March 14, 2008 - Greenwich Time (Greenwich, CT) - "Alliance Francaise Greenwich Premieres set for annual French film fest"
by Barbara A. Heins

Focus on French Cinema 2008, the fourth edition of the Festival of French
Cinema, formally opens on March 28 at the Purchase College Performing Arts
Center with a surprise East Coast premiere.
The opening night event at 7:15 p.m., hosted by Purchase alumnus David
Schwartz, chief curator of the Museum of the Modern Image, will be followed
by an audience discussion featuring festival actors and directors and a gala
"apres-theatre" buffet dinner offering an assortment of French foods.
The weekend of 12 contemporary and cutting edge films -­ all in French with
English subtitles - is organized by Alliance Francaise of Greenwich, French
Feeling Films and Purchase College and will be presented in the Purchase
College Performing Arts Center, 735 Anderson Hill Road, Purchase, N.Y.

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March 7, 2008 - Greenwich Citizen (Greenwich, CT) - Festival to "Focus onFrench Cinema"

The Alliance Francaise of Greenwich, Purchase College and French Feeling
Films kick-off the "Focus on French Cinema" film festival March 28 with an
evening hosted by David Schwartz, chief curator of the Museum of the Modern
Image.

Following Schwartz's presentation will be an audience talk-back featuring
festival actors and directors, and a gala "après-theatre" buffet dinner
offering an assortment of French delicacies.

Once again, the Performing Arts Center at Purchase College will host the
weekend festival of 12 contemporary and cutting edge films. On Friday
afternoon March 28, the festival will feature two films specifically
designated for students: Laurent Tirard's "Moliere" with Romain Duris and
Ludivine Sagnier, and "Les Amities Malefiques" (Poison Friends), directed by
Emmanuel Bourdieu with Malik Zidi, winner of the Cesar for most promising
actor in 2007.

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February 22, 2008 – Greenwich Post ( Greenwich, CT) –
"A bridge between cultures"
by Lois Street

Is film a fine art?
Certainement! say the French. They consider cinema the "seventh art" - a
creative end in itself along with painting, literature, music, sculpture,
architecture and dance. To illustrate the point, the Alliance Francaise of
Greenwich, an organization that furthers knowledge of French culture through
French language classes and many other activities, will present its fourth
annual film festival during the weekend of March 28-30, at the Performing
Arts Center, Purchase College, N.Y.
The festival, Focus on French Cinema, features 13 contemporary films (all
with English subtitles) from France or French-speaking nations such as
Canada (Quebec), Belgium, and countries that were former French colonies.
The festival will open with a surprise American premiere. The evening's
host, David Schwartz, chief curator of the Museum of the Modern Image, will
moderate an audience talk-back with actors and directors after the movie.
Festival-goers will then sample an assortment of French delicacies at the
gala après-théâtre buffet dinner.

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August 2007 – Greenwich Magazine (Greenwich, CT) – “People + Places”
" The third annual Focus of French Cinema 2007 was held at the Performing Arts Center at Purchase College. More than 3,000 lovers of foreign film gathered for three days of French films. Organized by the Alliance Francaise of Greenwich, in partnership with Purchase College, French Feeling Films, Westchester Accueil, Greenwich Arts Council and the Québec Government General Delegation. The festival revolved around the invited actors and directors who were on hand for the selection of shorts and feature films. More than 600 crowded into the PepsiCo Theatre for the opening night film Le Heros de la Famille, and participated in a question and answer period with the film's leading actor Claude Brasseur. The evening also included an après-théâtre buffet hosted by Les Maitres Cuisiniers de France, Veuve Clicquot Champagne and the Wine Shop. A roundtable discussion on Saturday morning provided a vehicle for students and cinema fans to meet Claude Brasseur, directors Lionel Bailliu and Michel Leclerc, and director and distributor Patrick Gimenez. The audience appreciated the opportunity to ask more technical questions about the cinema profession. "

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April 26, 2007 – France Amérique – “Cinéma à Greenwich”
Focus on French Cinema, organisé conjointement par l' Alliance Française de Greenwich, Purchase College et French Feeling Films était placé sous le patronage de L'ambassadeur de France aux Etats-Unis, Mr Jean-David Lévitte, de L'ambassadeur de la Francophonie auprès des Nations Unies, Mr Hervé Cassan, du consul général de France à New York, Mr Francois Delattre et de Michel Robitaille, délégué général du Québec à New York. Mr Francois Delattre a tenu a saluer et féliciter les organisateurs dans un discours prononcé le Soir de l' ouverture avant d'ajouter que le gouvernement français gardait un oeil sur l'évènement... Plus de 600 personnes se sont pressées pour assister à la soirée d'ouverture, une affluence record pour la soirée de gala où était présenté « Le Héros de la famille », film très glamour de Thierry Klifa présenté en US Premiere, en présence de Claude Brasseur qui avait fait le déplacement.

