Date:19/07/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/07/19/stories/2006071919560500.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

French film festival

Staff Reporter

Chennai: The screening of four French films at the South Indian Film Chamber Theatre began on Monday as part of the French Film Festival organised by the Embassy of France, New Delhi, Alliance Française of Madras and the Indo-Cine Appreciation Foundation.

Jean-Pascal Elbaz, director, The Alliance Française of Madras, inaugurated the festival. He said that in the last four years when he was the director in Chennai, the screening of many films was possible only with the support of the French Embassy.

La Fausse Suivante (The False Servant) is the story of a rich young lady who decides to masquerade as a lord in order to spy on her future husband. Pent-Etre (May Be) is set at the end of the 20th century. On the New Year's eve of 2000, 24-year-old Arthur gets together with his girl friend Lucie. He travels 70 years in time and finds himself face to face with an old man who claims to be his son in 2070. May Be's theme is that disappointment should not prevent one from dreaming and that the idea of the future needs to be reinvented.

La Pari (The Bet) is about Bernard, a teacher in the suburbs. He lives with Victoria in a new urban development. He makes a bet with his brother Didier over dinner, to stop smoking for a fortnight until the next family get together. Pas de Scandale (Keep it Quiet) is about Gregoire Jean Cour who is in prison. On his release, he meets his children, wife and brother Louis, but the story is on whether he is the same Gregoire.