Cineffable Archives - Program of the 21st Festival 2009

The 21st International Lesbian Feminist Film Festival of Paris, Quand les lesbiennes se font du cinéma, will be held from 29 October to 2 November 2009.

It's finally here! There are now some 2,000 women who come every year to enjoy the atmosphere at this festival, which is unique in Europe. It is a major lesbian and feminist cultural event, a chance for some sorely needed and eagerly awaited construction of identity, and a special place for encounters and exchanges. just amongst ourselves.

Once again, this year's selection has a wealth of some 70 films offering elements for reflection about lesbians yesterday and today, as well as providing visions of lifestyles that are distant from our own, some of which we may be totally unaware of. Africa is in the spotlight with 3 deeply moving films; but there are lots more films - both features and shorts, hailing from everywhere from the USA to Germany via the Bahamas - that take stock of a rich and creative world: our own! The wide geographical and cultural range of lesbian and feminist life will be revealed; the difficulty of being who we are exposed, and the pleasures featured (again).

But what would the point of all theory and no practice be? Discussions and debates with the directors will allow you to satisfy your curiosity and to answer the questions that these encounters and relationships with others, ourselves and everything that divides us and unites us inevitably give rise to. In a nutshell you can come to split hairs or to split the difference!

Of course the festival wouldn't be complete without the exceptional impetus brought by the FSPACE artists, who have created site-specific pieces, adapting their work to the Trianon theatre. Other highpoints: the opening-night concert (Melissa Laveaux should simply not be missed. Don't say we didn't warn you) and the Saturday night frenzy at the Bus Palladium.

And last but not least, Cineffable's awesome atmosphere depends on all of you who come every year to enjoy the home-cooked food, stroll from stand to stand, laugh and cry in the dark, and criticise (a little) and applaud (a lot) the artists and performers who come to occupy and take possession of this historic spot, turning it into a unique gynaecium - incredibly lesbian, amazingly moving, extraordinarily precious. In a word: cineffabulous!

Happy festival to you all!

Editorial Committee of the programming

To all Cineffabulous women, and to our beloved public, bonjour!!! The 21st edition of your favourite festival, the one you've all been waiting for, is coming soon!! Book seats for yourself and your nearest and dearest now!! Seeing it all, or nearly, is possible with the pass festival!

This year's selection is exceptional, with 32 screenings: 18 at the Trianon, for a total of 57 different films and 14 at the Halle St Pierre, for a total of 18 different films, plus the films screened twice, for ladies with busy schedules (or who are too late to get tickets to the first screening). We really outdid ourselves this year, working overtime just for you! So here's some advice, straight from a programmer's mouth, to share with your friends: don't miss Ghosted, the opening-night film. or any of the wonderful, emotion-filled feature films we were lucky enough to get this year: My Friend from Faro, Drool, Hannah Free, at the Trianon every night at 8. And rain or shine, you have to see Rain, ô Rain ! on Saturday at 3 p.m!

There's no shortage of shorts this year either, but you'll see, they're so good, you'll be laughing so hard you'll cry, or crying for real. The directrix (reminder: all the films shown at Cineffable are directed by women) are really on their game this year, and you won't regret coming to see their work!!

So let's see, what's next? Ah oui, a Focus: Monika Treut and a La Chocha retrospective. Our advice to the newbies who are coming to their first Cineffable: get your tickets now, or the Girls in the Know may get them all before you! What's more, for the first time in living memory, there's a whole slew of African films. Only the best, and we can promise a real change of scenery as well as some heated debates.

And we haven't forgotten our activist friends: Viva Bagdam, 20 years old this year, long live the Take Back the Night March, hats off to the Combattantes Monday afternoon at 12.30 at the Trianon), and lots more!!

And last but not least, the three Trianon Nights are worth staying up late for!! A soirée butch-fem (in french: butch-femme), a soirée Q (in French, Q = sex), and a soirée SM (you get the picture, right?) and the cherry on the cake Monday at 3 p.m. at the Trianon... it's all good!

Oh la la, I haven't said anything about the Stories that Never Get Told (Saturday at 8 p.m., at the Halle); Behind the Sport Scene, including the festival's only Asian film, from Korean The Helmet selection. surprise, surprise! I haven't told you about my absolutely favourite film of all... but they're trying to tell me something. they're saying there's no more room, I have to stop. But do come. You wouldn't want to miss it for the world, it's the most beautiful, the most astounding, the most appealing, the most the most and more...

The whole Cineffable crew (60 volunteers all year long, twice that during the festival) wishes you a Happy Festival 2009!!!

We can't wait to see how you like it...