Brisbane International Film Festival 2022 will be in cinemas from 27 October. Read on to discover 11 films that are either in French, in French and other languages, or are from France and the Francophonie but not in French.
FILMS IN FRENCH AT BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2022
COUNTRY: France
LANGUAGE: French
DIRECTOR: Michel Hazanavicius
This super fun remake of the Japanese cult hit zombie comedy One Cut of the Dead, makes you fabulously uncomfortable and as the cleverness of this film starts to appear, you realise you are witnessing a really good comedy about making a pretty average zombie flick.
In an abandoned building, a low-budget zombie horror film is falling apart on set. The abusive director is already pushing the cast and crew to the brink with his obnoxious behaviour when he reveals his plan to inject energy and excitement into the project: unlocking a real-life ancient zombie curse. In a frenetic one-shot where body parts and fluids are flying, the actors fight the undead and their director for their lives before the film comes to a shocking conclusion and the credits roll… but is that the whole story?
LANGUAGE: French with English subtitles
DIRECTOR: Quentin Dupieux
CAST : Alain Chabat, Anaïs Demoustier, Benoît Magimel, Léa Drucker
GENRE » Comedy, Drama, Sci Fi, Time travel
French Director and Cult favourite Quentin Dupieux has created this delightful and endlessly surprising comedy. This goofy- time travel comedy is for lovers of the downright silly, and If a mechanical penis isn’t wickedly funny enough, then we don’t know what is.
Alain and Marie move to a quiet suburb. There’s something in the basement that may well change their lives forever. So begins a rabbit hole of a journey with all the trademark ridiculousness of Dupieux’s previous successes Mandibles, Deerskin and Rubber. The less you know going into a Dupieux film, the more rewarding the experience
LANGUAGE: French with English subtitles
DIRECTOR: Isaki Lacuesta
CAST: Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Noémie Merlant, Quim Gutiérrez, Natalia de Molina, Alba Guilera, C. Tangana
GENRE: Drama
Exploring the consequences and interconnections of one night in Paris this insightful drama features two stars of contemporary French cinema: Noémie Merlant and Nahuel Pérez Biscayart.
Ramón and Céline are a young couple that attended a concert at the Bataclan theatre in Paris on the fateful night of November 13, 2015. They survive the attack, but when they leave the theatre, they are no longer the same.Each tries to cope with the aftermath as best they can. Céline desperately tries to leave the events behind her, clinging to her previous life, while Ramón repeatedly goes back to that night, trying to remember and understand what happened. Nonetheless, they both face the same key question: how to reconnect and move on together?
LANGUAGE: French with English subtitles
DIRECTOR: Mikhaël Hers
CAST: Charlotte Gainsbourg, Emmanuelle Béart, Megan Northam, Noée Abita, Quito Rayon Richter
GENRE: Drama
Charlotte Gainsbourg shines in her touching performance of this optimistic drama.
Set in Paris the warm, drama follows the aftermath of life changing events that leaves the family without financial support.
On election night in 1981, there is an air of hope and change throughout Paris. But for Elisabeth, (Charlotte Gainsbourg) her marriage is coming to an end, and she will now have to support herself and her two teenage children. Finding work, she encounters a troubled teenager named Talulah whom she invites into her home. With them, Talulah experiences the warmth of a family for the first time and her free spirit has a lasting influence.
BIFF 2022 – multi-lingual films
COUNTRY: Belgium, France, Netherlands
LANGUAGE: Dutch, French
DIRECTOR: Lukas Dhont
Winner of the Grand Prix at Cannes 2022 and the Sydney Film Festival prize 2022, this stunning, evocative film is directed by Lukas Dhont (Girl) and portrays the friendship of two teenagers as they begin high school.
The intense friendship between two thirteen-year-old boys Leo and Remi is suddenly disrupted when they begin school after the summer holidays. Friends from a young age and struggling to understand what has happened, Leo approaches Sophie, Remi’s mother.
A film about friendship and responsibility, Close is highlighted by exceptional central performances and beautiful cinematography.
COUNTRY: Austria
LANGUAGES: English, French, German, Hungarian
DIRECTOR: Marie Kreutzer
Vicky Krieps (Phantom Thread, Bergman Island) is luminous in this period drama portraying the elegant trailblazer and royal leading lady: Empress Elisabeth of Austria.
Empress Elisabeth of Austria is idolised for her beauty and renowned for inspiring fashion trends. But in 1877, ‘Sissi’ celebrates her 40th birthday and must fight to maintain her public image by lacing her corset tighter and tighter. While Elisabeth’s role has been reduced against her wishes to purely performative, her hunger for knowledge and zest for life makes her more and more restless in Vienna.
With a future of strictly ceremonial duties laid out in front of her, Elisabeth rebels against the hyperbolized image of herself and comes up with a plan to protect her legacy.
COUNTRY: Finland
LANGUAGES: Finnish, French
DIRECTOR: Alli Haapasalo
Following three friends over three Fridays, Girl Picture is a captivating and authentic coming of age story exploring friendship and sexuality. A festival and critic favourite since debuting at Berlinale 2022.
Best friends Mimmi and Rönkkö have each other’s backs, working together after school and going to parties. Emma has given her whole life to figure skating and nothing gets between her and success. But when the girls meet, new possibilities appear. While Mimmi and Emma experience first love, Rönkkö is on a quest to find a meaningful relationship. Three Fridays is all it takes to turn their worlds upside down.
