Take a 7 day cinematic trip to France with us! 11 new French films will play from July 14 - 20 at SBIFF's Riviera Theatre.

Schedule:

Friday, July 14, 2023

7:30pm: The Innocent

Directed by Louis Garrel
Written by Louis Garrel, Tanguy Viel, Naïla Guiguet
Starring Roschdy Zem, Anouk Grinberg, Noémie Merlant, Louis Garrel
1h 39m

Part crime thriller, part family farce, Louis Garrel's The Innocent shows with panache and pathos the dangerous lengths two men go, and the outlandish lies they tell, for the women they love. Garrel stars as Abel, a museum educator and widower whose mother, Sylvie (Anouk Grinberg), marries Michel (Roschdy Zem), one of her drama pupils in the local penitentiary. Once on parole Michel attempts to start a legitimate life for Sylvie's sake but soon reverts to his old ways, with the suspicious Abel continually -- and ineptly -- spying on his step-father until roped into one of the ex-con's schemes. Complicating matters is Cle?mence (Noe?mie Merlant), the brazen coworker who convinces Abel to break out of his emotional and romantic shell by taking part in Michel's planned heist. Directing from his own screenplay (as co-written by Tanguy Viel and Nai?la Guiguet), Garrel explores the comedic results of playacting's intrusion into real life, as well as real life's comedic tendency to transform us into what we never thought we could be, but perhaps always were.

Saturday, July 15, 2023

12:00pm: Scarlet

Directed by Pietro Marcello
Written by Pietro Marcello, Maurizio Braucci, Maud Ameline, with the collaboration of Geneviève Brisac
Starring Juliette Jouan, Raphaël Thiéry, Noémie Lvovsky, Louis Garrel
1h 43m

Shortly after World War I, veteran Raphaël (Raphaël Thiery) returns home from the frontlines to find himself a widower, and father to an infant daughter. Raised by her father in rural Normandy, the child Juliette (Juliette Jouan) grows into a lonely 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 (Louis Garrel) 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.

2:30pm: The Night of the 12th

Directed by Dominik Moll
Written by Gilles Marchand, Dominik Moll
Starring Bastien Bouillon, Bouli Lanners, Anouk Grinberg, Mouna Soualem, Pauline Serieys
1h 55m

Sooner or later, every police investigator comes across a case that remains unsolved and that haunts him. For Yohan, Clara’s murder proves to be that case. What starts as a thorough investigation into the victim’s life soon turns into a nagging obsession. One interrogation follows another, there is no shortage of suspects, and Yohan has more and more doubts. Only one thing is sure, the crime occurred on the night of the 12th.

5:00pm: More than Ever

Directed by Emily Atef
Written by Emily Atef, Lars Hubrich
Starring Vicky Krieps, Gaspard Ulliel, Bjørn Floberg
2h 2m

He?le?ne and Mathieu have been happy together for many years. The bond between them is deep. Faced with an existential decision, He?le?ne travels alone to Norway to seek peace, an act that will test the strength of their love.

7:45pm: The Passengers of the Night

Directed by Mikhaël Hers
Written by Mikhaël Hers, Maud Ameline, Mariette Désert
Starring Charlotte Gainsbourg, Quito Rayon-Richter, Noée Abita, Megan Northam, Thibault Vinçon, Emmanuelle Béart
1h 51m

On election night in 1981, celebrations spill out onto the street and there is an air of hope and change throughout Paris. But for Elisabeth, her marriage is coming to an end, and she will now have to support herself and her two teenage children. She finds work at a late-night radio show and encounters a troubled teenager named Talulah whom she invites into her home. With them, Talulah experiences the warmth of a family for the first time. Although she suddenly disappears, her free spirit has a lasting influence. Elisabeth and her children grow in confidence and begin to take risks, changing the trajectory of their lives.

