Richard Mowe

Director and co-founder French Film Festival UK Accredited to NUJ, BAFTA, Critics' Circle, FIPRESCI, The European Film Academy

[Richard Mowe @RichBoxoffice]

Out of a sense of patriotic duty I turned up bleary-eyed with 150 other early birds at UGC Ciné Cité in les Halles for the first 10 am Parisian release screening of De Gaulle: Résistance - all 160 minutes of it . The second tranche De Gaulle: Liberté is due out on 3 July. Unveiled out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival it looks as if this big budget extravaganza (give years in the making) will have wide appeal with a couple of hypnotic performances from Simon Abkarian as De Gaulle and Simon Russell Beale’s quirky Winston Churchill whose mutually affectionate yet frequently strained relationship is well observed and derived from its source material - British historian Julian Jackson’s biography A Certain Idea of France. It’s a triumphant tale of faith, sheer audacity and a quest for freedoms on a scale by director Antonin Baudry of which David Lean would have been proud with a terrific ensemble cast among them Benoît Magimel, Mathieu Kassovitz, Niels Schneider and Anamaria Vartolomei. At its conclusion there was a round of enthusiastic applause. Bring on Part Two.
@FrFilmFestUK
@ifru_london
@ifecosse
@PatheFilms
@UGCcinemas
@filmhubscotland
@afglasgow
@FranceintheUK

[Richard Mowe @RichBoxoffice]

HAPPY HARARI: With the world premiere of his body-swap thriller L'Inconnue (The Unknown) at @Festival_Cannes no wonder Arthur Harari (co-writer with Justine Triet of Oscar-winning Anatomy of a Fall + 10,000 Nights in the Jungle) is all smiles - well almost - alongside Léa Seydoux and Niels Schneider . Time to recall his visit to @FrFilmFestUK with his first feature Black Diamond (Diamant Noir) back in the day accompanied by his older brother Tom, also his cinematographer, in Edinburgh, Glasgow and London. And, to keep it in the family, his younger brother Lucas wrote the graphic novel The Case of David Zimmerman on which the new film is based. Here's to the next time. @ifru_london @ifecosse @cgfEdimbourg @screenscots @filmhubscotland

[Richard Mowe @RichBoxoffice]

HOT TICKET - don't miss out! @ifecosse @afglasgow @FrFilmFestUK @MinistereCC @ifru_london @cgfEdimbourg @EyeForFilm

[Richard Mowe @RichBoxoffice]

@FrFilmFestUK has just launched the Early Bird programme now available for booking for October, November and December. There’s an appealing mix of heart-warming dramas, sumptuous costume epics, comedy, animation, documentary, new talents, Cannes connections, festival favourites and two
classics by masters Claude Chabrol and Jean Grémillon. Check it out on https://t.co/ktvaeqSNVu or contact [email protected] for more details. @ifecosse @filmhubscotland @screenscots @EyeForFilm @MinistereCC @cgfEdimbourg

[monica donati @panciutello]

UNE VIE DE FEMME de Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet foule les marches de la Compétition ce soir au Festival de Cannes. Avec Léa Drucker, Mélanie Thierry, Charles Berling, Marie-Christine Barrault… En salles le 9 septembre.

[Richard Mowe @RichBoxoffice]

With the @Festival_Cannes in full swing, you can catch last year’s Palme d’Or winner A Simple Accident at @ifecosse on Friday when I’ll be introducing it and the work of Iranian film-maker Jafar Panahi. The director is the epitome of resistance having survived a year-long prison sentence, and a two-year travel ban among other restrictions. A Simple Accident which was made in secret on his release from incarceration, was chosen to represent France at the Oscars. It was also short listed for the Lux Audience Award which was won by the Spanish film Deaf. Other contenders comprised Love Me Tender by French director Anna Cazenave Cambet; Christy by Irish director Brendan Canty and Sentimental Value by Norway’s Joachim Trier (and showing at IFE in September). The winner was chosen by filmgoers across Europe, as well as the Members of the European Parliament. Its choice for the Oscars is said to reflect France's values and the country as a welcoming place for filmmakers from all over the world, allowing their unique and universal voices to be heard in favour of tolerance, peace, and freedom. The screening on Friday at 18.00 is free of charge but advance booking advised. @ifru_london @EUdelegationUK @cgfEdimbourg @FrFilmFestUK @EyeForFilm

[Richard Mowe @RichBoxoffice]

When I asked director Cédric Klapish earlier this year whether he had been tempted to get back behind the camera for the movie of the Netflix series Call My Agent he was distinctly ambivalent: “I said No because I think you can push an idea too far …” Emilie Noblet took up the challenge and filming has now wrapped and final editing touches are being made for a cinema release later this year. Some publicity shots have been teased out. So what’s the premise? Camille Cottin’s Andréa Martel wants to become a director but loses her lead actor just before shooting begins. The old team are brought back together to help her out of the emergencies – and old friendships and rivalries bubble to the surface. Eva Longoria and George Clooney are said to contribute cameos. The film has been touted as “a final farewell” to the series (Klapisch masterminded the first two) but never say never. @FrFilmFestUK @ifru_london @ifecosse @franceinlondon @MinistereCC

[Richard Mowe @RichBoxoffice]

