

IFFI-53 is paying tribute to legendary French-Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic Jean-Luc Godard and a high-point of this cine fiesta is a special screening of a few gems (of films) created by the master film maker.
A highlight of Asia’s oldest film festival this year is also the celebration of French cinema, with France been made the Focus Country. And undoubtedly, Godard is a defining personality of French Cinema! Godard rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as François Truffaut, Agnès Varda, Éric Rohmer, and Jacques Demy. He was arguably the most influential French filmmaker of the post-war era. In his early days as a film critic for the influential magazine Cahiers du Cinéma, Godard criticised mainstream French cinema’s ‘Tradition of Quality’, which de-emphasised innovation and experimentation. In response, he and like-minded critics began to make their own films, challenging the conventions of traditional Hollywood in addition to French cinema. His work makes use of frequent homages and references to film history, and often expresses his political views. The world lost this genius on 13th September this year.