Vive Le Cinéma Festival Returns to Lecce with François Ozon as Jury President

The Vive Le Cinéma festival, dedicated to contemporary French cinema, returns to Lecce from July 11 to 15, 2018. Held in the 18th-century cloister of the Biblioteca Bernardini, the event features world premieres for Italy, talks, masterclasses, and a focus on fostering film production ties between Puglia and France. The festival is promoted by the Regione Puglia and realized by Apulia Film Commission, founded by screenwriter Alessandro Valenti, producer Angelo Laudisa, and art historian Brizia Minerva. This year's feature film jury is presided over by director François Ozon, joined by actress Anaïs Demoustier, director Sebastiano Riso, and costume designer Pascaline Chavanne. The short film and documentary jury is led by actress Vimala Pons, with director Leonardo Guerra Seragnoli, actress Lolita Chammah, and producers Alain Benguigui and Ilaria Castiglioni. Other guests include French MP Frédérique Dumas. The opening on July 11 features Loredana Capone, assessor for tourism and culture of Regione Puglia, and Luigi De Luca, director of the Lecce library museum system. On July 12, a masterclass by director Agnès Jaoui is curated by Luca Bandirali of the University of Salento, followed by screenings of films by Sacha Barbin, Emmanuel Finkiel, Josza Anjembe, and Elsa Diringer. The festival prize is a work by 97-year-old sculptor Pietro Guida. The event aims to make Puglia a privileged partner of the French film industry.