by MALCOLM FRASER

The 12th edition of Cinemania rolls into town this weekend. The festival of French films, subtitled in English for the francophonically challenged, screens 29 movies at the Cinéma Impérial from Nov. 2–12, with prize-winners from the festival circuit as well as Gallic commercial hits. Check out some of the cinematic treats on this last leg of the fall festival marathon.

Longstanding charmer Juliette Binoche will be in town to attend both screenings of Quelques jours en septembre along with director Santiago Amigorena. The satirical “faux thriller,” set in Venice and Paris in the days leading up to 9/11, also stars John Turturro and Nick Nolte. Director/actress Nicole Garcia will also be at the fest to present her film Selon Charlie, a drama with Altman-esque multiple storylines that was a hit both at this year’s Cannes and at the French box office.

Claude Berri, whose long directorial career includes Jean de Florette and Manon des sources, brings us his latest, L’Un reste l’autre part, starring Charlotte Gainsbourg and Caché’s Daniel Auteuil. Benoît Cohen’s comedic drama Qui m’aime me suive stars Mathieu Demy as a 35-year-old doctor who decides to quit his job and pursue his dream of forming a rock band.

The festival is also presenting a Krzysztof Kieslowski retrospective. The late Polish director’s “French period,” consisting of The Double Life of Véronique and the “Three Colours” trilogy, will screen in its entirety, with trooper Binoche attending the screening of Blue.

A must for the Iron John crowd is the round-table discussion entitled, “Men in Film: Strength and Fragility,” hosted by journalist Dennis Trudeau and featuring panellists Éric Caravaca, Micheline Lanctôt and André Lavoie. It takes place right after this Saturday’s screening of Caravaca’s Le Passager, the popular French actor’s directorial début.

Other good bets include Patrick Grandperret’s Cannes prize-winner Meurtrières, about two teenage girls who meet at a mental institution and break out for an ill-advised trip to the city, Lucas Belveaux’s thriller La Raison du plus faible, also starring Caravaca and Le Temps des porte-plumes, Daniel Duval’s comedy featuring one of the last performances by the late Jacques Villeret (Un aller simple, Le Dîner des cons).

A handful of the films have already screened in Montreal, albeit in unsubtitled form. Worth checking out are Emmanuel Mouret’s Woody Allen-esque romantic comedy, Changement d’addresse, and Jérôme Salle’s Anthony Zimmer, a stylish crime thriller about a cop trying to track down an international white-collar criminal, starring Sophie Marceau and Yvan Attal.

Finally, the fest will close with the new film from O.G. Nouvelle Vague godfather Claude Chabrol, L’Ivresse du pouvoir, starring his frequent collaborator, the always intense Isabelle Huppert, as a tough lawyer investigating a case of missing public funds.

Festival head Maidy Teitelbaum was just appointed to the French Order of Arts and Letters, joining the illustrious company of Michael Haneke, Celine Dion, Paul Anka and others, so you know she’s doing something right. With most of the films screening for the first time, some of which may never reach these shores again, the fest is a good bet for your francophile buck.

Cinemania runs Nov. 2–12. For tix and screening info see www. cinemaniafilmfestival.com

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