Films for the FrancOfilm festival will screen simultaneously at Vox cinemas at Mall of the Emirates in Dubai and at Marina Mall in Abu Dhabi. All films are in French with English subtitles. Chocolat also has Arabic subtitles. Tickets are Dh30 from www.voxcinemas.com or the cinemas.
Thursday
Chocolat
Roschdy Zem, France, 2016, 8pm (invite-only – there is also a public screening on Saturday at 7pm)
The true story of Chocolat, a 19th-century slave who escaped his chains and became France’s first black clown.
Friday
Les oiseaux de passage
Olivier Ringer, Belgium, 2015, 3pm
Life can be difficult when you were born on February 29 – especially for Cathy when, for her leap-year birthday, her father gives her an egg to hatch. But it is probably less difficult than what her best friend Margaux, who is suffering from myopathy, is dealing with.
Friday
La Passion d’Augustine
Lea Pool, Canada, 2015, 5pm
Mother Augustine is a nun with a passion for teaching music, but cultures clash when the spirit of 1960s counterculture in Quebec begins to encroach on her conservative Catholic community.
Friday
Timbuktu
Abderrahmane Sissako, Mauritania, 2014, 7pm
Oscar-nominated festival favourite Timbuktu tells the story of the residents of Timbuktu, who are living under the occupation of jihadist militants.
Saturday
Tante Hilda
JR Girerd, Benoît Chieux, Luxembourg, 2014, 3pm
Animated adventure in which environemtalist Hilda clashes with her sister Dolores, the ruthless chief executive of a pesticide company.
Saturday
L’enfant d’en haut
Ursula Meier, Switzerland, 2012, 5pm
Simon is a 12-year-old who supports himself and his irresponsible older sister by stealing equipment from a ski resort. Watch out for a star-guest appearance from Gillian Anderson (The X-Files).
