French Film Fest ready to roll

It has been 17 years -- or, if you prefer, dix-sept ans.

The French Film Festival, which begins tomorrow at the Byrd Theatre, has been recognized by the French government as the largest festival of French films in the United States.

For the 17th time, it will present three days of French movies in every genre, including short subjects. Each will be shown in the original French with English subtitles, and nearly all will be followed by a discussion led by the film's director, writer or star.

For most of the films, the festival marks the first time they have been shown in the United States or all of North America.

But this time around, there are a few changes. For one, the festival will turn its spotlight on actress, writer and director Josiane Balasko, who starred in or made five of the 12 feature movies featured in the festival. Also, this time the festival is sponsored not only by Virginia Commonwealth University but also the University of Richmond.

And this year, the master class in filmmaking will be open to the public instead of just film students.

The free master class, "Image Creation in Filmmaking," will be taught in three parts. Beginning at noon tomorrow, three Richmond-based professors and French director Pierre-William Glenn will talk about "Directors of Photography, Image Creators in Filmmaking." For the second section, three French film graduate students will show their masters' theses and discuss how they went from film studies to short-film production. In the final section, four members of the Commission Supérieure Technique de L'Image et Du Son will talk about new technologies in film production and projection.

An unrelated master-class lecture, "Laughter and Cinema," will follow tomorrow's 4 p.m. showing of "L'Auberge rouge."

In the past, many of the movies have sold out. Tickets for each film are $12 at the box office and are available 30 minutes before each screening. Weekend passes are $95, $85 for college faculty and $45 for currently enrolled students.

For more information, call (804) 827-3456.

Contact Daniel Neman at (804) 649-6408 or .