Meet Frédéric Alliod, head of the Alliance Française French Film Festival

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A few weeks ago we met Frédéric Alliod, CEO of the Alliance Française French Film Festival and the Audiovisual Attaché at the Embassy of France in Australia. We chat to him about lots of things. He explains what the role of Audiovisual Attaché comprises, why he doesn’t have the Artistic Director of the Alliance Française French Film Festival title, his experience working for the Embassy of France in Asia, and, of course, his selections for the Alliance Française French Film Festival ! Read our long interview with Frédéric Alliod to discover all this and more.

Frédéric, you have two titles: you’re the Audiovisual Attaché for the Embassy of France in Australia as well as the CEO of the Alliance Française French Film Festival now that it has become a not-for-profit association. What does the Audiovisual Attaché job entail?

A position as Audiovisual Attaché is my official job. So technically, I’m an agent of the French Embassy and that’s how I’m assigned to Australia. So there’s a whole network of audiovisual attachés around the world who are in charge of cooperation in the audiovisual sector, which includes cinema. But in fact, all screens, television, new media, video games and virtual reality are covered from different angles.

There is a clearly commercial angle, which is to create cooperation between France and the country of assignment. This could involve trade agreements, encouraging the export of French content or, on the contrary, finding content from the country of assignment, in this case Australia, that might be of interest to the French market.

So it works in both directions.

It works both ways. It’s a cooperation, it’s always a two-way relationship. It can mean promoting co-productions, for example between France and Australia. In other words, giving local audiences the chance to discover French works that are not officially distributed by anyone in Australia. This is to some extent also the idea of the festival, although in this case we work closely with Australian distributors.

And it can also be about training, exchanges, expertise and university cooperation. There’s a whole range of things that can be developed. To be honest, I don’t really do it in Australia, I’ve done it in other countries for the Ministry of Business (le ministère des Affaires). I come from the private sector.

Yes. I saw that on your LinkedIn – I did my research!

That’s right. This is my fourth country, I think, for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But otherwise, I’ve also worked a lot in the private sector. And here, specifically, even though I have the status of village chief, I’m assigned full-time to managing the festival. So that means managing the festival as well as the new entity that’s been created.

I’ve been running it for about a year now, and as you rightly said, it’s a not-for-profit organisation. So we have premises and I’m doing a lot of governance and management to develop this company and make it viable. And to ensure that we grow and perhaps develop new activities in the long term. It’s still fairly new.

But once everything has been sorted out, perhaps I’ll put on my Embassy Attaché hat more often to develop cooperative ventures. I’m already discussing projects with universities, particularly in the animation and documentary sectors.

So, for example, with universities, it’s so that students learn French methods or about French directors, things like that?

Yes. Take the animation sector, for example. You have professions that are more technical and others that are a little more artistic. Creativity isn’t just about talent. Talent is only a small part of it. It’s a lot of work and it’s also a lot of questions about culture. So with masterclasses and so on, we can show our work and explain it to the students. So they discover the works and the way we make them, which can be quite different.

For example, the way we tell stories, because in animation, for example, whatever the technique, I have to tell you: the idea is to tell stories. How we tell them, we share with them. It’s also about demonstrating our know-how. Because in an Anglo-Saxon world, or with students who dream of going to Hollywood because there are bridges being built, it’s also an opportunity for us to say ‘look at us, we know how to do it too’. We do things in a slightly different way and there are opportunities with us, which also helps to put the spotlight on our expertise.

And indeed, we are more inclined to work with our masters because they have been able to demonstrate their know-how to us, share it with us and this creates what we also call soft power, which is also a kind of influence that allows us to highlight our know-how and share it with others and then give ourselves the means for cooperation, or even co-production. And once again, it’s a two-way street. In other words, we’re just as likely to send students to Australian schools as we are to have Australian students.

Artistic residencies and things like that?

Yes, so it can either be artists’ residencies when they’re more seasoned, experienced people. Or for students, it can be university exchanges for some, or seeing guests at our festivals, for example in animation, we have the Annecy festival which is the biggest festival and the biggest animation market. So we invite them. Some of us are planning to have Australian students come to Annecy to pitch their projects, because this could potentially be of interest to French producers.

