David Farnor | On 14, Jan 2022

The 12th edition of MyFrenchFilmFestival officially gets underway today, with the best of new French cinema once again streaming to living rooms around the world.

The event, which runs for a month until 14th January, shines a spotlight on 30 films, subtitled in 10 languages. Presided over by an international jury that includes Michelle Couttolenc, Joachim Lafosse, Filippo Meneghetti, Santiago Mitre, and Daphné Patakia, the festival also features a collection of short films available to for free at the festival’s official website.

Feature films are available for viewing individually for €1.99 each (or you can purchase a Festival Pack for €7.99, which includes access to all of them – although it’s worth noting that not all films are available to watch in all countries).

11 films are available on BFI Player, included with BFI Player’s usual subscription: The Monopoly of Violence, All Hands on Deck!, Gallant Indies, Nadia, Butterfly, Madly in Life, the Lover, Honey Cigar, Beyond the Horizon, the Night Doctor, Calamity and Skies of Lebanon.

MUBI, meanwhile, will be streaming four of the festival’s line-up: Honey Cigar (streaming from 20th January), Skies of Lebanon (streaming from 24th January), The Monopoly of Violence (streaming from 1st February) and The Night Doctor (streaming from 8th February).

Stay tuned for our reviews and recommendations throughout the coming month. In the meantime, here’s the full rundown of the titles, grouped into the festival’s themed strands:

French and Furious
A selection of films that are dynamite in the new-generation auteur cinema scene

Teddy by Ludovic Boukherma and Zoran Boukherma – Cannes – 2020
The Monopoly of Violence by David Dufresne – Directors’ Fortnight – 2020
The Demons of Dorothy by Alexis Langlois – Locarno – 2021
Horacio by Caroline Cherrier – Annecy – 2021
Love Hurts by Elsa Rysto – Clermont-Ferrand – 2021

Bold Youth
Different perspectives on the unconditional energy of youth

All Hands on Deck by Guillaume Brac – Berlin International Film Festival – 2020
Gallant Indies by Philippe Béziat
Oldschool by Yasmine Bahechar, in partnership with SWISS FILMS
The Right Words by Adrian Moyse Dullin – Cannes – 2021

Troubled Identities

When the search for meaning starts with a search for a sense of self

Nadia, Butterfly by Pascal Plante – Cannes – 2020, in partnership with Telefilm Canada
Playlist by Nine Antico
Madly in Life by Raphaël Balboni and Ann Sirot, in partnership with Wallonie-Bruxelles Images (WBI)
The Ugly Ducklings by Anton Balekdjian

A Cinema of Desire

A little tour of awakenings to love, desire, and sensuality

The Lover by Jean-Jacques Annaud
Honey Cigar by Kamir Aïnouz – Giornate degli Autori (Venice) – 2020
Beyond the Horizon by Delphine Lehericey – San Sebastián – 2019, in partnership with SWISS FILMS
Hold Me Tight by Léoluna Robert-Tourneur, in partnership with Wallonie-Bruxelles Images (WBI)
Moon by Zoé Pelchat, in partnership with Telefilm Canada

Night Tales

Focuses on what we become between nightfall and dawn.

The Night Doctor by Elie Wajeman – Cannes – 2020
Dustin by Naïla Guiguet – Toronto – 2020
Malabar by Maximilian Badier-Rosenthal – Clermont-Ferrand – 2021
Little Bear by Nicolas Birkenstock – Clermont-Ferrand – 2021

Voyage

Through time or space, a chance to discover new horizons.

Calamity by Rémi Chayé – Annecy – 2020
Skies of Lebanon by Chloé Mazlo – Cannes – 2020
Erratum by Giulio Callegari
Omnibus by Sam Karmann – Cannes – 1992

Kids Corner

A selection of silent animated shorts directed by promising young directors fresh out of film school.

Astralium by Lucie Andouche
Mido and the Instrumals by Roman Guillanton
Eye for an Eye by Thomas Boileau, Alan Guimont, Robin Courtoise, Mathieu Lecroq, Malcolm Hunt and François Briantais
Treasure by Alexandre Manzanares, Guillaume Cosenza, Philipp Merten and Silvan Moutte-Roulet

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