Here is a list of recent and current French Gems I recommend watching.
When Margaux Meets Margaux
I saw this film at Raindance Film Festival in 2019. Excellent French film and I am keen to find out how I can watch it again. Seems to be a rare and limited releasing. Currently it is available to stream and buy on DVD in Taiwan region. The director Sophie Fillières is a well established director, even though this is the first time I am introduced to her, she has a new fan and I am keen to see her other work.
Lux Æterna
Dying to see the next Gaspar Noé joint. One third of my favourite film directors. Lux Æterna premiered at Cannes in 2019 and plays at this years Tribeca Film Festival. Originally a 50 minute short film for a Yves Saint Lauren episode series. However, apparently Gaspar had more footage of the movie he wanted to incorporate into a longer film, and the result is now a short 60-70 minute feature. I really hope it gets a general release at some point.
Alice
Another cracking film to grace Raindance Film Festival 2019. Although I hadn’t seen the film at the festival, it had a lot of buzz surrounding it. It won the Spirit of the Festival award at the festival, and also won the Jury award at SXSW that year too. I was dying to see it somehow, but it seems to be another rare and limited release. Luckily it can be viewed on Vimeo on Demand in the US territory. The director Josephine Mackerras is massively inspiring and the way she told her story when trying to get the film made. It reminded me of myself and can relate to all the highs, lows and struggles independent filmmakers go through when trying to get their films made. The inspiring interview with Josephine can be found here.
The Sound of the Future
I stumbled across this film by chance when visiting one of my get away oasis, the Cine Lumiere in Kensington, London. And what an amazing find it was. A simple film, effective and real. Telling the story of a day in the life of an electronic music pioneer of the 80s in Paris. It had a limited screening and I was searching for a DVD there after. A near enough monthly search came, again by chance and I was one of the first buyers to purchase the first 5 limited release collectors edition. I love this film, it resembles everything my style of filmmaking is about, and is a film I will store in the treasure chest. You can buy the limited edition DVD only at 606 Distribution here.
-NB