The Department of Modern Languages at Wagner College will be screening five recent French films between October 23 and October 27, 2006 during their 2nd Tournees French Film Festival. All screenings will take place in the Spiro Communications Center, but specific room assignments vary. (see below)
The festival is made possible with the support of the Cultural Services of the French Embassy and the French Ministry of Culture (CNC). The Tournees grant is also sponsored by The Florence Gould Foundation, the Grand Marnier Foundation and the Franco-American Cultural Fund.
Admission is free and open to all and all films have English subtitles. Venez nombreux!
Monday 23 October, 4:30pm, Spiro 2
DE BATTRE MON COEUR S'EST ARRETE
Directed by Jacques Audiard, 2005. The main character of The Beat That My Heart Skipped is a sleazy real estate manager who, under his father's orders, evicts low income tenants from their homes. But 28 year old Thomas yearns to become a classical musician like his deceased mother. Thomas runs to piano lessons between evictions as he pursues his dream, but will he ever be able to overcome the tensions between his parents' disparate social spheres?
Tuesday 24 October, 4pm, Spiro 4
FEUX ROUGES
Directed by Cedric Kahn, 2004. In Red Lights, a wealthy Parisian couple drive out of the city to collect their children from camp. But the journey exacerbates the problems in their marriage, as alcoholic Antoine stops periodically to drink more and more whisky, and Helene gets more and more exasperated. When Helene leaves the car to take a train, the movie becomes a thriller. How many red lights can Antoine jump unscathed? Will the two be forced to pay a price for their refusal to communicate? Who is the mysterious hitchhiker that Antoine picks up? Where does Helene disappear to?
Wednesday 25 October, 4:30pm, Spiro 4
CACHE
Directed by Michael Haneke, 2005. Hidden tells the tale of an adult Frenchman who is haunted by a ghost from his colonial past. Georges and his family are continually being videotaped, but by whom? As his family appears increasingly under threat, Georges's wife demands to know more but for many unsavory reasons he prefers to keep the past hidden. An apparent personification of French attitudes towards Algerians and their colonial past, Georges is forced to remember against his will.
Thursday 26 October, 7pm, Spiro 2
MOOLADE
Directed by Ousmane Sembene, 2004. Moolade is the most recent film by Senegalese director Sembene, one of Africa's most successful filmmakers. Originally a creator of hard-hitting social realist films, Sembene has become more humorous over the past few decades. Therefore, when he announced his intent to direct a film about female circumcision, many critics expected a return to the old, no-nonsense Sembene. However, Moolade is a colorful, comedic yet serious representation of this important topic. Sembene insists on displaying African people's ability to work together, and remains one of the world's most outspoken male feminists.
Friday 27 October, 4:30pm, Spiro 2
L'ESQUIVE
Directed by Abdel Kechiche, 2003. Games of Love and Chance tells the story of a group of poor, mostly North African immigrant, teenagers who live in a suburburban housing project. As they are involved in a school production of an 18th century French play, tensions between the group arise. We follow the group as they fall in and out of love, discover artistic expression and try to swap their street slang for 18th century rhetoric.
For further information, please contact Dr. Natalie Edwards, Assistant Professor of French and Italian at 718-390-3371.
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