04/04/2016 - On 6 April the festival dedicated to films from beyond the Alps kicks off, starting in Rome and stopping off in Bologna, Naples, Palermo, Turin, Milan, Lecce, Florence and Bergamo

Back in Rome, from 6 to 11 April, is the Appointment with New French Cinema. In its sixth edition this year, the festival dedicated to brand new films from beyond the Alps will kick off in the Italian capital, subsequently stopping off, with focuses and special guests between 7 April and 8 May, in Bologna, Naples, Palermo, Turin, Milan, Lecce and, as of this year, Florence and Bergamo. This year’s edition of the festival will feature over thirty films, an exclusive platform that lays bare the stories and nature of contemporary French cinema which, for the third year running in 2015, celebrated the best results abroad that it has had in twenty years. The festival has a diverse programme in terms of genre and content, with arthouse and independent film standing side by side with box office hits of more popular appeal.

The patron of the VI edition of the event is Chiara Mastroianni, and the opening film Chocolat [+see also:
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Of the emerging talents participating in the Festival, Éva Husson will present her debut piece Bang Gang (A Modern Love Story) [+see also:
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film profile] by Thomas Lilti is the story of a provincial doctor who is played by François Cluzet. Also being shown in its Italian premiere is Un début prometteur [+see also:
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The programme also features more well-established writers. Straight from the 2016 edition of the Berlin Film Festival comes the Italian premiere of Saint Amour [+see also:
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After the opening of the Festival in Rome, a large group of writers will travel from the south to the north of the peninsula. First up there’s Benoît Jacquot, who, after holding a masterclass in Rome with Chiara Mastroianni, will meet audiences at the Cineteca di Bologna for a focus dedicated to him. Philippe Faucon, who has just won three César awards, will present his multi-award-winning film Fatima [+see also:
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After the success of Cycling with Moliere [+see also:
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film profile], which is being distributed by Academy Two. And of course the Festival couldn’t not include a tribute to Sólveig Anspach, the Franco-Icelandish director who recently passed away.

New to this year’s edition of the event is the French Cinema Award, which, this year, will be awarded to Andrea Occhipinti who, with Lucky Red, has contributed to promoting French cinema all over the world.

An initiative of the Embassy of France in Italy, the event is held by the Institut français Italia with the support of Unifrance, and the cooperation of the Centre Saint-Louis and the French Academy in Rome - Villa Medici.

(Translated from Italian)