The French Film Festival this year comes after two years of living in the Covid era, as a reflection on the period, this year’s selection has a strong theme of contemplation and social critique.
Barbie Robinson from Living Arts Canberra and Nancy Ford-Waites, director of the Alliance Française in Canberra, explore some of her top picks:
Waiting for Bojangles / En Attendant Bojangles
Be transported to the Côte d’Azur and back to the sixties all whilst exploring the subject of mental health.
The story explores the profound love story of the two protagonists, a husband and wife, and how the husband tries to make his wife’s life beautiful despite her mental health demons.
Fulltime / À Plein Temps
A challenging and powerful film about a single mother, interrogating the fast-paced and stress-filled lifestyle produced by our current society.
In this film, we follow Laure Calamy in her daily struggles dealing with transport strikes, her ex-husband, and her high-stakes job amongst others.
Rise / En Corps
A film about dance, and a light-hearted story of how tragedy can lead to discovery and fulfilment.
The main character of this film is an up-and-coming ballet dancer who suffers a career-changing injury.
This injury however allows her to change perspective and engage with a completely new crowd and dance form.
Goliath – A great movie that we spoke about in one of our last posts, see the article here.
Last but not least, Paul W.R.’s Last Journey / Le Dernier Voyage de Paul W.R.
A surprising science-fiction film about rebellion set in an apocalyptic world.
In this thought-provoking film, the protagonist is faced with a mission to save the world, yet unlike other films, he does not want to, the film explores his reasons.
Barbie Robinson is the co-founder and principal of Living arts Canberra, a Canberra not-for-profit media organisation founded in 2018.
To listen to the full interview head to livingartscanberra.com.au
