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Rebecca Zlotowski's "A Private Life" To Open 29th Annual American French Film Festival

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Category: Entertainment News
Published on Wednesday, 20 August 2025 10:40
Written by A&E Contributing Editor

The American French Film Festival (TAFFF) will open its 29th annual edition on October 28 with the Hollywood premiere of filmmaker Rebecca Zlotowski's psychological thriller A Private Life (Vie Privée), starring Oscar-winning actress Jodie Foster.

Rebecca Zlotowski's A Private Life (Vie Privée) also stars the César Award-winning Daniel Auteuil, Virginie Efira, Vincent Lacoste, and Mathieu Amalric. The film's Opening Night screening is presented in association with Sony Pictures Classics. The announcement was made by The Franco-American Cultural Fund (FACF), the originator of TAFFF. 

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A Private Life will kick off a seven-day festival, which has been extended by a day from its original six-day schedule: running October 28 to November 3 at the renowned Director's Guild of America Theater Complex in Los Angeles.  The film will also be presented on Wednesday, October 29 as part of the regular schedule and be among those competing for the 2025 TAFFF Awards, awarded during a ceremony in Paris held after the Festival. 

"The American French Film Festival is the place for French films and series to shine at the beginning of awards season in Los Angeles," notes Taylor Hackford, Board member of the Franco-American Cultural Fund and former President of the Directors Guild of America (DGA). "This year will be another phenomenal lineup, and we couldn't be happier to kick things off with Rebecca Zlotowski's tour-de-force, A Private Life. Jodie Foster gives a riveting performance - masterfully delivered as if French were her first language. The film is representative of what makes this Festival shine - a collaborative effort between the French and the Americans.  It will no doubt be one of the contenders presented at TAFFF for the awards season this year."

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A Private Life is the story of renowned psychiatrist Lillian Steiner (Foster) who is deeply troubled when she learns of the death of one of her patients. Convinced that it was murder, she decides to investigate. The film has a dream cast; most notably in its magical pairing of Jodie Foster and Daniel Auteuil, as a divorced pair whose profound affection and lingering lust may be the most-touching payoff of this clever whodunit.

In January of this year, writer/director Rebecca Zlotowski was honored with the Unifrance French Cinema Award, honoring filmmakers who have contributed to making French cinema shine abroad. A Private Life premiered as part of the Official Selection at this year's Cannes Film Festival. It will be presented at TAFFF as the Opening Film and Official Los Angeles Premiere, before its release in France and in the US. 

A Private Life is produced by Frédéric Jouve (Les Films Velvet), Rebecca Zlotowski (Buenos Hair), and France 3 Cinema. The film is distributed in the United States by Sony Pictures Classics. 

The entire lineup for this The American French Film Festival this year will be announced on September 30th.

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About The American French Film Festival 

The American French Film Festival is produced by the Franco-American Cultural Fund (FACF)—a unique collaboration between the Directors Guild of America (DGA), the Motion Picture Association (MPA), France's Society of Authors, Composers, and Publishers of Music (SACEM), and the Writers Guild of America West (WGAW).

TAFFF is presented in association with CNC - Centre National du Cinéma et de l'Image Animée, Unifrance, The Consulate General of France in Los Angeles, Villa Albertine, with the support of Air Tahiti Nui, Champagne Louis Roederer, ELMA, L'Oréal, TV5 Monde, and Variety. The TAFFF Education Program is presented in association with ELMA.

For more information, visit: www.tafff.org

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