Film Countries Archives: France

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A man and woman dressed in cozy sweaters and water boots walk up a creek bed together.

Love Affair(s) Les choses qu'on dit, les choses qu'on fait

  Emmanuel Mouret

  France      2020    

Synopsis

Daphne and boyfriend François escape to the idyllic French countryside where they are joined by his lovelorn cousin Maxime. François has to rush back to Paris on business, leaving Daphne and Maxime on their own. The two form an instant, intimate connection, and the first of many overlapping love triangles takes form in this quintessential French comedy-romance.

 French with subtitles 
  122 minutes

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Screenings & Events

Wed, Jul 9 @ 6:30pm CDT

at Chicago History Museum

Tickets will be available starting June 30 @ 10:00am.

Media

Sponsors

Film Partner

logo: Villa Albertine | Consulate General of France in Chicago

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CineYouth Program

Genre Breakers: Experimental

  Brazil, France, Mexico, United States     7 shorts | 63 minutes

Synopsis

Films in this program pair captivating visuals with unconventional storytelling. Open your mind to experience the potential of cinema when seven diverse filmmakers push the boundaries of genre.

Please note: Films in this program contain themes, images, and language that may not be suitable for all ages including nudity and violence.

Films

A young Mexican woman lays on the floor wearing a robe and towel on her head, while taking off cucumbers from her eyes

2 FiNgErS uP

Cristina Rojas-Moises | Mexico | Age 22

Campy, colorful, and shot on celluloid, this movie speaks to cycles of appetite and satiation. A creative performance with food and everyday objects that is both humorous and sensual, 2 FiNgErS uP seeks your attention and asks what you crave.

A metal bucket filled with dark liquid and a cut off nose inside sits beside someone's foot

How to Smell Without a Nose

Esther Yun Kong | Brooklyn, New York | Ages 21

A dark yet impactful short about the Korean war, illustrated through the prosecution of a Joseon woman.

A young person in a red dress with cultural jewelry sits in a meditating pose at the center of a black room with an apple.

Moving Room

Gyani Pradhan Wong Ah Sui | Worcester, Massachusetts | Age 22

In this mesmerizing film, Karma, an international high school student from India, adjusts to his new home and host-sibling Alex. The intensity of the transition begins to manifest in surreal changes to their house and Karma is visited by a comforting spirit.

A statue of a feminine saint holding a cross overlaid with an image of a nun and a vibrant green circle in the center.

Avulsion

David Cuevas | Canada, France | Age 21

Captured on Super 8 footage shot during the 75th Cannes Film Festival, this elusive experimental narrative weaves together three women and three stories into an abstract thriller. Images of daily life mix with scripted tableaus and disjointed sound resulting in a piece whose mysteries deepen with detailed observation.

An older woman in a white dress sits beside a hand-made doll house, looking into the camera

How to Cry Without Melting (Como Chorar Sem Derreter)

Giulia Butler | Brazil | Age 21

Elizabeth loses her sight after refusing to cry for years, prompting the odd little girl who lives with her to build a machine that restores her tears.

An older Black woman sits on a chair as her two teen daughters lay their heads on her lap

With a Promise to Love you Deeply

Taylor Wren | Chicago, Illinois | Age 21

This contemporary folktale follows the journey of two sisters, Jupiter and Saturn, as they venture into a world beyond time to retrieve their mother’s spirit.

A feminine face overlaid with the image of a butterfly

Patron Saint Buffalo Bill

Lily McCauley | Chicago, Illinois | Age 21

Using lush, dream-like imagery, filmmaker Lily McCauley inhabits and reclaims the transfeminine villain from Silence of the Lambs, transforming the harmful stereotype into a celebration of “transexual monstrosity.”

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In a dark room, a young girl stands in front of a breezy open window wearing a high-collared red cape.

Transylvanie [short film]

  Rodrigue Huart

  France     15 minutes

Synopsis

When a 10-year-old vampire realizes that she will be living alone for eternity, she plans to turn a neighborhood boy into her immortal companion. In an effort to prove her immortality, she reveals something much more sinister.

This film screens as part of the After Dark Shorts: Disturbing Diversions program.

 French with subtitles

Film Credits

  •   Lucie Vigier
  •   Rodrigue Huart, David Alexander Cassan, Axel Würsten
  •   Marco Novoa
  •   Julien Ramirez Hernan
  •   Katell Varvat, Lucien Le Ho, Emma Gautier
  •   The Psychotic Monks
  •   Qui Vive!

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After Dark Shorts: Disturbing Diversions

  Various

  France, Hong Kong, Mexico, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States     99 minutes

Synopsis

This collection of uncanny and unhinged stories from around the world represent the growing global appetite for genre films. Full of inventive stories with stunning practical effects, this program will delight late night moviegoers of all stripes. Featuring works by Jake Myers, Marcus Anthony Thomas, Juefang Zhang, Tzuhsuan Peng, Suki-Rose, Cricket Arrison, Rodrigue Huart, Marinthia Gutiérrez, and Blake Simon.

A musician stuck in an office job tries the free kombucha that boosts his coworkers’ productivity, only to discover its sinister side effects in Kombucha! (United States). In Space Plug (United Kingdom), a baby is born into a mysterious white room in outer space. There, they grow up nourished by an extraterrestrial creature, but plagued by a desperate desire to break free. Where The Mountain Women Sing (Hong Kong, Taiwan, United States) blends documentary and found-footage narrative as two filmmakers attempt to capture a bloody shamanic ritual in Northeastern China. In Addiction (Taiwan), a policeman obsessively surveils a girl who owns a small store along a desolate road, unaware that he’s not the only hunter lurking in the area. In Chomp (United States), the relentless pace and high-stakes pressure of a bustling news studio creates the ideal environment for a new kind of monster to emerge. In Transylvanie (France), a newly transitioned vampire tries to transform a neighborhood boy into her eternal companion. But she’s underestimated the lengths it will take to prove her bloodthirsty identity. In She Stays (Ella se queda) (Mexico), Laura navigates a night out in downtown Tijuana, eagerly anticipating the moment her destiny will unfold. And Faces (United States) is a mind-bending portrayal of a shape-shifter’s use of appearances to lure in victims, showing that, at the center, they are only social disguises.

 Chinese, English, French, Mandarin Chinese, No Dialogue, Spanish 

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Screenings & Events

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With Support From

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A white bunny in a field of flowers looks up towards the sky.

As the Sun Goes Down [short film]

  Laurine Bocquet, Ilona Caucal, Inès Fechner, Jahnice Laurent, Sarah Robert, Emma Roussel et Kevin Vandenbeuck

  France     6 minutes

Synopsis

A fearful bunny discovers a dancing orb of light. When the light begins to move, he must follow the light through the uncertainty of night, leading him to a stunning mythical encounter.

This film screens as part of the Family Animated Shorts: Me and Magical You program.

 No Dialogue 

Film Credits

  •   Laurine Bocquet, Ilona Caucal, Inès Fechner, Jahnice Laurent, Sarah Robert, Emma Roussel, Kevin Vandenbeuck
  •   Laurine Bocquet, Ilona Caucal, Inès Fechner, Jahnice Laurent, Sarah Robert, Emma Roussel, Kevin Vandenbeuck
  •   Laurine Bocquet, Ilona Caucal, Inès Fechner, Jahnice Laurent, Sarah Robert, Emma Roussel, Kevin Vandenbeuck
  •   Adèle Chavy
  •   ESMA