10:00pm: The Young Imam

Directed by Kim Chapiron
Written by Kim Chapiron, Ladj Ly (Les Misérables), Dominique Baumard, Ramzi Ben Sliman
Starring Abdulah Sissoko, Hady Berthe, Rebecca Brou, Anta Diaw, Moussa Cissé
1h 38m

Ali is a 14-year-old teenager on the loose. To give him a proper education, his single mother sends him to a madrassa in Mali. When Ali comes back ten years later, he is a completely changed young man in his twenties. He has received a pious religious education and his deep knowledge of Islam makes him the perfect candidate to be the local Imam of his city, despite his young age and the doubts of his mother. His modern views and charisma quickly make him popular amongst his Muslim community, until his will to do good meets his new ambition

Sunday, July 16, 2023

12:00pm: Diary of a Fleeting Affair

Written and Directed by Emmanuel Mouret
Starring Sandrine Kiberlain, Vincent Macaigne, Georgia Scalliet
1h 40m

A single mother and a married man become lovers. They have pledged to see each other only for an affair and to have no hope of love, knowing well that the relationship has no future. However, they are more and more surprised by their understanding, their alchemy and the well-being of being together…

2:30pm: Mother and Son

Written and Directed by Leonor Serraille
Starring Annabelle Lengronne, Stéphane Bak, Ahmed Sylla, Kenzo Sambin
1h 57m

In the late 1980s, Rose moves to the Paris suburbs with her two young sons, Ernest and Jean. Spanning 20 years from their arrival in France, Leonor Serraille’s follow-up to her Camera d’Or-winner Jeune Femme (Cannes 2017 Un Certain Regard) is the moving chronicle of the construction and deconstruction of a family.

5:00pm: Revoir Paris

Directed by Alice Winocour
Written by Alice Winocour, Marcia Romano, Jean-Stéphane Bron
Starring Virginie Efira, Benoît Magimel, Grégoire Colin, Maya Sansa, Amadou Mbow, Nastya Golubeva Carax, Anne-Lise Heimburger, Sofia Lesaffre, Clarisse Makundul
1h 44m

After an idyllic date night full of red wine and a late-night motorcycle ride home, Mia (Virginie Efira) stops at a Parisian bistro to take shelter from a downpour. Her reprieve is shattered when a gunman opens fire. Three months later, with a frustratingly hazy memory of the attack, Mia finds herself numbed and unable to resume her life. Her friends and partner seek something from her that she can no longer give. Determined to reconstruct the sequence of events and reestablish a sense of normalcy, Mia finds herself repeatedly returning to the bistro where the shooting happened. In the process, she forms bonds with fellow survivors, including wry banker Thomas (Benoît Magimel) and orphaned teenager Félicia (Nastya Golubeva). When she remembers that a stranger helped her make it through the attack, Mia resolves to find him, if only to make sure that he is alive. Revoir Paris is a moving meditation on grief, healing, and the importance of connections forged in tragedy.

7:30pm: Pacifiction

Written and Directed by Albert Serra
Starring Benoît Magimel, Sergi López, Pahoa Mahagafanau, Cécile Guilbert, Matahi Pambrun
2h 42m

On the French Polynesian island of Tahiti, the High Commissioner of the Republic and French government official De Roller (Benoi?t Magimel) is a calculating man with flawless manners. His somewhat broad perception of his role brings him to navigate the high end “establishment” as well as shady venues where he mingles with the locals. Especially since a persistent rumor has been going around: the sighting of a submarine whose ghostly presence could herald the return of French nuclear testing.

Monday, July 17, 2023

2:30pm: Final Cut

Written and Directed by Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)
Starring Romain Duris, Bérénice Bejo
1h 50m

The opening night selection of last year’s Cannes Film Festival was this wacky horror comedy, a remake of Shin’ichirô Ueda’s cult hit One Cut of the Dead. It follows a director (Romain Duris, L’Auberge Espagnole) making a live, single-take, low-budget zombie flick in which the cast and crew, one by one, actually turn into zombies. Oscar winner Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist) milks the film’s hilarious and meta-to-the-max premise for all it’s worth, while also crafting a sly love letter to the art of filmmaking. What’s on screen unfolds in typical cheesy B-movie fashion, while the off-screen hijinks offer a celebration of the unpredictable and collaborative nature of film sets. Featuring a hysterically unhinged turn by Oscar nominee Berenice Bejo (The Artist) and serving up blood-soaked high farce par excellence, Final Cut revels in its affectionate embrace of goofy genre fun.

