CANCELLED: Frenchy Weekends Film Festival
Due to ongoing stay-at-home restrictions, Frenchy Weekends Film Festival has now been cancelled. The Knot will be staying at Fed Square until September 19, so we look forward to sharing Cyril Lancelin’s incredible, immersive sculpture with you all when we return.
Dance with the French Cancan dancers, surrender to some of the world’s best DJ’s beats in improbable locations – travel the world through the magic of film.
We are delighted to present, in partnership with Alliance Francaise de Melbourne, a curated selection of French films for the Frenchy Weekends Film Festival.
Curator Karine Mauris, Cultural Attachée at the French Embassy, has thoughtfully woven together a fine tapestry of cinematic masterpieces that are sure to delight and beguile, tantalise and seduce!
In Mauris’ words:
“What a joy to be able to share with you my love of music and take you on a journey through some of the most iconic and beautiful places in France and around the world. Featuring some of France’s most gifted songwriters, composers and artists, the Frenchy Weekends – Film Festival also presents some of the world’s best DJs and producers. Our program is designed to make you dance to the sounds of electronic music, travel through the eyes of the great Charles Aznavour, sing along with the words of Gainsbourg, dream with the dancers of the French Cancan, love with Les Demoiselles de Rochefort and vibrate with the playful Triplettes team!
“Frenchy Weekends Film Festival will warm up your winter evenings with a selection of dance and electronic music, set in some of the most iconic and beautiful locations of the world.
“Two biopics will also be presented during our French Weekends: Aznavour By Charles (Le Regard de Charles) and Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life – a tribute to two of France’s most important songwriters, Charles Aznavour and Serge Gainsbourg.
“Welcome to the first edition of Frenchy Weekends Film Festival – a celebration of music, art, culture and love.”
See you at Fed Square, mes amis!
In partnership with Alliance Francaise de Melbourne
7pm–9pm | Friday August 27
Curator notes: We kick our program off with a moment of pure happiness, light and colour on the big screen, with Les Demoiselles de Rochefort – a classic French musical so dear to the hearts of French people. Set in the West of France, the production is directed by Jacques Demy and assisted by Agnes Varda, with music composed by one of the greatest French composers, Michel Legrand (The Thomas Crown Affair, Yentl, James Bond’s Never Say Never Again, and more).
Classification: G
2pm–3:15pm | Saturday August 28
Curator notes: Møme’s live performance combines guitar, keyboards, vocals and other sounds from a floating cottage in Tahiti, the biggest island of the French Polynesia – a lovely sunset moment to break the winter chills of Melbourne!
Produced by French production company Le Cercle.
Classification: PG
3:15pm–4:50pm | Saturday August 28
Curator notes: Frenchy Weekends – Film Festival also goes to Paris, with Berlin-based DJ/Producer Monika Kruse playing an amazing set of techno at an altitude of 210m from Montparnasse Tower Observation Deck which overlooks the wonderful Eiffel Tower.
Classification: PG
7pm–9:15pm | Saturday August 28
Curator notes: The first performance comes from superstar DJ/Producer Carl Cox, who shakes the walls of the Château de Chambord – one of the most identifiable symbols of French Renaissance architecture. Two hours of pure pleasure!
Classification: PG
9:15pm–10:15pm | Saturday August 28
Curator notes: The Monumental Tour video was made by French DJ/Producer Michael Canitrot, who lights up the Château de Vincennes with his mix of house, electro and nu-disco.
Classification: PG
3pm–4:15pm | Sunday August 29
Curator notes: In 1948, Edith Piaf offered a Paillard-Bolex camera to Charles Aznavour, which was always by his side. Until 1982, Charles would shoot hours and hours of material, which forms the base of his film diary Aznavour By Charles (Le Regard de Charles). Come on a bohemian journey through the life of one of the greatest French lyricists (Piaf, Sinatra, Streisand) and performers.
Classification: PG
4:15pm–6pm | Sunday August 29
Curator notes: During the week celebrating Bastille Day, Frenchy Weekends will screen French Cancan – the Jean Renoir masterpiece, which tells the story of the creation of the Moulin Rouge and the famous cancan dance that originated from there. Jean Renoir also happens to be the son of the illustrious painter Auguste Renoir (currently on show at the Impressionist exhibition at the NGV).
Classification: PG
8pm–9:20pm | Friday September 3
Curator notes: Another French Weekends musical film selection comes from French duo The Blaze. Their unique, ethereal electronica is played from the sub-zero, snowy summits of Aiguille du Midi, one of the highest peaks of Mont Blanc. The spectacular views above the clouds, with the sun descending towards the horizon, provides a breathtaking backdrop to their live performance of their album Dancehall.
Classification: G
9:20pm–10:55pm | Friday September 3
Curator notes: Sébastien Léger’s live performance at the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, is perfectly in tune with the location, as house music dips into eastern-influences, analogue sounds and incredible scenery. Amazing views and sounds!
Classification: PG
8pm–10:10pm | Saturday September 4
Curator notes: For the 30th anniversary of Gainsbourg’s death, we will sing his songs and discover his life on the big screen. Between poetry and unorthodox cool, Gainsbourg invites us to dance La Javanaise and to celebrate love.
Classification: M
3pm–4:20pm | Sunday September 5
Curator notes: French animation film Les Triplettes de Belleville (nominated for two Oscars and shortlisted for the Cannes Film Festival in 2003) is the perfect ‘mise en bouche’ for this year’s Tour de France, which started on 26 June. A comedy featuring infectious jazz from the 30s, the film has a crazy originality, conveying its narrative through song and pantomime. It tells the story of a woman’s quest to rescue her grandson, a Tour de France cyclist, who has been kidnapped. Quirky and fun, this is a little gem!
Classification: PG
Presented in Partnership with:
Supporting Partner
