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FESTIVALS UK

French Film Festival UK turns 20 with Asterix

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- Chantal Akerman to be present at a major retrospective of her work

The annual French Film Festival UK (November 8 – December 2) is celebrating its 20th anniversary. The festival opens with the UK premieres of Laurent Tirard’s £50 million epic Astérix and Obélix: God Save Britannia [+see also:
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in four cities – London, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Dundee. Adapted from René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo’s original 1966 comic book Asterix in Britain, the cast includes Edoard Baer as Astérix, Gérard Depardieu as Obélix and Catherine Deneuve as the Queen of England.

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This year, the festival hosts a major retrospective of Belgian filmmaker Chantal Akerman, who will be in Edinburgh, London and Glasgow to present her latest film Almayer’s Folly [+see also:
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, adapted from Joseph Conrad’s debut novel. The festival’s Panorama section features works by Philippe Lioret (All Our Desires [+see also:
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), Cedric Kahn (A Better Life [+see also:
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interview: Cédric Kahn
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), Moussa Toure (The Pirogue [+see also:
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), Pierre Jolivet (Armed Hands [+see also:
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), Anne Fontaine (My Worst Nightmare [+see also:
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) and Noemie Lvovsky (Camille Rewinds [+see also:
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) amongst others.

The Discovery strand that focuses on emerging talents includes works by sisters Delphine and Muriel Coulin (17 Girls [+see also:
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), Valerie Donizelli (Declaration Of War [+see also:
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), Jalil Lespert (Headwinds [+see also:
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), Pierre Schoeller (The Minister [+see also:
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interview: Pierre Schoeller
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), Francois Pirot (Mobile Home [+see also:
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) Sophie Lellouche (Paris-Manhattan [+see also:
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) and Guillaume Brac (A World Without Women [+see also:
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).

Cinema heritage is well served with the restoration of Georges Méliès’ pioneering A Trip to the Moon from 1902 and a documentary about its rebirth (The Extraordinary Journey) as well as classic titles from René Clément, Jacques Demy, and Georges Franju.

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