4 May – Le French Festival (LFF) 2017 has officially launched in Malaysia today, following its opening ceremony held at GSC Pavilion KL yesterday evening. The highlight of the ceremony was no doubt the appearance of French actor Gustave Kervern, whose film "The Fabulous Patars" was the opening film of the festival. "Thank you again for being here at the festival because it's a really great opportunity to show these French movies," said the actor at the event. Expressing his concerns that movies with meaningful themes are harder to make and show because the audience lacks the curiosity and everyone is more interested in Hollywood blockbusters nowadays, the actor also expressed that he was grateful such festivals can keep the spirit of filmmaking alive. "The Fabulous Patars", in which he plays a single father to two rowdy daughters, is directed by Sophie Reine. The actor revealed that the semi-biographical film is partially based on the director's own life, as she lost her mother at a young age and was raised by her father in a care-free environment much like the life of the onscreen Patars. This is not the first film of his to be shown at LFF, his comedy film "In the Courtyard" was also part of last year's LFF lineup. Fans of French cinema will get the chance to meet and greet the actor after the screening of "The Fabulous Patars" at GSC Pavilion KL at 9pm on 5 May.
This year's LFF will showcase a total of 16 films, apart from the Gustave-starrer, other titles include "The Stopover", "The Odyssey", "Monsieur Chocolat", "One Man and His Cow", "The Summer of All My Parents", "21 Nights with Pattie", "The White Knights", "Neither Heaven Nor Earth", "A Bun in the Oven", "The Cowboys", "Two Friends", "Our Futures", "Rosalie Blum", "Baden Baden" and "Phantom Boy". The opening ceremony yesterday also saw the attendance of GSC CEO Ms. Koh Mei Lee; President of Alliance Francaise Kuala Lumpur (AFKL) Y.A.M. Tengku Zatashah binti Sultan Idris Shah; Director of AFKL Jean-Pierre Dumont; Co-operation, Scientific and Cultural Counselor of the French Embassy Jean-Pierre Galland, and the Ambassador of France H.E. Christophe Penot. Also supported by Cinema Online, Le French Festival 2017 in Malaysia takes place from today until 18 June 2017. The film portion of the festival will be held from 4 May until 21 May 2017 in Klang Valley at GSC Pavilion KL, GSC Mid Valley Megamall, and GSC 1 Utama Shopping Centre. It will then move to GSC Gurney Plaza, Penang, from 25 May to 4 June. Lastly, GSC Suria Sabah in Kota Kinabalu will be hosting the festival for the first time ever, from 8 to 11 June. To find out more about Le French Festival including movie showtimes, click HERE.