Charlie Hebdo documentary kicks off week-long French film fest at Geeksboro

"This March, Geeksboro invites the Triad to ‘Rendez-vouz’ for a week-long festival of brand new French movies!

Through an exclusive partnership with Unifrance Films and the Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York, Geeksboro Coffeehouse Cinema will co-host Rendez-vouz with French Cinema.  Featuring the U.S. premiere of seven French films will be simulcast across the country.  Geeksboro will screen one brand new film twice daily at 2:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. starting Friday, March 13 and ending Thursday, March 19.

The week-long festival will kick off on Friday, March 13 with “Charlie Hebdo: It’s Hard Being Loved by Jerks.” Directed by Daniel Leconte, the documentary depicts the controversial French publication circa 2005 and the outrage that ensued when they published twelve cartoons that depicted the Prophet Muhammad. Completed in 2008, the film is a moving document of the publication before the January 7 terrorist attack that resulted in the death of 11 people who worked for the satirical newspaper’s offices.

Tickets for the screenings are only $4 each or $3 for students with a current school ID. Devoted Francophiles are also able to purchase a seven0film Festival Pass for only $20.

The seven films premiering at Geeksboro include “Charlie Hebdo: It’s Hard Being Loved by Jerks” (March 13), “Love at First Fight” (March 14), Stubborn  (March 15), Gaby Baby Doll (March 16), “In the Courtyard” (March 17), and “Eat Your Bones” (March 18).

Geeksboro will present Rendez-vouz with French Cinema as part of Arthouse Revival, a year long film series sponsored in part by a grant from ArtsGreensboro. For online tickets or additional info, visit Geeksboro’s website at www.Geeksboro.com.

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The following is a listing of showtimes, dates, titles, and synopses:

2:30 & 7 p.m. Friday, March 13th – “Charlie Hebdo: It’s Hard Being Loved by Jerks” (dir. Daniel Leconte, 110 minutes) - When twelve cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad were published by Denmark’s largest newspaper in 2005, European muslim groups denounced the cartoons as insulting and sacrilegious. To everyone's surprise, the protests against the Muhammad drawings took a worldwide scale, even leading to violent demonstrations in several Muslim countries. In France, the satirical news magazine Charlie Hebdo joined the conversation and reprinted the controversial cartoons, causing an uproar among the country’s growing Muslim population. Months later, the Great Mosque of Paris, the World Muslim League and the Union of Islamic Organizations of France took Charlie Hebdo’s editor Philippe Val to court for defamation and incitement of hatred. It's Hard Being Loved by Jerks offers a real-time account of the ensuing trial, arguably one most divisive and heated legal proceedings in recent French history.


2:30 & 7 p.m. Saturday, March 14th – “Love at First Fight” (aka, “Les Combattants” dir. Thomas Cailley, 98 minutes) - A triple winner at last year’s Cannes, where it played in the Directors’ Fortnight, Love at First Fight offers a warm and refreshing coming-of-age story. Easygoing and naïve Arnaud (Kévin Azaïs) plans to spend the summer helping his brother in the family carpentry business. But when he meets Madeleine (Adèle Haenel), a steely young woman determined on the harshest military service and preoccupied with visions of the apocalypse, he adoringly follows her to boot camp. Thomas Cailley’s first feature may feel unmistakably familiar, yet it offers two alluring and empathetic protagonists (portrayed by equally likable actors), well-wrought humor, and gorgeous cinematography by David Cailley (the director’s brother). Nominated for nine César Awards including Best Film. A Strand Releasing release.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bi_wDGwQ9ho

2:30 p.m. & 7 p.m. Sunday, March 15th – “Stubborn” (aka, “Une histoire Américaine,” dir. Armel Hostiou, 85 minutes) - Artist Barbara (Kate Moran) tires of her (very) brief relationship with Vincent (Vincent Macaigne) and leaves him behind in Paris. But the resolute Vincent follows her to America, determined to win back her affections. Shot in New York in wintertime and featuring daytime soap veteran and star of HBO’s LOOKING, Murray Bartlett as Barbara’s new love interest, STUBBORN, like its hero, is unabashedly romantic, utterly captivating, and often uncomfortably hilarious.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKH7t2xSodk

2:30 p.m. & 7 p.m. Monday, March 16th – “Gaby Baby Doll” (dir. Sophie Letourneur, 88 minutes) - As the awkward, insecure bubbly Gaby, Lolita Chammah suggests a Gallic Greta Gerwig in one of her not-quite-formed-adult roles. Upon arriving in the country, she’s promptly discarded by her boyfriend, and as solitude is not an option, the companionship-starved Gaby seeks out a replacement. She finds it in Nicolas (Benjamin Biolay), a seemingly hirsute vagabond whose shack she invites herself to share.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGPj7k4i0t0



2:30 p.m. & 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 17th – “Hippocrates” (aka, “Hippocrate,” dir. Thomas Lilti, 102 minutes) - Novice doctor Benjamin (Vincent Lacoste), interning in his father’s ward, makes a rookie mistake that costs a patient his life. The administration quickly covers up his wrongdoing, but the dead man’s wife begins asking questions and Benjamin’s overworked colleagues resent his nepotism. Lilti’s biting dramedy posits that “Hippocratic” and “hypocrite” share more than linguistic affinities. Nominated for seven César Awards including Best Film. A Distrib Films release.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qD3Bilgnfw

2:30 p.m. & 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 18th – “In the Courtyard” (aka, “Dans la Cour,” dir. Pierre Salvadori, 97 minutes) - National treasure Catherine Deneuve sinks her teeth into the role of Mathilde, a former social worker inhabiting an upscale apartment with her husband Serge (Féodor Atkine). When slovenly musician Antoine (Gustave Kervern) applies by chance for a caretaker job in their building, Mathilde insists Serge hire him, despite his rough manners and lack of qualifications. An unlikely friendship develops between the depressed custodian and the elegant retiree, whose dependence on Antoine increases as her grasp on reality begins to slip.  A Cohen Media Group release.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5OG_bEWzDI

2:30 p.m. & 7 p.m. Thursday, March 19th – “Eat Your Bones” (aka, “Mange tes morts” dir. Jean-Charles Hue, 94minutes) - Eighteen-year-old Jason (Jason François), on the verge of baptism, finds his values tested when half-brother Fred (Frédéric Dorkel) returns from a 15-year prison stint anything but rehabilitated. The two, along with a third brother and a cousin, team up to steal a truckload of copper, but they prove to be inept criminals and unstable partners. Received the 2014 Prix Jean Vigo, awarded annually to one director by the Cinema of France “for their spirit of independence and extraordinary style.”


Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwWR3FIqErk"

- A Press Release

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