NEWSLETTER
In-Person: Weekend of Friday, October 1-Sunday, October 3, 2021
Online Nationwide: Sunday, October 3-Sunday, October 10, 2021
New York, N.Y. -- The French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF) is proud to present Burning Brighter, a film festival celebrating the remarkable diversity of emerging voices in French cinema. This special program features recent prize-winning films by new French filmmakers. Conceived with The Edmond de Rothschild Foundations, this program highlights the critical importance of the arts in exploring the perspectives of different communities.
The new generation of French cinema promises to be more inclusive and reflective of today’s society. It introduces new narratives and turns its lens on faces and places that are rarely seen on screen. The films of Burning Brighter—13 of them US or NY premieres—will include stories of daily struggles, hard-won redemption, sexual oppression, identity, and belonging.
Tracing their heritage from Ivory Coast, Sri Lanka, Cameroon, Morocco, Guadeloupe, Lebanon, and France, these filmmakers bring a burst of new energy to FIAF’s fall reopening.
A full weekend in person from Friday, October 1 to Sunday, October 3 at FIAF’s Florence Gould Hall, located at 55 E 59th St, New York City, will feature six features, six shorts, one TV series, exclusive director Q&As, and a roundtable discussion. The program will continue online from Sunday, October 3 to Sunday, October 10 with six additional films.
The program is co-curated by Claire Diao, member of the Directors’ Fortnight Selection Committee at the Cannes Film Festival, and Delphine Selles-Alvarez, FIAF’s Film Curator.
More information and tickets available here.
Click here for high resolution images.
Full listings below.
In Person: Friday, October 1-Sunday, October 3, 2021
FIAF Florence Gould Hall
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Friday, October 1, 2021
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Friday, October 1 at 7pm
Skies of Lebanon (Sous le ciel d'Alice)
Dir. Chloé Mazlo, 2020
With Alba Rohrwacher, Wajdi Mouawad, Isabelle Zighondi
In French, Arabic and Italian with English subtitles
Festival Kick-Off Party at 8:30pm
Critics’ Week – Cannes Film Festival, 2020
Chloé Mazlo’s first feature is a strikingly original film set in the 1950s and inspired by her family’s life in the years leading into the Lebanese Civil War. Alice, a young Swiss woman (the ethereal Alba Rohrwacher) is eager to escape her strait-laced home in the Alps by becoming a nanny in Beirut. She soon falls in love with Joseph, a local astrophysicist. The two soon marry and start a family, but their bubbly relationship is upended by the civil war. Mazlo combines meticulously designed live-action sequences with the occasional offbeat stop-motion scene to create an irresistible picture of the glory days when Beirut was known as “the Paris of the Middle East.”
Click here for more info.
Friday, October 1 at 9:30pm
All the Way Up (Validé)
TV Series
Dir. Franck Gastambide, Charles Van Tieghem, Xavier Lacaille, 2020
With Hatik, Saïdou Camara, Brahim Bouhlel, Moussa Mansaly
In French with English subtitles
North American Premiere
Festival Kick-Off Party at 8:30pm
Discover the first three episodes of this blockbuster series, viewed by over 20 million on France’s Canal+ TV channel. All the Way Up takes us into the world of French hip-hop through the journey of Clément (played by French musician Hatik), a talented young rapper with a difficult personal history.
Click here for more info.
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Saturday, October 2, 2021
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Saturday, October 2 at 2pm
Simply Black (Tout simplement noir)
Dir. Jean-Pascal Zadi and John Wax, 2020
With Jean-Pascal Zadi, Caroline Anglade, Fary
In French with English subtitles
North American Premiere
Video introduction by Jean-Pascal Zadi
César Awards 2021: Jean-Pascal Zadi, Most Promising Actor
This corrosive comedy tackles the timely topics of racism and coalition building with a good dose of self-deprecation. Director Jean-Pascal Zadi also stars as struggling actor JD, who, inspired to stage a demonstration for racial justice, learns that organizing for a noble cause can be hard work indeed. With cameos from actor-rapper JoeyStarr, comedian Claudia Tagbo, footballer Lilian Thuram, and actor-filmmaker Mathieu Kassovitz.
Click here for more info.
Saturday, October 2 at 4:00pm
Roundtable: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Cinema
Livestreamed - Thinker - 60 min
In this roundtable discussion, a panel of French and American filmmakers, producers, and talent managers will discuss diversity, equity, and inclusion in the film industries of both countries.
