CHAMPS ÉLYSÉES FILM FESTIVAL

Come watch the US PREMIERES of Annabelle Amoros’ CHURCHILL, POLAR BEAR TOWN and Sébastien Betbeder’s PLANÈTE TRISTE presented by Justine Lévêque, the creative director of Paris’ only film festival. You are the critic as we premiere two very different films, with plenty of time to discuss with Justine. A red-carpet event à ne pas manquer!

(*) Students with IDs on-site / .edu addresses online. High school, college or university

Founded in 2012 - by producer, distributor and cinema owner Sophie Dulac – Champs-Élysées Film Festival is the first and only French and American Independent Film Festival in France and the most important film festival in Paris. As the cornerstone of the festival, the two independent Feature Films Competition aim to highlight unreleased films offering the public an overview of the latest US and French independent productions. It also presents a selection of French and US Premieres, master classes and many more, with the mission to create a bond between the American and the French independent film industries.

For the record, the Festival has welcomed talents such as Christopher Walken, Kyle Maclachlan, Jeff Goldblum, Wes Anderson, Ari Aster, David Lowery, Jeremy Irons, Tim Roth, Jennifer Jason Leigh, William Friedkin, Chloe Grace Moretz, Alan Parker, Debra Granik, Abel Ferrara, Brady Corbet, Agnès Varda, Jim Cummings, Jerry Schatzberg, David and Nathan Zellner, Susan Seidelman, Whit Stillman, Edgar Wright, Stephen Frears, Agnès Varda, Keanu Reeves, Halle Berry, Alexandre Aja, Josh and Benny Safdie and many other international renown guests.

CHURCHILL, POLAR BEAR TOWN de Annabelle Amoros (2022, 38 min.) In English with French subtitles.

About polar bears, predators and tourist attractions in Churchill, Manitoba

Each year in Canada’s north, polar bears migrate towards Hudson’s Bay to hunt for seals. From October to November, as they wait for the ice shelf to form, they hang out in the small town of Churchill, Manitoba, 800 inhabitants. They make themselves a nuisance to the locals while enchanting tourists, a vivid illustration of humans’ complex relationship with the wild.

Tous les ans, dans le nord du Canada, les ours polaires migrent vers la baie d’Hudson afin d’y chasser le phoque. D’octobre à novembre, en attendant que la banquise se forme, ils prennent leurs quartiers à Churchill, petite ville de 800 habitants. Considérés à la fois comme prédateurs nuisibles et fascinations touristiques, leur présence illustre singulièrement la complexité de notre rapport au monde sauvage.

La réalisatrice Annabelle Amoros part en 2018 en repérages pendant trois mois à Churchill (Canada) et capture le reste de ses images à distance depuis la France en 2020. Productrice Clarisse Tupin for Paraíso Production.

PLANETE TRISTE de Sébastien Betbeder (2021, 30 min.) In French with English subtitles.

Film students teach the teacher a life lesson… Featuring Grégoir Tachnakian and his incredibly expressive eyes.

Rémi has directed a few short films also short on the success he had hoped for. He accepts to lead a film workshop with high school students. From one class to another, they get closer and closer as they decide what film they want to make.

Rémi a réalisé quelques courts-métrages qui n’ont pas connu le succès retentissant qu’il espérait. Alors cette année, il a accepté d’animer un atelier cinéma dans un lycée de la banlieue parisienne. Au fur et à mesure des semaines, un lien de plus en plus intime va se nouer entre lui et les lycéens.

ACTEURS

Grégoire Tachnakian, Jennifer Decker, Lazim Beaubois, Alexia Mali, Baptiste Sevi, Pauline Langlois, Yani Farah, Djakaridja Meite, Liazid Tchouaga, Yasmine Othmani.