Movie Series | Pride Month

[As part of Pride Month events]

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From June 6 to June 24, the Institut français offers you a selection of 12 films reflecting the diversity of genders and sexual orientations!

Everywhere, filmmakers are working to question prejudices and push back intolerance. The films make visible the individual or collective struggles for LGBTQ+ dignity and pride in their diversity thanks to the creativity of the cinema and the authors.

Seeing our experiences reflected in the media around us can have a profound impact on how we see ourselves, and especially our place in the world. For the LGBTQ+ community, this representation is not always obvious, far from it: sometimes stereotyped, sometimes portrayed as harmful, when they were simply not represented on screen, LGBTQ+ characters and plots have long suffered of an awkward or superficial representation. Today, progress towards inclusiveness continues: the diversity of genders and sexual orientations must be imposed less as a deviation than as a normality, if not as a pride.

Tuesday, June 6th at 7.30pm

“Cassandro The Exotico” by Marie Losier (2018) – Not suitable for audiences under 16 years old

FRANCE – 85 minutes – English with French subtitles

After 26 years of spinning dives and flying uppercuts on the ring, Cassandro, the star of the gender-bending cross-dressing Mexican wrestlers known as the Exoticos, is far from retiring. But with dozens of broken bones and metal pins in his body, he must now reinvent himself…… Watch the trailer!

 

Wednesday, June 07th at 7pm

“Rafiki” by Wanuri Kahiu (2018) – Not suitable for audiences under 16 years old

KENYA – 83 minutes – Swahili with English subtitles

Good Kenyan girls become good Kenyan wives,” but Kena and Ziki long for something more. When love blossoms between them, the two girls will be forced to choose between happiness and safety. Watch the trailer!

 

Friday, June 09th at 7 pm

“Marry My Dead Body” by Cheng Wei-hao (2022) – Not suitable for audiences under 12 years old

CHINA – 130 minutes – Chinese with English subtitles

One day a police officer finds a red wedding envelope, only to find out that the owner is in fact a ghost asking for the officer’s hand in marriage before reincarnation. What will happen when a human and a ghost form a special bond? Watch the trailer!

 

Saturday, June 10th at 1pm

“Blue Is the Warmest Colour” by Abdellatif Kechiche (2013) – Not suitable for audiences under 12 years old

FRANCE – 180 minutes – French version with English subtitles

Adèle’s life is changed when she meets Emma, a young woman with blue hair, who will allow her to discover desire and to assert herself as a woman and as an adult. In front of others, Adèle grows, seeks herself, loses herself, and ultimately finds herself through love and loss. Watch the trailer!

 

Wednesday, June 14th at 7pm

“M” by Yolande Zauberman (2018) – Not suitable for audiences under 16 years old

FRANCE – 106 minutes – Hebrew with English subtitles

Suburbs of Tel Aviv. Bnei Brak, world capital of the Haredim, the ultra- Orthodox Jews. When he was a kid, Menahem Lang was known for his kindness, his commitment to Talmud school and especially his golden voice, which made him a renowned performer of liturgical chants. But he was hiding a secret: for years, he was raped by members of the community that worshipped him. After 10 years, Menahem returns to the scene of the crime. It is also a return to the places he loved, a path of initiation sprinkled with incredible encounters, recovered rituals… a reconciliation. Watch the trailer!

 

Friday, June 16th at 7pm

“The Shiny Shrimps” by Cédric Le Gallo and Maxime Govare (2019) – Not suitable for audiences under 12 years old

FRANCE – 103 minutes – French with English subtitles

Matthias Le Goff, World Swimming Championship silver medallist, makes a homophobic remark on TV. His punishment? To coach “The Shiny Shrimps”, a gay water polo team, motivated more by partying than competition. This explosive coach-and-team combo then heads to Croatia to take part in the Gay Games, the world’s biggest gay sports meet. The journey offers Matthias the chance to discover an unfamiliar world that forces him to take a fresh look at himself and rethink his priorities. Watch the trailer!

 

Saturday, June 17th

at 2pm

“Poppy Goes to Hollywood” by Sok Visal (2016) 

CAMBODIA – 93 minutes – Khmer with English subtitles

Un gang criminel commet un meurtre devant un club à Phnom Penh. De nombreux témoins du meurtre et reçoivent l’aide de sa sœur aînée Lena qui travaille comme danseuse au club gay. Watch the trailer!

at 4pm

“Lotus Sports Club” by R. Tommaso Colognese and Vanna Hem (2022) 

The screening will be followed by a discussion in English with director Vanna Hem

CAMBODIA – 71 minutes – Khmer with English subtitles

Filmed in Cambodia over the course of five years, Lotus Sports Club, is an inspiring coming-of-age story that centres around Leak, a teenage trans man who plays football in the under-21s women’s team of Kampong Chhnang, and Pa Vann, the coach and father-figure to Leak and other LGBTQ+ players on the team. Watch the trailer!

 

Wednesday, June 21st at 7pm

“Dating Amber” by David Freyne (2020) – Not suitable for audiences under 12 years old

UNITED KINGDOM – 92 minutes – English with French subtitles

Set-in Ireland during the mid-90’s, Eddie and Amber (both 17) are in the closet about their sexuality and decide to stage a relationship in order to stop everyone speculating. Eddie is keen to follow his Dad into the military, while Amber dreams of moving to the liberal hub of London. However, their ‘ideal’ arrangement begins to fall apart, forcing Eddie deeper into denial as Amber realises that a perilous future awaits her best friend unless she intervenes. DATING AMBER is a love letter to all those kids who grew up in a small town and who needed to escape in order to be themselves. Watch the trailer!

 

Friday, June 23rd at 7pm

“The Wound” by John Trengove (2017) – Not suitable for audiences under 16 years old

SOUTH AFRICA – 88 minutes – Xhosa with French subtitles

South Africa, Eastern Cape mountains. Like every year, Xolani, a solitary worker, participates with other men from his community in the ritual initiation ceremonies of a dozen teenagers. One of them, from Johannesburg, discovers a carefully guarded secret… Xolani’s whole existence then threatens to tip over. Watch the trailer!

 

Saturday, June 24th
at 2pm

“Today Tomorrow, I Love” by Bun Chantra (2022) – Not suitable for audiences under 16 years old

CAMBODIA – 108 minutes – Khmer with English subtitles

Today, tomorrow is still love, a love story between two women, Leakhena and Chenny. The two of them come from different families. Watch the trailer! 

at 4pm

“And Then We Danced” de Levan Akin (2019) – Not suitable for audiences under 12 years old

SWEDEN – 110 minutes – Swedish with French subtitles

Merab has been training from a young age at the National Georgian Ensemble with his dance partner Mary. His world turns upside down when the carefree Irakli arrives and becomes both his strongest rival and desire. Watch the trailer!

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