By Ogova Ondego
Published February 9, 2014
The 10th annual Images of France film festival returns to Alliance Francaise in the central business district of Nairobi with what the organisers describe as “recent critically acclaimed and award-winning films from France”.
The festival, scheduled to run every evening, starts on Valentine’s Day and runs through February 17 with a presentation of dramas, comedies and adventures that Alliance Française say is “the latest French successes across all genres.”
The free-entry daily feast shall be preceded by special school screenings of the well loved family adventure set in Senegal. The 88-minute KIRIKOU ET LES HOMES ET LES FEMMES is directed by Michel Ocelot in 2012 and mixes mythology, fable, humour and wit with plenty of song and dance. In it, tiny Kirikou defeats Karaba the horrid witch with intelligence, bravery and music. Any school can participate as long as prior booking is made through mediatheque1@alliancefrnairobi.org. This runs February 11-14; 10.00am-1.00pm.
The 10th Images of France starts with CAMILLE REDOUBLE, a 115-minute drama directed by Noémie Lvovsky in 2012 that was nominated for 13 César Awards including Best Film, Best Director and Best Actress. That is the “Valentine’s Special” film that is likely to resonate with any one going through a hard patch in their relationships as they are likely to identify with Camille, the almost broken protagonist of this bitter-sweet time-travel comedy as she passes out at a New Year’s Eve party and wakes up back in her youth.
SUR LE CHEMIN DE L’ECOLE/On the Way to School, a 77-minute documentary shot in the Kenyan savannahs, Morocco’s Atlas Mountains, Patagonia’s plateaus and southern India and directed by Pascal Plisson in 2013, shall have its Kenyan Première in the presence of the young Kenyan cast of Jackson Saikong and Salome Saikong during Images of France on February 17.
SUR LE CHEMIN DE L’ECOLE follows four children united in their quest for education and dreams of escaping poverty and ignorance as they confront countless obstacles on their daily journeys to school.
Also lined up for screening are POP REDEMPTION by Martin Le Gall (2013, 95 minutes) on February 15 at 3pm; POUR UNE FEMME by Diane Kurys (2013, 110 minutes) on February 15 at 5.30pm; DU VENT DANS MES MOLLETS by Carine Tardieu (2012, 89 minutes) on February 16 at 3.00pm; CLOCLO/My Way, a Florent Emilio Siri film (2012, 148 minutes) that won the 2013 César Award for Best Sound showing at 5.30pm on February 16.
