I always felt that it was a rather cliche part of a film lover’s toolkit to have an appreciation of Franco-cinema. However over the past several years I have overcome my bias and learned to embrace French cinema with a high degree of enthusiasm and pleasure. In recent years among my favorite films are:

• Coco Avant Chanel (2009)
• 8 Femmes (2002)
• Swimming Pool (2003)
• Cache (2005)
• Entre les murs (2008)
• Ne le dis à personne (2006)
• Lady Chatterley(2006), a proper version and winner of the 2006 Cesar for Best Film

In listing these films I realize that they are relatively conventional especially from the perspective of true cineastes. But this is the beauty of being part of the community of film lovers … it is a constant process of discovery, exploration and learning how people from all walks of life from all over the world decide to use the medium of film making to express their artistic vision.

One recommendation: when watching these films watch them with subtitles and not the dubbed versions.