Professors from various departments will be hosting the French Film Festival in November for four days that will take place at the Great Hall and will be open to everyone.
The event is free admission and even though all the films will be in French, there will be English subtitles. The first day of the festival will include Higher Education and Language Attache of the Consulate General of France Olivier Ngo, along with Dean of Student Engagement Juan Carlos Astorga opening the activities. It will begin on Wednesday, Noov. 6, from 3 p.m.-8 p.m.
President of the French Club Tara Jovicic said that she believes this event will be very beneficial for students who attend.
“Not only are we trying to spread word about modern languages and French language and culture as well, but it’s a good opportunity for American students to see movies rather than American,” Jovicic said. “Not only French, but there are so many other great foreign language movies with others perspectives and it’s very nice. I think they’re going to be gaining a lot.”
Event coordinators French professor Denis Pra and English professor Donna Accardo said that the event wouldn’t have been possible without the help of other professors on campus, who have stepped up to help present the films and host a Q and A so that students are able to get more information about the films.
“I have to thank many colleagues who accepted to participate and to even have these movies as part of the curriculum of their class, so it’s nice,” Pra said. “Other professors accepted to have the students do extra credit based on the movies.”
The six films presented throughout this event will be “Le Retour Du Heros/ Return of the Hero” and “Le Corbeau/ The Raven” on Nov. 6, and “Polina” will be on Nov. 7. The films “Les Quatre Soeurs/ Shoah: Four Sisters” and “120 Battements Par Minute/ BPM” will be on Nov.13, and “Tazzeka” will be presented on Nov.14.
Each of these films will address a real world issue that Pra and Accardo are hoping will spark discussion among students and grab their attention. The professors presenting the films have been specifically selected by the coordinators to present because the film will relate back to the subject that the professors teach.
“The films are all really wonderful, for instance one of them, “Les Quatre Soeurs/Shoah: Four Sisters,” is the story of women surviving World War II, the holocaust,” Accardo said. “It’s a documentary, so we asked two professors from communications to present that film.”
The event will also be hosting a few more attractions, including French pastry and Moroccan food tasting throughout the four days. Student and professional singer Mirayda Levi will be performing French songs on the first day, as well as President Alexis Montevirgen hosting the closing reception on the last day.
Accardo said that they are incredibly grateful for all the help they have received from the school and the sponsors of this event including the French club, ASO and Pascal’s Cafe.
“It feels like it’s not just something that professor Pra or one discipline or one program put on,” Accardo said. “It’s just really something for the whole college and it’s nice too because even if there isn’t a specific link with a students class, a lot of students have never seen a foreign movie. So, it’s just an opportunity to see wonderful world class films here at Pierce.”
