Ciné-salon virtuel [weekly online event]

Every Friday at 3pm (new schedule this Fall!)

[ONLINE EVENT]

Enjoy our best recommendations for French-language movies and join our weekly ciné-salon online to discuss them in French—to the best of your ability—led by our instructors!

During these challenging times, connect with others through our shared love of cinema and Francophone cultures. This is a great way to practice your French but is first meant to entertain you and help us all socialize.

All levels are welcome. Our instructors will lead the ciné-salon with thematic questions and organize discussion groups by level.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Each week, we have chosen a film for you to view at home (our selections are available via various streaming services).
Every participant watches the film before the discussion at a time that fits their own schedule.
On Fridays at 3pm, participants can join the online Zoom meeting here. When prompted, enter your first name and your French level (A1, A2, B1, B2, or C1). This will help us organize discussion groups by level.
Instructions on how to join a Zoom meeting can be found here (jump to step 4).
A list of questions will be made available on this page the day before each session, as a proposed structure for the discussion (see table below).
Have fun discussing the films with other participants in a relaxed atmosphere! Each event will last about 90min.

JOIN THE VIRTUAL EVENT

About the organizer: AFSeattle is a 501(c)(3) educational and cultural non-profit organization registered in the state of Washington in 1987. It is a member of an 800+ network of Alliances Françaises around the world and aims to promote French language and Francophone cultures towards a variety of programs. Discover AFSeattle's membership program and ways to support here.

This community program is free. Donations are welcomed.

MAKE A DONATION

FALL 2020 LIST OF FILMS

DATE	FILM	WHERE TO WATCH	SYNOPSIS & DOCUMENTS
~~Friday, Sept 18~~	La Môme (La Vie en Rose) by Olivier Dahan	Watch/rent on Youtube, or watch/rent on Amazon Prime	Born into poverty and raised in a brothel, Édith Piaf manages to achieve worldwide fame. Though her extraordinary voice and charisma open many doors that lead to friendships and romances, she experiences great personal loss, addiction and an early death.
~~Friday, Sept 25~~	Un prophète (A Prophet) by Jacques Audiard	Watch/rent on Youtube or Prime	An imprisoned petty criminal of Algerian origins who rises in the inmate hierarchy, becoming an assassin and drug trafficker as he initiates himself into the Corsican and then Muslim subcultures.
~~Friday, Oct 2~~	Les Saveurs du palais (Haute Cuisine) by Christian Vincent	Watch/rent on Prime or watch on Vudu	Based on true facts, this comedy tells the story of an obscure cook from a Périgord truffle farm who becomes the personal chef of France's president, making waves in the Élysée Palace.
~~Friday, Oct 9~~	Dheepan by Jacques Audiard	Watch/rent on Hulu, on Criterion, on Amazon Prime or on Youtube	Winner of the 2015 Palme d'Or, Dheepantells the story of a Tamil tiger who flees Sri Lanka during the civil war, only to find more conflict awaiting in Paris.
~~Friday, Oct 16~~	La Tête en friche (My Afternoons with Margueritte) by Jean Becker	Watch/rent on Youtube or Prime, or watch free on Kanopy	A semi-literate and lonely odd-job man bonds with a much older and well-read woman.
~~Friday, Oct 23~~	Odette Toulemonde by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt	Buy/rent on Youtube or on Vudu, or watch free on Kanopy	Odette Toulemonde (Odette Everybody) has no objective reason to be happy, but she is. In her awkward 40s, between her luscious hairdresser son and her teenage daughter stuck in puberty, she dreams of thanking her favorite writer for the optimism which she believes emanates from him. The story of a meeting between two unusual castaways who have nothing in common...
~~Friday, Oct 30~~	Amour by Michael Haneke	Watch/rent on Prime, Youtube or Vudu	Palme d'Or winner. Georges and Anne are an octogenarian couple. They are cultivated, retired music teachers. Their daughter, also a musician, lives in Britain with her family. One day, Anne has a stroke, and the couple's bond of love is severely tested.
Friday, Nov 6	Timbuktu by Abderrahmane Sissako	Watch free on Kanopy, or rent/buy on Prime or Vudu.	Winner of Cannes' Prize of the Ecumenical Jury & François Chalais Prize. A cattle herder and his family who reside in the dunes of Timbuktu find their quiet lives -- which are typically free of the Jihadists determined to control their faith -- abruptly disturbed.
Don't miss a conversation with director Abderrahmane Sissako on Thursday, November 12, hosted by the University of Washington! More info and registration
~~Friday, Nov 13~~	Bande de filles (Girlhood) by Céline Sciamma	Watch/rent on Prime, or Youtube or watch free on Kanopy	Marieme joins an all-girl gang in the projects of Paris and is slowly turned out of her shell by her three sassy neighbours. As she falls further under their bravado and volatile energy, she begins making brave and foolish choices.
Friday, Nov 20	Tomboy by Céline Sciamma	Watch/rent on Vudu, or rent on iTunes	Among the kids in her new community, ten-year-old Laure enjoys posing as a boy, unsuspected by her family. Finding resourceful ways to hide her true self, Laure takes advantage of her new identity, as if the end of the summer would never reveal her secret. QUESTIONS
Friday, Dec 4	Les Plages d'Agnès (The Beaches of Agnes) by Agnès Varda	Watch/rent on Prime, or watch free on Kanopy	The film is an autobiographical essay where Varda revisits places from her past, reminisces about life and celebrates her 80th birthday on camera.
Friday, Dec 11	Camille Claudel by Bruno Nuytten	Watch/rent on Youtube or Prime, or watch free on Kanopy	When renowned French sculptor Auguste Rodin (Gérard Depardieu) notices the raw sculpting talent of the beautiful and precocious Camille Claudel (Isabelle Adjani), the two artists begin a scandalous love affair.

