‘Colours of Time,’ ‘Nouvelle Vague, impress Los Angeles audiences at The American French Film Festival

Cedric Klapisch’s time-jumping family drama Colors Of Time, Jean-Stephane Bron and Alice Winocour’s political thriller series The Deal and Richard Linklater’s ode to the French New Wave, Nouvelle Vague, were among the top prizes voted on by local audiences at this year’s American French Film Festival (TAFFF).

The festival’s 29^th edition wrapped on November 3 after a programme that screened 42 feature films, six documentaries, nine series and 13 shorts.

The audience award for best feature film went to Colors Of Time, which had made its world premiere out of competition in Cannes earlier this year and sold nearly 1 million tickets in France. The film follows a group of strangers, all descendants of a woman from 19th-century Paris, who piece together her story years later. Suzanne Lindon stars with an ensemble cast that includes Vincent Macaigne, Zinedine Soualem and Paul Kircher.

The critics’ award went to Anna Cazenave Cambet’s Love Me Tender, starring Vicky Krieps as a woman whose life is turned upside down when she tells her ex-husband that she’s having romantic relationships with women.

Louise Hemon’s The Girl In The Snow won the prize for best first feature. Set in 1899 in a remote Alpine hamlet, Galatéa Bellugi stars as a teacher hired to instruct the village children whose mysterious arrival coincides with an avalanche as men begin to disappear. Matthieu Lucci and Samuel Kircher co-star.

Young audiences

The American students award went to Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague, about the making of Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless, which was the festival’s Centrepiece Gala and was accompanied by a special screening of the 1960 original film. It was released in US cinemas on October 31 and will start streaming on Netflix in the territory on November 14.

Linklater was also at the festival to receive the Franco-American Cultural Fund Award for his career, and he was also named a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres. The film was also the subject of a week-long screening series for Californian high-school students.

The audience series award went to political thriller The Deal, created by Bron and Winocour. It first premiered at March’s Series Mania, where it earned the buyer’s choice award. It is about a Swiss diplomat leading a mission of last-ditch nuclear talks between the US and Iran, with Europe, Russia and China involved.

First World War drama The Sentinel was awarded the jury series award, while the prize for best TV film went to Blessed Be Sixtine, about a woman who discovers her wealthy in-laws are right-wing nationalists and her husband is an active member of a fundamentalist Catholic sect. She attempts to escape with her baby.

The award for best documentary went to Drugged And Abused: No More Shame from investigative journalist and filmmaker Linda Bendali about the landmark Gisele Pelicot mass rape trial that has shaken France this year..

The festival drew some 14,000 admissions with ticket sales up by 25% year on year. It kicked off on October 28 with an opening-night gala for the premiere of Rebecca Zlotowski’s A Private Life starring Jodie Foster, who was honoured with the festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

The festival wrapped with Yann Gozlan’s closing night film Guru, a psychological thriller starring Pierre Niney as a charismatic yet toxic life coach.

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