France vies with America as the country which invented cinema. France certainly holds its own as a country of love and romance. And as these five features prove, French film culture is rich with humorous, glamorous, irreverent and passionate images of queer identity and love. Join us on a tour of l'amour and more as we survey recent classics and soon-to-be-classics of Queer French Cinema.

Vive la difference!

ALL FIVE FILMS IN FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES.

Series

THE THIEVES (LES VOLEURS)
DATE	TIME	LOCATION	PROGRAM #
TUESDAY, JULY 13	7:00PM	VILLAGE	60

DIR: Andre Techine, 1996, France, 35 mm, 116 min.

This psychological thriller from France features honorary lesbian Catherine Deneuve as Marie, a sensual philosophy professor who is romantically involved with one of her students, Juliette. In addition to studying philosophy and taking languorous baths with Marie, Juliette makes ends meet by stealing expensive perfume from department stores and then selling it to the local ladies of the evening. After Juliette is arrested for her petty theft, she begins an affair with Alex, the detective who arrested her and wants access to the larger band of thieves with whom Juliette associates. This character-driven film noir is richly complex and sublimely structured much like a novel, flashing back and forth such that actions unfold gradually, slowly revealing each layer. The lovers' triangle culminates in a moody meditation and takes a surprising turn in this fascinating and intense dramatic work.

VIOLENT AND SEXUAL SITUATIONS

WHY NOT ME? (POURQUOIS PAS MOI?)
DATE	TIME	LOCATION	PROGRAM #
MONDAY, JULY 12	7:15PM	DGA 1	51

DIR: Stéphane Giusti, 1999, France,35mm, 94 min.

OUTFEST christens the French Film Series, VIVE LA DIFFERENCE!, with this charmingly buoyant romantic comedy about three dykes and a disco bunny who decide it is finally time to tell their parents the truth about their sexuality. Eve, Ariane, Camille and Nicolas are four cute twentysomethings with four things in common - they work together in "Lovespace" a publishing house they have launched, they are dependant on Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive"

To ward off depression, they are all reluctantly pushing thritysomething, and they are all flamingly queer. Tired of playing the beard, the skirt, and the innocent roommate for one another, they decide it is time to confront their worst fears - their parents. Fortunately, Camillle's mother - the sort of woman who would wear "I love my dyke daughter" on a t-shirt - decides to hold a weekend party for the foursome and their parents, so that the truth can be told in a lavish and loving environment. But drama, chases, secrets, wild laughter and compromising situations erupt, taking even the parents for a ride on the wild side. Giusti's delectably juicy dialog is perfectly timed, placed and delivered by a sterling cast of irresistible young newcomers and established stars such as Johnny Hallyday and Marie-France Pisier. Funny and intelligent, WHY NOT ME? is a delightful bon-bon served up by a French talent to watch.

MAN IS A WOMAN (L'HOMME EST UNE FEMME COMME LES AUTRES)
DATE	TIME	LOCATION	PROGRAM #
FRIDAY, JULY 16	7:15PM	DGA 1	102

DIR: Jean-Jacques Zilbermann, 1998, France, 35mm, 96 min.

A unique drama from France (not to mention a huge hit in that country), this film intricately combines sexual and cultural associations in an entertaining story of incredible human interest. Handsome, professional musician Simon — a confirmed, Jewish, gay bachelor — rankles under the expectation that he might marry and procreate. But when his wealthy uncle offers him 10 million francs to do just that, his outlook changes, and he sets his matrimonial sights on Rosalie, a beautiful and talented singer whose love of music matches his own. Things go well until Simon meets Rosalie's dreamy, gay, Hassidic brother who confesses "you're just my type" to his future brother-in-law. The plot boils and thickens as Simon’s earthly desires clash with his higher principles, creating humorous and wrenching dramatic situations. A handsome and sensitively-directed film, MAN IS A WOMAN features outstanding performances, a delightful klezmer soundtrack, and an entertaining examination of ancient and modern value systems.

PLUS SHORT: TOMMY TRIPS
DIR: Pascal Vincent, 1998, France, 35mm
7 mins.

In collaboration with: Beth Chayim Chadashim, Congregation Kol Ami.

SITCOM
DATE	TIME	LOCATION	PROGRAM #
WEDNESDAY, JULY 14	7:15PM	DGA 1	76

DIR: Francois Ozon, 1998, France, 35mm, 80 min.

From the opening offscreen massacre to a serene but twisted cemetery scene, SITCOM proves to be a Buñuelian black comedy with a heart of gold. OUTFEST audience members may recall Francois Ozon's charming A SUMMER DRESS, which won the audience award for Best Short Film in 1997. SITCOM adds an icy chill to all that sunniness, offering viewers the full spectrum of Ozon's talent. The story focuses on an uptight French family that is improbably but irrevocably changed when the father brings home a pet rat. One by one, father and mother, sister and brother become obsessed with the rat, which mysteriously unleashes secret personalities that each one has repressed. This film has something to please and/or offend almost everyone: interracial sex, whips and chains, murder, attempted suicide, incest, and a multigenerational homosexual orgy in the boy's bedroom of a proper bourgeois home. All in all, this cinematic celebration of perversity confirms Ozon as a fast-rising star in the queer film universe.

In collaboration with: The UCLA Film and Television Archive.

TREATY OF CHANCE (LA TRAITE DU HASARD)
DATE	TIME	LOCATION	PROGRAM #
SATURDAY, JULY 17	7:00PM	DGA 1	121

DIR: Patrick Mimouni, 1998, France, 35mm, 95 min.

Blurring the gap between biography and fiction, THE TREATY OF CHANCE inhabits an entirely queer world, focusing on a group of friends approaching middle-age, the nature of their survival in the face of AIDS, and the complex fluidity of their relationships. Director Patrick Mimouni stars as a filmmaker (also called Patrick) who, like his oldest friend and sometime lover, Bruno, has avoided the virus. 'Dykess' Lou Rockerfeller III and the sexy young Julien are not so lucky, though in metaphor that is typical of the film's humor, Julien continually mistakes AZT for Ecstasy! Littered with Firbankian bon mots ('now that everyone's dead, living has become so vulgar') and juggling a range of references—La Maman et la Putain, La Ronde, The Boys in the Band, Carmen—Mimouni has created a film that neverthelesss avoids archness and is remarkable for its tenderness and authenticity. — London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival

PLUS SHORT: ABOVE THE SEA
DIR: Jean-Pascal Haltu, 1998, France, 35mm, 11 min.