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Cool your heels between runway shows with these great film events in LMFF’s cultural program.

A program of four films exploring the life and work of Jean Paul Gaultier is being presented by the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, curated by James Nolen.

Falbalas (1944) is the film that Gaultier saw when he was 10 years old that set him on the path to becoming a designer. A romantic drama set in Parisian ateliers, it stars Micheline Presle as a woman engaged to a fabric supplier who falls for a womanising couturier. Presle’s extensive, extravagant wardrobe was designed by the legendary Marchel Rochas. Gaultier says that watching it “was like a magic world had opened before me.” ACMI will screen a specially imported archival 35mm print of this rarely seen film on March 13 at 7.30pm.

Micheline Presle also appears in the documentary directed by her daughter Tonie Marshall, Les Falbalas de Jean Paul Gaultier (2004). The film tracks Gaultier’s career from his days at Pierre Cardin and Jean Patou to the launch of his first women’s collection in 1977 and the breakthrough 1985 men’s collection that changed everything. Screenings on March 14 at 3.30pm, March 15 at 7.30pm and March 17 at 1.30pm.

Gaultier’s work as a costume designer for film is showcased in The City of Lost Children (1995), a dark, fantastic fairytale from directors Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet. The film tells the story of a circus strongman and a 9-year-old girl who set out to rescue the strongman’s brother from a mad scientist who kidnaps children so he can steal their dreams. Screenings on March 12 at 7pm, March 16 at 7.30pm and March 18 at 1.30pm.

The program comes full circle with Loic Prigent’s The Day Before: Jean Paul Gaultier (2009), a fly-on-the-wall chronicle of the 36 hours before Gaultier’s 2010 autumn-winter haute couture show. Gaultier’s collection was inspired by his love of cinema and paid homage to iconic divas of the silver screen like Greta Garbo, Louise Brooks, Mae West and Brigitte Bardott, and finished with a bridal gown that resembles a shorter version of the one seen in Falbalas. Screens March 11 at 7.30pm, March 14 at 5.30pm and March 19 at 1.30pm.

For ticketing information call 8663 2583 or visit acmi.net.au.

As part of the film program for its exhibition Drape: Classical Mode to Contemporary Dress (running until June), the NGV International will be screening a documentary about the grande dame of British fashion, Vivienne Westwood. The documentary follows Westwood’s career from life in a little Cheshire village, through the explosion of punk, the rise of her own label and her mid-career retrospective at the the Victoria and Albert Museum. It features interviews with Westwood herself, Malcolm McLaren, Terence Conran, Peter York and many others. It also explores Westwood’s interest in the civilisation of ancient Greece and her preoccupation with the idea of Britishness. It screens on Saturday March 20 at 11am, and entry is free.

For films that come to you, thanks to the magic of the interwebs, look no further than the Portable Film Festival. From Monday March 15 to Sunday March 21, they’ll be curating a season of fashion in film via portablefilmfestival.com. Everything’s downloadable, so you can watch on the handbag-friendly technology of your choice.

The LMFF Cultural Program includes over 100 activities that take place all across Melbourne (including Regional Victoria) over March 2010. For more information about the program visit the Cultural Program section on the LMFF website.