The 10th French Film Festival in the Czech Republic will kick off from November 22 through 28, with screenings in 15 cinemas and 8 cities.
Benefiting from Unifrance backing since its inauguration 10 years ago, this event has become a fixture in the Czech cultural calendar.
This year brings three new additions to the event: the creation of a competition section, the organization of a master class at the FAMU Film School in Prague led by the French director Claude Miller, and the expansion of the event to multiplexes, now a major distribution channel for French films in the Czech Republic.
As part of this festival, Unifrance is launching its first "On Set with French Cinema" program in Prague. Claude Miller will meet with students from the FAMU at a master class to be held on November 23, 2007. There is also the chance of a surprise guest joining this year’s program!
This festival has traditionally been held in the Europa Cinemas independent cinema chain. This year, however, 8 multiplexes will join the event, bringing the number of participating cinemas to 15 sites in which to showcase the 150 film screenings (twice the number of screenings as in 2006).
Among the 50 or so titles presented, Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi is set to be festival opener on Thursday, November 22 at 8 p.m., screened simultaneously in 5 independent theaters. L'Ennemi Intime (Intimate Enemies) by Florent Emilio Siri will close the event on Wednesday, November 28, at 8 p.m. in the 8 participating multiplexes.
The festival’s competition will include 11 films not previously released in the Czech Republic. Audiences will vote for their favorite film, with an award to be presented to the winning film’s distributor, valued at €10,000 to contribute to release costs.
Last year’s French Film Festival attracted over 11,000 moviegoers.
French films are enjoying wide popularity in the Czech Republic at this time. An average of between 450,000 and 550,000 spectators are currently registered to French films each year, with French fare claiming the highest share of the market after US films and national productions, which retain a strong position in their home market. Following the success of Asterix and the Vikings last year, it is now over to La Vie en Rose to charm Czech audiences in 2007. The film by Olivier Dahan, shot in the Czech Republic, has pulled in close to 125,000 spectators since its release on June 14. Among French-language releases (excluding animated films) only Amelie has achieved a higher score in the past 7 years.
