About the Fest
L’art français au cinéma
L’art français au cinéma: French Art In Cinema arrives at the Hi-Pointe Theatre April 3–12, inviting audiences into a rich, stylish celebration of how the arts have shaped the history of French cinema. From the dazzling silent-era charm of The Artist to the breathtaking movement of La Danse, the luminous portrait Divine Sarah Bernhardt, and the bold, unforgettable storytelling of Persepolis, the program traces a lineage of creativity, performance, and visual imagination. Opening night sets the tone with the Midwest Premiere of Bienvenue en Islande by Andre Nerman, launching two weekends of films in which painting, dance, theater, and music pulse through the frame.
We’re also thrilled to continue the Cinema For French Students program with a special screening of Gagarine on Friday, April 10, offering students a moving, contemporary vision of youth, community, and imagination in modern France.
A Message From Cinema St. Louis Festivals Director, Emmett Williams
Art is one of the oldest ways we make sense of ourselves. Long before policy papers or political speeches, there were paintings on cave walls, songs passed down in villages, stories told around fires. Art doesn’t just reflect society; it argues with it, pushes it, sometimes heals it. It gives us language when language feels inadequate. At its best, it invites us to see differently, and in that shift of perspective there is possibility. That’s part of why gathering in a theater still matters. We sit in the dark together not just to be entertained, but to be challenged, delighted, and reminded of our shared humanity.
Few national cinemas have woven the arts into their own DNA as deeply as French cinema. From the poetic realism of the 1930s to the rebellious experimentation of the New Wave, from intimate portraits of painters and performers to films that question the very act of representation, French filmmakers have consistently treated art not as decoration, but as subject, engine, and provocation. In France, cinema has never stood apart from the other arts. It has argued with painting, borrowed from theater, danced with music, and written back to literature. The result is a body of work that understands film itself as a living, evolving art form.
This year, as we gather to celebrate French film, we’re also celebrating the larger conversation between art and society. These films remind us that creativity is not a luxury; it’s a force. It shapes identity, challenges power, preserves memory, and imagines futures. Thank you for being here, for supporting international cinema, and for taking part in this shared experience.
