French Cinema Now

October 29 - November 4

French Cinema Now is dedicated to celebrating the best in contemporary French cinema, and brings the most significant new work from one of the world's most renowned filmmaking countries to astute Bay Area cineastes.

The festival provides a snapshot of this moment in French filmmaking, culture, and society. Highlights include opening night film The French Kissers, a sharp and funny look at the world from the sweaty-palmed perspective of contemporary youth; Welcome, a drama in which a swimming instructor decides to help a 17-year-old Iraqi Kurdish refugee cross the English channel from France; and Bellamy, Claude Chabrol’s droll detective tale starring Gerard Depardieu as the titular Paris police commissioner investigating a possible murder while on vacation.

This year's program also includes a nod to the impact of the French New Wave movement that began in 1959, with a special 50th anniversary screening of Francois Truffaut's The 400 Blows.

This festival is part of the San Francisco Film Society's series of fall film festivals, which you can read more about here.