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15^th SFFF – JUNE 17-26, 2016
CREST THEATRE & ESQUIRE IMAX THEATRE
FILM PROGRAM (SHOWTIMES TBA)
 

PREMIERES - CREST & ESQUIRE IMAX THEATRES ____________________

The feature film premieres selected for this year’s Festival include the most prominent 2016 César (French Academy Award) winners; two major 2015 Cannes Film Festival winners; as well as the best of recent French cinema, including comedies, dramas, romances, thrillers, and a magnificent documentary. Multiculturalism and the immigrant experience is first and foremost in our 2016 selection, reflecting the concerns of current French cinema. Our 15th program is one of our most diverse and exciting to date!

AT THE CREST THEATRE:

• OPENING NIGHT (Friday, June 17)
  Fatima, a drama by Philippe Faucon (César for Best Film, Best Screenplay & Most Promising Actress). The touching and compassionate story of an immigrant mother who only wants to provide the best possible future for her two daughters. She works several jobs as a cleaning lady and struggles to speak the French language, yet she perseveres.
• CLOSING NIGHT (Sunday, June 26)
  Marguerite, a musical dramedy by Xavier Gianolli, starring the 2016 Best Actress César Winner, Catherine Frot. See the French version before an English-language adaptation from Stephen Frears, starring Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant, is released later this year!
• Come What May (En mai fais ce qu'il te plaît), a World War II drama about the French villagers who became refugees, trying to find safety as German soldiers invaded, when their government provided little support. Directed by Christian Carion and featuring a score from Ennio Morricone.
• Dheepan, the great Jacques Audiard's latest film, an immigration thriller about a Sri Lankan man who continues to face violence and threats once in France. Palme d'Or winner at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.
• Don't Tell Me the Boy was Mad (Une Histoire de fou), an historical drama by Robert Guédiguian, taking place in the French Armenian community in the 1980’s and reflecting the same issues we face today regarding how far disenfranchised people are willing to go to fight for their beliefs. 
• Made in France, a contemporary terrorism thriller about a journalist infiltrating a jihadist cell in Paris. Directed by Nicolas Boukhrief, this premonitory film was shot before the January 7 and November 13 attacks in Paris. It was never released in theaters in France.
• My King (Mon roi), a doomed romance is chronicled in this gripping film by Maiwenn, starring Vincent Cassel and Emmanuelle Bercot (director of Standing Tall), who won the Best Actress Award at last year's Cannes Film Festival.
• Papa ou Maman, an outrageously funny and irreverent comedy about parents who will stop at nothing NOT TO get custody of their three bratty children! Starring Laurent Lafitte and Marina Foïs, from director Martin Bourboulon.
• Standing Tall (La Tête haute), a poignant and optimistic social drama by Emmanuelle Bercot, starring Catherine Deneuve, Benoît Magimel (César for Best Supporting Actor) and Rod Paradot (César for Most Promising Actor).
• SUMMERTIME (La Belle Saison), a lesbian romance set in 1970s France, in a time awash with changing cultural and social mores. But long-held traditions are never easy to overcome, especially for a country girl. From director Catherine Corsini, starring the luminous Cécile de France in the performance of her career.
• The Sweet Escape (Comme un avion), a delightful adventure-comedy about a man set to escape his boring life on a kayak. From writer, director, and star Bruno Podalydes, co-starring Sandrine Kiberlain.

AT THE ESQUIRE IMAX THEATRE (Sunday, June 19):

• A man and his Cow (La Vache), this year’s surprise hit comedy in France, a charming tale of an Algerian farmer who travels on foot to Paris to show his beloved cow, Jacqueline, in the annual Salon de l’Agriculture. Starring comedian Fatsah Bouyahmed and directed by Mohamed Hamidi. Suitable for the whole family!
• TOMORROW a hopeful, practical, and inspiring eco-documentary by Cyril Dion and Mélanie Laurent. Winner of the 2016 César for Best Documentary.
• Much Loved, by Nabil Ayouch. A mesmerizing and unflinching drama following female prostitutes in Marrakech, portraying a very different side of the glamour often associated with this city. The film has been banned in Morocco.
   

CLASSICS - CREST THEATRE ___________________________________
 

This year the SFFF Classic Series features a special anniversary screening, a popular comedy, and two films starring “the coolest movie star”: Jean Gabin.

• Read My Lips (Sur mes lèvres). A special anniversary screening of the romantic thriller by Jacques Audiard that opened the 1^st annual Sacramento French Film Festival in July 2002!
• DelusionS of Grandeur (La Folie des grandeurs), a 1971 cult comedy by Gérard Oury, starring Yves Montand and introducing to Sacramento audiences one of France's most beloved comic actors: Louis de Funès!
• Port of ShadowS (Le Quai des brumes, 1938) by Marcel Carné, starring Jean Gabin & Michèle Morgan. One of France's most famous melodramas and a prime example of poetic realism.
• Two Men in Town (Deux hommes dans la ville) by José Giovanni, a 1973 anti capital punishment thriller starring two of France's most iconic actors: Jean Gabin & Alain Delon.

Both Gabin films will be introduced by our favorite Gabin expert: Charles Zigman

LATE NIGHT FILMS - CREST THEATRE ____________________________
 

Just two words: Violence & Sex!

• French Blood (Un Français) by Diastème, an "America History X" type thriller, exploring far right activists in France. (Saturday, June 18)
• Je t'aime moi non plus Serge Gainsbourg's first iconoclast film, starring Jane Birkin and Joe Dallesandro. (Saturday, June 25)

TICKET INFORMATION _________________________________________

TICKET PRICES: From $11 (Discount Single Tickets) to $98.50 (Full Festival Access)

PASSES :

PASSES at the CREST THEATRE:

BLEU (Opening Night Pass) = $50 (+ facility fee)

Access to Opening Night Reception and film

Valid June 17 only

BLANC (First Weekend Pass) = $35 (+ facility fee)

Access to all Crest film screenings

Valid June 17 - 19 (Opening Reception & IMAX screenings not included)

ROUGE (Second Weekend Pass) = $45 (+ facility fee)

Access to all film screenings & Closing Party

Valid June 24-26

BLEU + BLANC + ROUGE = $90 (+ facility fee)

Full Access to all screenings at the Crest & parties on both weekends.

Valid June 17-26.

BLEU + BLANC = $70 (+ facility fee)

First-Weekend Full Access to all screenings at the Crest & Opening Reception.

Valid June 17-19.

BLANC + ROUGE = $70 (+ facility fee)

Access to all SFFF Screenings at the Crest (Opening Reception & IMAX screenings not included) Valid June 17 (film only)-28.

PASSES at the ESQUIRE IMAX THEATRE:

IMAX PASS = $33 (for 3 films)

Valid June 19.

SINGLE TICKETS:

SINGLE TICKETS at the CREST THEATRE:

- $12 / $11 (for Students & Seniors with ID; and members of the following organizations: EFSac, Sacramento Jewish Film Festival, Alliance Française, Club Français with membership card) Includes a $0.75 facility fee.

- CLOSING NIGHT = $16 / $15 (+ facility fee)

Access to closing film and party

SINGLE TICKETS at the ESQUIRE IMAX THEATRE:

- $15 / $14 (for Students & Seniors with ID; and members of the following organizations: EFSac, Sacramento Jewish Film Festival, Alliance Française, Club Français with membership card)