• February 6, 2025

The French Film Festival returns to the Philippines for its 27th edition, highlighting feminist cinema through the eyes of both French and Filipina directors.

Running from November 22 to 26 at SM Aura Cinema and November 22 to 29 at SM City North EDSA Cinema, the festival offers free screenings on a first-come, first-served basis.

For the first time in its history, the French Film Festival will feature Feminist Cinema with a cross-cultural perspective between France and the Philippines through a selection of films by the new generation of French and Filipina women directors.

France is an advocate of gender equality in international forums and wants this to be taken into account in all issues, including cinema.

A selection of 14 feature films showcasing recent and heritage French films will offer a platform for promoting French culture, as well as cultural diversity.

Special screenings will also be held at the Alliance Française de Manille, University of the Philippines Film Institute, and De La Salle College of Saint Benilde.

Filipina director Sigrid Bernardo serves as the festival’s “godmother” this year, opening the event with a roundtable on November 22 at the SM Aura Cinema Director’s Club. Bernardo’s short film, May at Nila, depicting a love story between two Filipino women during the Japanese Occupation, will be screened prior to the roundtable discussion.

Film enthusiasts can look forward to a variety of cinematic experiences, including:

Prodigieuses (Prodigies) follows twin pianists as they fight an illness and compete for a soloist spot, relying on their love for music and family to change their fate.

Sous le Ciel d’Alice (Skies of Lebanon) is a poignant love story set in 1950s Lebanon, where a young woman’s idyllic life is shattered by the onset of civil war.

Rien à Foutre (No F*cks Given) chronicles the life of a flight attendant whose carefree lifestyle unravels after she loses her job and must confront the life she has been avoiding.

Mon Héroïne (My Heroine) is about Alex, a Hollywood dreamer who defies her overprotective mother to pursue her film career in New York, where an adventure with her aunt and mother brings them closer together.

Marinette revolves around the life of football star Marinette Pichon, who fought for women’s rights in sport while overcoming the challenges of coming out in an era with limited LGBTQ+ rights.

Annie Colère (Angry Annie) is about Annie, a working mother in 1974 rural France, who unexpectedly becomes pregnant and joins the Movement for the Liberation of Abortion and Contraception, finding new purpose in the fight for women’s rights.

The festival will also feature a special guest, French director Noémie Lefort, who will present her film My Heroine. Lefort will take part in a roundtable discussionat SM City North EDSA Cinema on November 26, and conduct a masterclass for film students at the University of the Philippines.

Here are the schedules of the screenings:

The 27th French Film Festival – Feminist is organized by SM Supermalls, SM Cinema, Embassy of France, Alliance Française de Manille, Institut Français, and the Film Development Council of the Philippines.

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