The very best of French cinema

A festival that’s billed as accessible to everyone, in all places, everywhere in the world, MyFrenchFilmFestival gets underway today on a device near you.
After a record turnout for the Uni-France online festival in 2017, the best of new-generation French and Francophone cinema is being showcased worldwide for the next month and has a jury of filmmakers on tap to select the winners of the competition. The judges includes such big names as Italian director Paolo Sorrentino, French directors Julia Ducournau and Kim Chapiron, French-Moroccan director Nabil Ayouch and Filipino director Brillante Mendoza. 

Organised in six thematic sections, mixing short films and feature films, MyFrenchFilmFestival offers “Internet festival-goers” the chance to discover the many aspects and talents of French and Francophone cinema. 
“What the F…rench” offers absurd and at times crazy situations featuring endearing heroes. It includes “Struggle for Life” by Antonin Peretjatko, “Rock’n Roll” by Guillaume Canet, and “Willy The 1st” by Ludovic Boukherma, Zoran Boukherma, Marielle Gautier & Hugo P Thomas. There are also three short films in this section:  “Delectable You” (Axel Courtiere), “Lazare”, (Tristan Lhomme) and “The Screen-Writer”  (Francois Paquay). 
The “Hit the Road” section focuses on motorways, filling stations and holiday clubs and includes “Ava” (Lea Mysius), “Before Summer Ends”, (Maryam Goormaghtigh), “Crash Test Aglae”, (Eric Gravel) and “The Summer Movie” (Emmanuel Marre). 
There plenty of viewing for the younger set in the “Teen Stories” category, with “1:54” by Yan England presented in partnership with Telefilm Canada and “Swagger” by Olivier Babinet among the highlights.

 
The “French and Furious” section has “Man Bites Dog” by Remy Belvaux, Andre Bonzel and Benoit Poelvoorde, “Into the Forest (Gilles Marchand), “Paris Prestige”, (Hame and Ekoue), “The Stroke”, (Morgane Polanski), “Death, Dad & Son” (Winshluss & Denis Walgenwitz), and “Please Love Me Forever” by Holy Fatma. 
Very French love stories live up to their name in the “Love a la Francaise” category, which features the classic Francois Truffaut film “The Last Metro”, along with “In Bed with Victoria” by Justine Triet, “A Taste of Vietnam” (Pier-Luc Latulippe). “No Drowning” (Melanie Laleu), “Long Live the Emperor”, (Aude Lea Rapin) and Francois Ozon’s “A Summer Dress”. 
Introduced for the first time this year, the “New Horizons” section spotlighting new screenwriting talents and amplified film experiences. It includes “Phallaina” (Marietta Ren, Fresque), the virtual; reality outing “Planet 8” (Momoko Seto), and an interactive film “Wei or Die” by  Simon Bouisson. 

Three awards will be granted at the conclusion of the festival: 
The Filmmakers’ Jury Award by a jury of international filmmakers. 
The Lacoste Audience Awards (feature film and short film): Internet users all over the world are invited to vote on the festival platform for their favourite short film and feature film, which will receive the Lacoste Audience Award and be shown for six months on board Air France flights. One of the voting viewers can also win a trip for 2 to Paris on the event’s Facebook page. 
The International Press Award (feature film and short film) by a jury of foreign journalists. 
 The Filmmakers’ Jury and the International Press Jury will meet in Paris during the festival to vote for the winning films.  
MyFrenchFilmFestival, which continues though February 19, can be accessed on 50 partner VoD platforms all over the world, including worldwide platforms such as iTunes (in more than 90 territories), but also Google Play, MUBI, Dailymotion, YouTube, Facebook and more. 
The short films are free of charge all over the world, while there is a viewing fee for the features of 1.99 euros (Bt75) per film. 
For more information, visit www.MyFrenchFilmFestival.com/en/