Lost In Frenchlation

Today we interview John Botros, comedian, cinephile and content creator. On instagram he is john.bot.ros. He recently started reviewing the cinemas of Paris and making film commentary and criticism on his channel.

Hosts Manon Kerjean and ARBL Murray (Alex Brook Lynn) chat with John about what cinemas he likes, how he thinks about filmmakers and genre, and what he thinks is special about moviegoing in theaters.

For more information on the LOST IN FRENCHLATION Cinema club and to book tickets go to:

https://lostinfrenchlation.com

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Episode Notes:

John's favorite cinemas in Paris:

Cinematheque , La Filmothèque , Le Champo, Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé(For silent films), and Saint Germain Des Prés (Partner cinema of Lost In Frenchlation)

John's favorite French Filmmakers:

Jacque Tati FAVORITE FILMS: Monsieur Hulot's Holiday, and Playtime

• We also recommend the documentary called Playtime Story about the making of Playtime.

François Truffaut FAVORITE FILMS: The Man Who Loved Women (L'Homme qui aimait les femmes)

Louis Malle, FAVORITE FILMS: Viva Maria!, Elevator To The Gallows

Jacques Audiard, FAVORITE FILMS: The Beat My Heart Skipped, On My Lips

Claire Denis, FAVORITE FILMS: High Life, Stars At Noon

Agnes Varda, Vagabond

On this episode Alex Brook Lynn (ARBL Murray) and Manon Kerjean talk to the Lost in Frenchlation interns about their favorite French films to get us started in the new fall season of French film watching.

Manon will also introduce some exciting news and new films coming up at the Lost in Frenchlation Cinema Club like the new partner theater at Le Saint Germain Des Pres, and the films she is excited to screen in the coming months.

A list of the films we discuss in this episode.

Staff Pick: Lleyton Hughes, La Haine

Hatred'; released in the United States as Hate) is a 1995 French social thriller film written, co-edited, and directed by Mathieu Kassovitz. Starring Vincent Cassel, Hubert Koundé and Saïd Taghmaoui, the film chronicles a day and night in the lives of three friends from a poor immigrant neighborhood in the suburbs of Paris.

Staff Pick: Alejandra Gonzalez, Le Bonheur

Le Bonheur ("Happiness") is a 1965 French drama film directed by Agnès Varda. It is associated with the French New Wave, and won two awards at the 15th Berlin International Film Festival, including the Jury Grand Prix. The film is about a man with a wife, kids, and a mistress.

Staff Pick: Rosemary Ho, L'evenement

Happening (French: L'Événement) is a 2021 French film, set in the 1960s directed by Audrey Diwan. The film stars Anamaria Vartolomei as Anne, who experiences the emotionally and physically traumatic process of obtaining an abortion in France before it was legalized.

Staff Pick: Dearbhail Kent, L'histoire de Soulymane

Souleymane's Story (French: L'Histoire de Souleymane), is a 2024 French film directed by Boris Lojkine. The film stars Abou Sangaré as Souleymane, an immigrant from Guinea working for a food delivery service in Paris.

Staff Pick: Altuğ Kaan PAÇACI, Zero Conduite

Zero for Conduct (French: Zéro de conduite) is a 1933 French featurette directed by Jean Vigo. The film draws extensively on Vigo's boarding school experiences to depict a repressive and bureaucratised educational establishment in which surreal acts of rebellion occur, reflecting Vigo's anarchist view of childhood. The title refers to a mark the boys would get which prevented them from going out on Sundays.

For more information on screening with Lost in Frenchlation visit: https://lostinfrenchlation.com

Welcome to our Cannes 2026 Wrap up recommendations with screenwriter, composer, and podcaster, Youri Rebeko.

ARBL Murray (Alex Brook Lynn) chats with Youri about what it's like to be a member of the press at Cannes, and how he felt about this years' selections.

Youri has been reporting during Cannes for La Perch Podcast, a French language pod about cinema.

In This Episode-

Films Discussed:

The Electric Kiss - Dir, Pierre Salvadori

French period comedy opening the festival this year.

Fjord - Dir. Cristian Mungiu

Social Commentary, winner of Palme d'Or

Youri Recommandation *

The Black Ball - Dir. Javier Calvo & Javier Ambrossi

A Period Film about gay men through several periods of history.

Youri Recommandation *

A Man Of His Time - Dir. Emmanuel Marre

A Period film about compliance in the workplace during the Nazi Occupation in France.

