By Lisa Kaczke

The Tenth Annual Boston French Film Festival began in Remis Auditorium at the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) over the weekend amid nearly sold-out shows. All of the 24 films to be shown July 7-24 are being seen for the first time in the Boston area, said Stefanie Lubkowski, film and concerts media coordinator at the MFA.

Audience members jabbered in French and English as they waited for “Le Silence” to begin on July 8. The film, from director Orso Miret, was shown twice this past weekend. The film documents the struggles of Olivier (Mathieu Demy) as he vacations on the island of Corsica, France, where he grew up. After witnessing a murder, he is torn between his past and his future. Tradition in Corsica demands his silence about what he saw, as his aunt tells him, “Flies don’t enter a closed mouth.” If he goes to the police, he won’t be able to return to Corsica.

“Le Silence” is set in the overwhelming landscape of a village seeping with tradition in Corsica’s engulfing mountains. Moving between black and white and color images while using the imagery of blood and wasps throughout the film, it discusses the deeper meanings of silence in life and in death. “Le Silence” will be shown again on July 21 at 1:45 p.m.

All films have been made in the last year and a half and are selected by the head of the film department at the MFA with the help of cultural services at the French Embassy in Boston. The festival is also presented by UniFrance, an organization that promotes the distribution of French films in the United States, Lubkowski said.

The festival does well every year, including healthy ticket sales this year, Lubkowski said, noting that most tickets are bought in advance instead of at the box office window before the film.

The MFA chose to do a French film festival because of the number of films that come out of France every year; since the 1960s, France produces the most films after the United States, Lubkowski said.

Catherine Dunand, a French lecturer in the Modern Languages department, is planning on seeing a few films at the festival this year. Dunand, who in the past brought her students to the festival, said that some of the films are overrated. She said she also is disappointed sometimes because the MFA’s description of some films leaves her with false expectations.

For the festival’s opening night, a prominent film is always chosen to be shown. This year’s film was “36 Quai des Orf