French Film in the Spotlight at SCAD Savannah Film Festival

From renegade auteur Jacques Audiard comes Emilia Pérez, an audacious fever dream that defies genres and expectations. Through liberating song and dance and bold visuals, this odyssey follows the journey of four remarkable women in Mexico, each pursuing their own happiness. The fearsome cartel leader Emilia (Karla Sofía Gascón) enlists Rita (Zoe Saldaña), an unappreciated lawyer stuck in a dead-end job, to help fake her death so that Emilia can finally live authentically as her true self.

Actor Karla Sofía Gascón will be presented with the Distinguished Performance Award and actor Zoe Saldaña will be presented with the Vanguard Award. A Q&A with Gascón and Saldaña immediately follows the screening.

Presented in Spanish with English subtitles. 

In the years before fame alone would be accepted as an art form, multifaceted poet, playwright, visual artist, and filmmaker Jean Cocteau considered his artistic lot in life one of obscurity and celebrity. Responsible for some of the most gorgeous and evocative images ever committed to screen — in films like La Belle et la Bête and Orphée — Cocteau also left behind a rich archive of recorded interviews and writings. Director Lisa Immordino Vreeland tells his fascinating story by compassionately bringing into view a life freed by an artistic style deeply entwined with his ecstasies and struggles.

A Q&A with director and producer Lisa Immordino Vreeland immediately follows the screening.

Presented in French and English with English subtitles.

A collection of short films spotlighting the groundbreaking talents and visionary filmmakers from France who are redefining the global cinematic landscape.