Youri Recommandation *

The History of Queer French Cinema with David A. Gerstner

This June, Paris gets a queer‑film takeover: David A. Gerstner is guest‑curating the Lost in Frenchlation screening series across art‑house theaters for Pride Month — all films shown with English subtitles. Want the perfect primer before you dive in? This episode is it.

More Info on Tickets and Program HERE.

David A. Gerstner is our brilliant guide: a published historian of cinema, professor at CUNY, and the author of multiple books and scholarly articles on film and queer culture. His sharp knowledge, warm humor, and infectious enthusiasm turn film history into a lively, unmissable ride.

Hosts Alex Brook Lynn (ARBL Murray) and Manon Kerjean sit down with David to trace the stories of queer filmmakers and films in France across the 20th century. Read David's short essay on this series here.

David A. Gerstner is a Professor of Cinema Studies at the City University of New York, Chevalier d’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and a prolific author of essays and writings on cinema, and queer culture. He is the author of 'Queer Imaginings: On Writing and Cinematic Friendship (2023)' and 'Christophe Honore: A Critical Introduction.' David's sharp knowledge, warm humor, and infectious enthusiasm make film history feel like the best kind of story, told by a friend in a cozy cafe somewhere..

From the Episode:

Notable filmmakers: Germaine Dulac, Christophe Honoré, Jean Epstein, Jacqueline Audry

David's short essay on the series: Queer French Cinema: A Historical Sketch

A few of David's books on Thrift Books

For further reading on Queer culture during the Vichy occupation of France David recommends:

Denis Quinqueton. ÉTUDE Loi du 6 août 1942.

Richard Plant. The Pink Triangle: The Nazi War Against Homosexuals.

This time on Lost in Frenchlation we talk with Vladimir Rodionov about his documentary which has been 15 years in the making. Vladmire and his co-director Avril Tembouret spent 15 years searching for any footage from a man who worked with famous actors, who shot a lot of projects but the films themselves never materialized and the footage, if there ever was, is lost without a trace.

L'Oeuvre invisible traces the life of Alexandre Trannoy, an enigmatic filmmaker who, despite a 30 year career, never completed a single film. Through archives, interviews, and production traces, the doc attempts to understand this Don Quixote of cinema.

This is the second time we Vladimir has been on the show. last time he was introducing a very different kind of film for Valentine's Day called ANGES & CIE, a romantic comedy about how angels guide people through and to love.

L'Oeuvre invisible on IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt39398831/

Find out more about the cinema club Lost In Frenchlation on https://lostinfrenchlation.com/

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You can listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify

On this episode of Lost in Frenchlation, today we are talking to Alice Wincour who directed 'Couture' starring Angelina Jolie. It’s an intimate and artful look at some of the women behind Paris Fashion Week.

Angelina Jolie plays a women named Maxine who is an indie horror director. Her career is about to take off, she is directing a film for a big Fashion House during Paris Fashion Week and has more opportunities on the horizon. She is suddenly diagnosed with a fast moving cancer. As the week progresses Maxine's story intersects with a model from South Sudan, a make up artist struggling to find her place, and a seamstress in love with the art of costume. This episode is hosted by Alex Brook Lynn and Manon Kerjean.

This is the 2nd time Alice has been on the show. Check out her last episode here:

For the film Revoir Paris about the 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris. https://rss.com/podcasts/lost-in-frenchlation/2463061/

Couture on IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt34688195/

Find out more about the cinema club Lost In Frenchlation on https://lostinfrenchlation.com/

You can listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify

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A period film with all the juicy modern Paris architecture gossip! In this episode of Lost in Frenchlation, hosts ARBL Murray (Alex Brook Lynn) and Manon Kerjean are excited to delve into the film L'Inconnu de la Grande Arche or The Great Arche with director, Stéphane Demoustier.

The film takes place in the 1980s and is based on the true story about the building of The Great Arch at La Défense in Paris. It was to be a great achievement among The Grands Projects of socialist President Francois Mitterrand, It was to become a part of the great views of Paris and to add to the sight line from the Arc de Triomphe. A Danish Architect, named Johan Otto von Spreckelson won a design competition and was awarded the project. His insistence on perfection and his clear vision butted up against the compromises needed in French bureaucracy, and of course in the mid eighties the realities of private interest eroding the sanctity of public projects. Under the weight of circumstance one man goes mad with his ambitions for lasting art and architecture.

The film is based on the 2016 novel Le Grande Arche by Lawrence Cossé.