5:00pm: Scarlet

Directed by Pietro Marcello
Written by Pietro Marcello, Maurizio Braucci, Maud Ameline, with the collaboration of Geneviève Brisac
Starring Juliette Jouan, Raphaël Thiéry, Noémie Lvovsky, Louis Garrel
1h 43m

Shortly after World War I, veteran Raphaël (Raphaël Thiery) returns home from the frontlines to find himself a widower, and father to an infant daughter. Raised by her father in rural Normandy, the child Juliette (Juliette Jouan) grows into a lonely 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 (Louis Garrel) 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.

7:30pm: More than Ever

Directed by Emily Atef
Written by Emily Atef, Lars Hubrich
Starring Vicky Krieps, Gaspard Ulliel, Bjørn Floberg
2h 2m

He?le?ne and Mathieu have been happy together for many years. The bond between them is deep. Faced with an existential decision, He?le?ne travels alone to Norway to seek peace, an act that will test the strength of their love.

Tuesday, July 18, 2023

2:30pm: The Passengers of the Night

Directed by Mikhaël Hers
Written by Mikhaël Hers, Maud Ameline, Mariette Désert
Starring Charlotte Gainsbourg, Quito Rayon-Richter, Noée Abita, Megan Northam, Thibault Vinçon, Emmanuelle Béart
1h 51m

On election night in 1981, celebrations spill out onto the street and there is an air of hope and change throughout Paris. But for Elisabeth, her marriage is coming to an end, and she will now have to support herself and her two teenage children. She finds work at a late-night radio show and encounters a troubled teenager named Talulah whom she invites into her home. With them, Talulah experiences the warmth of a family for the first time. Although she suddenly disappears, her free spirit has a lasting influence. Elisabeth and her children grow in confidence and begin to take risks, changing the trajectory of their lives.

5:00pm: The Innocent

Directed by Louis Garrel
Written by Louis Garrel, Tanguy Viel, Naïla Guiguet
Starring Roschdy Zem, Anouk Grinberg, Noémie Merlant, Louis Garrel
1h 39m

Part crime thriller, part family farce, Louis Garrel's The Innocent shows with panache and pathos the dangerous lengths two men go, and the outlandish lies they tell, for the women they love. Garrel stars as Abel, a museum educator and widower whose mother, Sylvie (Anouk Grinberg), marries Michel (Roschdy Zem), one of her drama pupils in the local penitentiary. Once on parole Michel attempts to start a legitimate life for Sylvie's sake but soon reverts to his old ways, with the suspicious Abel continually -- and ineptly -- spying on his step-father until roped into one of the ex-con's schemes. Complicating matters is Cle?mence (Noe?mie Merlant), the brazen coworker who convinces Abel to break out of his emotional and romantic shell by taking part in Michel's planned heist. Directing from his own screenplay (as co-written by Tanguy Viel and Nai?la Guiguet), Garrel explores the comedic results of playacting's intrusion into real life, as well as real life's comedic tendency to transform us into what we never thought we could be, but perhaps always were.

7:30pm: Mother and Son

Written and Directed by Leonor Serraille
Starring Annabelle Lengronne, Stéphane Bak, Ahmed Sylla, Kenzo Sambin
1h 57m

In the late 1980s, Rose moves to the Paris suburbs with her two young sons, Ernest and Jean. Spanning 20 years from their arrival in France, Leonor Serraille’s follow-up to her Camera d’Or-winner Jeune Femme (Cannes 2017 Un Certain Regard) is the moving chronicle of the construction and deconstruction of a family.

Wednesday, July 19, 2023

2:30pm: Diary of a Fleeting Affair

Written and Directed by Emmanuel Mouret
Starring Sandrine Kiberlain, Vincent Macaigne, Georgia Scalliet
1h 40m

A single mother and a married man become lovers. They have pledged to see each other only for an affair and to have no hope of love, knowing well that the relationship has no future. However, they are more and more surprised by their understanding, their alchemy and the well-being of being together…

5:00pm: Final Cut

Written and Directed by Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)
Starring Romain Duris, Bérénice Bejo
1h 50m

The opening night selection of last year’s Cannes Film Festival was this wacky horror comedy, a remake of Shin’ichirô Ueda’s cult hit One Cut of the Dead. It follows a director (Romain Duris, L’Auberge Espagnole) making a live, single-take, low-budget zombie flick in which the cast and crew, one by one, actually turn into zombies. Oscar winner Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist) milks the film’s hilarious and meta-to-the-max premise for all it’s worth, while also crafting a sly love letter to the art of filmmaking. What’s on screen unfolds in typical cheesy B-movie fashion, while the off-screen hijinks offer a celebration of the unpredictable and collaborative nature of film sets. Featuring a hysterically unhinged turn by Oscar nominee Berenice Bejo (The Artist) and serving up blood-soaked high farce par excellence, Final Cut revels in its affectionate embrace of goofy genre fun.

