Audiences will have several opportunities this month to escape the daily grind of work, classes and rain by exploring faraway lands, thanks to two international film festivals.
The Yamada Language Center began its International Film Festival series for winter 2002 on Tuesday and will continue showcasing films, including works from Turkey, Australia, Iran and Japan, through March 12.
The theme for this term’s film lineup is “Road Trip,” festival organizer Chris O’Connor said.
“It offers students an opportunity to hear films in the original language,” he said, and organizers went out of their way to hunt down films that are not widely available in the United States.
The International Film Festival will also present three French films as a “warm-up” to the UO Cultural Forum’s French Film Festival, running Jan. 25-27, O’Connor said.
The French Film Festival organizer, Yann Doignon, said the five contemporary films selected for the festival deal with culture clashes in France today.
The films “are an exploration of the aspects of French society,” he said.
Cultural Forum Film Coordinator Toussaint Rerrault said the University received all the films from the Society for French American Cultural Services and Educational Aid, whose mission is to promote French film and culture in the United States.
“It’s the cutting edge of French film,” he said.
French Film Festival tickets to the Friday and Saturday shows include two films and are $4 for students and $5 for the general public. Sunday shows are $2 for students and $3 for the general public and only include one film. Weekend passes are available for $10 for students and $12 for general admission. For more information, call the Arts and Administration Office at 346-2078.
Films in the International Film Festival are shown at 7 p.m. Tuesdays in the Yamada Language Center’s Shelley L. Keithan Student Lounge, 122 Pacific. Admission to the International Film Festival is free of charge.
All films will be shown in their original languages with English subtitles. For more information, call the Yamada Language Center at 346-4011.