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For more information on Lost in Frenchlation, visit https://lostinfrenchlation.com/

In this episode of Lost in Frenchlation, hosts ARBL Murray (Alex Brook Lynn) and Manon Kerjean sit down with filmmaker Vladimir Rodionov at the Luminor Theater during a special Valentine’s Day screening of his romantic comedy Anges & Cie (Angels & Company / Angels Inc.).

Set in a world where everyone has a personal angel, the film treats love like a workplace: angels are assigned “clients,” they follow you through every awkward, intimate moment, and they try (sometimes badly) to steer your life from above. At the center are two almost-lovers who keep colliding and missing each other, while their angels clash like rivals in a buddy comedy. But what happens when a few angels go off-script and decide to let love get messy on its own?

Vladimir breaks down the long road of making a first feature (nearly a decade from idea to release), why he’s obsessed with “high concept” premises you can sum up in one sentence (“what if angels were real?”), and how he built a world where angels operate like a bureaucratic company: hovering behind you, influencing choices, and sometimes giving truly terrible advice.

The conversation goes deeper than the rom-com label: intuition vs. destiny, “signs” that kept him going while the film was hard to finance/cast, whether a darker sequel could exist, and how love can be a surprise that pulls you outside your bubble. They also talk about modern romance in the age of apps (love as an “algorithm” vs. chaos), how movies shape the way we understand love, and what French cinema offers beyond couple-dom: friendship, empathy, and stories for anyone spending Valentine’s Day solo.

Please consider donating to World Radio Paris so we can continue to make these radio shows and podcasts https://worldradioparis.org/donate/

For more information on Lost in Frenchlation, visit https://lostinfrenchlation.com

Welcome to Lost in Frenchlation a show about contemporary French cinema with a smattering of history. Today we are at the Cinéma du Panthéon in the 5th arrondissement of Paris with Arnaud Desplechin talking about his film Deux Pianos as it screens. The film stars Charlotte Rampling, Nadia Tareskavich, and Francois Civil.

Deux Pianos is about a piano prodigy, Mathias, who has been away for a long time, he returns to Lyon to play music with his mentor Elena (Charlotte Rampling). He runs into the love of his life Claude, he hasn’t seen her for many years. She has a young child and is married to Pierre. When Pierre suddenly dies questions about who the son’s father really is comes up, Mathias wonders if he will stay and try to make a family with the young widow or continue on his path toward musical brilliance and a solitary life.

This is the second time we have had Arnaud on our show and as always we are able to delve into the mechanics of making films and crafting art and story. Arnaud shares with us his childhood experiences with the young widows in his family, how he feels about motherhood, and his writing process with partner Kamen Velkovsy.

I’m Alex Brook Lynn (Also Known as ARBL Murray) with Manon Kerjean talking with our only recurring and favorite guest Arnaud Desplechin.

Please consider donating to World Radio Paris so we can continue to make these radio shows and podcasts https://worldradioparis.org/donate/

For more information on Lost in Frenchlation https://lostinfrenchlation.com

Today on Lost in Frenchlation we talk to the renowned director Diane Kurys about her most recent film Moi qui t’aimais (Me who loved you.) Diane has had a truly incredible career. In this episode she shares with us the story of her parents falling in love as Jews in Europe during the holocaust, how that influenced her films about the nuances of love and commitment, and of course we talk about what it was like to write and direct a film about the complicated marriage of two French Entertainment Icons, Simone Signoret and Yves Montand.

Moi qui t’aimais is the story of a famous love affair between French entertainment royalty: Simone Signoret and Yves Montand. They had a wild and deep, but also fraught love. They were married from the 50s until her death in 1981. During that time they became one of the most influential couples in France.

Find out more about the cinema club Lost In Frenchlation on https://lostinfrenchlation.com/

You can listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify

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On November 13th, at L’Arlequin cinema, Manon Kerjean screened Revoir Paris for the 10th anniversary of the Paris terrorist attacks. Revoir Paris is set during the attacks of 2015.

During the screening, Manon and ARBL Murray (Alex Brook Lynn) were able to interview the filmmaker who captured that fateful day so remarkably, Alice Winocour. Alice talked to us about the impetus to make the film, using sound design to help the audience feel the memory fragmentation and trauma of the characters.

Alice also talks about how she immerses herself in a subject entirely while making a film and what it means to have represented this story, the story of so many victims, and of Paris itself.

Find out more about the cinema club Lost In Frenchlation on https://lostinfrenchlation.com/

You can listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify

Donate to World Radio Paris Here: https://worldradioparis.org/donate/

On this episode of Lost in Frenchlation, we talk to Suzanne Lindon and Paul Kircher about what it was like to star in the new film by Cedric Klapisch, La Venue de l’avenir (French Title), Colors of Time (English Title). As always ARBL Murray (Alex Brook Lynn), and Manon Kerjean interviewed the pair as their film screened at Le Balzac Cinema during a Lost in Frenchlation event.

