The Washington, D.C., International Film Festival returns to the District April 19 through 29, this year with a geographic focus on France, titled "Voila Cinema!"
The festival's opening night gala will feature "La Vie en Rose," a film starring Marion Cotillard and G?rard Depardieu about the life of Edith Piaf. Director Olivier Dahan will attend the film's 6 p.m. screening at the Historic Lincoln Theatre.
"Paris, je t'aime," a film that reveals the varying lifestyles and atmospheres of Parisian neighborhoods through the eyes of 20 noted filmmakers, each of whom wrote a segment, will close the festival's 2007 run.
The movie features such actors as Depardieu, Natalie Portman, Gena Rowlands, Elijah Wood, Willem Dafoe, Nick Nolte, Steve Buscemi and Maggie Gyllenhaal. Segment directors include Wes Craven, the Coen brothers, Gus Van Sant and Alexander Payne. The film will be introduced at 3:30 p.m. on April 29 at the Gallery Place Regal Cinemas.
Besides a geographic focus, the festival groups its movies into three categories.
The first, "Views from the News," is a group of films reflecting themes from today's headlines.
"Global Rhythms" is a music-on-film series with pieces by Italian, Indian, American, Indonesian and Brazilian filmmakers.
"World View," which comprises the majority of the films in the festival, showcases movies from all around the world, including the world premiere of "The First Basket," directed by David Vyorst, and the American premieres of "Bunny Chow," directed by John Barker and "What a Wonderful World," directed by Moroccan director Faouzi Bensa'dl.
The festival also features free directors' panels at "Busyboys & Poets" on April 21 at noon and on April 28 at 3 p.m. The April 21 panel will feature George Pelecanos, one of the writers behind HBO's "The Wire," while the April 28 panel features international guest directors discussing their films' styles and the conditions under which those films are made.
Screenings will take place in theaters in and around D.C., including American University's own Greenberg Theatre.
Tickets to this year's screenings go on sale April 6, most costing $9. They can be purchased on www.tickets.com or by calling 1-800-955-5566.
