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Hidden Gems of the French 90's (8 Feb to 1 March)
Beau Travail
The most famous French film of the 90’s is La Haine. It is a great film, but we felt like making you discover lesser known French films from that decade.
These are 4 hidden gems, showing more obscure aspects of France, and incredibly original styles of filmmaking.
Trends in the French 90's?
The 90's are not that far form us, so it is hard to say what "time" will make of that decade, what will "stay" and what will be forgotten.
However, certain trends can be identified from that decade in French cinema, namely quite a lot of heritage films (such as Cyrano de Bergerac, Ridicule, or Tous les Matins du Monde), and what has been called "Beur" cinema, which are films about the French suburbs (such as La Haine, or My City is Going to Crack Down).
However, for this season, we wanted to programme films that do not fit into these trends, for the simple reasons that these films are either already famous (and not needing us to programme them) or they are not very good (in our humble opinion!).
Every Little Thing The films programmed for this season were made by directors with a strong identity and an original style, and who do not really fit into any movement or wider category. Also, apart from Beau Travail, these films have not travelled very much outside of France, and we wanted them to be discovered.
Why the 90's?
It is quite common to see French films from the 1930's (Renoir, Autant-Lara) or the 1960's (the French New Wave), but it is more rare to see French films from the 90's, apart from La Haine. So we thought that it would be interesting to try and research that decade, and find interesting and not very well known films from then.
Hidden Gems of the French 90's (8 Feb to 1 March) runs from 8th February 2011 until 1st March 2011
8th February 2011 ( 7:30PM – 9:30PM )
Every Little Thing (Nicolas Philibert, 1997, 100 min)
From the director of “Etre et Avoir”, this is an incredible documentary about one of the world’s most highly regarded psychiatric institutions, where patients and staff live and work together.
15th February 2011 ( 7:30PM – 10:00PM )
Betty (Claude Chabrol, 1992, 112 min)
Fabulous film about the French bourgeoisie, its narrow-mindedness, and the struggle of a young woman to exist within it.
22nd February 2011 ( 7:30PM – 9:30PM )
Beau Travail (Claire Denis, 1999, 92min)
In the 90’s, in France, there were more female filmmakers than ever before. Claire Denis is a genius director, and this is the film that revealed her talent.
1st March 2011 ( 7:30PM – 10:00PM )
The Town is Quiet (Robert Guediguian, 2000, 132 min)
Robert Guediguian is one of the rare French directors concentrating on issues attached to the working classes, and his films are full of wit and humour.