The Albertine Cinémathèque Film Festival returns to Boston University in 2024! All screenings are free and open to the public. The festival presents a mixture of classic and contemporary films from France and the Francophone world.

The Beast / La Bête (2023)

Wednesday, Sep. 25 @ 6pm – PHO 206

The Beast is a 2023 science fiction romantic drama directed by Bertrand Bonello, which premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival. The story is a loose interpretation of Henry James’s novella The Beast in the Jungle (1903).

In 2044, artificial intelligence controls all facets of society, where human emotions are perceived as a threat. To eliminate her emotional blockages, Gabrielle (Léa Seydoux) must purify her DNA by revisiting her past lives – in 1910 in Paris and 2014 in Los Angeles. There, she reunites with Louis (George Mackay), her great love. But this journey through time promises to be ominous, and in each era, the young woman is haunted by a dark premonition that a catastrophe is about to happen.

En 2024, l’intelligence artificielle a pris le contrôle de la société où les émotions humaines sont devenues une menace. Pour se débarrasser des blocages émotionnels, Gabrielle (Léa Seydoux) doit purifier son ADN en replongeant dans ses vies antérieures – en 1910 à Paris et en 2014 à Los Angeles. Elle y retrouve Louis (George Mackay), son grand amour. Mais ce voyage dans le temps s’annonce macabre et la jeune femme, à chacune des époques, est hantée par un sombre pressentiment qu’une catastrophe est sur le point d’arriver.

Followed by French Cinema Trivia

Banel & Adama (2023)

Wednesday, Oct. 2 @ 6pm – PHO 206

Banel & Adama is a 2023 French-Malian-Senegalese romantic drama film directed by Senegalese screenwriter Ramata-Toulaye Sy in her feature directorial debut. It premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival in 2023. It was chosen as the Senegalese entry for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards.

Banel & Adama is a tragic romance following two young lovers as they strive for independence and self-possession in the face of imperious tradition.

Banel (18) and Adama (19) live in a remote village in northern Senegal. Adama is calm and introverted, while Banel displays a passionate and rebellious nature. Both are in love and long to have their own house. It is for this reason that the couple decided to live separately from their respective families. The balance of the community is disrupted when Adama refuses to fulfill his blood duty as future leader. He informs the village council, which causes a lot of tension and doubt.

Banel & Adama est une romance tragique qui suit deux jeunes amoureux dans leur quête pour leur propre indépendance et possession de soi face à une tradition impérieuse.

Banel (18 ans) et Adama (19 ans) vivent dans un village reculé du nord du Sénégal. Adama est calme et introverti, tandis que Banel fait preuve d’une nature passionnée et rebelle. Tous deux sont très amoureux et aspirent à avoir leur propre maison. C’est pour cette raison que le couple a décidé de vivre séparément de leurs familles respectives. L’équilibre de la communauté est rompu lorsqu’Adama refuse de remplir son devoir en tant que futur chef. Il en informe le conseil du village, ce qui provoque bien des remous.

Anatomy of a Fall / L’Anatomie d’une chute (2023)

Monday, October 7 @ 6pm – PHO 206

Anatomy of a Fall (L’anatomie d’une chute) is a 2023 drama directed by French director, screenwriter, and editor Justine Triet. The film is adapted from a screenplay Triet wrote with fellow director and screenwriter, Arthur Harari, and premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival in May 2023. The film celebrated a grand success at Cannes, where it won the Palme d’or, the Palm Dog, and competed for the Queer Palm. The film also won 6 awards at the 49th César Awards, including Best Film, and it received 5 nominations at the 96th Academy Awards.

In an isolated mountain chalet near Grenoble, a novelist, Sandra (played by Sandra Hüller), lives with her husband, Samuel, and their visually impaired son, Daniel. One day, Samuel is found dead, fallen from the window of their chalet. The question resounds: is this an act of suicide or homicide? An investigation is opened, and Sandra is the prime suspect in her husband’s tragic death. In the intense trial that follows, Daniel bears witness to the fervid dissection of not only his mother, but of his parent’s marriage.

Dans un chalet isolé à la montagne, près de Grenoble, une romancière prénommée Sandra (jouée par Sandra Hüller), vit avec son mari, Samuel, et leur fils malvoyant, Daniel. Un jour, Samuel est retrouvé mort, tombé de la fenêtre de leur chalet. Une question se pose : suicide ou homicide ? Une enquête est ouverte, et Sandra devient la première suspecte dans la mort tragique de son mari. Pendant le procès intense qui suit, Daniel témoigne la véritable dissection non seulement de sa mère, mais du mariage de ses parents.

Four Daughters / Les Filles d’Olfa (2023)

Wednesday, Oct. 9 @ 6pm – PHO 206

Four Daughters (Arabic: بنات ألفة, French: Les Filles d’Olfa) is a 2023 Arabic-language documentar film directed by Kaouther Ben Hania. The film is an international co-production between France, Tunisia, Germany and Saudi Arabia. It competed for the Palme d’Or at the 76th Cannes Film Festival. It was selected as the Tunisian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards and was nominated for Best Documentary Feature.

