Cinema Akil to screen French films in summer series this August

The art-house cinema is continuing its Traveller film series with classic and contemporary French films

In a new series, Cinema Akil is focusing on films from different countries. Mohamed Somji / Seeing Things 

Having almost wrapped up its screenings of Italian classics, Cinema Akil’s Traveller series is now setting its sights on France.

Dubai’s only independent cinema is continuing its summer-long series of film screenings, with classic and contemporary favourites that celebrate the joy of travel, partnering this time with Institut Francais to deliver four timeless French films.

Located in Alserkal Avenue, the art-house cinema which reopened on June 12 has redesigned its seating arrangement and imposed a number of social-distancing measures to ensure visitors have a safe and worry-free viewing experience.

The Traveller series kicked off on June 26 with four classic Italian films, starting with Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita. The last of the Italian films, Gabriele Salvatores' anti-war film Mediterraneo, will screen until Thursday, August 6.

The cinema's series of French films will start with François Truffaut's award-winning classic The 400 Blows (Les Quatre Cents Coups).

“Voyage to France is not only a luscious expedition through the different landscapes of France, but a rare opportunity to experience the classic films of some of the greatest directors of all time,” founder and managing director Butheina Kazim said in a statement.

‘The 400 Blows’ (1959)

François Truffaut's first feature is also his most personal. Winner of Best Director at 1959 Cannes Film Festival and nominated for an Academy Award in 1960, The 400 Blows (Les quatre cents coups) sensitively re-creates the trials of Truffaut's own childhood, unsentimentally portraying aloof parents, oppressive teachers, and petty crime.

The film marked Truffaut’s passage from leading critic to trailblazing auteur of the French New Wave.

The 400 Blows will screen at Cinema Akil from Friday, August 7 to Thursday, August 13.

‘The Umbrellas of Cherbourg’ (1964)

Catherine Deneuve launched to stardom with this dazzling musical heart-tugger from Jacques Demy.

She plays an umbrella shop owner's delicate daughter, who falls in love with a handsome garage mechanic, played by Nino Castelnuovo. When the boy is shipped off to fight in Algeria, the two lovers must grow up quickly. With songs by the great composer Michel Legrand, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is one of the most revered and unorthodox movie musicals of all time.

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Les Parapluies de Cherbourg) will screen at Cinema Akil from Friday, August 14 to Thursday, August 20.

‘The Beaches of Agnès’ (2008)

Originally intended to be Agnes Varda’s farewell to filmmaking, this enchanting auto-portrait, made in her eightieth year, is a freewheeling journey through her life, career, and artistic philosophy.

Revisiting the places that shaped her—from the North Sea beaches of Belgium where she spent her childhood to the Mediterranean village where she shot her first film to the boardwalks of Los Angeles where she lived with her husband, Jacques Demy—Varda reflects on a lifetime of creation and inspiration, successes and setbacks, heartbreak and joy. The Beaches of Agnes (Les Plages d'Agnes) is a playful and poignant record of a life lived fully and passionately in the name of cinema.

The Beaches of Agnes (Les Plages d'Agnes) will be showing at Cinema Akil from Friday, August 21 to Thursday, August 27.

‘L’Atalante’ (1933)

Labelled by critics to be one of the greatest films of all time, L'Atalante is a true masterpiece.

An unassuming tale of conjugal love becomes an achingly romantic reverie of desire and hope. Jean (Jean Daste), a barge captain, marries Juliette (Dita Parlo), an innocent country girl, and the two climb aboard L’Atalante boat and embark on their new life together.

L'Atalante will screen at Cinema Akil from Friday, August 28 to Thursday, September 3.