2021 COLCOA French Film Festival

The Consulate General of France in Los Angeles and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy are thrilled to announce that the full lineup of the 25th edition of the COLCOA French Film Festival is here! This year, the festival will take place from Monday November 1 to Sunday November 7, at the Directors Guild of America (7920 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles 90046).

This 2021 edition is dedicated to the memory of Bertrand Tavernier—who consistently expressed his love to the United States throughout his life and cinematographic career. Two of his films will be featured in the COLCOA Classics program: The Judge and the Assassin and Capitaine Conan.

COLCOA is the only film festival in the United States to be exclusively dedicated to French films and TV programs. The festival is funded by the Franco-American Cultural Fund, and aims to introduce American audiences to French artworks and filmmakers, as well as to celebrate the quality and originality of the French audiovisual industry. It is overall a wonderful occasion to promote a cross-cultural exchange between France and the United States. It is why—from the very beginning—the Cultural Services of the French Embassy has supported the organization of this major event. Over the years, it has evolved into one of the world’s most important and broadest international festivals dedicated to French cinema.

This year’s lineup includes 55 films and series as well as 19 short films—most of which will be screened before their releases both in the US and in France. The festival’s opening night will feature Emmanuel Carrère’s Between Two Worlds, which opened Director’s Fortnight earlier this year in Cannes. This 25th edition will conclude with the screening of two films: Arthur Harari’s Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle, which opened the Cannes 2021 “Un certain regard” selection, and Xavier Giannoli’s adaptation of Honoré de Balzac’s literary masterpiece Lost Illusions.

This year, the cinema lineup will feature four different programs and 23 different films.

The After 10 series is dedicated to five 18+ only movies which will be screened during the evening. It will include Bruno Dumont’s latest film, France, which stars Léa Seydoux, Benjamin Biolay, and Blanche Gardin in a vivid satire of the French news media industry.

In addition to two of Bertrand Tavernier’s masterpieces, the COLCOA Classics lineup will feature one of the most iconic movie Jean-Paul Belmondo starred in, Le Magnifique, as well as Luis Buñuel’s masterpiece The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, which was written by Jean-Claude Carrière.

In addition to those selections, the Film Noir Series will celebrate contemporary takes on a genre that perfectly embodies the mutual influence between French and American cinemas and cultures. Lastly, the French Newave 2.0 lineup will dive into the contemporary heritage of the famous French New Wave, with movies such as Gagarine, which was part of the 2020 Cannes selection, and Robust—which stars legendary Gérard Depardieu and was part of the 2021 Cannes “Semaine de la critique” selection.

COLCOA 25th edition will also feature television and cinema Documentaries, including Sébastien Lifshitz’s latest film, Little Girl and Jane by Charlotte, Charlotte Gainsbourg’s touching and intimate portrait of her mother, Jane Birkin. The Short Film Competition includes 19 films divided into wo programs, and the TV Movies & Series lineup features five TV movies, seven TV series, and one documentary, All About Yves Montand.

For a complete presentation of the 2021 lineup, please check COLCOA 2021’s full program.