Actually, there isn’t any animation in this year’s Alliance Française French Film Festival programme.

So not in the official programme. We have a parallel programme for schools. Why don’t we have an animated film? Quite simply because there is no Australian distributor who has bought an animated film or a film for a really younger audience because it works a little less well at the box office for them, particularly because of the subtitles.

So under these conditions, we supplement our programming with the acquisition of direct rights, cultural broadcasting rights, which can be a little expensive. In this case, it wasn’t necessarily a lack of programming in general because it’s less our audience, but there was a real demand for screenings, for schools.

So we have two films, one called Sauvage, which is in fact a Franco-Swiss film. It’s a stop-motion film about eco-responsibility and deforestation. So it’s a fairly childish film in terms of production, because it’s stop-motion, but it actually carries a real message. So we thought it would be great for schools and for working with educators. We’re developing educational kits.

Then there’s The Most Precious of Cargos, a film not aimed at young audiences, which we’re actually showing for schools. In fact, it’s officially being shown at another festival. It’s about the Shoah. So for us, it made more sense for the film to be shown at the Jewish International Film Festival. But then we said to ourselves that this film could also have a life with us, with schools because on the one hand, it is the 80ᵉ anniversary of the end of the Second World War and there was some real educational work to be done. So we made the film available for schools too in cooperation with the local representative.

As we mentioned earlier the festival decided to become a not-for-profit association. Why is that? And why now, after so many years of existence?

The festival is growing and has grown a lot in recent years. It’s becoming more professional. And now, this year, we have 20 towns that have this.

Yes, it’s impressive!

In 20 cities. We’re working closely with Australian distributors who are previewing the films with us and who obviously want professional exploitation, professional promotion, because that’s what we also have to offer local professionals. This is what we call publicity in advertising: we put the spotlight on these films, which may also have a life in cinemas or in any case on other platforms. So we have a professional commitment to them.

To manage this development, this growth and these new ambitions, on the one hand we decided to have an entity that would be neutral because it is in fact a collaboration between six Alliances Françaises. This allowed the six Alliances Françaises and the French Embassy as agent to work together, but independently and neutrally. So we have an independent, not-for-profit company.

So the idea is clearly to make this festival better, but not to make a profit for this new entity, even if there are obviously profitability issues for the various stakeholders involved. And then, to coordinate nationally, because each Alliance runs this festival in their town or in their area. But they don’t always have this national vision of national issues. So we had to have this 360-degree global vision, this eagle’s eye view, I would say, and that independently was difficult for an Alliance to manage.

And besides, it’s like the knights of the round table, they’re all equal. So we needed someone who could coordinate all of this neutrally, independently and with the kind of global vision that you don’t always have when you’re in the thick of things.

But does that change your role compared to previous artistic directors? Does it mean that you do a lot of paperwork?

Very clearly, it’s a management and governance role. So yes, there is the artistic direction part that Karine Maurice used to do. But I take care of all the management, all the management of the financial and administrative company side of things. So yes, there are contracts to be drawn up and validated, accounting, and so on. There’s also the fun part, which is the artistic programming, which is where we get to have fun. And then hoping that the audience will enjoy it even more.

And then there’s the more serious part.

This is clearly part of the management and coordination of the national network.

And your role is for three years, like the previous artistic directors?

That’s right, in fact, as I’m employed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. These are renewable two-year assignments. So I’m not far from the end of my first term of contract, which is renewable for a maximum of four years.

So you’re going to do three festivals, maybe four.

I’ll definitely be doing this one! I was here last year, but I was just getting my bearings, starting to restructure, because the entity has been up and running for just over a year. But the Artistic Director and the face of the previous edition was clearly Karine [Mauris], even though I had started to take over the reins. But I also had a lot to learn.

I was recruited on the basis of my expertise, but this is a very big festival, in terms of scale.

The largest outside France.

