Inside the Toronto International Film Festival
 FFC was in Toronto for TIFF last month and we had the chance to see many French movies, some arriving soon to US theatres. With over 300 movies selected, 33 of them French films, here is a personal look at what we got to see!
Abuse of Weakness (Abus de faiblesse), by Catherine Breillat is amazingly honest and touching. Breillat's true story is superbly interpreted by Isabelle Huppert and Kool Shen.
Bright Days Ahead (Les beaux jours), by Marion Vernoux with Fanny Ardant , Laurent Laffitte and Patrick Chesnais is about an affair between a retired woman and a much younger man: never interpreted in such a genuine way!
Love is the perfect crime (L'Amour est un crime parfait) by the Larrieu brothers, improbable thriller shot in the beautiful Swiss mountains featuring Mathieu Amalric, Karin Viard, Maïwenn and Denis Podalydès.
Quai d'Orsay , this French political comedy , with Thierry Lhermitte and Raphael Personnaz, caused many laughs even among the industry. It is adapted from a comic book written by by a member of the ministry of Foreign Affairs, and its humor was just as palpable in this variation by Bertrand Tavernier.
 The Finishers (L'Epreuve d'une vie), by Nils Tavernier, is the story of a father and his teenage son, who despite being wheelchair bound, persuades his father to join him in the Ironman Triathlon of Nice. Based on a true story, the emotions in the movie are brought back by Jacques Gamblin and the real-life wheelchair bound actor Fabien Héraud. Their work received a standing ovation after the screening.
Violette, is the fascinating true story of writer Violette Leduc, and her struggle for life - and love. Heavily encouraged by literary giants such as Simone de Beauvoir and Jean Genet, will she overcome her trauma and write freely about taboo topics such as women and sexual freedom.
Bastards (Les Salauds), by Claire Denis, with Vincent Lindon and Chiara Mastroianni : A fascinating and puzzling film !
The Past (Le Passé), by Iranian director Asghar Faradi, about beautiful minds. So real yet so strong! With actors Bérénice Bejo and Tahar Rahim.
Also at TIFF, Blue is the Warmest Color
(La Vie d'Adèle), by Abdellatif Kechiche, which got great exposure after success in Cannes (which we reported in a previous newsletter), as did The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears (L'Etrange couleur des larmes de ton corps). On the French-speaking side, many movies from Quebec were featured, such as Gabrielle by Louise Archambault and the last movie by Xavier Dolan, Tom at the Farm (Tom à la ferme), whose film I Killed My Mother was shown at Focus on French Cinema 2010.
Will you see any of these movies at Focus on French Cinema 2014? "Réponse" April 4-6!
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You are invited to meet much-celebrated French filmmaker Costa-Gavras, for the screening of his cult movie "Z" released in 1969! Do not miss this amazing opportunity to ask him questions, the screening is free! Presented by our partner Purchase College. 
