RENDEZ-VOUS+ | RENDEZ-VOUS WITH FRENCH CINEMA 2012 expands LineUp to include Documentaries and rarely seen classics

RENDEZ-VOUS +

The 17th edition of Rendez-Vous with French Cinema, the Film Society of Lincoln Center and Unifrance Films’ celebrated annual showcase of the best in contemporary French film, announced today that it will expand its lineup with Rendez-Vous +, a selection of over a dozen contemporary documentaries and classic films. The new addition to the 2012 lineup was made possible by the support of the Cultural Services of the French Embassy.

"For years, we have dreamed of evolving Rendez-Vous with French Film into a broader kind of program that would include documentaries, revivals and other kind of film and media work beyond feature films,” says Film Society of Lincoln Center Program Director Richard Pena. “This year, with the opening of the new Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, we finally have the opportunity for this kind of expansion, which we're calling "Rendez-Vous +."

Highlights include SEE HOW THEY FALL, the directorial debut of acclaimed filmmaker Jacques Audiard (THE BEAT THAT MY HEART SKIPPED and A PROPHET); a marvelous new restoration of Jean Gremillon’s masterpiece, Lumière d'été,courtesy of the Cinematheque Française; cult favorite Jean Rollin’s 1970 film THE SHIVER OF VAMPIRES; and MICHEL PETRUCCIANI, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Michael Radford (IL POSTINO) returns to his documentary roots in this touching look at the extraordinarily gifted jazz pianist Michel Petrucciani.

Additionally, writer-director Jacques Bral’s drama EXTERIOR NIGHT will be presented in its 2010 restoration that was rereleased in French cinemas to widespread critical acclaim and Yasmina Ada’s richly detailed documentary HERE WE DROWN ALGERIANS, referring to one of the darkest incidents in recent French history, and draws on some remarkable period footage and photographs, as well as interviews with some of the survivors and their families.

A special ticket price of $10 will be offered for all screenings in Rendez-Vous +. All the titles will be screened at the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

FSLC’s Walter Reade Theater’s address is 165 West 65th St. (between Amsterdam
Avenue and Broadway) and the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center’s address is 144 West 65^th Street (between Amsterdam and Broadway).

Rendez-Vous +, March 1-11
Films, Descriptions & Schedule

All screenings will take place at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center, 144 West 65^th Street, unless otherwise noted Walter Reade Theater (WRT).

EXTERIOR NIGHT (Extérieur, nuit)
Jacques Bral, 1980, France, 112m
A jazz musician (Gérard Lanvin) and a struggling writer (André Dussollier) fall under the spell of a mysterious female taxi driver (Christine Boisson) in director Bral’s moody, boozy, rediscovered cult classic.
Thurs., March 8 – 6:30PM

Garde à vue
Claude Miller, 1981, France, 86m
On New Year’s Eve, a hard-boiled police inspector (Lino Ventura) interrogates a wealthy lawyer (Michel Serrault) about the rape and murder of two young girls. A clockwork, claustrophobic thriller that never lets the audience off the hook.
Fri., March 2 – 6PM; Sun., March 4 – 3:10PM

Here We Drown Algerians (Ici on noie les Algériens)
Yasmina Ada, 2011, France, 90m
A richly detailed account of a dark episode in 20th century French history: the attack by French police on a peaceful Algerian independence march on October 17, 1961, and its subsequent cover-up.
Sun., March 4 – 9:20PM; Mon., March 5 – 4:15PM

In Mondrian’s Studio (Dans l’atelier de Mondrian)
François Lévy-Kuentz, 2011, France, 52m
Creating an exact replica of Mondrian’s famous Paris studio, François Lévy-Kuentz offers some fascinating insights into life and worldview of one of the true masters of modern art.
Screening with
FRIDA KAHLO
Xavier Villetard, 2011, France, 53m
Frida Kahlo’s public and private lives come together in this perceptive portrait of her life and art that includes some very rare footage of Kahlo, Diego Rivera and their amazing circle.
Mon., March 5 – 8:15PM; Tues., March 6 – 1:30PM

