Francophiles, movie buffs and all-round culture vultures gathered in the IFI last night for the opening night of the Martell Cognac IFI French Film Festival. Now in it's 6th year the festival aspires to reflect the key position film occupies in French culture and the popularity of French cinema in Ireland.
For the next ten days the best in French cinema will be shown - probably the only chance to see these great movies on the big screen in the country. It is a unique chance to enjoy a diverse selection of challenging films from one of the most prolific film-producing countries in the world. Ever wonder why Hollywood remake so many great French films? Me neither, it's obvious.
The festival opened with the stylised crime thriller 36 Quai Des Orfevres, which starred Gerard Depardieu and Daniel Auteuil. At the Buena Vista International, Deirdre Farrell and Alex Ricard of Irish Distillers, who eloquently compared the art of making a movie with the art of making cognac.
Tonight sees the gala night of the festival with guests of honour HE Frédéric Grasset, French Ambassador to Ireland, and actress Virginie Ledoyen, who stars in the gala screening Saint Ange. Virginia will also partake in a Q&A session after the screening tonight.
Also attending the festival will be Bertrand Tavernier, who will be present at the screening of his new movie Holy Lola on the 28th. Following this, music composer Henri Texier, one of the great patriarchs of French jazz, will give a live concert of his score for Holy Lola. Other guests include Anne Fontaine, the Larrieu brothers and Isabelle Carré, many of whom will take part in numerous talks and discussions following the screenings of their respective films.
So, for a bit of joie de vivre get to the IFI tout de suite.
