In France it’s called “amour,” in Germany it’s “liebe,” and in China it’s “fa sheng luan ai.” During winter term, the Foreign
Romance Film Festival offers a wide variety of movies focusing on the language of love.
The International Resource Center will show a film during the festival every Friday night at 6:30 p.m. following the International Student Association’s Coffee Hour. The festival will continue through mid-March.
All films are shown with English subtitles. There is no charge for viewing the films, and the
festival is open to the public. The IRC is located above the post
office in the EMU.
“We wanted to show films in their (original) languages,” said Misty Green, the IRC Web master and organizer of the film festival.
She said the IRC has chosen romance as the theme for the film lineup in order to work in conjunction with Valentine’s Day.
“Valentine’s Day, love and romance — it all goes together,” said Jennifer Witt, a volunteer at the IRC.
Witt said the IRC offers a wide variety of languages in their selection of foreign love films including Chinese, German and Hindi. The films were chosen based on
suggestions by other students at the University, she said.
“We’re here to celebrate diversity,” Witt said.
She said the IRC features a wide-screen, high-definition television with both a VCR and a DVD player, and the audience can enjoy the films while sitting in cushioned chairs and couches. They also offer free popcorn and candy, she said.
Witt said she highly recommends the German film “Wings of Desire,” a movie about an angel falling in love with a mortal woman. The 1998 American movie “City of Angels,” was based on the German film, she said.
Green said the past two films that have been shown were well-received and brought a sizable crowd to the IRC, about 30 people for the first movie and 24 people for the second.
Sarah Johnson, a post-doctorate researcher at the University, said last Friday was her second time attending the film festival. She said she enjoyed the films, and there was a large variety of languages.
“The free popcorn is a big plus,” she said.
She added that she enjoyed the “homey” atmosphere of the IRC lounge and liked the “cushy” chairs.
“I like that you get a variety of people coming — American(s) and people from the country the film is from,” she said. “It’s a nice mix.”