LAEMMLE THEATRES is joining The Film Society of Lincoln Center, Unifrance Films and Emerging Pictures in presenting during March the 17th edition of “Rendez-Vous with French Cinema,” the celebrated annual showcase of the best in contemporary French film.

Audiences in Claremont, Encino, Pasadena and Santa Monica will be able to see the films on March 28 at the Claremont 5/450 W. 2nd St.; the Town Center 5/17200 Ventura Blvd.; the Playhouse 7/673 E. Colorado Blvd.; and the Monica 4;1332 2nd St..

This year marks the first collaboration with Emerging Pictures and the “Rendez-Vous with French Cinema” series, and the first time that audiences in cities across the country will have the opportunity to see these films in local theaters via Emerging Pictures’s digital delivery technology. Emerging Pictures is the largest all-digital specialty film and alternate content theater network in the U.S., delivering independent films, cultural programs and special events to 300 American and Canadian venues.

Via the Emerging Pictures technology, audiences in select cities will also be able to participate in live interactive Q & A sessions with directors and actors from the “Rendez-Vous with French Cinema” films. The Q & A sessions will be “broadcast” live to participating theaters from New York’s Film Society of Lincoln Center Walter Reade Theater and the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s BAMcinématek theater.

The “Rendez-Vous with French Cinema” series film will be shown at Laemmle’s Claremont 5, Town Center 5, Playhouse 7 and Monica 4 on March 28 as follows:

SMUGGLERS’ SONGS (LES CHANTS DE MANDRIN)

— WED. 3/28/12 at 1:00PM —

Directed by: Rabah Ameur-ZaÏmeche

France – 2011

Running time: 97 min.

The 18th century folk hero and bandit Louis Mandrin is the inspiration for this strikingly relevant period tale, tracing the efforts of Mandrin’s followers to distribute his songs and stories in the build-up to the French Revolution.

PATER

— WED 3/28/12 3:10 PM —

Directed by Alain Cavalier

Starring Vincent Lindon and Alain Cavalier

France – 2011

Running time: 105 min.

Synopsis: France’s most unpredictable filmmaker, Alain Cavalier, teams up with actor Vincent Lindon for a witty, semi-improvised look at men, power and politics, starring Cavalier himself as a fictional French President and Lindon as his newly appointed Prime Minister.

MOON CHILD (LA PERMISSION DE MINUIT)

— WED 3/28/12 5:20 PM —

Directed by: Crystel Fournier

Starring Vincent Lindon, Emmanuelle Devos, Quentin Challal.

France – 2011

Running time: min.

Romain is a “moon child,” afflicted since birth by a rare genetic deficiency that makes him unable to stand exposure to daylight. Since infancy he has been cared for by David, a consultant dermatologist who is fascinated with his case and with whom he has developed an unusually close relationship. Now David has to leave, and doesn’t know how to tell Romain. The day of the separation draws near… a new ordeal for them both.

THE SCREEN ILLUSION (L’ILLUSION COMIQUE)

— WED 3/28/12 7:40 PM —

Directed by and starring: Mathieu Amalric

France – 2011

Running time: 77 min.

Commissioned by La Comédie-Française, actor-director Mathieu Amalric’s wildly inventive update of Corneille’s popular 17th century tragicomedy follows a hotel concierge on the trail of a missing young man who seems to have left many a young female heart aflutter.

THE LAST SCREENING (LA DERNIÈRE SÉANCE)

— WED 3/28/12 9:55 PM —

Directed by: Laurent Achard

Starring Pascal Cervo, Charlotte van Kemmel, Karole Rocher, Brigitte Sy

France – 2011

Running time: 81 min.

CINEMA PARADISO meets PSYCHO in a provocative genre film about the dutiful manager/projectionist of a repertory cinema in the French provinces…and the many secrets he holds.

Each Film is a Separate Admission.

TICKET PRICES:

Films that start before 6 PM:

$8 For General Admission ($6 for Premiere Card Members)

$4.50 for Seniors 62 & Over

Films that start after 6 PM:

$11 For General Admission ($9 for Premiere Card Members)

$8 For Seniors 62 & Over ($6 for Premiere Card Members)

For ticket information, visit www.laemmle.com or call (310) 478-3836

Watch the trailer here:

EMERGING PICTURES

For more information, visit: www.emergingpictures.com