QUOI DE NEUF AROunD DC
2024 AFI EUROPEAN UNION FILM SHOWCASE IS HERE!
37th Edition of Showcase Runs December 4–22 with 54 Films from all 27 EU Member States, 12 Best International Feature Film Oscar® Submissions and 6 U.S. Premieres
FRANCE SELECTION
SPECIAL PRESENTATION
Thurs, Dec. 5, 5:00; Sun, Dec. 8, 3:40*; Tue, Dec. 10, 5:00
Post-screening reception sponsored by Alliance Française of Washington, DC on Dec. 8
In France’s eastern farming region of Jura, 18-year-old Totone (Clément Favreau) becomes the man of the house after his father suddenly dies. The boyish and rascally Totone is not yet ready for the responsibilities of both running the family farm and raising his young sister, but he dreams of making a big score by winning the regional competition for producing Comté cheese. To do so, he and his pals steal high-quality milk from a neighboring farm, where some local lads Totone has a beef with work. But unexpectedly, Totone meets and falls for Marie-Lise (Maïwène Barthelemy), the young woman who owns the farm. Like Totone, Marie-Lise has had responsibility fall to her at a young age, although she is much more up to the task. Practical and straightforward in her work, Marie-Lise takes a similar approach to romantic matters with the inexperienced Totone. First-time feature writer/director Louise Courvoisier grew up in the Jura region and searched local fairs and stock car races to find the winning, authentic cast of first-time actors. The film won the Youth Prize from the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival. Official Selection, 2024 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. DIR/SCR Louise Courvoisier; SCR Théo Abadie; PROD Muriel Meynard. France, 2024, color, 90 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED
GHOST TRAIL [LES FANTÔMES]
Thurs, Dec. 5, 9:30; Sun, Dec. 8, 8:45; Thurs, Dec. 12, 9:45
Having escaped the brutal Syrian regime after serving time in a military prison, former literature professor Hamid (Adam Bessa) is consumed by revenge and ravaged by survivor’s guilt. Now living in Strasbourg, France, he is part of a clandestine operation hunting down Syrian war criminals across Europe. When Hamid finally locates the man who subjected him to violent torture, a breathless cat-and-mouse chase ensues. As he gets closer to finding his mark, Hamid must ask how far he is willing to go for justice. A pulse-pounding spy thriller, Jonathan Millet’s narrative debut recalls the gritty paranoid films of the 1970s and premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. Official Selection, 2024 Chicago and London film festivals. DIR/SCR Jonathan Millet; SCR Florence Rochat; PROD Pauline Seigland. France/Germany/Belgium, 2024, color, 106 min. In English, French and Arabic with English subtitles. NOT RATED
SPECIAL PRESENTATION
MEET THE BARBARIANS [LES BARBARES]
Fri, Dec. 6, 7:10; Wed, Dec. 11, 6:50
Both art house darling and one of France's leading filmmakers, Julie Delpy expertly walks the line between crowd-pleasing comedy and serious-minded drama in this deft exploration of frequently contradictory European attitudes to immigration, as well as rising xenophobia and nationalism. In the quaint village of Paimpont, the town is excited to welcome a family of Ukrainian refugees, but attitudes quickly change when the community learns that the family headed their way is from Syria. At first received with some trepidation, the Fayad family finds its footing in the village, shifting their preconceptions, just as the townspeople shift their own biases and assumptions. But the division in the town runs deep as a xenophobic local businessman refuses to accept the family, while the town's crusading progressive (Delpy) is ready to descend into petty feuds to signal her virtue. A comedy with a big heart, big ideas and plenty of big laughs, this timely fish-out-of-water tale pokes fun at the bigoted views of Europe's right-wing and at the performative ideals of liberal-minded citizens alike. But at the heart of the story is the Fayad family and the all-too-real situation in their homeland, which has forced them to find refuge in the most unlikely — and sometimes most inhospitable — of places. Official Selection, 2024 AFI FEST and Toronto film festivals. DIR/SCR Julie Delpy; SCR Matthieu Rumani, Nicolas Slomka; PROD Michael Gentile. France, 2024, color, 101 min. In French, English and Arabic with English subtitles. NOT RATED
LANGUE ÉTRANGÈRE
Sat, Dec. 7, 12:20; Mon, Dec. 9, 4:30
