Karine Mauris, artistic director of the (AFFFF), has been in love with the magic of movies all her life. “I’ve been going since I was a child, first with my family, then with my friends, and then with boyfriends and by myself too,” she says. “I really love when I’m in a cinema with an audience and we can share that emotion together.”
This year’s AFFFF will mark her third program. It opens with Masquerade, the latest movie from and director Nicolas Bedos, a sundrenched crime caper set on the glamorous Côte d’Azur and featuring a glittering ensemble of French superstars including Isabelle Adjani, Pierre Niney, Emmanuelle Devos and François Cluzet.
“It’s so hard to choose an opening night movie, but we wanted to start with a comedy,” Mauris says. “It’s sexy, and so beautiful.”
Didier Barcelo’s Freestyle closes the festival with a joyous road trip starring Marina Foïs and Benjamin Voisin. Here are some more of Mauris’ recommendations.
The Innocent
'The Innocent' Source: Palace Films
“It’s such a fun film, and Noémie really makes it,” Mauris says. “It’s one of my favourites. You really don’t know how it’s going to finish. It’s hilarious.”
One Fine Morning
‘One Fine Morning’. Source: Palace Films
“Léa is a superstar, she broke the mould,” Mauris says. “I love Melvil in this too. He’s one of our sexiest actors. And I love the cinema of Mia Hansen-Løve. My DNA is music, and the first film I saw from Mia was Eden, which was so cool, looking at the music of Daft Punk. On this film, she takes it to the next level.”
You can also catch Poupaud opposite La Vie en Rose star Marion Cotillard as warring siblings in Deception director Arnaud Desplechin’s fraught family drama Brother and Sister. “It’s a challenging but great movie, and you have to understand between the lines,” Mauris says.
Final Cut
‘Final Cut’. Source: Distributor
“The beginning of the movie is very challenging, so much so that my partner wanted to leave, but we were in the same row as Michel, whose films I love, and all the actors, so I could not let him,” Mauris chuckles. “But 20 minutes in, everybody was laughing. It’s a bit like Triangle of Sadness that way. You can’t stop. You have to see it in the cinema.”
Saint Omer
‘Saint Omer’. Source: Palace Films
“It’s not an easy movie,” Mauris says. “It’s very intense, provocative, something we cannot imagine, but it is incredible and Guslagie and Kayije are both amazing.”
Paris Memories
‘Paris Memories’. Source: Distributor
“Alice is one of my favourite directors, and her brother was in the Bataclan when it was attacked,” Mauris says, noting that while he survived, Winocour witnessed his emotional scars first-hand in the months to come. “Virginie is just incredible in it. The only thing her character can remember is a hand holding her, and she wants to know who this person was. Benoît is also one of my favourite actors. It’s a beautiful movie.”
In a similar vein, November, by director Cédric Jimenez, follows a terrorism response team during the investigation immediately following that devastating day, starring Jean Dujardin (The Artist) and Sandrine Kiberlain (Being 17).
Efira also turns up in Other People’s Children, the latest heartfelt drama from director Rebecca Zlotowski.
Annie’s Fire
‘Annie’s Fire’. Source: Aurora Films/Local Films
But Mauris rates Calamy’s turn in director Blandine Lenoir’s searing feminist drama Annie’s Fire, about the push for abortion rights in the ’70s, even more. “It’s a brilliant film about solidarity,” Mauris says. “It’s about how you can channel your life into something bigger than you.”
Winter Boy
‘Winter Boy’. Source: Jean Louis Fernandez
“Christophe is one of the best directors we’ve got,” Mauris says. “This is Paul Kircher’s debut, and he’s amazing. They saw more than 2000 teenagers, and he arrived on the last day. He forgot to give them his phone number. Christophe tried to find him for three weeks, finally tracking him down, thankfully. His relationship with Juliet is so beautiful and full of love.”
Tickets are now on sale for the festival, which runs across March and April across Australia. Find out more about the . Watch the trailer now for some extra inspiration:
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