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March 29, 2007 – The ADVOCATE Greenwich Time (Greenwich, CT) – "Parlez-vous Français?”
by Beth Cooney
The film festival known as “Focus on French Cinema” began three years ago as a humble endeavour by some passionate Francophiles and cinema fans.
The first year’s event was so modes, films were shown in classrooms at Purchase College. The audience sat in desks. There wasn’t Champagne or even buckets of popcorn.
“And the best we could do was show the movies on DVDs,” says Catherine Lamairesse, chairman of the festival, a cooperative of the Alliance Française of Greenwich, Purchase College and French Feeling Films.
This year, 11 films are being shown over three days in the Purchase College Performing Arts Center.

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March 29, 2007 – The Journal News (Westchester, NY) – “Cinema Français returns to Purchase”
by Kevin Canfield
To fans of French movies, Claude Brasseur is something of a marvel. In a career that has spanned 50 years, Brasseur has appeared in more than 100 films and been nominated five times for Cesar awards, France's answer to the Oscar.
So it's no wonder that the organizers of the third annual Focus on French Cinema festival are thrilled to welcome Brasseur for this year's event starting tomorrow at Purchase College's Performing Arts Center.
"For him to come and join us for the weekend is extraordinary," says Renee Ketcham, co-chair of the festival, which is put on by the Alliance Francaise of Greenwich along with Purchase College and movie distributor French Feeling Films.

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March 22, 2007 – Greenwich Post (Greenwich, CT) – “Le weekend”
by Victoria Baker
The film festival known as “Focus on French Cinema” began three years ago as a humble endeavour by some passionate Francophiles and cinema fans.
The first year’s event was so modes, films were shown in classrooms at Purchase College. The audience sat in desks. There wasn’t Champagne or even buckets of popcorn.
“And the best we could do was show the movies on DVDs,” says Catherine Lamairesse, chairman of the festival, a cooperative of the Alliance Française of Greenwich, Purchase College and French Feeling Films.
This year, 11 films are being shown over three days in the Purchase College Performing Arts Center.

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March 9, 2007 – E.A.S.E Greenwich Citizen (Greenwich, CT) – “Le weekend”
by Zack Greenspon
When the Alliance Française of Greenwich held its first Focus on French Cinema film festival three years ago, it realized that there would be some difficulties in hosting a successful event. The glaring issue was how to make an event that seem so specialized (would a French and Francophone event intrigue local filmgoers?) appeal to the public.
The initial questions translated into difficulties with screenings in the first year. Instead of getting movies on film, the festival could only obtain DVD’s for screenings.
Now, however, the third annual festival of French cinema at the Performing Arts Center at Purchase College, Purchase, NY, has demonstrated its appeal to the community and developed into a premier event.

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March 2007– Greenwich Post (Greenwich, CT) – “Cinema series focuses on the French”
by Kristan Zimmer
Focus on French Cinema 2007, the third annual festival of French cinema, opens on Friday, March 30, with the United States premiere of Le Héros de la Famille (The Family Hero).
Renée Ketcham, one of the three founders of the film series, said it is a drama but would not reveal too much plot about the movie. “We want it to be a surprise”, the Greenwich resident said.
Ms. Ketcham, along with fellow Greenwich residents Catherine Lamairesse and Gail Covney, a French teacher at Stanwich School, came up with the idea to run a French film series three years ago, after the terrorist attcks of Sept. 11. Ms Ketcham said there was a period of “French bashing” that took place as America geared up for war.
We really thought this was a great way to bring people together who have a common interest, which is film,” she said. “We all love to go to the movies.”
The Performing Arts Center at Purchase College will once again host the festival, which is organized by the Alliance Française of Greenwich, in partnership with Purchase College and French Feeling Films; Tournées, a program of the French ambassy; Délégation Générale du Québec in New York; the Westchester Accueil, and the Greenwich Arts Council.
The festival will feature 11 new and recently released French films, including three U.S. premieres.

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