Alliance Française French Film Festival Reviews: Bolero & Miss Violet

03/12/25 • 16 min

This podcast is also recorded in Naarm, Victoria, with fellow critic Nadine Whitney reviewing two of the films screening at the 2025 Alliance Française French Film Festival.

In the following reviews, Nadine discusses Anne Fontaine's Bolero and Éric Besnard's Miss Violet.

For all the festival details and to purchase tickets, visit AFFrenchFilmFestival.org.

If you want to find out more about the work we do on The Curb, then head over to TheCurb.com.au. We are a completely independent and ad free website that lives on the support of listeners and readers just like you. If you can and have the means to support us, please visit Patreon.com/thecurbau to support our work from as little as $1 a month.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This podcast is also recorded in Naarm, Victoria, with fellow critic Nadine Whitney reviewing two of the films screening at the 2025 Alliance Française French Film Festival.

In the following reviews, Nadine discusses Anne Fontaine's Bolero and Éric Besnard's Miss Violet.

For all the festival details and to purchase tickets, visit AFFrenchFilmFestival.org.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

Carmen & Bolude stars Michela Carattini and Bolude Watson on the joy of dance on film

Carmen & Bolude marks something of a first for Australian films. Here is a comedy about two close friends, Carmen (Michela Carattini) and Bolude (Bolude Watson), who both call Australia home. Carmen proudly embraces her Latin heritage, while Bolude navigates the line between Western values and her Nigerian roots. Together, they take on the world and the rampant Americanised identity politics that have caused much society to turn against itself.

We meet Carmen on the subways of New York where a man uses the close proximity of a packed train to touch her. Carmen loudly and proudly advocates for herself, standing up against the patriarchal dominance of the spaces we live.

When we meet Bolude, she is also working abroad in new York, a home away from home where she needs to navigate the surprise marriage proposal from her white Aussie boyfriend Tommy (Liam Grienke). That navigation means a careful consideration of how she approaches her cultural roots, and the path that she wants to follow in her life. After all, it's quite likely that her father Akin (Wale Ojo) would disapprove of the marriage.

And disapprove he does, giving Bolude the ultimatum that she needs to collect 100 welcomes from Australian locals to prove to her father that she has a home away from home. What follows is a bright and delightful celebration of sisterhood, friendship, and remembering the cultural roots that tie us to our parents and our past.

What makes Carmen & Bolude something of a first for Australian films is in its proudly women-led foundations, driven by voices that want to hear themselves on screen in an industry that regularly asks for more diversity on screen. We so rarely get to hear from the Nigerian diaspora on screen in Australia, so to not only see and hear their stories, but to also witness the joy of dance, is an impactful step forward for Australian cinema.

Carmen & Bolude is a joyous, life affirming comedy that'll have you grinning from start to finish. Full of rich and beautiful characters that make you feel like you're spending time with family and friends. It's a genuine delight, and I'm grateful for the time and openness that both Michela and Bolude shared with me in the following interview.

Carmen & Bolude is produced by Yolandi Franken and Michela Carattini, with Michela co-directing alongside Maria Isabel Delaossa. Michela and Bolude co-wrote the script together, and take co-lead duties in the film, with a supporting cast that includes David Collins, Olivia Vasquez, Wale Ojo, and many more.

In the following discussion, Michela and Bolude talk about the journey to getting this story on screen, the joy of dance, and the importance of seeing and hearing your own stories on screen.

Carmen & Bolude will be screening at the Hayden Orpheum on 19 March 2025, with further screenings around Australia. Find all the dates and more here.

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Next Episode

Zachary Ruane and Alexei Toliopoulos on becoming David Stratton & Margaret Pomeranz for their comedy show Refused Classification

For decades, David Stratton and Margaret Pomeranz were Australian film reviewing royalty, having built up a loyal following with their weekly show on SBS, The Movie Show. The 90s and early 00s was the peak of David & Margaret’s influence over Australian audiences. What they recommended, people would head out and go and see.

Both David and Margaret are staunch supporters of cinema, becoming advocates for all kinds of cinema and decrying the impacts of censorship. While both have played roles in the way that film censorship in Australia has impacted what we see, it’s Margaret’s role with the notorious Larry Clarke film, Ken Park, which saw her make headlines after she put on an ‘illegal’ screening of the film after it received a ‘Refused Classification’ status, aka, the film being banned from Australia.

That pivotal moment in Australian film criticism history is what sits at the heart of Zachary Ruane and Alexei Toliopoulos’ comedy show Refused Classification, which is currently making its way around Australian comedy festivals, having recently played at the Adelaide Fringe, with shows to be held in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth on the horizon.

The show sees Zachary don a salt and pepper wig as David, while Alexei somehow manages to imbue himself with the spirit of Margaret Pomeranz with her trademark golden locks. Together, they retell this point in Aussie cinema history through the form of comedy show, documentary and verbatim theatre.

In the following interview, Zachary and Alexei talk about how the show came about, their experiences watching Ken Park, how Simon Miraudo’s brilliant Book of the Banned (buy it here) helped inform the show, and Alexei goes deep on his personal connection with the At the Movies board game.

I should add too, if you’re interested in reading the transcripts of David and Margaret’s work on both The Movie Show and At the Movies, then check out this Letterboxd account which has logged all of them over the years. And keep in mind that the shows are all available on SBS On Demand too, if you want that real nostalgia trip.

To keep up to date on where the show is playing, make sure to follow both Zachary and Alexei on Instagram.

We are a completely independent and ad free website that lives on the support of listeners and readers just like you. If you can and have the means to support us, please visit Patreon.com/thecurbau to support our work from as little as $1 a month.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.