Verve’s picks from the French Film Festival.
The world’s largest mountain film festival arrives in Auckland this June. With over 20 powerful films on offer – from a man cycling the ‘chimneys’ of Cappadocia, to the first woman and person of colour to hike the Ice Age Trail in winter – Banff Film Festival will inspire Kiwis to dream big again. To remind us how diverse and adventurous the world is – both ‘out there’, and in our own beautiful backyard.
Screenings start in Auckland from 7 June. For more information and session times, visit banff.nz.
A MERMAID IN PARIS
Directed by Mathias Maizieu
Gaspard, a crooner with a broken heart, had sworn never to fall in love again. As for Lula, a pretty mermaid, she has only her singing to defend herself from men, making hearts race until they explode.
When the Seine floods and deposits Lula at the foot of the Flowerburger, the barge-cabaret where Gaspard sings, there comes a mini-tsunami that will upset and change their lives. He, the man who has suffered from having loved too much, and she, the creature who has never known love, will get to know each other. And to sing with the same voice…
LA TRAVIATA, MY BROTHERS AND I
Directed by Yohan Manca
Nour, a 14-year-old boy, is enjoying the beginning of the summer holidays in the South of France. He is the youngest of four brothers who live together in a council estate, taking turns caring for their mother who’s in a coma. She used to love Italian opera, so Nour plays it for her, and develops a passion for the music. Between community work and rising tensions at home, Nour dreams of escaping to a faraway place and when he crosses paths with opera singer Sarah he finally finds the opportunity to come out of his shell and explore new horizons.
MURDER PARTY
Directed by Nicolas Pleskof
Sink your teeth into this juicy murder comedy! Was it Colonel Mustard in the kitchen with the candlestick? Or was it Mrs Peacock in the conservatory with the lead pipe? Murder Party follows Jeanne (Alice Pol), a brilliant architect on a new job, renovating a beautiful mansion owned by an eccentric family who head a board game empire. Jeanne turns from architect to investigator when the landlord and patriarch is found dead and suddenly everybody is a suspect.
