The 28th French Film Festival is happening this week at SM Aura and SM City Manila, and it comes to a close on Sunday, Nov. 30. Beyond the impressive number of quality French films that are being shown at these two venues, there’s truly so much more happening this year, all in the name of its three themes of Co-Production, Animation, and Feminism. These two SM Malls are havens for film lovers this week!

In the case of Animation, my eldest son recommended Amélie et la Métaphysique des Tubes (Little Amelie and the Character of Rain) as the must-watch of the bunch, and my younger boys were super happy to have booked seats before it sold out. And for the fans of Director Luc Besson, his new Dracula: A Love Tale is among the films being presented. His take is to turn Dracula into a gothic romance, a quest to find the reincarnation of his wife - a romantic approach that had not been explored prior to this film.

The special guest and ‘godmother’ for this year’s edition is the young and rising French star, Garance Marillier. For fans of Horror, and body horror in particular, they would know Garance as the lead actress in the 2016 film Raw by Julia Ducournau. That was a coming-of-age film in which Garance portrayed a vegetarian veterinary student who discovers her inner nature when she dabbles in cannibalism.

For this French Film Festival, Garance has a supporting role in the Alice Winocour film, Couture, starring Angelina Jolie. Garance stars in Marinette, a biopic about Marinette Pichon, the first French female soccer player who played professionally in the USA. And Garance is in the cast of Elsewhere at Night, the directing debut of Marianne Metivier, who’s Filipina-Canadian. Originally titled The Splendour of Life, the film was shot in Quebec and the Philippines, with Sue Prado and Enchong Dee also in the cast.

In Couture, which was screened during the Festival’s Gala Night, Winocour utilizes the annual Paris Fashion Week as a take-off point for back stories of women who are involved with the goings-on’s during that tumultuous week, from a horror movie director who’s been booked to do a fashion video, to the new hot model from Sudan who will wear the signature dress that opens the show of one designer, to the make up artist, and on to the sewer of the gowns that will be worn.

It’s an interesting and even promising premise, and when you’ve cast Angelina Jolie, speaking in French no less, for some of her lines, as the film director Maxine, you can be assured of heightened interest in the film. What doesn’t gel, however, are the interconnections between the three to four narrative strands. As Maxine faces a medical crisis, the plight of the three other ‘main’ characters pale in comparison. It’s nice that the Fashion world recedes into the background in the face of the real stories that these characters face, but when a major strand involves models, and they’re poor in acting, it does create a bias towards the other strands.

The French Ambassador Marie Fontanel and Counsellor for Cooperation and Cultural Affairs Mathilde Sejourne were especially happy to announce that an agreement for potential co-production had been signed and could serve as a valuable seed fund for budding producers ready to apply and go through the process. That would be welcome news for many budding film directors and producers who are seeking additional financing options.

There’s certainly much to love about this year’s French Film Festival as it spreads its wings to include the business of making movies within its scope of interest. And for the regular cinephiles, there’s the bounty of French film treasures to indulge in and enjoy. It’s a French Kiss that comes once a year, and may it continue to grow and excite audiences. That it’s now held at two SM Malls should be a delightful discovery for these audiences.