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Adapted from Amélie Nothomb’s bestselling autobiography The Character of the Rain, Little Amélie transports us to Japan seen through the eyes of a thriving little girl decided to discover the world in her own terms. She is curious and loves to indulge in her Belgian grandma’s treats, but this doesn’t always fit in with the more traditional Japanese upbringing. The beautiful and colourful style will please the younger ones while the more tragic subjects will move older ones.

 Director(s): Mailys Vallade, Liane-Cho Han
 Cast: Loïse Charpentier, Victoria Grosbois, Isaac Schoumsky
 Original title: Amélie et la métaphysique des tubes
 Country, year: France | 2025
 Duration: 77 mins
 Language: In French with EN subs
 Age: 5+
 Cert.: TBC
 More information: Courtesy of Vue Lumière

Preview Screening "Little Amelie"

With superb animation and a score by Academy Award winner Alexandre Desplat, this timeless and deeply moving tale is a powerful reminder that in the darkest times, the soul of humanity can only be preserved by the bright light of love and the heroism of ordinary people.

In war-torn times, a poor woodcutter and his wife live in a great forest. One day, the woman finds and rescues a baby girl thrown from one of the many trains that constantly pass through the forest. This baby, the “most precious of cargoes” will bring irrevocable change to the lives of the couple, and those whose paths the child will cross. And some will try to protect her, whatever the cost. Their story will reveal the worst and the best in the hearts of men.

 Academy Award winning director of The Artist, Michel Hazanavicius returns with this animated adaptation of The Most Precious of Cargoes: A Tale, a postmodern fairy tale by French author and playwright Jean-Claude Grumberg set during the Holocaust.

 Director(s): Michel Hazanavicius
 Cast: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Dominique Blanc, Grégory Gadebois
 Original title: La plus précieuse des marchandises
 Country, year: FRA/BEL |2024
 Duration: 111 mins
 Language: in French with EN Subs
 Cert.: 12A
 Audience: For adults and children aged 12 and over

Screening "The Most Precious of Cargoes"

Films CinéFamilies 
Travelling Shots
Directed by visionary science-fiction animator René Laloux (La Planète sauvage) and designed by the legendary Jean Giraud – aka Mœbius – The Time Masters is a visually fantastic foray into existentialist space adventure.

After his parents are killed on the dangerous planet Perdide, young Piel survives by maintaining radio contact with Jaffar, a pilot transporting the exiled Prince Matton and Princess Belle from their former kingdom. Jaffar seeks the help of Silbad, a cheerful old-timer who knows how to circumvent Perdide’s hazards, including brain-devouring insects. Along the way, Jaffar and company the Masters of Time, mysterious beings who can bend reality and perhaps reveal to the heroes their secret origins and destinies.

 Director(s): René Laloux
 Cast: Jean Valmont, Michel Elias, Frédéric Legros
 Original title: Les Maîtres du temps
 Country, year: France | 1982
 Duration: 79 mins
 Language: in French with EN subs
 Cert.: PG
 More information: 4K Restoration

Screening "The Time Masters"

This beautiful animation by screenwriters and directors Rémi Bezançon (Le mystère Henri Pick) and Jean-Christophe Lie (Les triplettes de Belleville, Hercules) is inspired by the true story of the giraffe Zarafa who was gifted by the Ottoman viceroy of Egypt, Muhammad Ali, as a political gesture to the king of France, Charles X. Ten-year-old Maki escapes from slave traders and befriends Zarafa. Together they embark on a perilous journey from Sudan to Paris passing by Alexandria, Marseille et the snowy Alps Mountains.

 Director(s): Rémi Bezançon, Jean-Christophe Lie
 Cast: Max Renaudin, Simon Abkarian, François-Xavier Demaison
 Country, year: FRA/BEL | 2012
 Duration: 78 mins
 Language: in French with EN subs
 Cert.: PG

This screening is part of the Fete du Cinema d'Animation season

Screening "Zarafa"

Maya and her dad (Michel Gondry) live in two different countries. To keep in touch with his daughter and continue to tell her stories, her dad asks her every evening ‘Maya, give me a title’. Based on this title, he makes a cartoon for her to star in. Through these adventures narrated by Pierre Niney, Michel Gondry brings to life through paper cuttings a poetic and amusing journey that will have the little ones dreaming… and the grown-ups smiling.

Bonus
Followed by a free stop motion animation workshop with paper cuttings. The workshop is free to attend for ticket-holders for the film but booking is required.

 Director(s): Michel Gondry
 Cast: Maya Gondry, Pierre Niney
 Original title: Maya, donne-moi un titre
 Country, year: FRA | 2024
 Duration: 66 mins
 Language: In French with EN subs
 Age: 6+
 Cert.: TBC
 More information: London Premiere

Screening "Maya Give me a Title" + Animation Workshop

Institut Français du Royaume-Uni

The Institut français du Royaume-Uni promotes French language and culture and encourages cross-cultural exchanges from both sides of the Channel. Explore, experience and enjoy!

Founded in 1910, and based in South Kensington in London, it comprises a Language Centre, a Cultural Centre, Ciné Lumière, a cinema with two screens, and a multi-media library, La Médiathèque.

The Institut welcomes over 100,000 people each year, thanks to its wide range of public events, from film screenings, debates and festivals to concerts and workshops. It has also developed a broad offer for young audiences through public and school activities and its dedicated spaces, the Bibliothèque Quentin Blake and L’Atelier. It also hosts Gazette, London’s most authentic French brasserie.

Preview Screening "Little Amelie"

Institut Français du Royaume-Uni

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