French Cinema Club

A regular club at Depot celebrating the best of French cinema
Free entry in the Studio

Step into the world of French cinema with our lively, post-screening discussion club! Open to everyone and led by Dr Martine Pierquin.

Each screening is introduced by Martine, before we reconvene in the Studio to share impressions, unpack themes, and explore what makes French film so distinctive.

Screenings and meeting dates are announced in advance, and if you can’t make the showing itself, you’re still welcome to watch the film in your own time and join us for the conversation.

Whether you’re a seasoned cinephile or simply curious about French cinema, pull up a chair — all are warmly welcome.

Martine brings many years of experience in adult and university education, specialising in French and European cinema. She regularly delivers talks in cinemas and at film festivals.

Robert Bresson (1901-1999) disliked commercial cinema, which he dismissed as nothing more than filmed theatre. In contrast, his artistic approach embraced sober narratives with a minimalist visual style, as well as carefully crafted sound, to express his protagonists’ inner world. Bresson also preferred non-professional actors or ‘modèles’ as he called them, privileging emotional restraint in order to shift audiences’ attention from the visible to the spiritual.

Diary of a Country Priest (1951) follows a young priest’s struggles with self-doubt; A Man Escaped (1956), offers a meditation on human resilience and will. Au Hasard Balthazar (1966) reflects on the cruelty and compassion that coexist in the world, and Mouchette (1967) portrays the devastating isolation of a neglected girl. Together, these films exemplify Bresson’s cinematic and spiritual vision and how ordinary lives are shaped by suffering, grace, freedom, and redemption. In this talk we will discuss further one of the most idiosyncratic and uncompromising French film directors of the 20th century.

Films in this season will be presented by Martine Pierquin, a film curator, educator and researcher who specialises in French cinema. She has shared her love of film by teaching in universities (Edinburgh, Stirling) and leading educational film events at festivals and cinemas across the UK.

The final screening in the season, Mouchette, will be followed by a free discussion in the Studio – all welcome!