Paris, 1912 : meet Adèle Blanc-Sec, a fearless young journalist who’ll stop at nothing to get to the bottom of a mystery – even if it means turning up in Egypt and battling with mummies that come back to life.

In Paris, meanwhile, panic reigns. A 136-million-year-old pterodactyl egg has inexplicably hatched in a display case at the Natural History Museum, and the huge bird is spreading terror as it swoops over the city. But nothing fazes Adèle Blanc-Sec. Just as well, because there are lots of other astonishing surprises in store…

“The extraodinary adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec”, is a movie directed by Luc Besson ( The Big Blue, Nikita).
Adapted from the comic book by Jacques Tardi, a hit in France since its parution in 1976.

Follow the Paris Film Trails and explore famous, unusual or historic parts of the city that feature in classic movies. Over 800 film shoots take place in Paris each year, and some 4,000 different outside locations have been used. The Film Trails are pocket guides for lovers of Paris and the cinema.

For all cinema lovers, Cannes Film Festival is THE place.

This year the competition was consistently of high standard, offering master films by talented authors.

Among the highlights…

Tim Burton was President of the Jury this year, the Festival’s 63rd edition. To celebrate his presence, the Palais des Festivals was bedecked in Tim’s own colourful drawings, extracted from his movies’ storyboards and scenarios.

“Wall Street Money never sleeps” directed by Oliver Stone made a sturr, one of the very few films to talk about the current financial crisis.

The highly antecipated Jean Luc Godard didn’t come but Mick Jagger did.

Ridley Scott presented a new version of Robin Hood, featuring Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett, opening the film festival.

Worthy of note: Iranian filmmaker Jafar Pahani, jury member, couldn’t attend the festival as he is currently jailed in his country, accused of being an opposant to the regime. 

Cannes is also the place to revisit the classics on restored prints, eg. The Leopard by Luchino Visconti (1963), Boudu Saved from Drowning by Jean Renoir (1932) or Tristana by Luis Buñuel (1972).

Last night, the Cannes Film Festival awarded its “Palmarès” rewarding an international crowd of talentuous filmmakers and actors.

And the winners are :

Palme d’or for feature film awarded to Uncle Boonmee who can remember his past lives (Lung Boonmee Raluek). 

Grand Prix awarded to Of Gods and Men (Des Hommes et des Dieux) by Xavier Beauvois

The Prix du Jury for feature film awarded to A Screaming Man (Un Homme qui crie) by Mahamat-Saleh Haroun

The Caméra d’or awarded to Año Bisiesto by Michael Rowe

Best Director awarded to Mathieu Amalric for On Tour (Tournée)

Best Actress awarded to Juliette Binoche in Cettified Copy (Copie Conforme)

 by Abbas Kiarostami

Best Actor awarded in tie to Javier Bardem in Biutiful by Alejandro González Iñárritu

Best Actor awarded in tie to Elio Germano in Our Life (La Nostra Vita) by Daniele Luchetti

Best Script awarded to Lee Chang-Dong for Poetry

The Palme d’or for short film awarded to Barking Island (Chienne d’histoire) by Serge Avédikian

The Prix du Jury for short film awarded to Bathing Micky (Micky Bader) by Frida Kempff

Un Certain Regard Prize – Groupama Gan Foundation for Cinema

HAHAHA directed by HONG Sangsoo

Jury Prize – Un Certain Regard

OCTUBRE (OCTOBER) directed by Daniel VEGA, Diego VEGA

Un Certain Regard Award for Best Actress

LOS LABIOS (THE LIPS) played by Victoria RAPOSO, Eva BIANCO, Adela SANCHEZ

Have you ever heard of Serge Gainsbourg ? The man with the cabbage head, as he would call himself ? The greatest dandy and songwriter from the second half of the XXth century is brought back to life in this biopic film.The legend of Serge, real name Lucien Ginsburg, is portrayed between women (Brigitte Bardot, Jane Birkin and Juliette Gréco to name a few), alcoohol, scandals and songs by comic books writer and director Joann Sfar. Starring Eric Elmosnino as Gainsbourg and Laetitia Casta as Brigitte Bardot, choosing our national top model to play the Sex Symbol of the 60s is an interesting choice. A nice way to revisit hit songs like «Je t’aime, moi non plus», «Initials B.B.»… In the BBC series episode III, «Paris», Jane Birkin tells me about the making of the song «Je t’aime moi non plus». A good laugh.

If you hate dance music, please look away now. Techtonik is the latest craze on the French Capital’s streets and nightclubs, an energetic dance style born out of South-eastern Paris clubland Metropolis. The music is a mix of techno/electro/hiphop, and the clothing is probably familiar to both old and nu-ravers, but it’s those moves that make Techtonik special. The trend has been spreading fast on the internet, with countless videos shot on mobile phones or webcams being posted daily on youtube and dailymotion.

There are several places where you can find people dancing techtonik on the streets, they often coincide with skateboard or rollerblading spots, try around Centre Pompidou, Palais de Tokyo or the Trocadero. While the music itself is not to everyone’s taste, the great thing about Techtonik is its ability to bring together kids from very different backgrounds, from the deprived suburbs to the bourgeois of west Paris,  a healthy mix of influences has blended and something new has emerged. Wether it will last is another matter, in any case the kids are too busy having fun to ponder. 

After its release in France last year,  ”Paris je t’aime” is now available in the UK. It’s a collection of short stories by 18 well-know film directors, each revealing a different view over Love and the city. Together they provide a glimpse of how Love can be lived in so many different ways, and is such an important part of people’s personal histories.

The stories themselves are far removed from the pink syrup stereotypes usually associated with Paris and its supposed romanticism, so instead we are given a window into each character’s emotional lives. It’s a very broad range, and you are bound to identify with a few of them, or maybe remember different moments in your own life.

More than a film about Paris, this is an intensely human film that portrays the rich tapestry of human experience in all its different hues and shades. In this case the whole is certainly much greater than the sum of its parts.

Check it at IMDB Directors: Bruno Podalydes, Gurinder Chadha, Gus Van Sant, Joel and Ethan Coen, Walter Salles & Daniela Thomas, Christopher Doyle, Isabel Coixet, Nobuhiro Suwa, Sylvain Chomet, Alfonso Cuaron, Olivier Assayas, Oliver Schmitz, Richard LaGravenese, Vincenzo Natali, Wes Craven, Tom Tykwer, Frederic Auburtin & Gerard Depardieu, Alexander Payne