Zut Alors!The French are Here
Written by Nancy L. Babine | Posted by: Anonymous
Though now deeply embedded in the cultural landscape, the festival evolved from humble beginnings. For some years the MFA conducted informal screenings of French films during the month of July. When a limited number of French films were incorporated into the MFA’s La Belle Époque Exhibition, a presentation of turn-of-the-century art of Paris, Bo Smith, Film Program Director, took notice of the enthusiastic response. “We realized [July] was a great month here in Boston where a lot of French film lovers liked to come out to the museum and see French film,” he said.
The idea for an annual festival devoted to French cinema was presented to Christian Delacampagne, Attaché of Cultural Services for the French Consulate in Boston. He became an ardent supporter and ultimately played an instrumental role in launching the festival in 1996. The alliance led to a partnership between the MFA and the French Consulate that continues today. This year’s festival is dedicated to Delacampagne, who passed away in May.
Eric Jausseran, Deputy Cultural Attaché at the French Consulate, has worked on the festival with Smith for nine years. He describes the role of his office in the partnership as hands-on. Through his contact with the French press, input of friends and colleagues in France and his own frequent visits to France, Jausseran maintains a keen vigilance of filmmaking in his native country. “We try to present the diversity and richness of French cinema. And we make sure Bo has access to all of that.” Of the many artistic programs in which the French Consulate participates, the film festival is considered the highlight.
Other partnerships in the festival include TV5, a global French language network, Unifrance, an organization committed to promoting French cinema worldwide and the French Library in Boston. The Boston Jewish Film Festival (BJFF) has participated for several years in the capacity of co-presenter. This year the MFA and the BJFF will co-present three films. According to Sara Rubin, Executive Director of the BJFF, the criterion for a co-presentation is a Jewish theme or Jewish characters. “We’re always looking for good films with Jewish themes,” she said. “Sometimes we come across films that aren’t going to fit into our festival that year, where the release dates are such that it makes sense to co-present in the French Film Festival.”
Besides selection, the BJFF assists with promotion of the festival, notifying the Jewish press and sending an e-mail blast to their extensive mailing list. Rubin places a high value on the opportunity to co-present. “We look for opportunities to bring a new audience to the kind of films we show,” she said. “Films deserve audiences so we’re helping them find those audiences.”
Since its inception, the festival has expanded its audience from French film enthusiasts to one that is more generic, distinguishing it from other national film events presented by the MFA. “For the most part these festivals are attended by people who are part of that culture. They speak the language or grew up in that land or really embrace that culture,” Smith said. “With the French [Festival] you get people who don’t speak French or minimally speak French; who spend some time in France, or none. They might love other things about France, but they aren’t as directly immersed in French culture as other comparable national cinema presentations we do.”
Smith regards the impact of French cinema in the U.S. as widespread. “I think French film, more than any other national cinema, is influential. When I first fell in love with film, it was seeing film outside of the U.S. that really did it for me. I hadn’t otherwise seen the power of cinema until I started seeing European cinema in general, but specifically, it was mostly French film.” Jausseran agrees. “I believe the French impact is way bigger than its market share of commercial movies. Spielberg, Lucas, Scorcese, they were inspired by the New Wave.” Jausseran is pleased that the French Film Festival engages the young demographic of the Boston area. “We are reaching a new generation, showing a young audience you don’t need to have a PhD in French or in psychology to appreciate and enjoy French film.”
The success of the Boston French Film Festival has provided Smith with valuable lessons that he applies to other MFA film events. He identifies three general principles required to create a successful film festival: an audience for that specific kind of cinema, partners who offer financial support and those who share the work load, and the most significant, a source of great film. “Fortunately, all three of those were possible with this festival,” he said.
Smith is exceptionally pleased with this year’s slate of films. France produces a large number of films annually, over 200 last year, according to Jausseran. The selection process is challenging. They strive to present a broad spectrum that encompasses a variety of genres as well as films by both veterans and newcomers. “I’m happier with the collection of the 28 films we’re showing this year than I’ve ever been,” Smith said. “I think most of the films have merit beyond that they’re entertaining, engaging films. Artistic achievements in various ways.”
Smith notes an increase in the number of films directed by women, a cause he has long championed. Among those directors is Julie Gavras, daughter of legendary filmmaker, Costa Gavras. Blame It On Fidel is her first feature film, a divergence from her work as a documentary filmmaker. Smith cites the zany comedy, You and Me, directed by Julie Lopes-Curval as indicative of the films women are directing. “[They are] distinctly different from what men are doing,” he said. “They have a lot more character to them, more humanity.”
Though the festival has grown and prospered each year since its inauguration, the past two years have been enormously successful. Smith credits MFA Film Operations Manager, Rebecca Mercer, for this. Mercer initiated a spectacular opening night party to kick off the festival, a greater involvement of people working behind the scenes and an intensified effort in getting the word out to French film fans. “We’re on a very positive swing right now,” Smith said.
The festival will open with the comedy, My Best Friend, starring one of France’s most beloved actors, Daniel Auteuil, and directed by the renowned Patrice Leconte. The accomplished Catherine Deneuve appears in two films: Family Hero, a co-presentation with the BJFF and dramatic thriller, The Stone Council, in which Deneuve shares the screen with rising star, Monica Bellucci. Jausseran calls Gérard Depardieu’s performance in The Singer “amazing, probably one of his best.” Depardieu’s daughter, Julie, appears in three films, Blame it on Fidel, The Witnesses and You and Me.
This year’s mid-festival slot has been designated for Christophe Honoré’s Dans Paris, his second feature and an homage to French New Wave cinema. “I think this film is going to really put him on the map,” Smith said. Veteran director, Benoît Jacquot, will be represented with his film, The Untouchable, as well as Bertrand Blier, in a touching comedy, How Much Do You Love Me?, starring Gérard Depardieu, Monica Bellucci and Bernard Campan. Jean-Pascal Hattu makes his feature debut with 7 Years. The Witnesses, starring Emmanuelle Béart, will close the festival. It premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in February and was described by Variety as one of director André Téchiné’s best.
Since there is typically a two-to-one ratio of films in the festival that will not gain distribution in the U.S., the screenings at the MFA will be, in many cases, the only time the films will be shown in Boston. “It’s a chance for people to see films that they won’t otherwise have a chance to see,” Smith said. Jausseran encourages people to come to the festival with a spirit of adventure. He has observed a tendency of film lovers to seek out directors and actors whom they know, missing the chance to investigate new talent. “Be curious and see a film of a first or second time director,” he said. “I think you will find it very refreshing.” Rubin concurs. “There are some great discoveries there.”
The Boston French Film Festival will be held July 12-29 at the Remis Auditorium, Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Ave., Boston. More information can be found at www.mfa.org/calendar and at www.consulfrance-boston.org.
