Young French Cinema Program to Showcase 12 New Films in the U.S.

By Elsa Keslassy

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Clément Cogitore’s “Braguino,” Meryem Benm’Barek’s (pictured) “Sofia” and Marie Losier’s “Cassandro the Exotico!” are among the 12 recent French movies which will play as part of the Young French Cinema Program organized by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the U.S. and .

“Braguino” is a documentary feature about two feuding families living isolated in the middle of the Siberian taiga. Cogitore’s last feature film “Neither Heaven Nor Earth” opened at Cannes’s Critics Week in 2015.

Set in Casablanca, “Sofia” follows a young woman who has 24 hours to provide the identification papers of her child’s father before the authorities are alerted that she broke the law by having a child out of wedlock. The film world premiered at Cannes’s Un Certain Regard and won best screenplay.

“Cassandro the Exotico!” follows the leader of a group of gender-bending, cross-dressing wrestlers known as the Exoticos who must reinvent himself after 26 years of work, injuries, and the effects of a traumatic past. The documentary film played at Tribeca and SXSW, among other festivals.

Now in its fifth edition, the Young French Cinema program will boast a selection of 12 films and 8 shorts from rising French talents. The films will screen in American theaters, universities, film societies, arthouse theaters, the Alliance Française network and other organizations. Movies will also be available on EclairPlay, through Eclair’s partnership with the initiative.

Most of the selected movies have premiered this year at top international festivals. Explore topics such as gender studies, LGBT issues, globalization, migrations and the concept of family, the movies also capture elements of life in France, Canada, Morocco, Mexico or Russia. Eight films are directed by female filmmakers.

The films can be booked “à la carte” starting in January with no minimum or maximum number of films to choose. Last year, 115 screenings were organized in 54 different cities and locations across 22 different states, from New York to Tennessee, North Carolina and Oregon. The number of bookings had gone up by 32% compared with 2016.

The features selected for the Young French Cinema Program are:

“Sparring,” Samuel Jouy

“Something is Happening,” Anne Alix

“L’Amour debout,” Michaël Dacheux

“Return to Bollene,” Saïd Hamich

“Gaspard at the Wedding,” Antony Cordier

“Speak Up,” Amandine Gay

“Whatever Happened to My Revolution,” Judith Davis

“Genesis,” Philippe Lesage

“Orchestra Class,” Rachid Hami

“Braguino,” Clément Cogitore

“Sofia, Meryem Benm’Barek’s ”

“Cassandro the Exotico!,” Marie Losier

And a Canadian film:

“Genesis,” Philippe Lesage