After last year’s celebration of presenting two decades of the crème de la crème of French and francophone cinema, this year’s French Film Festival UK in November (7 to 30) comes of age at 21. Among the delights in store for an equally auspicious anniversary are:

Maurice Pialat retrospective

The retrospective of the director who passed away ten years ago, traces Maurice Pialat's career, from his first vocation, painting, and will include his first filmL’Enfance nue / Naked Childhood in 1967 to his last film, Le Garçu, released in 1995. Along the way he worked with some of the greats of French cinema, among them: Sandrine Bonnaire, Gérard Depardieu, Isabelle Huppert, Nathalie Baye, Jacques Dutronc, Jean Yanne. The Festival hopes to welcome Sylvia Pialat to talk about her late husband’s life and career.

Sylvan Chomet

The Festival’s long-standing patron Sylvan Chomet hopes to return to present Attila Marcel, his first live action feature which centres on Paul, a child who saw his parents die. The trauma was such that he lost both his memory and the ability to speak. The title role is taken by Guillaume Gouix, who was an FFF UK guest last year with Mobile Home.

Jacques Demy

A restored version of Lola, the debut film of Jacques Demy which was a tribute to director Max Ophüls. It was described by the director as a "musical without music." Shot in Nantes (Demy’s home town) it features a young man, Roland Cassard (Marc Michel), who is letting his life waste away until he has a chance encounter with Lola (Anouk Aimée). The film has been restored by the Fondaton Gan and the Fondation Technicolor in collaboration with Demy’s widow Agnès Varda

Jean-Pierre Ameris

From the director of Romantics Anonymous comes a gloriously theatrical adaptation of Victor Hugo’s classic novel, The Man Who Laughs. Gwynplaine (Marc-André Grondin) has a scar on his face, giving him a kind of permanent smile. Abandoned by the Comprachicos, who had kidnapped and slashed his face a few years earlier, he is taken in by Ursus (the indomitable Gérard Depardieu) together with a beautiful blind girl, Déa (Renoir’s radiant Christa Théret). Ameris hopes to attend this year’s festival.

Critic’s Choice

The eminent critic Jean-Michel Frodon (a professorial fellow at the Film Studies department of the University of St Andrews) has chosen Aujourd’hui by Alain Gomis as his Francophone Film of the Year to be screened in the presence of the director.

Louis de Funès – A special focus in the year of the 30th anniversary of his death.

The popular French actor of Spanish origin is one of the giants of Gallic comedy alongside Bourvil and Fernandel. His acting style is remembered for its high-energy performance, a wide range of facial expressions and an engaging, snappy impatience. Special appearance by his son Olivier is planned to introduce some of his father’s films such as Les Adventures de Rabbi Jacob, Les Grandes Vacances, Fantômas se déchaine, Le Grand Restaurant, Hibernatus and Le grande vadrouillle. The Festival will give a UK premiere to a documentary on de Funès made by ARTE and directed by Catherine Benazeth.

Bernadette Lafont Tribute

Bernadette LaFont, recently deceased, was one of the most iconic actresses of the French new wave. As a testament to her contribution to film, this year’s festival shall be canvassing her last film, Paulette. A retiree facing financial distress turns to selling cannabis in order to make ends meet.

Shorts

An eclectic programme of shorts films is being assembled including recent César nominated titles Ce film n’est pas un film de cow-boy, and Le cri du homard.

Venues

The Festival's key venues are: Glasgow Film Theatre, Edinburgh Filmhouse, London CinéLumière, and Manchester Cornerhouse, Warwick Arts Centre, Bristol Watershed, Dundee DCA, Inverness Eden Court, Kirkcaldy Adam Smith, and Aberdeen Belmont.