It’s been designed in a very specific, quite clever way, but it’s very different from what we generally do in the network. So I’ve managed quite a few festivals in other countries around the world, and this is a very special animal that I’ve had to take the time to tame, of course, and that I’m still learning about because I’m still learning every day and it’s a real challenge. But that’s what makes it interesting.

That way, it’s varied. And you don’t get bored.

I don’t have time to get bored.

You have very solid experience in the media, television and multimedia. I saw that you were the Regional Head of Film TV, Radio and New Media for Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam for four and a half years. How did that role help you to programme this festival?

Well, I was the Regional Audiovisual Attaché based in Vietnam. So there’s a real job for a bilateral attaché, which means doing all the things I mentioned in terms of cooperation, cultural dissemination, economic diplomacy and cooperation, university exchanges and so on. So I was able to organise events in Vietnam.

So we had digitised cinemas in Vietnam and in other countries we have what are called Instituts Français. They’re a bit like the Alliances Françaises, except that the Instituts Français are branches of the French Embassy. Whereas the Alliances Françaises are associations governed by local law.

So I was in charge of running the weekly programme and ticket sales. Then there were the events that we organised, smaller events than that, but themed events. I was doing some real programming work in Vietnam, but I was also coordinating regional operations such as artist tours to all the countries I was managing.

In any case, I was coordinating operations in Vietnam, Thailand, Burma, Laos and Cambodia, as well as other cooperation projects with other countries in South-East Asia. I had a counterpart. There were also a lot of training operations, scripts for film projects, co-production workshops and tours.

For example, we worked with the Premiers Plans Festival in Angers. It’s a festival in Angers, France, that specialises in first films. It was interesting to bring over these young directors who had made their first film to explain their work, to meet the local students in the film schools, because not everyone comes to see them in those countries. And they exchange ideas. They would say, ‘You know what? It wasn’t that long ago that I was at school, just like you, and it was my dream to make my first film.’ And they share. So there you have it. It’s all about cooperation, outreach and that sort of thing. So, in terms of programming, yes, it allowed me to find different angles, to be a bit creative sometimes, to have initiatives.

However, this format is quite rigid, because there are a lot of partners involved in this project, and we have issues to deal with, particularly in terms of profitability for our partners, which means that the exercise is quite constrained, as is the freedom that I could have had in other positions where there were fewer financial issues but more issues of outreach. It’s a bit more formatted here, even though it’s still a cultural festival. And that’s what I’m also trying to instil – because that’s what we need to move towards – cooperation with professionals needs to be developed.

We talk about it with schools. I’ve already mentioned the educational film programmes with schools, but also the fact that our films deal with strong themes. And for me, cinema can also be a platform for popularising the debate on ideas. There’s the film, you can discuss the film and the making of the film, but also the subject of the film. So that’s what we do, what we call the debate of ideas. And that’s why I encourage the debate of ideas. In other words, we have strong themes, we can talk about the film, but we can also talk about the subject of the film after the film.

And that’s why I encourage the Alliances Françaises to organise Q&A sessions after the films with experts, people who say I know this subject very well, I’ll talk about it. We talk about it after the film. Discussion panels or various activities where we take up the subject of the film because it’s a social issue. We have some historical subjects this year. We’re looking at our history and sometimes it’s not glorious. But you have to know how to look at your past.

Like the film on the history of Mauritius.

Yes, for example. No chains, no masters. Well, that’s clearly not [glorious]. It’s about slavery, but you have to look at your past. And it’s by looking at the past that you can understand the present and much more contemporary social issues. But we have to talk about them; we deal with them. We can go beyond the film to talk about the idea, because when we present a film, we present the French point of view.

And it’s these other things, this cultural mediation that we can provide as part of the festival also allows us to have a bit more of this intercultural dialogue between France and Australia, which is a game of mirrors. And to say ‘that’s funny because in Australia it’s the same’ or ‘that’s funny because in Australia it’s totally different’. It’s a really interesting discussion and I want the festival to be a platform for that too.

Like last year, we were able to understand how criminal trials work in France with the film Anatomy of a Fall (from outside the festival) and Saint Omer (which was in the festival). It was really interesting to see.

Do you feel there’s a general theme in this year’s programme?