FILMS PREVIOUSLY DISCUSSED BY AFSEATTLE'S CINÉ-SALON

SUMMER 2020 PROGRAM

DATE	FILM	WHERE TO WATCH	SYNOPSIS & DOCUMENTS
~~Friday, June 26~~	La Promesse de l'Aube (Promise at Dawn) by Eric Barbier	Watch free on Kanopy or Rent/Buy on Amazon Prime	The life of French author Romain Gary, from his childhood through his experiences in World War II; and the story of his self-sacrificing mother, who raised him alone.
~~Friday, July 10~~ Add to Calendar	La Femme Nikita by Luc Besson	Watch free on Kanopy or Rent/Buy on YouTube / Vudu	Convicted felon Nikita, instead of going to jail, is given a new identity and trained to be a secret police assassin controlled by the government. Her lonely life is warmed when she falls in love with a man who knows nothing of her mysterious life.
~~Friday, July 17~~ Add to Calendar	Monsieur Lazhar by Philippe Falardeau	Watch free on Kanopy or Rent/Buy on YouTube / Vudu / Amazon Prime / iTunes	An 11-year-old pupil discovers that one of the school teachers has just committed suicide. Bachir Lazhar arrives at the school to fill the tragic void and help the children cope with their loss.
~~Friday, July 24~~ Add to Calendar	Au revoir là-haut (See You Up There) by Albert Dupontel	Rent/Buy on YouTube or Vudu	In 1918, just days before the Armistice, a tragic act of war intrinsically links two soldiers.
~~Friday, July 31~~ Add to Calendar	OSS 117 : Le Caire, nid d'espions (OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies) by Michel Hazanavicius	Watch free on Kanopy or Rent/Buy on YouTube / Vudu / Amazon Prime / iTunes	In this spy movie parody, French Office of Strategic Services agent Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath investigates the disappearance of his fellow agent and longtime friend Jack Jefferson. Disguised as the head of a wholesale chicken company, Hubert dispatches to Cairo amid the Suez Crisis.
~~Friday, August 7~~ Add to Calendar	UPDATED! Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud	Rent/Buy on YouTube / Vudu / Amazon / Sundance Now	Based on Satrapi's graphic novel about her life in pre- and post-revolutionary Iran and then in Europe, this animated film traces her growth from child to rebellious, punk-loving teenager in Iran. In the background are the growing tensions of the political climate in Iran in the 70s and 80s, and the disastrous Iran/Iraq war.
~~Friday, August 14~~ Add to Calendar	Portrait de la jeune fille en feu (Portrait of a Lady on Fire) by Céline Sciamma	Rent/Buy on YouTube or Amazon Prime	France, 1770. Marianne, a painter, is commissioned to do the wedding portrait of Héloïse, a young woman who has just left the convent. Héloïse is a reluctant bride to be and Marianne must paint her without her knowing. She observes her by day, to paint her secretly.
~~Friday, August 21~~ Add to Calendar	Relève : Histoire d'une création (Reset) by Thierry Demaizière and Alban Teurlai	Watch free on Kanopy or Rent/Buy on YouTube / Vudu / Amazon Prime / iTunes	Renowned choreographer and dancer Benjamin Millepied attempts to rejuvenate the Paris Opera Ballet in his position as director.
~~Friday, August 28~~ Add to Calendar	120 Battements par minute (BPM (Beats Per Minute)) by Robin Campillo	Watch free on Kanopy or Rent/Buy on YouTube / Vudu / Amazon Prime	Nathan is a young man who joins an AIDS activist group in 1990s Paris. As he attends the weekly meetings, he learns that some members prefer a more radical approach to their protests.