A pre-weekend taster on Friday at Hotel du Vin in Edinburgh, a favourite partner of @FrFilmFestUK. Dish of the day was breaded plaice goujons, fries, tartare sauce and watercress salad preceded by Wye Valley asparagus, whipped Haverstock White cheese, and toasted macadamia. All washed down with an extremely quaffable house red. A prix fixe menu for two courses is £24.95 (and three courses £29.95) – the kind of offer you can’t refuse. And with Vin in the name obviously they have a very good cellar and you can even embark on a tasting experience with curated wines and courses. The new and diversely appetising summer menu has just been introduced and for warmer days there’s an alfresco option in the secluded courtyard but still in the heart of the city. Brought back happy memories of our November dinner with guest Lionel Baier and the festival team after the premiere screening of The Safe House / La Cache. Find @HotelduVinbrand at 11 Bristo Place, Edinburgh, GB EH1 1EZ Phone [phone] Hotel du Vin Edinburgh

[Richard Mowe @RichBoxoffice]

Delighted that Agnès Jaoui will be back in @Festival_Cannes both behind and in front of the camera with her sixth feature as a director, Crescendo (L’Objet Du Délit), an ensemble comedy drama about accusations of sexual assault during an opera production. Jaoui also stars in the film opposite Daniel Auteuil, Eye Haïdara, Claire Chust and Oussama Kheddam. And delighted to recall her visit to French Film Festival UK with I Got Life (Aurore) which she presented at @Filmhouse - and had a painful encounter with Edinburgh cobblestones. Another FFF luminary Eye Haïdara (Cannes Mistress of Ceremonies) also appears alongside Jaoui and Auteuil. @ifecosse @EyeForFilm @ifru_london @francediplo_EN @EyeForFilm

[Richard Mowe @RichBoxoffice]

SECONDS OUT: Belgian director Valéry Carnoy rolls with the punches in Wild Foxes. Read my interview here: https://t.co/BaIcM7mcEw

@ifecosse @ifru_london @filmhubscotland @screenscots @walbru_uk @EyeForFilm

[Richard Mowe @RichBoxoffice]

NOW IT CAN BE REVEALED: The official poster for the 2026 edition of the Cannes Film Festival pays tribute to Ridley Scott's Thelma & Louise which premiered on the Croisette 35 years ago on 20 May 20, 1991. Featuring stars Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon on set, (photographer Roland Neveu) the image was chosen because (in the words of the Festival organisers):
"These two unforgettable fighters turned the tables and shattered a few gender stereotypes, both societal and cinematic; they embodied absolute freedom and unwaivering friendship; they showed the way to emancipation when it becomes vital. Remembering this today means celebrating the road already covered, without overlooking what still remains ahead.” The Festival runs from 12 to 23 May. @Festival_Cannes @ifecosse @ifru_london @screenscots @filmhubscotland @MinistereCC @Filmhouse @ConsulFranceUK

[Richard Mowe @RichBoxoffice]

Final exit for a French national treasure: remembering Nathalie Baye: https://t.co/26Jfygj8Gg
@FrFilmFestUK @ifecosse @ifru_london @cgfEdimbourg @Filmhouse @screenscots @afglasgow @FilmHubScotlan1 @franceinlondon

[Richard Mowe @RichBoxoffice]

Final exit for a French national treasure: remembering Nathalie Baye: https://t.co/26Jfygj8Gg
@FrFilmFestUK @ifecosse @ifru_london @cgfEdimbourg @Filmhouse @screenscots @afglasgow @FilmHubScotlan1 @franceinlondon

[Richard Mowe @RichBoxoffice]

AT LONG LAST: Now on release - Colours of Time, one of the hits of last year's French Film Festival UK. Read my interview with director Cédric Klapisch here: https://t.co/wCZLvhVywU
@StudiocanalUK @ifecosse @ifru_london @Filmhouse @FrFilmFestUK @KlapischCe50 @EyeForFilm

[Richard Mowe @RichBoxoffice]

SUCH an eclectic selection in Quinzaine des Cinéastes the Cannes Directors' Fortnight. Dive in here for all the details:
https://t.co/h9rMzu0QI6
@Quinzaine @ifecosse @ifru_london @FrFilmFestUK @EyeForFilm @afglasgow @FranceinIreland @Filmhouse

[MUBI @mubi]

Coinciding with the Palme d’Or–winning, Oscar-nominated IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT, our extensive retrospective "Cinema by any Means” celebrates the poetic, independent cinema of the great Jafar Panahi.

[Richard Mowe @RichBoxoffice]

DIDN'T SHE DO WELL? Eye Haïdara who came to Festival Edinburgh back in the day with C'est la vie (Le Sens de la fête) during @markadamsmirror rein as director of @edfilmfest will be omni-present at this year's @Festival_Cannes as host of the opening and closing ceremonies (12 and 23 May). She also appears in actress Agnes Jaoui's sixth feature as a director, Crescendo (L’Objet Du Délit), an ensemble comedy drama about accusations of sexual assault during an opera production which screens Out of Competition. @FrFilmFestUK and late lamented distribution outfit Cinefile were delighted to accompany her Scottish visit captured through the lens of the late Stephen Dunn at The Caledonian Hotel by @HiltonHotels
@screenscots @filmhubscotland @ifecosse @ifru_london @EyeForFilm @cgfEdimbourg