There are sub-themes, there’s no general theme and I don’t want there to be. We have 42 films. And for me, if there is a theme, it’s diversity; it’s the diversity of cinema. So really, for me, it’s a screenshot, a snapshot of the best that France has produced over the past year, in all its creativity, in all its diversity.

Now, when you look at his films, you realise that there are sub-themes. That, on the other hand, is emphasised. Clearly, there are quite a few biopics this year. So it’s a real theme. I love biopics. I always find them very interesting. I don’t believe you need to know the people. If you already know a bit about them, you’ll learn more. If you don’t know them – I didn’t know the American biopics, Harvey Milk, Jimmy Hoffa, but it helped me discover them. And then I loved the films because they’re universal stories, of here we are, of struggles, of hope, of achievement, which will always be inspiring and universal.

Clearly, I have themes on the subject of art and creation, because in biopics, there are quite a few artists. Maurice Ravel, Niki Saint Phalle, and so on. So for me, that’s a theme. There’s a real theme around health, for example, whether it’s the end of life with Costa Gavras’ film about the end of life [Before what comes after/ Le dernier souffle], which is a real subject.

We talk about disability with My Everything, for example, and the family, emancipation for people with disabilities and those affected by it, and so on. I think it’s important to do this. For example, there’s a big theme around youth, education and emancipation, including the emancipation of women. The film is a real subject from many different angles..

So these sub-themes that we put forward actually include quite a lot of films that can fit in, that can tick, several boxes. It’s also difficult because I do have themes that are both a biography –

Yes, for example, there are several films that say they are dramas and comedies. I was wondering, but which one is it?

For me, dramatic comedies are the emblematic genre of French cinema. Because French cinema is quite rooted in reality. Reality is complex, it’s funny, it’s sad sometimes, it’s both at the same time. So when it comes to stories that are rooted in reality, there’s a bit of that and I think that makes for some pretty strong films, and that’s also what makes us special. So it’s entertaining, but it’s not just entertaining and it also says things.

How many films did you watch during the year to choose those for the festival programme?

At least double that, but I didn’t count.

What do you look for when you watch a film to decide whether or not to include it in the programme?

It’s a mix of things really. How was it received in France, did it do well at the box office? There are certain films that very clearly have to be events, real spectacles. And so we’re trying to attract attention with these films that are highlights, obviously, I’m thinking of The Count of Monte Cristo, I’m thinking of Monsieur Aznavour, which are mass-market, big-budget films that have done very well in cinemas. So we need that to attract attention.

Then, indeed, a diversity of genres, not just comedies, a sort of balance, looking at, as I said, the subjects of the films. Do the films deal with subjects that I think are interesting to talk about and that might resonate with Australia and open up a dialogue? So I try to have a sort of mix. There’s a mix, a balance to this film. And then, quite simply, is the film good? And it’s not necessarily films I like.

Yes, on that, another question I had was this: are there any films that you didn’t like but that you programmed (without saying their names)? Films that you personally don’t really like, but you thought that audiences would like them.

Indeed. So we don’t make our choices for ourselves, we try to put ourselves in the audience’s shoes. What do they like about France? Does knowing how to play with clichés sometimes mean that people like gastronomy, beautiful landscapes and so on? Precisely to get away from these clichés by saying ‘we’re going to show you something else’ because I think it’s important to see this face of France and then to say is this story going to create a mirror effect? Will it shake up the local audience, but in a good way? Because if it’s just going to provoke, there’s no point. Or will it start a discussion? And from time to time to say that I may not be the audience, but it might be interesting.

I’ll give you an example. I had a long discussion with an Australian distributor about a film I saw at Cannes called Ma vie, Ma gueule (This Life of Mine). I saw it at Cannes Un Certain Regard and it caused quite a stir. It’s a Sophie Fillières film starring Agnès Jaoui, who is incredible in it. First of all, I’m very intrigued by the character in the film. And then I have to admit, at a certain point I don’t understand where it’s going. I find it hard to understand.