Into Our Own Hands (Entre nos mains)
Mariana Otero, 2010, France; 87m
A superb documentrary about the workers of the Starissima factory outside Orleans, who band together into a cooperative when they learn the business is about to be shut down. Fri., March 2 – 2PM; Sat., March 3 – 8:15PM

Juliette Gréco, Without Limits (Juliette Gréco, l’insoumise)
Philippe Pouchain and Yves Riou, 2011, France, 70m
Two films about artists who, in their individual ways, came to embody their respective generations. Moving to Paris when she was barely out of her teens, Juliette Gréco quickly fell in with the intellectual and artistic demi-monde of the Latin Quarter: Jean-Paul Sartre, Boris Vian, Miles Davis. She began a singing career, often using songs written by her artist friends, and drew raves from critics and audiences around the world. At 85, Ms. Gréco shows no sign of slowing down, and this terrific film by Philppe Pouchain and Yves Riou captures her preparing for and then giving a series of concerts in Paris, accompanied by her husband, pianist Gérard Jouannest.
Screening with
Philip Roth, Without Complexes/Philip Roth, san complexe
William Karel, 2011, France, 52m
Philip Roth, Without Complexes is a surprisingly frank portrait of a major American author who’s as popular in France as in the U.S. Roth speaks candidly abut his upbringing, the success and the fallout from Portnoy’s Complaint, and his feelings about aging in this illuminating work by expert French documentarian William Karel (The World According to Bush, My Dad Is Into Terrorism).
Sun., March 4 – 5PM; Tues. March 6 – 3:45PM

Life After the Camps (Apres les camps, la vie)
Virginie Linhart, 2010, France, 75 min.
A rare Holocaust documentary focused on survivors, using personal records, family albums and personal reminiscences to create a revealing look at the courage, strength and sometimes contradictory emotions of those who had been to hell and back.
Fri., March 2 – 4PM; Tues., March 6 – 6:15PM

Restored by the Cinematheque Française!
Lumière d'été
Jean Grémillon, 1943, France, 112m
A marvelous new restoration of Jean Gremillon’s masterpiece, scripted by Jacques Prévert and Pierre Laroche, about the couplings and uncouplings of the weekend guests at a remote country estate.
Sat., March 3 – 6PM; Thurs., March 8 - 1:15PM

Michel Petrucciani
Michael Radford, 2011, France/Germany/Italy; 102m
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Michael Radford (Il postino) returns to his documentary roots in this touching look at the gifted jazz pianist Michel Petrucciani, who achieved fame on both sides of the Atlantic despite a debilitating physical condition.
Fri., March 2 – 8PM; Mon., March 5 – 2PM

Muslims of France (Musulmans de France)
Karim Miské and Mohamed Joseph, 2009, France; 160 min.
An extraordinary, three-part epic journey through the history of Muslims in France, beginning in the early 20th century and stretching to the present day.
Sat., March 3 – 3PM; Thurs., March 8 – 3:30PM

See How They Fall (Regarde les hommes tomber)
Jacques Audiard, 1994, France, 90m
A Prophet director Jacques Audiard’s made his superb debut with this sharply etched, darkly funny modern noir about the relationship between a small-time hood on the lam (Jean-Louis Trintignant) and the slow-witted lost soul (Mathieu Kassovitz) he reluctantly takes under his wing.
Mon., March 5 – 6:15PM; Wed., March 7 – 2PM

The Shiver of Vampires (Le frisson de vampires)
Jean Rollin, 1970, France, 95 min.
Considered the first mature work by the late cult favorite Jean Rollin, Shiver follows two attractive newlyweds as they stop for the evening in a picturesque castle and find themselves in the lair of a pack of lesbian vampires.
Sat., March 3 – 11:15PM - WRT

Tags: documentary, festival, film, france, french