:: Spotlight :: Alliance Française French Film Festival 2011

By: Carmine Pascuzzi

Palace Films is pleased to announce that actress Clotilde Hesme will be visiting Australia as a special guest of the Alliance Française French Film Festival 2011, in support of her most recent film ANGÈLE & TONY.

Ms. Hesme’s visit will incorporate Sydney and Melbourne from Monday March 7 to Sunday March 13 and will include appearances at premiere screenings of ANGÈLE & TONY within the Alliance Française French Film Festival. Ms Hesme will also be available for interviews.

Hesme received a Cesar Award nomination for Most Promising Actress in 2008 for her role in Christophe Honoré’s LOVE SONGS, and has also starred in Philippe Garrel’s REGULAR LOVERS (2005), Eric Guirado’s THE GROCER’S SON (2007), and Raoul Ruiz’s Prix Louis Delluc winning MYSTERIES OF LISBON (2010).

ANGÈLE & TONY is the debut feature from writer/director Alix Delaporte, a drama about two lost souls in search of human connection, which was awarded the Best Debut Film of 2010 at the Deauville Film Festival and selected to screen in the 2010 Venice Film Festival Critic’s Week.

Clotilde Hesme is Angèle, a young woman falling apart. Returned to the seaside town of Normandy after a two-year absence, she is fiercely determined to reconnect with her young son, yet also scared she’s unfit to take care of him. Tony (Grégory Gadebois) is a fisherman who lives with his widowed mother, trapped in emotional solitude. The two meet via a personal ad; Angèle is forthright and rough, and her attempts to seduce him are met with surprise: Tony literally can’t believe his luck.

ANGELE & TONY was released on 80 screens in France in late January, quickly expanding to 120 screens in its second week following strong critical reviews and box office performance. ANGELE & TONY will be released theatrically in Australia through Palace Films in late 2011. Ms. Hesme’s visit to Australia is made possible through the generous assistance of Unifrance.

ANGÈLE & TONY Festival Q&A Screenings:
Melbourne - 7.00pm Thursday March 10, Palace Cinema Como, South Yarra
Sydney - 4.30pm Saturday March 12, Cremorne Orpheum Cinema, Cremorne; 9.15pm Saturday March 12, Palace Verona Cinema, Paddington; and 1.15pm Sunday March 13, Palace Norton Street Cinema, Leichhardt

Tickets can be purchased online or in person at the cinema.

National dates for the Alliance Française French Film Festival 2011:
Sydney: March 8 – 27 – Palace Verona & Norton Street, Chauvel Cinema and Cremorne Orpheum
Melbourne: March 9 – 27 – Palace Como, Palace Balwyn, Palace Westgarth and Kino
Brisbane: March 16 – April 3 – Palace Centro & Palace Barracks Cinema
Canberra: March 16 – April 3 – Greater Union Manuka
Perth: March 23 – April 10 – Cinema Paradiso & Luna on SX
Adelaide: March 23 – April 10 – Palace Nova Eastend