And as much as I admire Agnès Jaoui’s performance in the film, after a while it just doesn’t speak to me anymore. And yet, I’m talking to other female viewers, particularly those in Australia who have seen it. They say to me, “Don’t you understand Frédéric? This film is about me, a woman in her fifties going through menopause. The children are leaving. So yes, it’s not clearly stated, but what she’s feeling, what I see on the screen, I feel it, it speaks to me.” And I’m not going through this phase of life. So it doesn’t speak to me. On the other hand, I’ve heard and I understand why everyone was talking so much about it. And I said very clearly, this film is not for me, but that’s precisely why it’s interesting.

It’s because it didn’t speak to me that I didn’t understand it, and that’s why we need to show it. We need to do something with it and discuss it. Hence the importance, once again, of these discussions, which enable us to understand and provide certain keys that I didn’t have. And I think that’s important, because if I’ve missed out on an important subject, then we need to do something about it.

If there were only films that you liked and that spoke to you, it would be a different festival.

Absolutely. On the other hand, there are films I didn’t select which are thrillers. I was hooked. I love thrillers, but I felt that they weren’t necessarily our audience. So there’s no point in forcing things just because it pleases me. I’m here to please the audience, or sometimes, once again, to challenge them a little. That’s part of the mission, without provoking.

But I can also make mistakes. So there you go, we’ll see. And I accept the fact that I’m human and that I can make mistakes in my choices, and that I hope the public will like them. Really, the idea is not to go against the grain. Once again, I don’t just want to please, I want to propose things that can challenge, right? And then I hope that this, as we say in French, la mayonnaise va prendre (the mayonnaise will hold). The ingredients are there. It’s a magic, an alchemy that happens or doesn’t happen. And then, I hope it will, it will take well. But there may also be films that don’t find their audience, and that’s that. Out of 42 films, I can’t have everything right either.

Of course. Karine Mauris had said sometimes that she had programmed things, that she knew it wasn’t for the general public, but there was a part of the public that would appreciate it. So it’s not always a case of packed cinemas.

No, in fact, it can’t just be profit-oriented, it has to be a cultural event, so it has to say things. There are clearly films like this. I don’t expect the public to flock to see it. On the other hand, those who do go and see it, I think they’ll find interesting things about French culture, French society, and all the subjects we’ve been talking about. And it’s also a chance to be surprised. We bring people in with films that are clearly appealing, but while they’re there, we’ll say “if you like it, try this. It may not be as easy to understand, but it’s still worth a try.”

It’s a cultural experience. And then after that, the audience has free will and free choice, and they decide. And of course we hope there will be an audience, and sometimes the audience will be smaller. But that’s totally assumed, because it has to be done, it has to be a cultural event.

And are there any films that you’re really proud of having acquired and programmed, for example, films that were difficult to obtain screening rights for?

One film I couldn’t have was The Count of Monte Cristo. I’d like to thank Palace Films for working with me, because the film was due to be released later in France. It came out in June. It was the perfect film for Boxing Day. And I couldn’t imagine not having this film, which is really an event in itself. I couldn’t not have it at the festival. So we’re doing a great operation with Palace Films. It’s the Centerpiece. We’re running a great event to showcase it. For me, it was a must-have, and the festival wouldn’t have had the same flavor if I hadn’t had the film.But there were a number of issues at stake, and I made a commitment to showcase the film.

But clearly, the Australian distributor also took a risk. And once again, I thank them for saying “I understand, we’ll do it together”. They could have done it without me. And indeed, it was a real challenge. And that’s where cooperation means that this festival can only be a collective experience based on dialogue and cooperation. It only works with our partners.

Yes, of course. Because sometimes there’s no Australian distributor for the film, so it’s much, much harder to get it out there.

These are films that, if we don’t see them at the festival, we won’t see them any other way. So it’s also sometimes a bit more difficult to make choices where I say, “Here, try something because you won’t have the chance to see it again.” Other films will probably be released in cinemas, but they clearly have great potential beyond the festival, and other films are released with us because, independently, they might be a little more obscure. But they still have the potential to be released, and we wish them a good life after us. But very clearly, we’re putting our feet in the door for the film …

Is it also a way to test the waters? And if it did well at the festival, maybe they’ll release it later.

