France

CHILDISH FILMS SHORTS - recommended for all ages
A shoe-wearing shell, a bird that whistles, a cat that boogies, free-range bacon and eggs, a lost thing, a soccer player, and a flying Leonardo Da Vinci, and the Childish Films stop-motion trailer made at MSPIFF last year.

A boisterously oddball, fiercely intelligent political romcom, Michel Leclerc’s The Names of Love features a star turn by comic ingénue Sara Forestier (L’Esquive).  

Viva Riva! is unique in both its gritty and frank depictions of the Congolese crime world and in its cinematic and technical beauty as a film originating from one of the poorest countries in the world.  Director Djo Munga's first feature tells the story of corrupt operator Riva looking to cash in on a secret stash of oil in the petrol-strapped city of Kinshasa.  Trouble looms for the protagonist as his previously spurned employer has military officers hot on his heels.

A very personal take on the history of experimental film, Pip Chodorov shares his affectionate account of growing up among some of the pioneers of avant-garde cinema.

“The stylish and sexy Parisian lesbian underworld of the 1960s is brought vividly to life in this star studded thriller.”

recommended for age 5+

From Oscar-nominated Dominique Monféry, this English language version of Eleanor’s Secret is a colorful and imaginative animated feature in which a boy learning to read saves the day.  

Alexandre Dumas’ legendary, prolific, but eventually tumultuous relationship with his ghostwriter August Maquet is beautifully examined in a film that puts Oscar-nominated actor Gerard Depardieu back full-blown in his bountiful persona as the celebrated French author.

recommended for age 5+

This beautifully hand-drawn (English language) animated feature from France’s animation studio, Folimage, is a deservedly popular thriller for kids--currently being nominated for major animated feature awards.  

The much lauded and often controversial auteur, Catherine Breillat (Bluebeard), splinters and reconstructs another fairy tale with her latest exploration into female mythologies.

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Winner of Best Film at the 2010 Seattle International Film Festival and recipient of numerous other awards, The Hedgehog is a darkly humorous and affecting film about the struggle to find your place in the world.