SPRING 2020 PROGRAM

DATE	FILM	WHERE TO WATCH	SYNOPSIS
~~Friday, April 3~~	Paris, je t'aime (Paris, I Love You) by various directors	Watch on YouTube or rent/buy on Amazon Prime	Set against a romantic Parisian backdrop, twenty filmmakers explore the many faces of love in this delightful anthology film.
~~Friday, April 10~~	Les Aventures de Rabbi Jacob (The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob) by Gérard Oury	Rent/Buy on YouTube or Amazon Prime	A satirical laugh riot of mistaken identities starring beloved French comedian, Louis de Funès, on the run from kidnappers ensuing a slapstick series of events to evade them. A French classic!
~~Friday, April 17~~	Le Nom des gens (The Names of Love) by Michel Leclerc	Watch free on Kanopy or rent/Buy on YouTube or Amazon Prime	Baya is a young, extroverted liberal who lives by the hippie slogan "Make love, not war." She seduces right-wing men to convert them to her political causes - with exceptional results. That is, until she meets Arthur, a middle-of-the road scientist, and the sparks fly.
~~Friday, April 24~~	Visages, Villages (Faces, Places) by Agnès Varda	Rent/Buy on YouTube or Amazon Prime	Agnes Varda and artist JR travel around the villages of France in a photo truck meeting locals, learning their stories, and producing epic-size portraits of them.
~~Friday, May 1~~	Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis (Welcome to the Sticks) by Dany Boon	Watch free on Kanopy or rent/Buy on YouTube or Amazon Prime	In this popular comedy, Philippe, a post office manager, plots to get transferred to the Côte d'Azur to make his wife happy. But it backfires, and he ends up in a small town in northern France.
~~Friday, May 8~~	Mauvaises herbes (Bad Seeds) by Kheiron	Watch on Netflix	Troubled by his past, a scam artist who runs a petty racket with his adoptive mom finds redemption while mentoring a group of difficult students.
~~Friday, May 15~~	Paris pieds nus (Lost in Paris) by Fiona Gordon, Dominique Abel	Watch free on Kanopy or Amazon Prime or rent/Buy on YouTube	Filmed in Dominique Abel and Fiona Gordon's signature whimsical style, Lost in Paris stars the filmmakers as a small-town Canadian librarian and a strangely seductive, oddly egotistical vagabond.
~~Friday, May 22~~	J'ai perdu mon corps (I lost my body) by Jérémy Clapin	Watch on Netflix	Romance, mystery, and adventure intertwine as a young man falls in love and a severed hand scours Paris for its owner in this mesmerizing animated film.
~~Friday, May 29~~	Les Amours imaginaires (Heartbeats) by Xavier Dolan	Rent/Buy on YouTube or Amazon Prime	Two close friends find themselves fighting for the affections of the same striking young man. The more intimate the trio becomes, the more unattainable the object of their infatuation seems, sending the friends' obsession into overdrive.
~~Friday, June 5~~	Le Grand Bain (Sink or Swim) by Gilles Lellouche	Watch free on Kanopy or Rent/Buy on YouTube	A group of 40-something men, all on the verge of a mid-life crisis, decide to form their local pool's first ever all-male synchronized swimming team. Braving the skepticism and ridicule of those around them, the group set out an unlikely adventure.