The 34th Annual French Cinepanorama will be held from December 6 to 20, announced the Alliance Francaise of Hong Kong in Hong Kong last Friday.

The French Cinepanorama, a film festival organized by the Alliance Francaise, aims to show the constant dynamism of French cinema, its directors and actors.

It will offer an unprecedented 38 films and afford lovers of French cinema the unique opportunity of viewing original and fascinating works of French artists.

This year's 38 films encompass a wide range of tastes and have been classified into four categories: New Films, Reels Discovery, Documentary Series and Retrospective Jean Cocteau.

The Opening film Time to Leave is the second work of a trilogy about death and mourning created by Francois Ozon, which was presented under the "Un Certain Regard" section at the Cannes Festival.

Francois Ozon is one of the most renowned young French directors who found immense popularity in Hong Kong -- all his films having been released here.

The closing film, Merry Christmas by Christian Carion, is a movie inspired by a true event which happened during the First World War -- on Christmas Eve 1914 in many different places on the battlefront.

Hong Kong distributors have followed this successful movement, as some of the finest French films have been released this year, such as A Very Long Engagement and most recently Mean Spirit.

"This emphasizes the growing interest in French cinema and we intend to maintain this success by screening quality films at the festival," said Director of Alliance Francaise Francois Gaudeau.

(Xinhua News Agency October 31, 2005)