Cultural borders and language barriers meld together in Claire Burger’s third feature, a Franco-German coming-of-age love story. Timid, reticent Fanny from Strasbourg and outspoken, headstrong Lena from Leipzig are pen pals who embark on a language exchange program. An initial hostile encounter soon thaws toward a budding romance and an intensely volatile friendship marked by neurotic fixation and teenage angst. Burger, along with co-writer Léa Mysius (THE FIVE DEVILS, AFI FEST 2022), boldly taps into the complex psyche of contemporary youth marked by political activism and shifting identities, while still opening a channel for intergenerational dialogue through seasoned arthouse darlings Nina Hoss and Chiara Mastroianni’s sharp-witted turns as familial figures. Washed in a palette of cloudy pastels and blues, LANGUE ÉTRANGÈRE explores complicated desires for collective ambition in a Europe that’s on the precipice of transformative change. (Note courtesy AFI FEST.) Official Selection, 2024 Berlin International Film Festival. DIR/SCR Claire Burger; SCR Léa Mysius; PROD Marie-Ange Luciani. France/Germany/Belgium, 2024, color, 101 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED
SPECIAL PRESENTATION
THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO [LE COMTE DE MONTE-CRISTO]
Sat, Dec. 7, 3:00; Sun, Dec. 8, 5:40
Alexandre Dumas’ epic revenge tome gets a swashbuckling update in this lavish adaptation from screenwriting and directing duo Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière. Pierre Niney (THE BOOK OF SOLUTIONS, YVES SAINT LAURENT) stars as Edmond Dantès, a low-ranking sailor who has just been promoted to captain and can finally marry the upper-crust love of his life. But on the day of his wedding, he is betrayed by those closest to him, declared a Napoleon loyalist and sent to rot in the Château d’If prison. Fourteen years later, Dantès returns, posing as the Count of Monte Cristo, ready to bring justice to those who wronged him. Filled with court intrigue, thrilling disguises and stirring romance, this is Dumas via MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, a crowd-pleasing blockbuster success in France coming on the heels of its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this summer. DIR/SCR Matthieu Delaporte, Alexandre de La Patellière; SCR from the novel by Alexandre Dumas; PROD Dimitri Rassam. France/Belgium, 2024, color, 178 min. In French, Romanian and Italian with English subtitles. NOT RATED
MISERICORDIA
Sat, Dec. 7, 9:00; Thurs, Dec. 12, 9:15
Death and desire make a potent cocktail in Alain Guiraudie's (STRANGER BY THE LAKE, AFI FEST 2013) delicious Hitchcockian thriller, which premiered at this year's Cannes Film Festival. A former baker, Jérémie (a beguiling Félix Kysyl), returns to the small French village of his youth after his mentor's death. Perhaps overstaying his welcome, Jérémie ingratiates himself into the man's family, charming his gracious widow Martine (Catherine Frot) to the displeasure of her hot-headed son Vincent (Jean-Baptiste Durand). But when tensions boil over, Jérémie has no qualms about seducing whoever he sees fit to get his way, including an all-too-receptive priest (Jacques Develay). Yet again, Guiraudie dissects rural French life with laser precision, melding sex, violence and black comedy to create something wholly his own. Official Selection, 2024 AFI FEST, Toronto and New York film festivals. DIR/SCR Alain Guiraudie; PROD Charles Gillibert. France/Spain/Portugal, 2024, color, 103 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED
THE KINGDOM [LE ROYAUME]
Sat, Dec. 14, 2:00; Wed, Dec. 18, 4:30; Thurs, Dec. 19, 4:50
Coming-of-age meets organized crime in Julien Colonna's spellbinding feature debut, which premiered at Cannes. This gritty father-daughter tale unfolds against the backdrop of the criminal and political violence that gripped Corsica during the 1990s. Fifteen-year-old Lesia (phenomenal newcomer Ghjuvanna Benedetti) is in the midst of a typical teen summer in her remote rural town when she is suddenly hurried away to a villa on another part of the island where her father, local crime boss Pierre-Paul (Saveriu Santucci), has been hiding out with his clan, preparing for an impending underworld war involving escalating blood feuds and political scheming. Eschewing the tropes of mafia dramas immemorial, THE KINGDOM reframes the story from the vantage point of a young woman who is initially one step removed from the actuality of mob violence, but gradually drawn into its nasty, unglamorous heart. When father and daughter are forced to go on the run, Lesia must quickly adapt, coming to terms with her father’s chosen path while finding herself entangled in a seemingly inescapable cycle of generational violence. THE KINGDOM puts a distinctly fresh spin on the classic crime genre, heralding an exciting new voice in world cinema. Official Selection, 2024 Cannes Film Festival. DIR/SCR Julien Colonna; SCR Jeanne Herry; PROD Antoine Lafon, Hugo Sélignac. France, 2024, color, 108 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED
