Indo Cine Appreciation Forum (ICAF) and Madras Film Society, in collaboration with the Embassy of France, Cultural Centre, New Delhi, and the Alliance Francaise of Madras, is organising a festival of French films – Films by Women Directors- from April 4 to April 7 at the South Indian Film Chamber Theatre, 606 Anna Salai, Chennai 600 006:

'Katradhu Tamizh' Ram's next Diwali in Suburbs Rajini Still In A Dilemma! அஜீத் பேட்டி? ராம் இயக்கத்தில் சேரன்? கமல் பாராட்டிய டைட்டில்்

The schedule:

According to a note from ICAF general secretary E Thangaraj, the films will be introduced by Marie-Paule Serre, director, Alliance Francaise of Madras, at 6.30 p.m. on April 4, 2007.

For more details, please contact: 98401 51956

The Little Jerusalem April 4, - 6.30pm
La Petite Jerusalem 
2005 – Col – 96’
Directed by : Karin Albou 

Synopsis: Eighteen-year-old Laura lives in Little Jerusalem, a neighbourhood in the Parisian suburb of Sarcelles. It’s named thus because of the high proportion of Jews who live there. Laura is torn between her religious education and upbringing and her philosophical studies, for which she has a fierce passion and which offer her another vision of the world. While her sister, Mathilde, tries to spark new fire in her relationship with her husband, Laura succumbs to her first feelings of love.

Awards
2005-SACD Screen writing award in Cannes Film Festival, Karin Albou
2006-Cirtics award by French Sindicate of Cinema Critics, Karin Albou 
2006-Nominated for César award

Seaside 5thApril 2007 6.15pm
Bord De Mer 
2002 – Col – 88’
Directed by Julie Lopes Curyal
Cast: Bulle Ogier, Hélène Fillières, Jonathan Zaccai, Patrick Lizana, Liliane Royère, Jean Michel Noirey, Ludmila Mikael

Synopsis: Small seaside town and its stretch of shingle beach, which, in the winter, gives the town a lunar quality. While in the summer a crowd of vacationers and regular visitors are attracted to its shores bordered with a row of bright and colorful huts. A shingle-processing factory operates at one end of the beach. Marie, an attractive young woman, works here. Her boyfriend, Paul, is a grocer in winter and lifeguard in summer. Worried about his mother, Rose, who gambles away her retirement fund in the casino’s one-armed bandits, Paul has trouble coping with Marie’s dreaminess and suffocates her with his awkward affections. A feeling of discontent progressively overtakes Marie. The vacationers she meets as the seasons go by remind her that in her youthful dreams she imagined herself somewhere else. Albert, obliged to take over the family shingle factory, works his way out of his job. With his smart sports car, he looks exactly like a Prince Charming.

Awards
2002 – Golden Camera to Julie Lopes Curyal
Mice and Mite April 5, - 7.45 p.m.
Cause Toujours 
2004 – Col – 90’
Directed by Jeanne Labrune
Cast: Victoria Abril, Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Sylvie Testud, Didier Bezace, Claude Perron, Richard Debuisne, Dominique Besnehard, Michèle Ernou

Synopsis: A simple mite in the kitchen of Victoria Abril will be the pretext to poison the relations between the various characters. 

A comedy on the suspicion and confidence. A film which takes the form of a fantasy about mistrust and trust.

Housewarming April 7, 3.15 p.m.
Travaux On Sait Quand Ca Commence 
(Work Is Known When It Begins)
2004 – Col – 95’
Directed by Birgitte Rouan
Cast: Carole Bouquet, Jean-Pierre Castaidi, Aldo Maccione, Flemish Didier

Synopsis: Chantal Letellier is an “admirable woman”. She is a lawyer and she always gains in her profession, but in the private life she is a goat. Divorced, she is the mother of two badly brought up children. She gives in to the advances of a customer who falls passionately in love and wishes to move in with her. She did not expect so much. To escape from him, she decides to renovate the house on the pretext of providing more accommodation. She hires illegal immigrants, a team of “general-purpose moonlighters”.

A Common Thread April 7, 4.45 p.m.
La Brodeuses 
2003 – Col – 88’
Directed by Eléonore Faucher 
Cast: Lola Naymark, Ariane Ascaride, Marie Félix, Jackie Berroyer, Thomas Laroppe, Arthur Quehen, Elisabeth Commelin

Synopsis: Claire is a teenager and is pregnant. She cannot decide whether to keep the child and hides the news from everyone. She turns to the local embroiderer Madam Melikian for work. Madam Melikian is grieving for her son who died in a motorcycle accident. Gradually, as they work together, a bond develops between the two women. 

Awards:
2004 – Crtics week grand prize, Cannes film festival, Eléonore Faucher
2004 – SACD Screenwriting award, César awards, Eléonore Faucher, Gaêlle Macé
2004 – Best French Script, Deauville film festival, Eléonore Faucher, Gaêlle Macé
2005 – Critics award, French Sindicate of Cinema critics, Eléonore Faucher