Olympic Sized Cinema Experience with Lost in Frenchlation

If you’re in Paris during the Olympic Games and can’t get a ticket to an event or are just not into sports, you can always check out a movie! Don’t understand French too well? Lost in Frenchlation is a film club that screens French movies subtitled in English … and much more besides. They’re offering a special jam-packed program during the Olympic Games (or “J.O.” as they’re called here).

Manon Kerjean, the young founder and director of Lost in Frenchlation, might be described as a “cradle cinephile.” She’s not only a native Parisienne but grew up in Montmartre, the setting of Amélie and a stone’s throw from classic cinemas like the Louxor. Her parents work in the film industry, and her original goal was to be a director or film editor. She studied film, worked as an editor, was employed at a production & distribution company, and later as a programmer at the Ciné-Lumière (the cinema of London’s French Institute).

“But,” said Manon, “I realized that what I enjoyed most was sharing my passion for French cinema with people from all over the world.”

This took on a personal dimension when her Australian friend (and co-founder of the club) had problems accessing the French film experience due to the language barrier. She realized that no theaters in Paris (or anywhere else in France, for that matter) offered fare subtitled in English. This was problematic to tourists, students, and expats who weren’t fluent in French. The idea of an outlet that would screen both classic and new movies subtitled in English was born.

Lost in Frenchlation screens films once or twice a week, and often the screenings are followed by Q&A sessions with filmmakers, actors and film crews. There are also mixers before the screenings where internationals can mingle. Over time, the pre-show entertainment has expanded to include stand-up shows, concerts, wine-tastings, and even movie-themed walking tours.

The film club attracts a variety of persons, all of them movie-lovers and people interested in French film in particular. There are expatriates who reside in Paris, exchange students, tourists, and French people interested in interacting with an international crowd. The screenings take place in several cinemas in Paris’s most iconic neighborhoods.

“We are currently running screenings at the Arlequin in the heart of Saint-Germain, the stunning boat-themed cinema Club de l’Etoile just off the Champs-Elysées, the Balzac, only two blocks from the Arc de Triomphe. There’s also the Luminor in the Marais and L’Entrepot in the 14th arrondissement.”

For Manon this is an interesting moment in French cinema, when French films are becoming more successful abroad and filmmakers like Damien Chazelle (Babylon) and Denis Villeneuve (the Dune reboot) have become prominent. This year Justine Triet won the best original screenplay Oscar for Anatomy of a Fall. She has a particular interest in neo-genre films.

“I think French films exploring horror, sci-fi, fantasy, are really inspiring and a great counterpoint to U.S. cinema. One of the most recent examples is Le Règne Animal, by Thomas Cailley, which won many awards and is fascinating both technically and in storytelling. We could also mention Julia Ducournau’s films like Titane, or Grave, her first film, as well as Vermines by Sebastien Vanicec, which became a crossover to mainstream and cinephile audiences.”

The club has come a long way since my first visit to one of their events several years ago. It’s become a mainstay of Paris expat life. Yet Manon has even more ambitious plans for Lost in Frenchlation.

“We’d like to expand to every French city where there is a significant Anglophone population,” she says. “We’d also like to feature premieres, and are currently developing educational events for young students.”

It’s seems perfectly plausible that Manon’s big plans will come to fruition one day. In the meantime she explains the film club’s special program during the Olympic Games. The logic comes down to math: There are 15 million tourists coming to Paris this summer, and only 3 million will have tickets to the Games. That leaves 12 million with something to do. So instead of offering a film once a week, it will be every day for the duration of the Paris Olympics. Several of the films have sports or Olympic themes. For those who might be interested, please check out the program below.

A note to our readers: Manon Kerjean and Lost In Frenchlation are proposing a gift to a limited number of Bonjour Paris readers: two free tickets for each event. These will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

July 22 at Panthéon: La Petite Vadrouille 2024. An all-star comedy directed by Denis Podalydés.

July 23 at Epée de Bois : Le Genou de Claire (Claire’s Knee, 1970, an acclaimed Eric Rohmer film)

July 24 at L’Ecran Saint-Denis : Anatomy d’une Chute (Anatomy of a Fall, 2023, the courtroom drama directed by Justine Triet, an Oscar-winner this year)

July 25 at Luminor: Les crevettes pailletées (The Shiny Shrimps, 2019, a comedy by Cédric Le Gallo and Maxime Govare, tells the true story of a gay water polo team who go to the Gay Games)

July 27 at Panthéon: L’esprit Coubertin (Game Changers, 2024, a topical comedy by Jérémie Sein, about an immature competitive shooter at the Paris games)

July 28 at Luminor: La Revanche des Crevettes paillettées (Revenge of the Shiny Shrimps, 2022, by Cédric Le Gallo and Maxime Govare, a sequel to their comedy about a gay water polo team)

July 29 at Panthéon: Le Fabuleux Destine d’Amélie Poulain (Amélie, the acclaimed classic film directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001)

July 30 at L’Epée de Bois: Pauline à la Plage (Pauline on the Beach, 1983, another Rohmer classic)

July 31 at L’Ecran Saint-Denis: Le Comte de Monte Cristo (The Count of Monte Cristo, 2024, the latest adaptation of Dumas’ classic)

August 1 at Luminor: Le Grand Bain (Sink of Swim, 2018, a comedy about a male synchronized swimming team, directed by Gilles Lelouche)

August 2 at L’Entrepôt: Cléo de 5 à 7 (Cleo from 5 to 7, 1962, Agnes Varda’s great New Wave film)

August 3 at Panthéon: La Petite Vadrouille

August 4 at Luminor: L’Esprit Coubertin

August 5 at Panthéon: Marinette by Virginie Verrioer, 2023, drama about a driven woman soccer player

August 6 at L’Epée de Bois: Conte d’Eté

August 7 at L’Ecran Saint-Denis: Le Fabuleux Destine d’Amélie Poulain (Amelie)

August 8 at Luminor: Anatomie d’une Chute (Anatomy of a Fall)

August 9 at L’Entrepôt: A Bout de Souffle (Breathless, 1960, Jean-Luc Godard’s New Wave masterpiece)

August 10 at Panthéon: Le Grand Bain

August11 at Luminor: Astérix aux JO (Asterix at the Olympics, 2008, an all-star comedy by Frédéric Forestier and Thomas Langmann)