By Thomas

Lost in Frenchlation is an amazing service created by Manon Kerjean. It has become the main place to go for recent and classic French movies with English subtitles. More than that, Lost in Frenchlation organizes numerous events around screening, like having a drink before a show, organizing meetings with the movie directors and actors, and offering opportunities to socialize during the various events. Frenchlation brings the best of French cinema to the international community, each screening being held at independent cinemas.

This week French à La Carte had a chance to talk with Manon and ask her about this great project:

Manon, what are the main objectives of your project?

Manon Kerjean director of Lost in Frenchlation

Lost in Frenchlation was created to allow non-french speakers in Paris to access one of France's greatest art: its cinema, without the language barrier, in the best conditions possible. This project was also an opportunity for me to make the audience discover and support beautiful art-house, independent cinemas, and to help them connect with each other thanks to the cocktail hour we host before each screening.

How do you choose and select the films you are showing? What is the criteria?

I try to choose the best French film of the week, every week, but my criteria is not necessarily objective... :) The idea is to provide a sample of what French cinema has to offer - and hopefully give inspiration to the audience to find more French films to watch when they go back home! It is also fundamental for me to enrich the spectators' experience - it could be anything from a Q&A with the director, a tasting, a movie-themed walking tour, a concert, a comedy show... I need to feel inspired as well!

What kind of other events are you organizing around the screenings? You have some comedy, meeting with directors, etc… What are you planning next?

Journée de la Francophonie in March, Champs-Élysées Film Festival in June , free outdoor screenings this summer... I would also love to get involved with a new immersive cinema experience coming up in Paris. It is inspired by the London "Secret Cinema" events and it's called "Dream Factory".

You are organizing your events at various cinemas in Paris, how do you choose the venues and why? Do you have a favorite cinema?

I pick venues that have an interesting story, preferably just one screen, and a cocktail area to mingle before the film. It is also a great way for the audience to discover new neighborhoods in Paris. There are so many beautiful art-house independent theatres in Paris that foreigners don't know about! My favourite cinema is Panthéon - we had our first event there last week and it was amazing! They have a secret tea salon upstairs which was designed by French actress Catherine Deneuve.

What was your biggest success in this adventure?

I think my biggest achievement was to have proven that there was a demand for these kind of events in Paris while everyone was telling me at the beginning that non-French speakers were not interested in French cinema! One of my favourite memories was our event with Champs-Elysées Film Festival, the debate with Mathieu Amalric, and our event during Christmas 2019 where each spectator brought a gift for Secret Santa... And more generally, every time I meet new people who tell me it's the first French film they saw on a big screen, I feel so grateful!

You are starting your own VOD service, can you tell us more about it?

I've partnered with Eyelet.org which allows me to offer French films with subtitles in many different languages for my audience in the US, UK, Australia... who came back home after COVID and were not able to attend Lost in Frenchlation events anymore. It's a great way to stay connected even if it will never replace physical screenings!

What are your plans in the future?

I would love to export Lost in Frenchlation to other cities in France, filming the debates happening in Paris and sharing them with other cinemas all around the country where there are big anglophones communities. And I've always dreamt of opening my own cinema, with a French restaurant, a cocktail bar, and screenings of French films with subtitles in many languages...

Watch French Films in Paris with English Subtitles