The much-awaited 16th French Film Festival returns to the Philippines this June, bringing to Filipino audiences a mix of some of the best and latest action, adventure, comedy, drama and documentary films from France today.

    The opening night of the festival, which is by invitation only, will feature the action comedy film "Le Marquis," which was shot in Cebu in 2010 and is the first French-Filipino movie co-production in history.

 

    Starting June 9, the film fest will be open to the public on a first-come, first served basis. The festival includes retrospectives of famed French actress Sandrine Bonnaire and of Filipino director Auraeus Solito, whose latest work "Busong" was screened at the Cannes Film Festival this year as part of the Directors' Fortnight. Auraeus Solito's films will be shown exclusively on June 12, the Philippine Day of Independence. Traditionally, the French Film Festival pays tribute to Philippine cinema by featuring films by Filipino directors who have been invited to France by prestigious festivals like the Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival.

 

    The French Film Festival is a testimony to the vibrant relations between France and the Philippines through cinema. During the recent visit of Film Development Council of the Philippines Chairman (FDCP) Undersecretary Briccio G. Santos, to France to attend the Cannes Festival, meetings were arranged in Paris with his counterparts in the French National Center for Cinema (CNC) as well as visits of the French Archives, the Cinémathèque and the National Audiovisual Institute. He was also received at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he presented his intentions of strengthen the Philippine film industry through government support. The French Embassy to the Philippines will develop a long term institutional cooperation with the FDCP to bring in French expertise and share best practices to support its program, as well as provide training for Filipino film archivists.

    The French Film Festival is part of FrancoPhil, the 2011 French cultural season in the Philippines. FrancoPhil is organized by the Embassy of France to the Philippines and the Alliance française de Manille, together with Institut Francais, the Shangri-La Plaza and Shang Cineplex, UP Film Institute, with the support of Total, Air France KLM, L'Oréal Philippines, VEOLIA Water, Axantis Productions, Inc, Marithé François Girbaud, Daniel Hechter, Le Cellier, Bizu, and Pioneer Films, as well as official media partners Manila Bulletin, Sense & Style, Net 25, TALKtv, DZRJ and Spot.ph.