Cork French Film Festival's new Alliance
CORK French Film Festival (March 2-9) celebrates its 25th anniversary next week. The theme for this year’s programme is the art of the soundtrack. The opening gala screening at the Gate Cinema is Jacques Demy’s The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, which stars Catherine Deneuve. The festival, organised by Alliance Francaise in Cork, will be officially opened by Demy’s daughter, Rosalie Varda-Demy. A retrospective of Demy’s work will follow. It includes his early shorts from the 1950s and several of his lesser known works from the ’70s and ’80s as well as his best known films. These will be presented in restored versions.
Many of Demy’s films were scored by Michel Legrand. Festival director Nora Callanan has invited Legrand to Cork in May, when he will perform a concert to celebrate the festival’s quarter century in a venue yet to be confirmed.