Suzanne and Paul share about what it was like to embody characters from the turn of the 19th century in Paris, as the modern city began to emerge. We talk about art, life, emotional scenes, and legacy.

La Venue de l’avenir (Colors of Time) is about four cousins who inherit a house in rural Normandy. They are encouraged to sell it to make way for a large development but after they visit the house they begin to discover the story of their ancestors, notably a young woman named Adèle (Suzanne Lindon). They trace her story through Paris as the city is really starting to embrace the modern age.

Both Paul and Suzanne are born and raised Parisians and recommend the film Le Péril Jeune (Good Old Daze) and a quintessential coming of age film about young Parisians.

Find out more about the cinema club Lost In Frenchlation on https://lostinfrenchlation.com/

You can listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts and Spotify

On this episode of Lost in Frenchlation Manon Kerjean and ARBL Murray (Alex Brook Lynn) interview Giulio Callegari the director of the new robot comedy ‘Un Monde Merveilleux’ or the English version ‘Robot T-O’

The film is set in the not so distant future in which robot companions have hit the consumer market and are now as common as the I-phone. We meet Max and her 10 year old daughter Paula who live off stealing and small time hustles. When they steal an outdated robot model and try to re-sell it, things don’t work out as planned and Max is separated from Paula and stuck with only the robot named Tio to help get her daughter back. Although Max hates technology and how robots have changed the world, she learns a few lessons from her new robot friend.

Originally a screenwriter for various films and TV shows, Gulio has made his directorial debut with this film. Guilio talks about the classics that inspired the parent/ child dynamics in this film like Cassavetes’ Gloria and Eastwood’s A Perfect World. We delve into what makes Blanche Charlie the perfect modern day Charlie Chaplin and why we should all be afraid of robots with cute faces.

This episode was recorded at the Luminor Theater in Paris.

For more information on the cinema club Lost in Frenchlation and how to watch some movies with us go to https://lostinfrenchlation.com/

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In this Episode of Lost in Frenchlation we talk to Laura Piani, the writer and director of ‘Jane Austen Wrecked My Life,’ a new romantic comedy about a woman who lives between the pages and struggles to finish her own story. Laura shares with us why she decided to direct, what inspired this story, and how she chose to show the work of Jane Austen in a new light.

We delve into some of the autobiographical elements of the film: The main character works at the famed Shakespeare and Co. as did Laura herself– and discuss the male archetypes in the films wonderfully funny love triangle, and the best book Laura ever read.

For more information on Lost in Frenchlation, the cinema club click here:

https://lostinfrenchlation.com/

The hosts for this episode are Manon Kerjean and ARBL Murray (Alex Brook Lynn). This episode was recorded and produced by World Radio Paris.

It’s that time of year again! The Cannes Film Festival wrap up! There were anarchists sabotaging electrical systems and fainting spells during the screenings but was it also an exciting year for cinema? Our guest Youri Rebekohelps us unpack it all and shares his top picks and biggest disappointments this year.

Youri is a screenwriter, composer, and one of the hosts of the popular French cinema podcast La Perche.

This episode is produced and hosted by Manon Kerjean and ARBL Murray and recorded in the 20th arrondissement of Paris.

Notes on Episode:

Youri’s Picks

Sirat

Left Handed Girl

A Simple Accident

Manon’s Picks

Des Preuves d’Amour

La Petite Dernière

For more information about Lost in Frenchlation and to buy tickets go to:

https://lostinfrenchlation.com

n this Episode of Lost in Frenchlatin we talk with Global Cinema expert Dina Iordanova about her 2016 book Cinemas of Paris.

We talk about how Paris is a “never ending film festival,” and why movie going in the city of light is unlike anywhere else.

We talk about the wealth of movie theaters and why they are all different. How some have gone to extreme lengths to keep these cinemas open and some have been saved by the city itself.

Dina Iordanova is Emeritus Professor in Global Cinema at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. A native of Bulgaria, she has worked around the world for more than three decades. She is a film historian of transnational cinema and has particular interest in the study of film festivals and global film circulation.

In this Episode We Discuss:

Cinemas:

Le Brady, Cinema La Clef, La Pagode, Espace Saint-Michel and many others.

