‘Nouvelle Vague’, featured in May at the Cannes Film Festival, is set for a national pre-premiere on October 2 at Cinema São Jorge in Lisbon, marking the official opening of the Festa do Cinema Francês.
This year, for the first time, this festival dedicated to Francophone cinema will run almost simultaneously in Lisbon and Porto, with events in the latter city scheduled from October 3 to 10. In Coimbra, it will take place from October 8 to 11.
In ‘Nouvelle Vague’, Richard Linklater reimagines the production and filming of ‘Breathless’, a modern classic of French cinema, originally directed by Jean-Luc Godard in the summer of 1959, featuring Jean Seberg and Jean-Paul Belmondo.
“More than a portrait of a man and his art, Richard Linklater captured an entire generation of filmmakers and revitalized the spirit that marked a prolific era of cinema, characterized by freedom of expression, improvisation, and an attachment to the poetry of the everyday,” the Cannes Film Festival described.
The 26th edition of the Festa do Cinema Francês, held in Lisbon from October 2 to 12, is highlighted by a new artistic direction under the programmer Anne Delseth, who has previously worked at festivals in Cannes, Locarno, and Marrakech.
This year, the festival will feature a competitive section for first and second works, facilitate a professional meeting for Luso-French co-production, and host a new edition of the event ‘From Film to Series’.
In Porto, the festival will focus on the Batalha Centro de Cinema and Cinema Trindade, featuring a new competitive section and an audience award.
Following Lisbon and Porto, the Festa do Cinema Francês will visit other cities in the country, with Almada scheduled from October 14 to 18 and Beja in November.
From this year onwards, the production of the Festa do Cinema Francês will be handled by the association Il Sorpasso, which is also responsible for the Festa do Cinema Italiano and organizes the Luso! — Mostra Itinerante de Cinema Português in Italy.
