The 12th annual Sacramento Film and Music Festival opens its SummerFEST program tonight by honoring another long time Festival director.  This year's Film Arts Service Award will be presented to Cecile Mouette Downs, director of the Sacramento French Film Festival.  Cecille has worked previously for the Film Department of the French Embassy in New York City, and as a Press Officer for the Conseil Supérieur de l'Audiovisuel in Paris. She has a master’s degree in history, is a regular contributor to “France Today” magazine, and was the 2010 recipient of the Arts Executive of the Year Award from the Sacramento Arts & Business Council. This is the fifth Film Arts Service Award to be presented

Six o’clock Friday night found people waiting patiently in line at the Crest Theatre. They were waiting for the doors to open into Sacramento’s 10th French Film Festival. The festival started with a not-so-humble beginning in 2002 when they opened at Tower Theatre to a sold -out crowd, with a line to the pre-party around the block. They have since moved to the Crest, which seats about 940 compared to the 500 seats at Tower. The festival is the brainchild of Cécile Mouette Downs and Connie Georgiu. Downs still serves as the artistic and executive director. The festival has found support and acceptance from the community, artistic and otherwise. Among those who have embraced the festival

The Sacramento French Film Festival will celebrate its 10th year in June 2011 and has just unveiled its exhilarating film selection and its inspired and original poster created, as were the nine previous SFFF posters, by talented Sacramento photographer Kent Lacin. See the complete poster collection here. To be held June 17-26, 2011 at the Crest Theatre in Downtown Sacramento, the 10th Sacramento French Film Festival will present nine new premieres, two Saturday Midnight Movies, three classics, and one Short Film Program. This year the SFFF is also introducing a new category, entitled "The One That Almost Got Away" and aimed to highlight recent films that the SFFF team wished to show in p

2011 marks the 20th anniversary of the passing of French icon Serge Gainsbourg, who died of a heart attack on March 2, 1991. Born in 1928, Gainsbourg would have turned 82 this year. To honor his memory, the Sacramento French Film Festival, Record Club and The Verge Center for the Arts are hosting a tribute party. It all starts at 8pm on Saturday April 2nd at the Verge Gallery and will feature music videos, film clips, live tribute bands and music by DJ’s Christophe and Roger. Twenty years after his death Serge Gainsbourg is still considered one of the world's most influential popular musicians. If you are not already familiar with his music, it’s not too late to get to know him. He is bes

The Ninth Annual Sacramento French Film Festival launches Friday at the Crest Theatre, premiering a wide range of films from old classics to modern-day comedies. The festival celebrates French culture and history through various genres of cinema. Of the 14 films that are expected to play, four are famous classics, such as "Le Roman d'un tricheur (Story of a Cheat)" and "Le Clan des siciliens (The Sicilian Clan)." The remaining 10 others include "Fais moi plaisir! (Please, Please Me!)" and "Les Beaux Gosses (French Kissers)," along with various short films. Special guest director Stéphanie Vasseur will be presenting her latest short films "Le Petit Marin" and "3ème B, 4ème Gauche." Other

Sharon Gerber has been planning nonprofit fundraising events in Sacramento for more than five years. And she's never experienced such a challenging climate for giving. She started her business, Six Degreez, after working as a community development manager for Wells Fargo. Gerber knew she could make more money if she arranged events for corporations. But she chose to work with local charitable organizations after becoming aware of the great need there. "My passion, my heart, goes out to the nonprofit sector," she said. "That's where I feel like I can have the most impact on this community. And it makes me feel good at the end of the day." Since then, Gerber has developed signature event

A man wearing a red beret, spandex shorts, black motorcycle boots and a black leather vest posed for photos, and local DJs Christophe and Roger spun French music in the background at the Crest lobby during the opening reception of the Eighth Sacramento French Film Festival Friday night. Meanwhile, French film enthusiasts sampled wine, cheese, chocolate fondue, wraps and flatbreads from local restaurants and businesses. The man’s unmistakably French attire may have caught your eye while passing this year’s SFFF posters around town, on which he appears equipped with a Martian helmet and an Eiffel Tower gun wearing the same costume, with the words “It came from Bordeaux!” above him and a spa

"French trash" vacationers, a late-in-life marriage, a self-taught painter gone mad and Beauty and the Beast will take to the screen at the Crest Theatre this weekend. Usually occurring in July, the eighth Sacramento French Film festival has an early start this year with its opening reception tomorrow night. The festival is held annually at the Crest Theatre as a project of the Alliance Française de Sacramento; it will run Friday through Sunday this weekend and Saturday and Sunday next weekend. Cecile Downs, co-founder of the SFFF, said the festival's selection will include comedies, dramas and thrillers as well as "midnight movies" — one is the erotic film A l’Aventure by Jean-Claude Br