Bonjour a tous!
Thanks to all of you who attended the Winter Short Films Screening last Saturday. It was a fun evening, full of good energy. It was nice to see you all. Please join us this Friday at 8:15pm at the Crest Theatre for a special screening of A SECRET by Claude Miller.

At the end of this message you will find a sneak peak at the upcoming Sacramento French Film Festival...

In the meantime, Sacramento is such a wonderful place for arts lovers and we have fantastic offers to occupy your Winter weekends!

Sacramento arts organizations keep Sacramento
culturally alive, please support them!

CONTENT of this NEWSLETTER

1. A SECRET by Claude Miller opening at the Crest Theatre - SFFF Special Screening on Friday, February 27th, 2009!
2. The 2009 ALL SKETCH COMEDY FESTIVAL starts this Thursday: enter to win 2 tickets for the show of your choice.
3. THE LAST DAYS OF JUDAS ISCARIOT, at the Wilkerson Theatre. Special offer for SFFF patrons: only $10 per ticket!
4. A SNEAK PEAK A THE UPCOMING SACRAMENTO FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL 2009: the Fashion show is coming back plus news on the classic films selection!

1 - A SECRET by Claude Miller opening at the Crest Theatre - SFFF Special Screening on Friday, February 27th, 2009 at 8:15pm!

If you missed it on the SFFF 2008 closing night, now is your chance to discover this wonderful film!
The special screening will be followed by coffee and pastries and a post-screening discussion led by Professor Kevin Elstob. We look forward to seeing you there!

François is a sickly child who doesn’t fit in at school or at home. Lonely, he plays with his imaginary brother and dreams up an idealized past for his secretive parents. When he becomes a teenager, an old friend of his parents reveals to him his family’s deep and tragic secret, which goes back to the Second World War and the French Occupation. The devastating truth allows François to find himself at last and reconnect with his parents. The all-star cast includes Patrick Bruel, Cécile de France (The Russian Dolls, Avenue Montaigne), Ludivine Sagnier, Julie Depardieu and Mathieu Amalric (The Diving bell & the Butterfly, James Bond Quantum of Solace).

Based on the autobiographical novel by psychoanalyst Philippe Grimbert (who participated in the writting and shooting of the film), Un Secret is one of Claude Miller’s best films, a deeply moving historical drama. This story of passion and guilt in troubled times was praised in France by critics and audiences alike. Watch the trailer here!

AWARDS
- Nominated for 11 Césars in 2008, winner for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Julie Depardieu
- Winner Grand Prix des Amériques, Montreal World Film Festival 2007

MEDIA
I was not prepared for the climactic emotional devastation, but as all the pieces fall into place, the film crystallizes as perfectly as Tania's flawless backward high dive piercing through the clear water with beauty and precision – Urban Cinefile Critics

Un secret makes for compelling viewing and Cécile de France and Patrick Bruel finally prove they are bona fide star material. - Boyd van Hoeij - European-films.net

2 -The 2009 ALL SKETCH COMEDY FESTIVAL starts this Thursday: enter to win 2 tickets for the show of your choice.

The 2nd annual All Sketch Comedy Festival brings together the best from around the world. With funny folks coming to our town from Tokyo, New York, LA, San Francisco and even Auburn, yes I said Auburn. It all happens this week: Thursday February 26th, Friday February 27th and Saturday February 28th. Full schedule and more here!

Two lucky French Film Festival Fans will get free tickets to the All Sketch show of their choice. If you choose to attend the Aardvark Fancy show on Saturday evening, maybe you'll see actors who will remind you of Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg... To win just reply to this email with the name of "France's favorite American comic". The first 2 people to answer correctly will each win 1 ticket for the show of their choice.
Ready? Go here!

3 -THE LAST DAYS OF JUDAS ISCARIOT - Special offer to SFFF patrons!

Beyond the Proscenium Productions (BPP) is offering you a $5 discount on tickets to their newest play The Last Days of Judas Iscariot currently playing at the Wilkerson Theatre on Friday & Saturday nights at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm - February 13th to March 15th.
To get your tickets for only $10, please call 456-1600 or email nick@beyond-pro.org and say that you saw the ticket offer in the Sacramento French Film Festival newsletter.

About Judas, not a lot is known except that he was chosen to be an apostle, he betrayed Jesus, and then he hung himself. Not a lot to go on especially when we're meant to relay on facts. Stephen Adly Guirgis' The Last Days of Judas Iscariot is a courtroom drama taking place in downtown purgatory. This play modernizes and humanizes the cautionary tale of Judas, allowing for big laughs, tears, and questions along the way. Is there a Heaven? Is there a Hell? And if there is, does Judas belong in it? Witnesses called to the stand range from Mother Teresa to Satan, and even Judas' mother testifies. The play focuses on choices and free-will, love and judgment, hope and despair, what it means to be "good", and what it means to be ourselves. The Last Days of Judas doesn't claim to answer any of these questions, but asks them and lets the audience ponder. Read the SN&R review here!
Strong language is used, no one under 16 w/o adult, no one under 13 admitted.
Regular price tickets: $15 general admission / $12 for seniors, students - $10 for SFFF patrons!

The Wilkerson Theatre (formerly California Stage) is located 1723 25th St. Sacramento (between Q & R Streets) in the same complex as the Alliance Française.

4 -A SNEAK PEAK A THE UPCOMING SACRAMENTO FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL 2009: the Fashion show is coming back plus news on the classic films selection!

I met yesterday with Joni Jacobs from Opaline. We started planning the 2009 fashion Show! You loved it in 2008: it will be bigger and better on Saturday, June 20th! Prepare yourself for a fun evening! More information to come in the following months...

An array of terrific new films will be selected in May. The SFFF is excited to announce 2 of the 4 classic films in our 2009 selection: one of Jean Renoir’s masterpieces, the social pre-WWII drama La Règle du jeu (The Rules of the Game,1939) and the surreal poetic fairytale by Jean Cocteau La Belle et la Bête (The Beauty and the Beast,1946).

To help us produce the best Festival possible and get passes at a discounted price, become an AMI DU FESTIVAL! Visit our website to learn more about this opportunity.