French cinema goes online with 'My French Film Festival'

From January 19th to February 22nd, a wide range of French feature length and short movies are available for viewing online via local platforms, free of charge in many regions of the world, or for a small fee in others. In this week's Culture in France, RFI's Rosslyn Hyams reports on the event called, 'My French Film Festival'.

'My French Film Festival' is France's annual, month-long online film festival. Last year seven million viewers across the world from the Americas to China were able to watch French films which released in the previous year in France.

Usually French films can only be seen outside of cinema theatres or Alliance Française French culture centres abroad, after three years.

 'My French Film Festival' is now eight years-old, and offers a selection of about 30 films, features, shorts (available for free) and a documentary. This year, it also includes a few classics as well as a competition, which has an audience award. Ten French feature films and ten French shorts are competing.

Among the selection is Guillaume Canet's Rock n 'Roll - a successful comedy starring Marion Cotillard, and with an appearance by the late Johnny Halliday. There is also Ava, a first feature by Léa Mysius which premièred at the Critic's Week in Cannes in May 2017, and The Last Metro - François Truffaut's memorable 1980 wartime drama starring Catherine Deneuve and Gérard Dépardieu.

For details of how to access the festival which is open to all click here.