Olfa is the mother of four daughters in Tunisia. Attempting to answer the question of how and why the Tunisian woman’s two eldest were radicalized, Ben Hania reveals a complex history. We watch as the family relives key events in their lives with help from professional actors standing in for the missing girls. Four Daughters is a compelling portrait of five women and a unique and ambitious work of nonfiction cinema that pushes against the conventional boundaries of the documentary form to explore the nature of memory, rebellion, and the ties that bind mothers and daughters.

Olfa est la mère de quatre filles en Tunisie. En tentant de répondre à la question de savoir comment et pourquoi les deux aînées de cette femme tunisienne ont été radicalisées, Ben Hania révèle une histoire complexe. On observe la famille revivre les événements clés de leur vie avec l’aide d’actrices professionnelles qui remplacent les filles manquantes. Les Filles d’Olfa est un portrait fascinant de cinq femmes et une œuvre unique et ambitieuse de cinéma non fictionnel qui repousse les limites conventionnelles de la forme documentaire afin d’explorer la nature de la mémoire, de la rébellion et des liens qui unissent les mères et les filles.

Messidor (1979)

Wednesday, Oct. 16 @ 6pm – PHO 206

Messidor is a Swiss-French feature film directed by Alain Tanner. The film was released in 1979 and features the young actresses Clémentine Amouroux and Catherine Rétoré in the starring roles.

Two twenty-somethings from very different backgrounds meet each other while hitchhiking. The girls are traveling through the Swiss countryside, each one seeking a break from their lives and their unfulfilling relationships. Once they’ve spent all their money, they start a life of begging and seeking clandestine shelter. When the girls find themselves in a situation gone awry, they come to understand that there is no returning to their past lives.

Deux jeunes femmes dans la vingtaine, de milieux très différents, se rencontrent pendant qu’elles font de l’auto-stop. Elles voyagent dans la campagne suisse, chacune cherchant une pause de leurs vies et leurs relations insatisfaisantes. Une fois qu’elles ont dépensé tout leur argent, elles se mettent à quémander et entreprennent une vie de clandestinité. Lorsque les choses vont de travers pour les deux amies, elles constatent qu’il n’y a pas de voie de retour vers leurs anciennes vies.

The Animal Kingdom / Le Règne animal (2023)

Thursday Oct. 24 @ 7:15 PM – CAS B18

The Animal Kingdom is a thriller film directed by French director, Thomas Cailley, premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival in May 2023. The film received a leading 12 nominations at the 49th César Awards, and won 5 awards including Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Original Music, Best Costume Design and Best Visual Effects.

In a world hit by a wave of mutations that are gradually transforming some humans into animals, François (Romain Duris) does everything he can to save his wife, who is affected by this mysterious condition. As some of the creatures disappear into a nearby forest, he embarks with Émile (Paul Kircher), their 16-year-old son, on a quest that will change their lives forever.

Dans un monde en proie à une vague de mutations qui transforment peu à peu certains humains en animaux, François (Romain Duris) fait tout pour sauver sa femme, touchée par ce phénomène mystérieux. Alors que la région se peuple de créatures d’un nouveau genre, il embarque Émile (Paul Kircher), leur fils de 16 ans, dans une quête qui bouleversera à jamais leur existence.

Presented in partnership with MIT, followed by Q&A and discussion with author Victor Dixen

Scarlet (2022)

Wednesday, Oct. 30 @ 6pm – PHO 206

Scarlet (French: L’envol) is a 2022 drama film directed by Pietro Marcello, one of contemporary cinema’s most versatile talents. It is loosely based on Scarlet Sails, a 1923 novel by Alexander Grin. It premiered worldwide at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival in 2022 in the Directors Fortnight section.

Shortly after World War I, veteran Raphaël returns home from the frontlines a widower and father to an infant daughter. Raised in rural Normandy, the child Juliette grows into a headstrong young woman who dreams of greater possibilities. She seeks refuge in the nearby woods, where she meets a witch who promises scarlet sails will one day take her away from her village. Reckoning with her future and swept away by a rakish young pilot who literally falls from the sky, Juliette never stops believing in the witch’s prophecy. Tracing Juliette’s journey throughout the 20 years of great invention between the world wars, Scarlet delicately weaves together music and fantasy, history and folklore, realist drama and ethereal romance, to craft a timeless story of a young woman’s emancipation.

Peu après la Première Guerre mondiale, Raphaël, ancien combattant, rentre chez lui, veuf et père d’une petite fille. Élevée dans la campagne normande, Juliette devient une jeune femme obstinée qui rêve de grandes possibilités. Elle se réfugie dans les bois, où elle rencontre une sorcière qui lui promet que des voiles écarlates l’emmèneront un jour loin de son village. En pleine réflexion sur son avenir et emportée par un jeune pilote séduisant qui tombe littéralement du ciel, Juliette ne cessera jamais de croire à la prophétie de la sorcière. Retraçant le parcours de Juliette tout au long des vingt années de grande invention de l’entre-deux-guerres, L’envol mêle délicatement musique et fantaisie, histoire et folklore, drame réaliste et romance éthérée, pour créer l’histoire de l’émancipation d’une jeune femme.

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