Cinéfranco is Toronto’s festival of films in the French language. The 14th annual festival takes place for the very first time at the TIFF Bell Lightbox (with additional screenings at the NFB Mediatheque) from March 25th through April 3rd, featuring films from all over the French-speaking world, with selections from France, Canada (Québec, Ontario, and New Brunswick), Algeria, Morocco, Belgium, and Switzerland. All films are subtitled in English, and tickets are available at the cinema for $12 each.
This year’s festival will screen 27 features, 7 documentaries and 10 shorts. There will also be a series of debates on various topics, and a master class with Moroccan filmmaker Driss Chouika. I’ve been a big fan of this well-run festival for the past several years and it definitely gives you a sense of the breadth of francophone cinema. Watch for some reviews in the weeks to come and definitely check out the Cinéfranco site for the schedule and a description of the films.
Tagged as:
#cinefranco11,
algeria,
belgium,
france,
morocco,
quebec,
switzerland
Cinéfranco is Toronto’s festival of films in the French language. The 13th annual festival runs from March 26th through April 3rd at the AMC Yonge and Dundas Cinemas, featuring films from all over the French-speaking world, with films from France, Québec, Ontario, Luxembourg, Belgium, and Switzerland. All films are subtitled in English, and tickets are available at the cinema for $10 each.
This year’s festival will screen 30 features and 10 shorts with a special focus on films from Switzerland. In addition, the Opening Night Film, Le Divan du Monde (Everybody’s Couch), is the first fictional feature by a francophone Ontarian director in more than 20 years.
Tagged as:
#cinefranco10,
belgium,
cinefranco,
france,
luxembourg,
quebec,
switzerland
Cinéfranco is Toronto’s festival of films in the French language. The 12th edition is running from tomorrow, March 27th, through April 5th at the Royal Cinema at 608 College Street West, featuring films from all over the French-speaking world, with films from France, Québec, Morocco, Belgium, and Switzerland. All films are subtitled in English, and tickets are available at the cinema for $10 each.
Tagged as:
#cinefranco09,
belgium,
france,
morocco,
quebec,
switzerland
Echoes of Home (Heimatklänge) (Director: Stefan Schwietert, Switzerland/Germany, 2007): You might think a documentary about yodeling — wait, yodeling? Yes, you read right — may induce yawning from an audience, but Echoes of Home proves the contrary. It investigates yodeling through the eyes (and vocal cords) of three Swiss musicians: Christian Zehnder, Erika Stucky and Noldi Alder. In some way I was prepared for an 81-minute version of the Lonely Goatherd song from The Sound of Music, a fun song, albeit Richard Rodgers’ “musicalized” take on the Swiss tradition. But what I got was a beautiful film about the traditional yodeling as expressed by Noldi (part of the famous Alder family) and the more contemporary sounds of Christian and Erika. Their voices mimicked seagulls at the shore or the chugging of a locomotive or a baby’s cry. It sounded odd at first, but I grew accustomed to the wordless, harmonious notes.
Schwietert captures these musicians in various settings, whether in front of an audience, on the mountains, in the kitchen or in a pub. They need no concert hall, only a quiet space — a void — to create sound.
Although about 10 minutes too long (there were several points around the 70-minute mark where it could have ended), the film certainly warrants a look – and a listen. And if the harmonious sounds are too much, just mute the DVD and enjoy the scenery.
Official site for the film
(9/10)
Tagged as:
#hotdocs07,
music,
switzerland
