Fun couple George Habib and wife Julie (right) meet up with writer Jasmine Ntoutoume at the opening ceremony of the 32nd Francophone Film Festival. - photos by Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

For a people with so many Spanish and English influences, Jamaicans sure do like their French!

The 32nd Francophone Film Festival is testament to the continued love for the French and in this spectrum, the movies from countries which have French as either the sole official language or one of them. The festival was launched at the Alliance Française on Lilford Avenue on Monday evening.

We already like their wine and cuisine, but French films have been gaining in popularity, competing with their American counterparts. They take you to a different world and are shot in a different style.

Something to say

As Pierre Lemaire of the Alliance Française said at the opening, they are made because the filmmaker has something to say. This year, patrons will see films from Haiti, Canada, Belgium, Senegal and, of course, France. There will be something for everybody, from war pieces to tear-jerking dramas.

Guests out included Chinese Ambassador Chen Jinghua and wife, Xiao Linhua; Indian High Commissioner Mohinder Grover; Dominican Republic Ambassador Filomena Navarro; Spanish Ambassador Jesús Silva; Christopher Duggan; Sybil Ntoutoume; Adrien Lemaire; Drs Laura and Dhiru Tanna; Aminata Eluther-Wellesley; Storm Saulter; Nicole Hoo-Fatt; Claudette Powell and Robert MacMillan.

French Ambassador Marc-Olivier Gendry (right) chats with Belgian Ambassador Frederic Meurice during the opening ceremony of this year's Francophone Film Festival held at Lilford Avenue, St Andrew on Monday, November 17.