U.S. Premiere
SUSPENDED TIME [HORS DU TEMPS]
Sat, Dec. 14, 3:45; Tue, Dec. 17, 6:50
Olivier Assayas’ auto-fictional portrait of his and his close family’s life during their COVID quarantine, spent in the enviably comfortable confines of his family’s country home, stands apart from other cinematic attempts to represent that time for its sense of ironic humor, balancing droll self-deprecation with moving self-reflection. Vincent Macaigne (IRMA VEP (2022)) plays Paul (a stand-in for Assayas), a veteran filmmaker who, unable to work, alternates between reconnecting with his loved ones and fretting about his future projects. He shares the beloved family home with his documentarian girlfriend Morgane (Nine d’Urso), his music journalist brother Etienne (Micha Lescot) and Etienne’s partner Carole (Nora Hamzawi). Each day unfolds with some combination of tennis, reading, Zoom calls to Paul’s ex and beloved daughter, garden phone calls to his therapist, sibling spats with Etienne about the proper precautions and leisurely outdoor dinners where the brothers reminisce about their youth. Assayas inserts segments touring the house and its artifacts, narrated in his own voice, about the real-life Assayas family’s history, a fascinating counterpoint to the more comical narrative enacted by the cast. Ultimately, SUSPENDED TIME is less about the darkest days of the pandemic and more about the strange moments of slowing down, reflection and reconnection that happened along the way, told with wit, warmth and affection by a master filmmaker at his most autobiographical. DIR/SCR/PROD Olivier Assayas; PROD Olivier Delbosc. France, 2024, color, 105 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED
THE MARCHING BAND [EN FANFARE]
Thurs, Dec. 19, 7:10; Sun, Dec. 22, 2:00
When he is diagnosed with leukemia, world-renowned conductor Thibaut takes a DNA test and makes the shocking discovery that he has a long-lost biological brother named Jimmy. Desperate for a bone marrow transplant, Thibaut reaches out and asks for the ultimate favor. Raised in a working-class province, Jimmy is skeptical of his big-city brother, and their relationship starts off on shaky footing — until they discover their shared love of music. While Thibaut conducts symphony orchestras in the greatest halls of Europe, Jimmy plays trombone in the local ragtag marching band. But when the band’s conductor quits, Jimmy signs up to start leading the group and enlists his brother to turn them into a well-tuned, prize-winning ensemble. French filmmaker Emmanuel Courcol (THE BIG HIT) premiered his crowd-pleasing tearjerker at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. DIR/SCR Emmanuel Courcol; SCR Oriane Bonduel, Irène Muscari, Marianne Tomersy; PROD Marc Bordure, Robert Guédiguian. France, 2024, color, 103 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED
SOULEYMANE'S STORY [L'HISTOIRE DE SOULEYMANE]
Sat, Dec. 21, 4:45; Sun, Dec. 22, 6:15
An intense and moving examination of 48 hours in the life of a young Guinean man leading up to his asylum hearing in Paris, Boris Lojkine’s film won three awards at Cannes, including Best Performance in the Un Certain Regard section for first-time actor Abou Sangare’s magnetic lead performance. Unable to work legally, Souleymane (Sangare) hustles nonstop as a bike deliveryman, logged into a delivery app under another person’s name, to whom he must give a large cut of his earnings. Still more of his money goes to Barry (Alpha Oumar Sow), a fixer who coaches aspiring asylum seekers on how to craft supposedly fail-safe narratives for their interviews by embellishing some points and inventing others. Constantly in motion, Souleymane careens around the city, from delivery drop-off to bus stop to homeless shelter, with only fleeting moments to speak to friend and stranger alike. Convincingly and kinetically, Lojkine’s film shows us the constant struggle of the would-be asylum seeker’s life. The riveting final scene, Souleymane’s climactic interview with a tough but not unsympathetic official (Nina Meurisse), will leave viewers breathless. Official Selection, 2024 Cannes and Toronto film festivals. DIR/SCR Boris Lojkine; SCR Delphine Agut; PROD Bruno Nahon. France, 2024, color, 93 min. In French, Fulah and Malinka with English subtitles. NOT RATED
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SPECIAL PRESENTATION
2025 Oscar® Selection, Sweden
SWEDEN
THE LAST JOURNEY [DEN SISTA RESAN]
