HK French film fest

• Source: Global Times
• [23:04 November 09 2009]
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The 38th French Cinepanorama, organized by the Alliance Francaise of Hong Kong, is undergoing final preparations, scheduled to be held from November 27 to December 13.

French Cinepanorama, one of the longest-running film festivals in Hong Kong, is set to screen over 50 recent French feature and short films this year, 18 of which have never been shown before in Hong Kong.

Screenings will be divided into five sections, including New Film 2009 and Premieres, First Works, Short Film and Short Animation films.

The festival will open with Marinade Van's Don't Look Back, a psychodrama in which film stars Sophie Marceau and Monica Bellucci collaborate for the first time. The film was part of the official selection for the Midnight Screening at the 2009 Cannes International Film Festival.

Cannes award-winning film A Prophet by Jacques Audiard, a thriller about a young Arab man sent to a French prison where he becomes a mafia kingpin, has been selected as one of the gala premiere films for the festival. Other selections include love story Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky, a biopic of a female version of Vincent Van Gogh, Seraphine and Villa Amalia, starring Isabelle Huppert.

The first French film festival was organized by Alliance Francaise of Hong Kong in 1953, aiming at introducing French films to Hong Kong audiences.

It became an annual event in 1972 and adopted the name French Cinepanorama in 1976. Last year Cinepanorama attracted 9,000 attendees.

Global Times/Agencies