7:30pm: Revoir Paris

Directed by Alice Winocour
Written by Alice Winocour, Marcia Romano, Jean-Stéphane Bron
Starring Virginie Efira, Benoît Magimel, Grégoire Colin, Maya Sansa, Amadou Mbow, Nastya Golubeva Carax, Anne-Lise Heimburger, Sofia Lesaffre, Clarisse Makundul
1h 44m

After an idyllic date night full of red wine and a late-night motorcycle ride home, Mia (Virginie Efira) stops at a Parisian bistro to take shelter from a downpour. Her reprieve is shattered when a gunman opens fire. Three months later, with a frustratingly hazy memory of the attack, Mia finds herself numbed and unable to resume her life. Her friends and partner seek something from her that she can no longer give. Determined to reconstruct the sequence of events and reestablish a sense of normalcy, Mia finds herself repeatedly returning to the bistro where the shooting happened. In the process, she forms bonds with fellow survivors, including wry banker Thomas (Benoît Magimel) and orphaned teenager Félicia (Nastya Golubeva). When she remembers that a stranger helped her make it through the attack, Mia resolves to find him, if only to make sure that he is alive. Revoir Paris is a moving meditation on grief, healing, and the importance of connections forged in tragedy.

Thursday, July 20, 2023

2:00pm: Pacifiction

Written and Directed by Albert Serra
Starring Benoît Magimel, Sergi López, Pahoa Mahagafanau, Cécile Guilbert, Matahi Pambrun
2h 42m

On the French Polynesian island of Tahiti, the High Commissioner of the Republic and French government official De Roller (Benoi?t Magimel) is a calculating man with flawless manners. His somewhat broad perception of his role brings him to navigate the high end “establishment” as well as shady venues where he mingles with the locals. Especially since a persistent rumor has been going around: the sighting of a submarine whose ghostly presence could herald the return of French nuclear testing.

5:15pm: The Young Imam

Directed by Kim Chapiron
Written by Kim Chapiron, Ladj Ly (Les Misérables), Dominique Baumard, Ramzi Ben Sliman
Starring Abdulah Sissoko, Hady Berthe, Rebecca Brou, Anta Diaw, Moussa Cissé
1h 38m

Ali is a 14-year-old teenager on the loose. To give him a proper education, his single mother sends him to a madrassa in Mali. When Ali comes back ten years later, he is a completely changed young man in his twenties. He has received a pious religious education and his deep knowledge of Islam makes him the perfect candidate to be the local Imam of his city, despite his young age and the doubts of his mother. His modern views and charisma quickly make him popular amongst his Muslim community, until his will to do good meets his new ambition

7:30pm: The Night of the 12th

Directed by Dominik Moll
Written by Gilles Marchand, Dominik Moll
Starring Bastien Bouillon, Bouli Lanners, Anouk Grinberg, Mouna Soualem, Pauline Serieys
1h 55m

Sooner or later, every police investigator comes across a case that remains unsolved and that haunts him. For Yohan, Clara’s murder proves to be that case. What starts as a thorough investigation into the victim’s life soon turns into a nagging obsession. One interrogation follows another, there is no shortage of suspects, and Yohan has more and more doubts. Only one thing is sure, the crime occurred on the night of the 12th.

Date: Friday, July 14, 2023 - Thursday, July 20, 2023

Location: SBIFF Riviera Theatre - 2044 Alameda Padre Serra, Santa Barbara, CA 93103

Tickets:

Individual Tickets
-General Admission $12
-Senior/Student $9
-Member $7

Patron Pass- $250
Cinephile Pass - $90

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