Panelists:
Laurence Lascary - Producer and Co-President of Collectif 50/50
Melissa Silverstein - Founder of Women in Hollywood
Yassine Qnia - Filmmaker
Merawi Gerima – Filmmaker
Yasmina F. Edwards – Founder of EGM NY
Click here for more info.
Saturday, October 2 at 5:30pm
Shorts Program 1
Freed - So What If the Goats Die - Blooming Dalia
Introduction in person by Holy Fatma (Filmmaker - Blooming Dalia)
This program offers a selection of shorts from a variety of cinematographic genres. We start with a thought-provoking drama that brings to light the harsh reality of violence in prison (Freed), then continue onto a mysterious and thrilling science-fiction film (So What If the Goats Die), before concluding with a light comedy about a forgotten reality-TV star (Blooming Dalia).
Click here for more info.
Saturday, October 2 at 7:30pm
A Brighter Tomorrow (De bas étage)
Dir. Yassine Qnia, 2021, France
With Soufiane Guerrab, Souheila Yacoub, Thibault Cathalifaud
In French with English subtitles
North American Premiere
Video introduction by Yassine Qnia
Directors’ Fortnight – Cannes Film Festival 2021
Mehdi (Soufiane Guerrab of Lupin), is a small-time safe cracker who’s finding robberies aren’t paying like they used to. Reassessing his life and future, he decides to try and win back Sarah, the mother of his one-year-old son, whom he adores. With pared-down dialogue and luminous cinematography, Yassine Qnia’s first feature tells the moving story of a man trying to overcome his difficult circumstances—and change his fate.
Click here for more info.
Saturday, October 2 at 9:45pm
Blind Spot (L'Angle mort)
Dir. Patrick-Mario Bernard and Pierre Trividic, 2019, France
With Jean-Christophe Folly, Golshifteh Farahani, Isabelle Carré
In French with English subtitles
ACID Official Selection, Cannes Film Festival 2019
Dominick Brassan has the power to turn invisible but rarely uses it. Instead, he keeps it a shameful secret, even from his fiancée, Viveka. Yet when his ability to control his gift gets out of hand, his life, friendships, and relationships are forever turned inside out. Blind Spot is an intriguing and refreshing take on the popular Hollywood superhero genre: A superpower, intended as a gift to help others, leads instead to loneliness, alienation, and frustration.
Click here to learn more.
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Sunday, October 3, 2021
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Sunday, October 3 at 2pm
School Life (La Vie scolaire)
Dir. Grand Corps Malade and Mehdi Idir, 2019, France
With Zita Hanrot, Liam Pierron, Soufiane Guerrab
In French with English subtitles
Idealistic young educator Samia has taken a new assignment in a difficult middle school in the Paris suburbs. With her colleagues Moussa and Dylan, she runs the team that supervises students throughout the school year, determined to be a positive influence. In his second feature, French slam poet Grand Corps Malade and collaborator Mehdi Idir draw an empathetic, generous, and vivid portrait of the lives of contemporary French teenagers.
Click here for more info.
Sunday, October 3 at 5pm
Shorts Program 2
Get Lost - Your Kid - The Loyal Man
Video introduction Romuald Rodrigues Andrade (Filmmaker – Get Lost)
The films in this program reflect the difficulty of choosing one’s life path—until a plan imposes itself. This might come in the form of an unexpected transition to fatherhood (Timoun Aw), a dreamed-of professional opportunity (Get Lost), or a cryptic chance meeting (The Loyal Man).
Click here for more info.
Sunday, October 3 at 7pm
Red Soil (Rouge)
Dir. Farid Bentoumi, 2020, France and Belgium
With Zita Hanrot, Sami Bouajila, Céline Sallette, Olivier Gourmet
In French with English subtitles
Official Selection, Cannes Film Festival 2020
After losing her job at a hospital emergency room, Nour Hamadi returns to her hometown, taking a position as a nurse at the chemical plant where her father Slimane has worked for 30 years. As she settles into her new job, Nour becomes aware of irregularities in the treatment of hazardous waste—and decides to act. Co-produced by legendary Belgian filmmakers Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Red Soil establishes filmmaker Farid Bentoumi as a worthy heir to the Dardennes’ brand of gripping, socially relevant films in which everyday people must confront dilemmas that speak to our era’s most pressing moral issues.