Q&A with directors Filip Hammar and Fredrik Wikingsson, plus post-screening reception sponsored by the Embassy of Sweden on Dec. 5
80-year-old Lars, a retired French teacher, has lost his zest for life. The doctor says he is physically fine, but he can’t seem to get off the couch. In a last bid to help get his mojo back, his son Filip decides to take him on a road trip to France, the same trip the family used to make every year for holiday. Filip hopes if he can bring Lars back to the sites of cherished memories, he might jumpstart his father to start living again. Filip invites his best friend Fredrik along for the ride, and they pack up an old Renault 4, the same model Lars used to drive, and hit the road — but not all goes to plan. Popular media personalities Filip and Fredrik bring their trademark humor to this warmhearted documentary, delicately addressing the topic of aging and, in the process, creating a box office smash in their native Sweden. DIRS Filip Hammar, Fredrik Wikingsson; PROD Lars Beckung, Petra Måhl. Sweden, 2024, color, 90 min. In Swedish with English subtitles. NOT RATED
BELGIUM
MALDOROR
Sat, Dec. 14, 8:40; Sun, Dec. 15, 7:45
Belgium, 1995. The police are corrupt, and the justice system is failing. When two young girls go missing, it quickly turns into a national scandal. Former juvenile-delinquent-turned-renegade-cop Paul Chartier is assigned to join a covert recon team named “Maldoror,” tasked with cracking the case and saving face for the bureau. But when his carefully gathered evidence is ignored, he is forced to take justice into his own hands. Premiering out of competition at the 2024 Venice Film Festival, Belgian genre master Fabrice du Welz has crafted a crackling true-crime thriller that is equal parts David Fincher’s ZODIAC and Denis Villeneuve’s PRISONERS. Official Selection, 2024 Fantastic Fest and London film festivals. DIR/SCR Fabrice du Welz; SCR Domenico La Porta; PROD Violaine Barbaroux, Manuel Chiche, Jean-Yves Roubin. Belgium/France, 2024, color, 155 min. In French with English subtitles. NOT RATED
Music and Chocolate: Tastes and Sounds of Europe | Many Venues | November 20 - December 12, 2024
The European Union National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) Washington, DC Cluster presents the project Music and Chocolate: Tastes & Sounds of Europe from Nov. 20-Dec. 12, 2024.
Like the many nuances of chocolate, music is bold, sweet, diverse, and surprising. Utilizing the sense of taste and sound, we bring an experience for the senses that highlights the rich, diverse and beautiful layers of European music. From classical to jazz and beyond, we pair inspiring melodies and happenings with a flair of chocolate.
Participating Countries: Austria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and Switzerland.
Participating Organizations: Alliance Française of Washington DC, Austrian Cultural Forum, Italian Cultural Institute, Embassy of the Czech Republic, Embassy of Poland, Embassy of Portugal, Embassy of Slovenia, Embassy of Spain, Embassy of Switzerland, and the Goethe-Institut Washington
ABOUT EUNIC EUNIC – European Union National Institutes for Culture – is the European Union's network of organizations engaging in cultural relations. EUNIC advocates a prominent role of culture in international relations and is a strategic partner of the EU, actively involved in the further definition of European cultural policy. EUNIC is a platform for knowledge sharing and for capacity building amongst its members and partners.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
- Nov. 20, from 10 AM to 1 PM: Italy| Masterclass “Music & Chocolate” w/ Chef Rita Monastero
- Nov. 20, at 6 PM: Italy | Conversation: "Music & Chocolate - Tastes & Sounds of Europe," w/ Chef Rita Monastero and Prof. Carolyn Ross
- Nov. 21, at 7 PM: Austria | Chaos String Quartet
- Dec. 2, at 6 PM: Germany | Ellington Ensemble / Duke Ellington and Chocolate Tasting
- Dec. 3, at 6 PM: France | Film - Chocolat and Chocolate Tasting
- Dec. 5, from 4:30 PM to 8:30 PM: Switzerland | Skate with Switzerland
- Dec. 10, at 6 PM: Portugal | Portuguese & Classical Guitar Concert, Chocolate & Wine Reception
- Dec. 12, at 6 PM: Czech Republic, Spain, Slovenia | Jazz & Chocolate – Leví?ek & Carrascosa
OPERA LAFAYETTE SEASON 2024-2025
Tickets for Opera Lafayette's 30th Season On Sale NOW
Highlights include internationally acclaimed Algerian early music group Ensemble Amedyez, a celebration of Maestro Ryan Brown’s three-decade tenure, and the much-anticipated world premiere of the 138-year-old, first extant opera by a Black American, Dédé's Morgiane.
OCTOBER 22, 2024, 7:30p.m. Dupont Underground, Washington, D.C. Ensemble Amedyez Only
Learn More (https://www.operalafayette.org/season)
