The 20th edition of the French Film Festival opened Thursday night with the Cuba premiere of the Sweet Escape by director Bruno Podalydès at the Charles Chaplin Theater.

Eleven provinces in the country are venues of this annual movie extravaganza, during which 30 films are being screened, including the premiere of 17 fiction movies and documentaries and four full-length animated films. The festival’s venues are all theaters on 23th street, the Infanta movie theater, the one at the Latin American New Film Foundations and others.

The Future by Mia Hansen-Love, one of the most famous French director at present, and Our Futures by director Rémi Bezancon, telling the story of a young businessmen who finds a way of changing his monotonous life are included in the festival’s screenings.  

Comedies include Lolo, My Girlfriend’s son by Julie Delpy and The Cow by Mohamed Hamidi, considered a comedy jewel. A section of classical comedies is also part of the event, including three classics, such as Crazier than a Goat (1981) by Francis Veber; the Savage (1975) by Jean-Paul Rappeneau and OSS 117: Lost in Rio (2009) by Michel Hazavanicius.

Drama and detective story lovers can watch My love by Maïwenn Le Besco and the SK1 Case by Frédéric Tellier, a thriller based on true events and dealing with the life of a series killer. Children will be delighted with animated movies, such as The Little Prince by Mark Osborne, based on the story written by French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, which mixes fantasy and a reflection.

On the festival’s agenda: a retrospective to commemorate the centennial of the birth of French director Jean-Pierre Melville (1917-1973) as of April 28th at the 23 y 12 theater, whose opening will be a lecture by Melville Foundation Director, artist Laurent Grousset, who is also the late filmmaker’s grandson. The retrospective includes The Samurái (1967); the Silence of the Sea (1949); the Red Circle (1970), among other classics by the director, who is considered a precursor of the “New Wave” and whose works were sources of inspiration for numerous contemporary filmmakers.

Very well-known movies, such as the Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) and the Young Ladies of Rochefort (1967) will also be screened.