Click here for more info.
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Online: Sunday, October 3-Sunday, October 10, 2021
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Arab Blues (Un Divan à Tunis)
Dir. Manele Labidi, 2019, France
With Golshifteh Farahani, Majd Mastoura, Aïcha Ben Miled, Feriel Chamari, Hichem Yacoubi
In French and Arabic with English subtitles
New York Premiere
Selma, a 35-year-old psychoanalyst, decides to return from France to her native Tunisia to improve the mental health of her compatriots. Yet things don’t go quite as planned, as she finds herself helping a cast of colorful new patients discover the joys—and challenges—of psychotherapy. Through the lens of Selma’s practice and patients, this charming comedy offers a snapshot of contemporary Tunisian society.
Click here for more info.
Night Ride (La Nuit venue)
Dir. Frédéric Farrucci, 2019, France
With Guang Huo, Camélia Jordana, Xun Liang
In French with English subtitles
North American Premiere
César Awards 2021: Rone, Best Original Music
Jin drives an illegal taxi for the Chinese Triads, with dreams of becoming a DJ. Playing inspiring techno music in his car, he meets Naomi (played by French pop singer Camélia Jordana), a troubled sex worker who makes him her private chauffeur. Falling in love, they decide to escape together—yet not before Jin must double-cross some very dangerous people. With original music composed by the famous EDM star Rone, this thriller is set in a community rarely represented in French cinema.
Click here for more info.
Leave? (Partir ?)
Dir. Mary-Noël Niba, 2019, France
In French and Pidjin with English subtitles, English
US Premiere
After several deeply disillusioning years spent in Europe, Stéphane, Léo, Cheikh, and Boye Gaye have returned to their home countries in Africa, where they are perceived as failures and face tremendous difficulties in readapting. The only comrade who stayed in France, Guy Roméo, is living in Marseille, hoping to see his dream of becoming a well-known artist come true before he returns to his native Cameroon. In this documentary film, director Mary-Noël Niba paints a sobering and poignant picture of the reality facing migrants who hope to build a better future for themselves and their families.
Click here for more info.
Should the Wind Drop (Si le vent tombe)
Dir. Nora Martirosyan, 2020, France
With Grégoire Colin, Hayk Bakhryan, Arman Navasardyan
In French, Armenian, English, Russian with English subtitles
Q&A with Julie Paratian (Producer) and Nora Martisoyan (Filmmaker)
Official Selection, Cannes Festival 2020
French auditor Alain Delage (Grégoire Colin, in tour-de-force performance) arrives in the war-torn South Caucasus region of Nagorno-Karabakh to study the feasibility of a new airport. He is quickly engrossed in the struggles of a proud people living on hope alone, and attempts to help them achieve their goals. Armenian-born writer-director Nora Martirosyan’s extraordinary debut combines a precise and subtle portrayal of a complex geopolitical situation with a poetic, sensual evocation of life and human resilience.
Click here for more info.
Simply Black (Tout simplement noir)
Dir. Jean-Pascal Zadi and John Wax, 2020
With Jean-Pascal Zadi, Caroline Anglade, Fary
In French with English subtitles
North American Premiere
César Awards 2021: Jean-Pascal Zadi, Most Promising Actor
This corrosive comedy tackles the timely topics of racism and coalition building with a good dose of self-deprecation. Director Jean-Pascal Zadi also stars as struggling actor JD, who, inspired to stage a demonstration for racial justice, learns that organizing for a noble cause can be hard work indeed. With cameos from actor-rapper JoeyStarr, comedian Claudia Tagbo, footballer Lilian Thuram, and actor-filmmaker Mathieu Kassovitz.
Click here for more info.
Shorts Program 3
Mama Lova - So What If the Goats Die - Blaké
Video introduction by Vincent Fontano (Filmmaker – Blaké)
The shorts in this online program provide unexpected plot twists and stylistic turns. Mama Lova portrays a grieving mother managing a devastating loss; So What If the Goats Die mixes genres as it builds toward a surprise finale; and the experimental Blaké turns the mundane (an overnight shift of two security guards) into visual poetry.
Click here for more info.
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MERCI!
Burning Brighter: New Voices in French Cinema is made possible by the generous support of The Edmond de Rothschild Foundations.
Special thanks to Young French Cinema, a program of UniFrance and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy, for its support of Skies of Lebanon, Red Soil, and Should the Wind Drop.
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