amour Ouf (Beating Hearts)
Culture+ Picks
Beating Hearts (L’amour ouf), just released in France and already a box office hit, is a powerful and dramatic romance featuring a couple at different ages incarnated by 2 pairs of brilliant actors.
The Count of Monte Cristo (Le comte de Monte Cristo), the adaptation of a classic in French literature, which attracted nearly 10 million spectators in France.
The Quiet Son (Jouer avec le feu), starring Vincent Lindon, one of the major actors of French cinema.
Saint Ex, to be released in December in France. It explores part of the life of The Little Prince’s author, Antoine de Saint-Exupery.
Saint Ex
Nightcall (La nuit se traîne), An Ordinary Case (Le fil), and The Good Teacher (Pas de vagues), if you like action movies and thrillers.
Three Friends (Trois amies), a romantic comedy by Emmanuel Mouret who always plays on the registry of the “quiproquo”.
The Perfumed Hill (Black tea), the story of an Ivorian woman who immigrates to China and falls in love with an old Chinese man.
The Flood (Le déluge), a mesmerising Franco-Italian production about the last months of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette portrayed by Guillaume Canet and Mélanie Laurent.
More details about the screenings and ticketing can be found here: www.hkfrenchfilmfestival.com