French Film Festival takes center stage at SM Cinema

Admission is free from November 22 to 29 at SM Aura and SM City North EDSA Cinemas.

For the first time in its history, the French Film Festival will feature Feminist Cinema with a cross-cultural perspective between France and the Philippines through a selection of films by the new generation of French and Filipina women directors.

France is an advocate of gender equality in international forums and wants this to be taken into account in all issues, including cinema, which has the power to influence culture. With this, the French government delivers this commitment through its feminist diplomacy, initiated in 2018.

A selection of 14 French feature films showcasing recent and heritage French films will offer a platform for promoting French culture, as well as cultural diversity. Special screenings will also be held at the Alliance Française de Manille, University of the Philippines Film Institute, and De La Salle College of Saint Benilde.

This year, the festival’s “godmother” will be Filipina director Sigrid Bernardo, who will open the event with a roundtable discussion on the status of women through cinema on November 22 at the SM Aura Cinema Director’s Club. A special screening of Bernardo’s short film “May at Nila,” a love story between two Filipino women during the Japanese Occupation, will be held prior to the roundtable discussion.

A special guest – French director Noémie Lefort – has been invited to the Philippines for the occasion. She will present her movie “My Heroin,” based on her own story about a young girl who dreams of directing a film in Hollywood. She will take part in a roundtable discussion at SM City North EDSA Cinema on November 26 about the place of women in cinema, both in front of and behind the camera, alongside prominent women involved in the Philippine film industry. She will also give a masterclass on film directing to film students at the University of the Philippines.

The 27th French Film Festival – Feminist is organized by SM Supermalls, SM Cinema, Embassy of France, Alliance Française de Manille, Institut Français, and the Film Development Council of the Philippines.

For further information about the French Film Festival, follow @smcinema and @smsupermalls on social media.