JETTING TO FRANCE... for a not-so-quick trip devoted to soaking up several fabulous works of the cinema? If only, if only. We pack our suitcases in our mind, and we pore over theater schedules in our daydreams, and we keep tabs on the festivals that feature the movies that garner the critical raves and win over the public. Since boarding an international jet at a moment's notice is realistically not in the cards for most of us, it is so very helpful when a festival of great French films boards the jet and heads our way. And the COLCOA French Film Festival fits that bill very nicely. The "9 Days of Premieres in Hollywood" festival, which was founded by The Franco-American Cultural Fund just over two decades ago, alights at the Directors Guild of America on Sunset Boulevard each spring. (And, oui, it is now eight days, still making it fabulously lengthy.) And fans queue up to see a host of new works full of emotion, heart, and stories to remember. That schedule is live now, as the "City of Lights, City of Angels" celebration unfurls from...
MONDAY, APRIL 23 THROUGH MONDAY, APRIL 30: That's a full week, plus a day, of cinematic splendor, splendor that will include screenings of Happy Hour Talks with French filmmakers, showings of French television shows ("The Consolation" and "The Age of Stateless" are two free-to-see offerings), lots of documentaries, and so many films including "The Prayer," "C'est La Vie!," and "Some Like It Veiled." There are several special doings weaving through the week-plus revelries, too, like the VR corner over the final weekend. Good things to know? Screenings will take place earlier in the day as well as the special after-10-o'clock movies, which'll roll over several nights of COLCOA. Feeling the amour in the atmosphere? It must be because one of the biggest SoCal-France meet-ups is just ahead on the cool movie-filled calendar.