COUNTRIES: France, Rwanda, USA
LANGUAGES: English, French, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, Swahili
DIRECTORS: Saul Williams, Anisia Uzeyman
CAST: Cheryl Isheja, Bertrand Ninteretse, Eliane Umuhire, Elvis Ngabo, Rebecca Mucyo, Trésor Niyongabo, Eric Ngangare, Cecile Kayiregawa, Natasha Muziramakenga, Ekaterina Baker
GENRES: Drama, Musical, Science Fiction
A fiercely ambitious, radically experimental Afrofuturist musical that transcends space, time and gender from visionary poet and musician Saul Williams and acclaimed filmmaker Anisia Uzeyman.
A group of escaped coltan miners form an anti-colonialist computer hacker collective and attempt a takeover of the authoritarian regime exploiting the region’s natural resources – and its people – from their camp in an otherworldly e-waste dump in the hilltops of Burundi. Set between states of being – past and present, dream and waking life, colonised and free, male and female, memory and prescience – Neptune Frost is an invigorating and empowering direct download to the cerebral cortex and a call to reclaim technology for progressive political ends.
The discreet charm of the Bourgeoisie
LANGUAGE: French, Latin with English subtitles, Spanish
DIRECTOR: Luis Buñuel
CAST: Fernando Rey, Paul Frankeur, Delphine Seyrig, Bulle Ogier
GENRE: Comedy
Luis Buñuel’s 1972 surreal, hilarious and deranging social satire on the hypocrisy of the upper-class has been restored in stunning 4K for its 50th Anniversary.
A group of friends make repeated attempts to dine together, but are constantly frustrated by bizarre interruptions, including a series of dreams. Relive the flamboyance, absurdity, and dinner party chaos of the Academy Award Winner for Foreign Language Film in this spectacular digital restoration.
COUNTRIES: Belgium, France, Israel, Luxembourg, Netherlands
LANGUAGES: English, French
DIRECTOR: Ari Folman
CAST: Ruby Stokes, Emily Carey
GENRE: Animation, Family
From the lauded director Ari Folman (Waltz With Bashir) comes an enchanting, big-hearted and visually wonderful, animated reimagining of Anne Frank’s story. Bringing to life Anne’s imaginary friend, Kitty.
Where is Anne Frank? begins with a miracle: Kitty, the imaginary friend to whom Anne Frank wrote in her famous diary, comes to life in present-day Amsterdam. Unaware that 75 years have gone by, Kitty is convinced that if she is alive, then Anne must be alive too. The film tells the story of Kitty’s quest across contemporary Europe to find her beloved friend.
BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2022– FILMS FROM FRANCE NOT IN FRENCH
COUNTRIES: Belgium, France, Germany, South Korea
LANGUAGE: Korean with English subtitles
DIRECTOR: Davy Chau
CAST: Ji-Min Park, Oh Kwang-rok, Kim Sun-young, Guka Han
GENRE: Drama
A rich, profound journey of discovery told over ten years about a woman torn between two countries and seeking knowledge of her birth family. A brilliant central performance highlights this poignant South Korean drama.
Twenty-five-year-old Freddie deviates from a short holiday in Japan and decides to fly to Seoul. South Korea was her birthplace before she was adopted and raised in France. Upon her arrival Freddie begins a cautious search for her birth parents but she is torn between a yearning to find them, and feelings of rejection. Over nearly a decade, we follow her as she contends with her identity crisis – a journey filled with humour and emotion.
Countries: France, Morocco
LANGUAGE: Arabic with English subtitles
DIRECTOR: Maryam Touzani
CAST: Lubna Azabal, Saleh Bakri, Ayoub Missoiui
GENRE: Drama
A poignant, moving story selected for Cannes’ Un Certain Regard and Toronto, featuring superb performances and an evocative setting.
Mina (Lubna Azabal) and her husband Halim (Saleh Bakri) run a small business making and selling bespoke caftans in one of Morocco’s oldest medinas. Halim is a master of his trade, and Mina a canny saleswoman, though their wares don’t come cheap and traditional dress is falling out of favour. Woven with exquisite care, Maryam Touzani’s Cannes Un Certain Regard winning drama reveals a beautiful love triangle in a small Moroccan town. Touzani explores a complex marriage with tenderness and grace in a sincere and superbly performed film that unfolds in unexpected and heartening ways.
KEY INFO FOR BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2022
WHAT: Brisbane International Film Festival 2022 (BIFF 2022)
WHEN: 27 October – 6 November 2022
WHERE: cinemas and venues across Brisbane: Brisbane Powerhouse, New Farm cinemas, Reading cinema Newmarket, Dendy Portside, Dendy Coorparoo, Australian Cinémathèque, and Elizabeth Picture Theatre
HOW: Purchase tickets via the website www.biff.com.au
HOW MUCH:
Individual ticket prices are:
$18 for adults; and
$15 for concession card holders
Multiple ticket passes:
BIFF TIX 10 pack $150
BIFF TIX 20 pack $250
BIFF TIX Concession 6 pack (for students and concession card holders) $78
Which films are you going to see at Brisbane International Film Festival 2022?
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