Francofonia

2015 film

Francofonia

Film poster

Directed by| Alexander Sokurov
Written by| Alexander Sokurov
Produced by|

* Thomas Kufus
* Els Vandevorst

Starring| Louis-Do de Lencquesaing
Narrated by| Alexander Sokurov
Cinematography| Bruno Delbonnel
Edited by|

* Hansjörg Weißbrich
* Aleksey Yankovskiy

Music by| Murat Kabardokov

Production
companies

* Idéale Audience
* Zero One Film
* N279 Entertainment
* Arte France Cinéma
* Musée du Louvre

Distributed by| Sophie Dulac Distribution (France)

Release dates

* 4 September 2015 (2015-09-04) (Venice)
* 11 November 2015 (2015-11-11) (France)

Running time

| 90 minutes
Countries| France
Germany
Netherlands[1][2]
Languages|

* Russian
* French
* German

Box office| $1,008,154

Francofonia is a 2015 docudrama film written and directed by Alexander Sokurov. It follows the Louvre's collection evacuation during the World War II, led by Jacques Jaujard, and how the past and present of the museum is directly connected to this moment.[3][4]

The film had its world premiere in the main competition of the 72nd Venice International Film Festival on 4 September 2015, where it was nominated for the Golden Lion. It was theatrically released in France on 11 November 2015.

## Cast

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* Louis-Do de Lencquesaing as Jacques Jaujard
* Benjamin Utzerath [de] as Franz von Wolff-Metternich
* Alexander Sokurov as himself
* Vincent Nemeth [fr] as Napoléon Bonaparte
* Johanna Korthals Altes as Marianne

## Release

[edit]

It was screened in the main competition section of the 72nd Venice International Film Festival[5][6] and in the Masters section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.[7] The film won the Mimmo Rotella Award at Venice.[8] Variety defined it as a "dense, enriching meditation on the Louvre and specifically (but not exclusively) the museum’s status during WWII".[2]

## Reception

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### Critical response

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Francofonia has an approval rating of 87% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 75 reviews, and an average rating of 6.90/10. The website's critical consensus states, "Francofonia may test the patience of the uninitiated, but viewers willing to delve into a beautifully filmed look at the intersection of art and war will be richly rewarded".[9] It also has a score of 71 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[10]

### Awards and nominations

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Awards

Award  | Category  | Recipients and nominees  | Result
72nd Venice International Film Festival | Golden Lion | Alexander Sokurov  | Nominated
Mimmo Rotella Award  | Alexander Sokurov  | Won
Green Drop Award  | Alexander Sokurov  | Nominated

## References

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1. ^ "Francofonia Press Kit" (PDF). Films We Like. Retrieved 4 January 2016.
2. ^ a b "Venice Film Review: 'Francofonia'". Variety. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
3. ^ "War Paint". The Moscow Times.
4. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (4 September 2015). "Francofonia review – eerie look at the Louvre's vulnerable freight" - via www.theguardian.com.
5. ^ "Venice Film Festival: Lido Lineup Builds Awards Season Buzz – Full List". Deadline. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
6. ^ "Venice Fest Reveals Robust Lineup Featuring Hollywood Stars and International Auteurs". Variety. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
7. ^ "Toronto Film Festival Adds 60+ Titles". IndieWire. Archived from the original on 11 August 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
8. ^ Dave McNary. "Venice Winner 'Francofonia' Bought by Music Box for U.S." Variety.
9. ^ "Francofonia (2016)" - via Rotten Tomatoes.
10. ^ "Francofonia" - via Metacritic.

## External links

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* Francofonia at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Alexander Sokurov

Fiction films|

* The Degraded
* Empire
* The Lonely Voice of Man
* Mournful Unconcern
* Days of Eclipse
* Save and Protect
* The Second Circle
* Stone
* Whispering Pages
* Mother and Son
* Moloch
* Taurus
* Russian Ark
* Father and Son
* The Sun
* Alexandra
* Faust
* Two Brothers and a Sister
* Fairytale

Documentaries|

* Sonata for Viola. Dmitri Shostakovitch
* Elegy
* And Nothing More
* Evening Sacrifice
* Patience of Labour
* Maria
* Moscow Elegy
* Sonata for Hitler
* Petersburg Elegy
* Soviet Elegy
* To The Events In Transcaucasia
* A Simple Elegy
* A Retrospection of Leningrad
* An Example of Intonation
* Elegy from Russia
* Soldier's Dream
* Spiritual Voices
* Oriental Elegy
* Hubert Robert. A Fortunate Life
* A Humble Life
* The St. Petersburg Diary: Inauguration of a monument to Dostoevsky
* The St. Petersburg Diary: Kosintsev's Flat
* Confession
* The Dialogues with Solzhenitsyn
* dolce...
* Elegy of a Voyage
* The St. Petersburg Diary: Mozart. Requiem
* Elegy of a life: Rostropovich, Vishnevskaya
* Francofonia
* Director's Diary

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