Are you in the mood for dinner and a movie? Do you like foreign films or need to cultivate your interactions with international culture?
You’re in luck. The Cultural Forum’s free French Film Festival starts tonight at 7 p.m. in the EMU Fishbowl and continues every Wednesday night until Nov. 16.
The festival will show five films altogether, ranging in genre from fantasy to drama. The films are also placed in various French-speaking parts of the world: There’s one set in Paris, as well as one in a former African colony.
“There’s a pretty wide variety of subject matter in each one,” Cultural Forum film coordinator and digital arts major Nisha Burton said.@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Nisha+Burton@@ “Some have more intense subject matter, and others are more fun and light.”
Tonight’s film of choice is “The Sleeping Beauty,” directed by Catherine Breillat.@@http://www.indiewire.com/film/the_sleeping_beauty_la_belle_endormie/#@@ Despite its name, this isn’t your typical fairy tale. Be prepared for an updated version of the fantastical Charles Perrault tale, with a heroine named Anastasia, dwarves, albino monarchs, sex and heartbreak.
The Cultural Forum’s run of French films is sponsored by the Tournees Festival,@@previous cultural form link@@ a program that is part of the French American Cultural Exchange, which supports international understanding in the arts and education. The Tournees Festival distributes grants to American colleges and universities to encourage French film festivals.
Unlike North or South American products, French films are more expensive and less available to American audiences.
“These festivals are a rare opportunity for the students to make contact with foreign productions and different artists from around the world,” University French professor Irina Armianu said.@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=staff&d=person&b=name&s=Irina+Armianu@@ “This will complete their education and give them a broader perspective on different fields like cinema studies, national identities and socio-economical realities.”@@should that be socio-economic?@@
As well as being educational in language, art and culture, the film festival is also set up to be a fun experience.
“The Cultural Forum tries to put on events students will like, so it can be used as a way for students to relax and just enjoy the films,” Burton said.
French-themed food provided by EMU Food Services will be offered for sale. Students can check out the selections in the half hour before the films start, during the showing and at a scheduled intermission.
“We’re hoping to have the food to get everyone in the mood for it,” EMU chef and kitchen manager Margaret Hoff said.@@http://emu.uoregon.edu/staff.php@@
The menu is set to include French finger food including plates of cheese, bread and fruit; hot chicken sandwiches with pesto and Swiss cheese; quiche; meat-, cheese- or chocolate-filled croissants; and, of course, assorted French pastries like eclairs and creme puffs.
And the goodies won’t be store-bought. They’ll be fresh.
“This is one secret no one knows about us — we make it all ourselves,” Hoff said. “95 to 96 percent of everything we make here is from scratch.”
The film festival will also occasionally have speakers and discussions led by international French-speaking students about their home cultures and about the films.
“They’ll be more chance for interaction than just watching the films, if students want that,” Burton said.
Armianu is scheduled to speak at the festival on Nov. 2, when the animated film “The Illusionist” will be shown. The director, Sylvain Chomet, is known for his comedies of situations that are at the same time charged with social and political engagement.
Armianu is confident that the festival will be a success for students, faculty and staff.
“Like many academic film projects, this event runs the possibility to explore a new culture or to develop foreign language skills,” Armianu said. “A competence in more than one language and culture enables (you) to communicate with foreigners and to look beyond your own culture.”