With pomp and celebrity, Cine France kicked off its new season of French film at its new venue, Cine Nine, in the Sadang-dong neighborhood of Seoul on Tuesday.

“We were seeking a new dynamic in this new venue with new people and a new program,” Daniel Kapelian, audiovisual attache at the French Embassy, said during the opening reception.

French Ambassador to Korea Jerome Pasquier, actor Ahn Sung-ki and a coterie of professionals from Korea’s creative arts sipped wine, nibbled from a well-stocked buffet and generally milled about ahead of the first screening of a new season of French cinema.

Institut Francais organizes Cine France to bring French films to Korean moviegoers every Tuesday. Admission is 8,000 won with a 1,000 won discount available to members.

Cine France opened the spring cinema season with new director Regis Roinsnard’s 2012 film, “Populaire.”

Set in French Normandy in 1958, “Populaire” makes its throwback status heard loud and clear from the get-go. More a “Mad Men” send-up than Jacques Tati homage, “Populaire” is a well-crafted but somewhat shallow retro rom-com about a young, hapless secretary (Deborah Francois) who, with the help of her slick, fast-talking boss (Romain Duris), hammers keystrokes and slams back mechanical typing carriages in a story that turns office romance into a combat sport.

Other films screening this month are: 2012’s “Comme un Chef (The Chef)” on April 9; 2011’s “Poulet aux Prunes (Chicken with Plums)” April 16; 2011’s “Un Heureux Evenement (A Happy Event)” April 23; and 2012’s “De Rouille et D’os (Rust and Bones)” April 30.

For more information about screenings and Cine France, visit Institut Francais’ website, www.institutfrancais-seoul.com.

By Philip Iglauer (ephilip2011@heraldcorp.com)