Yes, indeed. And then there are times, there are subjects, there are films that come as a surprise where, quite clearly, it wasn’t the one we had in mind.

And then, all of a sudden, it explodes. Last year, for example, I found Tran Anh Hung’s Taste of Things very interesting. As I said, I was based in Vietnam, so I know Tran Anh Hung well. These films aren’t the easiest to get into. The funny thing is, you read all the masters’ books, the Hollywood masters, of screenwriting Anatomy of a Script, and this film goes against all the rules. There’s no climax. And I think that’s great. The film was acclaimed by the public. It was in the top three last year.

But on the one hand, the French gastronomy aspect is really interesting, the almost, I’d like to say ASMR aspect. It was a breath of fresh air to watch. It was an experience in itself, which again goes against all the rules we’re used to in certain Anglo-Saxon films. It wasn’t an easy choice. It found its audience and I’m delighted because it’s great to have that. It’s just great!

So you know the director from your time in Vietnam?

Yes, indeed. The director Tran Anh Hung, a Franco-Vietnamese director who made his films in France. I’m thinking in particular of “ The Scent of Green Papaya ”. You get the impression that it’s set in Vietnam, but in fact it was shot entirely in the Boulogne Billancourt studios, just outside Paris. So it’s fun, and he’s a great, great director, and a great person too in real life.

Turning now to this year’s festival. What are the must-see films at this year’s festival?

Must-sees, I don’t know. In any case, there are some clear highlights. For example, I was talking about The Count of Monte Cristo. For me, it’s a film you can’t see on the small screen. You see it on the big screen.It’s an epic film, it’s a big production, beautiful production value, a very good film. A sensation at Cannes, you have to see it on the big screen like Monsieur Aznavour. It’s clearly a spectacle.

Beating Hearts/ Amour Ouf ! It’s an extremely cinematic and cinematographic film. Likewise, you have to see it on the big screen. I was able to see it at Cannes. There was a screening in Cannes, with a standing ovation at the end. It’s doing very well, it did very well at Cannes.

For me, En fanfare/ My Brother’s Band. You need to see it on the big screen, or films that I think will find their audience, because we do have an audience, part of our audience, that’s quite mature. We have a senior audience. One film I really wanted to see was Riviera Revenge / N’avoue jamais. It’s a comedy with a slightly provocative senior cast, but it’s also about people’s private lives. I found it very funny, it speaks to a younger audience, but I think it’s great to have one of the films for that [senior] audience too. So it’s definitely a film you should go and see at the festival..

There are 42 films, so I’m not going to cover them all, but these are some of the films that, in my opinion, have great potential. In any case, in the program, there’s a clear highlights section, so I invite you to take a look. For me, these are the films you should see on the big screen, even if there are obviously plenty of others.

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We’d like to thank Frédéric Alliod for this interview, and look forward to the Alliance Française French Film Festival 2025!

KEY INFO FOR THE ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE FILM FESTIVAL 2025 PROGRAMMED BY FRÉDÉRIC ALLIOD

WHAT: Alliance Française French Film Festival 2025

WHERE & WHEN:

19/03 – 23/04 – ADELAIDE
06/03 – 08/04 – BRISBANE
06/03 – 02/04 – BALLARAT, VIC
08/03 – 02/04 – BALLINA, NSW
11/03 – 13/03 – BENDIGO, VIC
07/03 – 02/04 – BYRON BAY, NSW
06/03 – 09/04 – CANBERRA
25/03 – 15/04 – GOLD COAST
03/04 – 13/04 – HOBART
05/03 – 09/04 – MELBOURNE
03/04 – 06/04 – MOUNT GAMBIER, SA
13/03 – 16/04 – PERTH
26/03 – 31/03 – RENMARK, SA
04/03 – 09/04 – SYDNEY
02/04 – 09/04 – VICTOR HARBOR, SA
04/03 – 06/04 – PARRAMATTA, NSW
10/04 – 13/04 – BUNBURY, WA
12/04 – 21/04 – WARRAWONG, NSW