Each May, actors, directors, writers and producers from around the world convene in Cannes, France, to screen the latest and greatest of European cinema. A highly exclusive and prestigious event, the Cannes Film Festival is a must for members of the Hollywood elite. Name not on the guest list? Never fear, because starting this weekend, students can have their own French film experience right here in Williamsburg.
The Tournées Festival, a program that brings contemporary French films to campuses across the United States, will commence this Sunday and run for five consecutive weekends at the Kimball Theater. Each Sunday at 7 p.m., a different French film will be presented and screened by a College professor.
The festival, sponsored by the French American Cultural Exchange organization (FACE), is relatively new to the College, having just last year’s maiden voyage, spearheaded by French professor Magali Compan, under its belt. Despite its youth, the Williamsburg Tournées Festival has been extremely successful.
French professor Maryse Fauvel, this year’s director, said, “[Last year we had] 400 people the first night, and after that around 100 to 150 each time.”
“A lot of students have already heard about the festival and are really excited about it,” said student coordinator Ariel Hunsberger (’08). “We’re hoping [the theater] will be completely filled out [Sunday night].”
Opening the festival is the film “Paris, je t’aime (Paris, I love you),” a movie composed of 18 short vignettes of Parisian life, each by a different director. The impressive list of those involved includes this year’s Oscar winners the Coen brothers, Harry Potter favorite Alfonso Cuarón, and, bien sûr, that bastion of French cinema, Gérard Depardieu. Each segment of the film is linked to a different region of Paris to create a rich portrait of the city of lights and love.
Next Sunday the festival will screen “Mondovino,” a film about wine culture and family drama. It is followed on Friday by “Les Choristes (The Chorus),” a touching tribute to the power of music in the lives of at-risk students. The next two Sundays round out the diverse subjects treated in this festival with “Bamako,” a film about a couple’s struggles to save their relationship set against the backdrop of economic strife in Africa, and “Indigènes (Days of Glory),” a World War II epic that traces the critical contribution of French colonial recruits in the Allied victory.
To commemorate the festival’s opening, there will be a wine and cheese reception an hour prior to the first film’s screening. Tickets to the event are required but free, and they can be requested in advance if you want to truly feel like a member of the Hollywood elite.
For more information on the festival and film schedule, visit the French department's website at http://www.wm.edu/modlang/french/filmfestival.php.
Venez nombreux, et vive le cinéma français!