[Please note: The Festival ended June 12, 2022]

The Sacramento French Film Festival (SFFF) is back beginning June 2, 2022!

If you’re in the Sacramento area, visit the SFFF website for movie theater information and a schedule of films (note: they’re not the same ones that’ll be shown virtually!)

I’d learned about the SFFF in 2020, the year the Festival had gone fully virtual due to the pandemic. For their 21st edition in 2022, they’re doing a combination of in-theater screenings, virtual screenings, and Zoom discussions.

While I won’t be attending any of the in-theater screenings in Sacramento, I’m glad I can still take part in the Festival from the comfort of my living room. (It’s just as well that there’s a virtual option. Due to rising COVID cases, several counties in Northern California are once again requiring that masks be worn in most indoor public settings, including theaters!)

Here are the three films that will be available exclusively on their streaming platform from June 3 through June 12, 2022:

©️ Sacramento French Film Festival

The Test (Le test) is a family comedy. The film will be available to watch virtually for a week from June 3-10, 2022.

Synopsis from SFFF: The Castillons seem like the perfect family. One day, the mother, Annie discovers a positive pregnancy test in their bathroom. Does it belong to her daughter or her son’s girlfriend, or another woman in her husband’s life? Annie thought she had everything under control but with the discovery of the test, her seemingly perfect life starts unraveling, for better and for worse.

Arthur Rambo is a drama about social media. The film will be available to watch virtually for three days from June 6-8, 2022.

Synopsis from SFFF: Inspired by the real story of radio journalist Mehdi Meklat, Laurent Cantet’s latest film is about a young author named Karim riding high from the success of his first novel about his mother’s arrival in France from Algeria. He is the media darling of the day, a perfect representative of France’s diversity and successful integration until he is revealed to be the author of old tweets, full of homophobic, misogynist, and anti-Semitic content posted under the alias Arthur Rambo. Everyone, from his new Parisian acquaintances to his old friends from the projects, his family, his fans and his publisher, is looking for answers. And Karim must come face to face with himself.

Good Mother (Bonne Mère) is a drama about immigrants and working class women. The film will be available to watch virtually for three days from June 9-11, 2022.

Synopsis from SFFF: Nora is a cleaning lady and self-sacrificing mother from a public housing project in the north of Marseille. Just like the Bonne Mère Cathedral towering over Marseille as the city’s benevolent protector, Nora selflessly watches over her clan of adult children, grandchildren, and daughter-in-law who all live together in her small apartment and mostly live off her paychecks. Nora also works tirelessly to help her older son, who’s in jail for robbery and awaiting trial. She never complains – she doesn’t have the time.

For information on how to rent and view any or all three of these films, be sure to visit the Virtual Sacramento French Film Festival website. I’ve got my Virtual Pass for all three films. Get yours today!🍿

[Note: The Festival ended June 12, 2022]