With the haute couture shows happening in Paris this week, it is timely that we can announce one of the exciting films set to screen at this year's Alliance Francaise French Film Festival.
Handmade with Love in France is a tribute to the craftsmen behind many of these extravagant couture creations, focusing on three hilarious and passionate artisans: M. Bruno Legeron, a specialist in fabric flowers, expert pleat-maker M. Gerard Lognon, and M. Lorenzo Re, who sculpts the wooden forms that are the basis of hat making. Directed by Julie Georgia Bernard, the documentary examines the challenges these ateliers face as couture and luxury evolves as a business: the pace of fashion and its impact on handcraft, the continuing rise of technology and succession.
L'Oreal Paris, a key sponsor of the festival for the past five years, will run charity screenings of the charming French film A Chance Encounter in Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, Dunedin and Hamilton, with proceeds going to Breast Cancer Cure. Tickets are $30, and include a L'Oreal gift bag and glass of bubbles.
• For the full line-up for this year's French Film Festival, and to buy tickets, see the website.
