The Angoulême Francophone Film Festival celebrated its fifteenth birthday with a bang. The event created with passion by Marie-France Brière and Dominique Besnehard has attracted 52,000 enthusiastic people to its halls since Tuesday, i.e. 40% more than in 2021. A remarkable program was not for nothing in the enthusiasm of the public.
Between star-rich previews and exciting auteur films, the festival has proven that French cinema is doing well and that it offers something to satisfy all viewers. The triumph of the hilarious adventure film Jack Mimoun and the secrets of Val Verde where Malik Bentalha replies to Jérôme Commandeur, François Damiens and Joséphine Japy was as warm as that reserved for worst by Lise Akoka and Romane Gueret, Valois de Diamant for this 2022 edition.
Pires, children and a caftan on the list
This was our favorite in the competition: The worstalready crowned with the Un Certain regard prize at Cannes, won over the jury chaired by André Dussollier who also came to present The Tiger and the President in preview. This funny and tender first film follows a shooting where an overwhelmed director tries to direct children and teenagers in a city in the north of France. The Blue of the Caftan by Maryam Touzani, the story of a Moroccan couple who hides the homosexuality of their husband and The Sixth Child of Léopold Legrand, where a penniless family concludes a terrible arrangement with a sterile couple, also knew the favors of the jury.
We deplore the absence on the list of touching Habib, The Great Adventure by Benoît Mariage about a Moroccan actor who must compose between his desire to break through and his family traditions. And that ofAnnie Anger by Blandine Lenoir around the Movement for the Freedom of Abortion (MLAC) which fought for the promulgation of the law defended by Simone Weil in 1974. The latter was also in the spotlight for the very applauded preview of Simone, the trip of the century by Olivier Dahan where Rebecca Marder and Elsa Zylberstein share the role of the great lady.
On the star side, it was also a party. The public made a triumph to Isabelle Huppert and Sophie Marceau. We also met Dany Boon and Line Renaud for A great race by Christian Caron, Ramzy Bedia for Youssef Salem has talentIsabelle Carré and Bernard Campan for The tasting and Karin Viard and Grégory Gadebois for maria dream by Lauriane Escaffre and Yvonnick Muller. Pleasures as numerous as they are varied to be discovered in theaters in the coming months. Everything you need to make the spectators return massively to the cinema.