The big screen is dripping with drama, comedy and glamour as an annual festival returns to delight local foreign film enthusiasts.
Australia’s largest regional French film festival opened this week with a packed house in Caloundra.
The 2023 Sunshine Coast French Film Festival continues until June 4 across the region, with screenings in Caloundra, Noosa and Maroochydore.
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A total of 15 films are on offer over seven weeks – the most ever shown together locally.
Festival director Murray Power, who is also Sunshine Coast Film Festival founder and director, was right when he told the opening night audience that the sexy and oh-so-very-French Masquerade would “keep you guessing” to the end as it asked the age-old question: just how far will you go to get what you want?
Set in the dreamy, steamy surrounds of Côte d’Azur, the romance/drama film from director Nicolas Bedos exudes an intoxicating mix of seduction and manipulation, glamour and all the trappings of ‘beautiful people’ living large.
Starring Pierre Niney, Isabelle Adjani, Francois Cluzet and Marine Vacth, Masquerade was one of the best-received official selections of Cannes Film Festival 2022 and has two more local screenings: for the official Noosa festival opening night on April 20 at 7pm, as well as an encore matinee in Caloundra on April 23 at 2.30pm.
The Sunshine Coast French Film Festival began in 2008 as the annual Alliance Francaise French Film Festival that brought together English- and French-speaking movie lovers and francophiles wishing to experience some of the foreign language delights of the big screen without having to travel to the capital cities.
Local audiences have embraced the opportunity and it has grown to become a stand-alone festival, operated by the Sunshine Coast Film Festival and sponsored by the Alliance Francaise Sunshine Coast.
“The French Film Festival just continues to grow and grow here,” Power said.
“We have a broad range of films – dramas, comedies, feel-goods – and it’s really great to see so many people coming out to enjoy them.
“The festival this year is skewed towards comedies with redemption themes that everyone can relate to, but also has some outstanding dramas like November which focuses on the aftermath of the Paris riots and the hunt for the escaped terrorists, and Saint Omer which questions the reliability of memory.
“It also has one feature, On The Wandering Paths, which highlights the power of the human spirit and the beauty of the natural world.”
Festival tickets and passes, plus all the films with screening dates, times and locations, can be found on the website.
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