You can read more of Dina’s Work here:

The Complicated History of Women at Cannes Film Festival (2021)

Cannes Is Not A Film Festival: It Is a Club for Insiders (2018)

For more information about Lost in Frenchlation and to buy tickets go to:

https://lostinfrenchlation.com

In this Episode of Lost in Frenchlatin we talk with lauded French filmmaker and screenwriter Arnaud Desplechinabout his new film ‘Spectateurs!’ (Filmlovers!)

His film screened at the beautiful Jeu de Paume in the Tuileries Gardens, during the Lost in Frenchlation event. Manon Kerjean and ARBL Murray were able to chat with Arnaud about his films, his inspiration, and what it was like to put together his own personal ode to cinema. Arnaud tells us why he used the mixed forms of narrative and documentary, what his earliest interactions with art were and why Pretty Woman occupies his thoughts from time to time.

In this Episode We Discuss:

Films of Arnaud Desplechin

Other Films :

Shoah by Claude Lanzmann

Killer of Sheep by Charles Burnett

The Exiled by Johnnie To

Pretty Woman by Garry Marshall

Philosopher:

Stanley Cavell

Arnaud’s must see recommendation for recent films:

Souleymane’s Story by Boris Lojkine

Listen to Arnaud give a talk about why he loves the film Pretty Woman (In French)

LISTEN HERE ON APPLE PODCASTS

For more information about Lost in Frenchlation and to buy tickets go to:

https://lostinfrenchlation.com

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On this episode Manon Kerjean and ARBL Murray sit down with director Nicolas Peduzzi to talk about his latest documentary film Etat Limité or “On the Edge.”

The Film follows a young psychiatrist Jamal during his daily rounds at the well-known Hospital Beaujon on the edge of Paris. Jamal has to navigate time constraints and budgetary restrictions whilst trying to care for his patients as best he can. Shot over the corse of 3 years, Etat Limité is an incredible portrait of the compassion of a young doctor and limitations of the healthcare system.

Nicolas Peduzzi is a French actor and director. He studied theater and cinema in Italy and New York. His first feature documentary, Southern Belle, a portrait of real-life 26 year-old Texan Taelor Ranzau, was released in 2018, and won the Grand Prix of the FID Marseille in 2019. In 2021. His next film Ghost Song portrayed young people in Houston living on the “fringes” and fighting for survival. Etat Limité is his latest documentary.

You can find him on instagram @nicolaspeduzzi

Film Recommendations from this episode:

On the Adamant: (Sur L’Adamant) 2023 by Nicolas Philibert – Follows patients and caregivers at a psychiatric centre with a unique floating structure located in the middle of the Seine river in central Paris.

Ětra Là: 2012 by Régis Sauder. A story about the psychiatrists, nurses or occupational therapists at the Baumettes detention center in Marseille who receive inmates and help them with their mental illness. The work is hard and thankless but for these workers it is a necessity to participate in the helping of those who suffer.

Opening Song in the Film:

Evile Grimace: Pour Mes Gens

For more information about Lost in Frenchlation and to buy tickets go to:

https://lostinfrenchlation.com/

In this Episode of Lost in Frenchlatin we continue our series on the Cinemas of Paris. Manon Kerjean and ARBL Murray chat with Camille Labé, the new Owner of L’épée de Bois. L’épée de Bois is a small cinema on Rue Mouffetard, one of the most iconic streets of Paris. The cinema opened in 1971 and has changed hands several times. Camille is the most recent owner having taken ownership in February of 2024. Camille tells us what it’s like to run a cinema with a focus on community and classic cinema.

Camille is a big fan of classic comedy and she recommends checking out:

The films of Louis de Funès

Les aventures de Rabbi Jacob

L’aile ou la cuisse

Oscar

For more information about Lost in Frenchlation and to buy tickets go to:

https://lostinfrenchlation.com

For More on World Radio Paris

On this episode of Lost in Frenchlation, Manon Kerjean and ARBL Murray talk to the crew at the Luminor Cinema, one of the oldest movie houses in Paris, about what it’s like to run an art-house theater. From the Paris projectionist shortage to the regulations for film distribution, the story of the Luminor touches all facets of film culture in Paris and, more broadly, France.

Andy Sellitto is the cinema manager, and Anna Dichio coordinates events as well as heads the awareness campaign to Save The Luminor. They reveal for us what it’s like to run this place, in one of the most famous neighborhoods in the world (The Marais), while fighting for the attention of cinema-goers and dodging building owners who want to shut it all down.

For see what is playing at the Luminor go to:

https://www.luminor-hoteldeville.com

For more information about Lost in Frenchlation and to buy tickets go to:

https://lostinfrenchlation.com

More Information on World Radio Paris