The San Diego French Film Festival, a celebration of the richness and diversity of the French language, culture and gastronomy, returns for its fourth edition starting Sunday.
The fest, which expands to four days this year, opens at The LOT in La Jolla, followed by three days of screenings, through Wednesday, at Reading Cinemas Town Square in Clairemont.
“We are delighted to see the festival grow every year,” says Julie Ripoll, executive director of the Alliance Française San Diego, which presents the event.
The schedule includes award-winning short and feature films with a mix of history and adventure narratives and environmental documentaries, along with panels and a gala.
Individual screenings start at $20 with a three-day pass set at $50.
The festival kicks off with a red-carpet opening ceremony on Sunday at The LOT and a screening of the acclaimed movie The Three Musketeers: Milady (2023), which clinched the prestigious César award, and follows The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan (2023).
Monday will be dedicated to the ocean, with two environmental documentaries. Humanatee, (2023) a short film produced by Planet Froth Productions, chronicles the journey of Damien Leloup, a French archaeologist and underwater explorer based in San Diego, as he forms an unexpected connection with majestic creatures of the sea.
The evening closes with the feature documentary Oceans (2009), shot in over 50 different locations, including Southern California.
On Tuesday, see the feature film Omar la Fraise (2023), directed by Elias Belkeddar, depicting the escapades of Omar, a fugitive gangster attempting to lead a low-key life in Algiers to avoid a 20-year prison sentence from French authorities.
The festival draws to a close with the short film Riad (2023), directed by Yann Verburgh, and the feature film Marinette (2023), a biographical sports drama, starring Cesar nominee Garance Marillier as Marinette Pichon, a trailblazer in French women’s soccer.
Note – Photo credit, scene from “Humanatee,” with Damien Leloup, an underwater explorer based in San Diego, screen shot from Planet Froth Productions via YouTube.