Calling all English speaking movie lovers in or coming to Paris! I was thrilled to recently learn about the cool Lost in Frenchlation events. What would Paris be without its cinema history? From the Lumière Brothers to Francois Truffaut, the country is one of the top film producing countries in the world. With Lost in Frenchlation’s monthly events, you can enjoy the best French films with English subtitles at great cinema locations. What’s unique about the events is that they also host a cocktail hour before each film which makes this a nice evening outing with your chéri/e, your friends or to make new ones. It’s co-founder Manon tells us more about these neat evenings.
“Matt (the co-founder) and I met while we were undertaking our international exchange programs at university in Berlin, Germany,” explains Manon. “In Berlin, we saw several original version German films with English subtitles relatively easily. However, after arriving back in Paris and wanting to watch the Canadian-French film Mommy together, we discovered that there wasn’t a single cinema in Paris that was showing the film with English subtitles.
“If we wanted to watch Mommy together with a mutual understanding of what was on the screen, we were going to have to wait until the DVD release. This situation isn’t particular to Mommy; it is the case for the majority of French films. It was at that moment of discovery that we realized that French cinema is quite inaccessible for the non-native community (e.g. expatriates, international students, tourists etc.), and we resolved to change that.
“It was impossible for the international community to enjoy the amazing French films that native Parisians were talking about because there wasn’t a single cinema in Paris that was showing them with English subtitles! This meant that people were still watching American films in Parisian cinemas and missing out on a golden opportunity to become even more immersed in Parisian culture by enjoying one of France’s greatest arts – cinema. So that’s why Lost in Frenchlation exists: to bring French art and culture to the international community through films.
“For now we’ve only been doing those screenings at Cinéma Studio 28 because it is according to us the most beautiful and charismatic cinema room in Paris, and they have a nice bar and a courtyard to organize our cocktail before the screening. But we are planning on doing those screenings more often and in other places to make the international community discover more neighborhoods in Paris (even if Montmartre is our favorite!) and more ‘art & essai’ cinema rooms. We also do private screenings on request at a cinema called Le Brady, mostly for school groups.”
What a great concept, huh? The Cinéma Studio 28 is a special place with a lot of movie history as well, so you’ll have some extra French magic if you attend for the first when. Opened in 1928, it’s one of the city’s oldest cinema and was the hub of creative Paris at the time bringing together the likes of Jean Cocteau, Luis Buñuel and Abel Gance.
The next Lost in Frenchlation event will be taking place at the Cinéma Studio 28 on Friday October 14th with a film that can’t be missed: the highly-acclaimed and much-anticipated ‘Divines’ from Houda Benyamina (Camera d’Or prize, Cannes Film Festival 2016 for Best First Film) which explores some of the often overlooked and harsh realities of life in the suburbs of Paris. Here is more information on the film:
‘In a ghetto where religion and drug trafficking rub shoulders, Dounia has a lust for power and success. Supported by Maimouna, her best friend, she decides to follow in the footsteps of Rebecca, a respected dealer. Her encounter with Djigui, a young, disturbingly sensual dancer, throws her off course.’
Official synopsis:
“This tough, feisty French disaffected youth drama, crackles with attitude, anger and lust for life. Divines does something more than simply storyboarding the pressure-cooker frustrations of young people with nowhere to go (…) Fizzing with ideas, as difficult to pin down as its heroine, Divines keeps generating electricity long after the lights have gone down.” – Lee Marshall, Screendaily
‘Divines’ is already a hot topic in Paris and the conversation won’t stop anytime soon… This is your chance to see what it’s all about in true Parisian style – at the cinema!
They’ll be serving a delicious film-themed cocktail (€4.50) at the bar of Studio 28 from 8pm before the screening starts at 9.15pm. Further details below or they have a Facebook event here which will help you add it to your social calendar. If you can’t attend on the 14th, you can also like their Facebook page to stay up to date on their future events.
Bon film tout le monde!
PRACTICAL INFORMATION:
☞ FILM: ‘Divines’ by Houda Benyamina (105 mins) – Camera d’Or prize at Cannes Film Festival 2016
☞ DATE & TIME: Friday 14th October – film-themed cocktail available from 8pm (€4.50); screening starts at 9:15pm
☞ CINEMA: Cinéma Studio 28, 10 rue Tholozé, Montmartre 75018 Paris
☞ TICKETS: €9 full price; €7.50 for students and other concessions. Only available at the door (please arrive early to avoid disappointment and bring cash as Studio 28 does not accept cards)
