Au revoir, for now

The French Film Festival wraps up today as six weeks of le cinéma français come to an end at Hamilton’s Lido theatre.

Hamilton was the festival’s last stop after touring the country, bringing Kiwis a taste of quality French filmmaking and a dose of glamour.

Highlights included A Declaration of War, a favourite at the Cannes Film Festival last year, and Yann Samuel’s re-making of the beloved children’s story War of the Buttons.

Lido Cinema manager Stewart Putwain said the event was a success – even with non French-speakers.

“There’s a certain expectation of a French film- that it will be of a certain quality,” he said.

“A lot of [the viewers] have been our regular customers, who are fairly strong film goers.”

The festival will be held again next year. However, for those who missed out on a bit of Euro glam – or can’t get enough of it – the Italian Film Festival will commence in November.