Auteures: The Other Side of the Lost Continent ’24

Fifteen films, screening March 30-April 3… Best known for its long-running, noir-redefining FRENCH HAD A NAME FOR IT series, Midcentury Productions revealed “another side” to the emerging story of lost French film from the oft-maligned cinéma de papa period (1930-1960) in last year’s spring series. This spring we take it a step further, focusing on 15 films that zero in on the status of women during the same time frame—films featuring women both in front of and behind the camera, revealing a rich panorama of their perspectives about life spent accommodating (and circumventing) the patriarchy.

“If you want to discover some amazing movies without having to put it the work of separating wheat from chaff, just put yourself in Malcolm’s hands and enjoy a special film experience.”
—Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

Thanks in large part to the research of Phoebe Green, our series begins with films from novels by the immortal Colette, and then venerates the unfamiliar names of Jacqueline Audry, Louise de Vilmorin, Francoise Giroud and Solange Térac whose novels & screenplays catalyze the performances of legendary actresses—Jeanne Moreau, Micheline Presle (1922-2024: RIP), Edwige Feuillère, Danièle Delorme and Marcelle Chantal—tracing the subterranean world of feminist insurgency that burrows its way through these fascinating, highly varied films.

✻ Note that seating in the Roxie screening room for all shows save for our Jeanne Moreau triple feature on April 1 is limited due to just-completed pass sales. Please strongly consider joining us in the Big Roxie for our special April 1 tribute to the legendary, mysterious Moreau, with rarely-screened classics showcasing her work with legendary directors (Louis Malle in The Lovers, Orson Welles in The Immortal Story, plus a never-before-seen in America screening of her very first film, Last Love (1949), made when she was just 20. If you can only attend one of our Other Side ’24 screenings, make it this one!