16th French Film Festival Opening

The invitation only opening of the 16^th French Film Festival was my second event of the day, the first being the Cinemalaya press conference. Arriving at the Shangri-La Plaza Mall where the opening was held proved to be difficult due to the heavy rains that plagued that entire day. I managed to make it with plenty of time to spare and whatever weariness that I was feeling at the time was wiped away by the film festival fever that dominated my day.

One who can’t afford to be weary on that night was Ambassador of France Thierry Borja de Mozota who was very busy during the cocktails welcoming guests, granting interviews and basically being a good host. Equally busy that night were Brillante Mendoza, a Cannes festival award winning director and Aureaus Solito, whose film Busong was screened at this year’s Cannes festival. Spotted at the opening were finalists, filmmakers and press people who were also at the Cinemalaya press conference earlier so I did bump into some familiar faces.

RAd with French Ambassador Thierry Borja de Mozota

I was very glad to see once again Italian Ambassador Luca Fornari, his wife Silvana Novelli Fornari and Cristina Moricca from the Philippine-Italian Association. It was just barely over a week since the Italian National Day celebrations and we see each other yet again. It was also a pleasant surprise to see a few musicians among the guests as well like Ray Sison, flutist and owner of ROS Music Center and Maestro Agripino Diestro along with his son, Giuseppe, a cellist for the MSO.

The guests were then able to watch the opening film which was Le Marquis. This film is significant since it’s the first ever French-Filipino movie co-production. The film was shot in Cebu in 2010 with a Filipino crew and one of the country’s most respected and talented actors, Joël Torre, had a minor role in the film as well. Yes, his name was indeed spelled that way during the credits.

In fact, the strengthening relationship between the Philippines and France through cinema was very evident all throughout the event. Aside from directors Mendoza and Solito’s films being screened at the Cannes festivals and the movie co-productions, there is also the program between the Film Development Council of the Philippines and the French National Center for Cinema. This program aims to bring in the French expertise in order to help the Philippine cinema in certain areas like archiving, taxation, film grants and co-production.

Le Marquis

And then it was time for the opening film Le Marquis to be screened. The movie is a charming comedy with very witty dialogue. The film’s plot revolves around two criminals, Thomas Gardesse (Franck Dubosc) and Quentin Tassaeu (Richard Berry), trying to get out of the mess they got themselves into because of the Marquis, a notorious robber whose identity has eluded everybody. Thomas, a former alarm salesman, was dragged into the mess because he once claimed to be the Marquis while serving time in prison to gain the respect and fear of his fellow inmates. Quentin on the other hand dragged Thomas into his own mess because he believed that the latter was indeed the Marquis. And he needed who he thought was Marquis’ expertise to pull of a major heist to save his hide from his boss who is a criminal mastermind. As I’ve said, the dialogue and the hilarious acting of the leads carry this film. I even disregarded several plot holes that would’ve left me rankled had this been not a comedy film. It was also very amusing to see the Cebu sights where the film was shot although the setting in the story was supposed to taken place in Manila.

So I left the opening of the French Film Festival in such a happy mood, thanks in part to a feel good film (despite having criminals as the leads) that it really made me want to catch more of these French films before the festival ends its Shangri-La Plaza Mall run this June 19, 2011. The festival travels to the Ayala Center in Cebu on June 23 - 25, 2011. And then a final run is scheduled at the UP Film Institute, UP Diliman Campus from June 28 - July 2, 2011. The French Film Festival is part of FrancoPhil, the 2011 French cultural season in the Philippines, organized by the Embassy of France to the Philippines and the Alliance Française de Manille. Film synopses along with the screening schedule is available over at spot.ph.