here are three of our favorites from the Alpe-d’Huez Comedy Film Festival

For a week, the extended family of French comedy meets in the heart of the Alpe-d’Huez resort, which sits 1,850 meters above sea level. The sun and snow are here for this new edition of FAH, a can’t-miss event open to the public (screening is free). True to its DNA, the festival team led by Frédéric Cassoly and Clément Lemoine have crafted choices that make the difference between comedy and great spectacle (alibi.com 2 by Philippe Lacheau, presented beyond competition) and film auteur (The most beautiful to go dancing by Victoria Bedos), confirmed director (Michaël Youn) and young talent (Mélanie Auffret).

On the menu, feature films with good proposals, others sometimes disappoint (Good grief! by Laurent Tirard) and UFO (38°5 Quai des Orfèvres by Benjamin Lehrer). Here are three of our favorites, which will immediately cause laughter in a dark room.

“The most beautiful to go dancing”

Presented Tuesday night, a modern marivaudage signed by Victoria Bedos (daughter of Guy Bedos) won the prize for emotion. For his first production, screenwriter from Aries family has composed a subtle, funny and touching comedy about the malaise of youth and unfriendly old age. The story of Marie-Luce, a 14-year-old girl who struggles to find her place among classmates who harass her and a retired retired director father (Philippe Katerine) who denies the disappearance of his wife.

Her fortunes change when she crashes a groom’s dress party, discovering the unexpected power of seduction… “This film is not about wanting to be a boy, it is about wanting to be loved”, explained to us Victoria Bedos. Brune Moulin, 15, radiates with the intensity of his acting, turning from a complex teenager into a charismatic boy of stunning naturalness. It stands out as the revelation of this 26th edition.

Expected release in April

“happy man”

Still with the masculine-feminine theme, Tristan Séguéla chooses to deal with transidentity. Minefield is approached with finesse in comedy as Fabrice Luchini and Catherine Frot lead together for the first time on screen. They form a bourgeois and fluid pair until the day Edith announces to Jean, the conservative mayor of a town in the North in the middle of an election campaign, that he has begun the transition to becoming a man…

The result: a lively, well-paced comedy, delivered by tasty dialogue and supporting roles (Philippe Katerine again, Artus). Fabrice Luchini is hilarious and moving as a small reactionary provincial baron on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Meanwhile, Catherine Frot manages to accurately embody the psychological and physical upheaval of a transition without falling into caricature (even when she sports a prominent beard).

Released February 15th

“Small Victory”

Melanie Auffret is “a child of Alpe-d’Huez”, like the many talents revealed thanks to the Isère festival (Philippe Lacheau, Ahmed Sylla…). Chosen in 2017 for his short film Happy my chickenwatch two years later with his first film Roxane (with Guillaume de Tonquédec), director and screenwriter from Vannes, shone this year Small Victory.

Also read – Cinema: why La Bande à Fifi is a hit

A delightful country comedy about the daily life of Alice, a young single woman, the mayor of a Breton village threatened by desertification. To make matters worse, the city councilor, also a teacher, welcomes into his class a gruff sixty-year-old who has decided to finally learn to read and write… Loudly led, the perfect balance of candid laughter and emotion a relief from swelling grief, this film seduces with its mastery, the quality of its writing, its humanity, and the psychological thickness of its protagonists. Julia Piaton is extraordinary as a mayor who dares to invest her body and soul in her priesthood. As for Michel Blanc, he perfectly plays his role as the disgusting and ultimately charming misanthropic loner. Great success.

Released March 1st