French film festival to begin March 16 at Missouri Southern

(From Southern News Service)

The Department of Modern Languages will present the Tournées Film Festival March 16-April 17 at Missouri Southern State University.

The Tournées Film Festival Grant is an initiative of the FACE Foundation, in partnership with the Cultural Services of the French Embassy, which endeavors to bring French cinema to American college and university campuses. All films have English subtitles and all screenings and other festival activities are free and open to the public.

The lineup for the festival will include:

“Qu’Allah bénisse la France!” (“May Allah Bless France!”) 7 p.m., March 16, Cornell Auditorium

The coming-of-age story is based on acclaimed French rapper, novelist and writer-director Abd Al Malik’s own youth.

“Loin des hommes” (“Far From Men”) 7 p.m., March 30, Cornell Auditorium

Two men are tossed by sociopolitical forces during Algeria’s war of independence in 1954.

“L’écume des jours” (“Mood Indigo”) 6:30 p.m., April 4, George A. Spiva Center for the Arts

A tragic love story of a wealthy man and the frail woman he meets at a party, the film features whimsical touches, stop-motion animation and digital effects.

“Hippocrate” (“Hippocrates, Diary of a French Doctor”) 7 p.m., April 7, Cornell Auditorium

Take a backstage tour of a Paris hospital where life and death decisions make fuses run short. A candid and surprisingly funny approach to universal questions of human dignity and empathy.

“L’armée des ombres”(“Army of Shadows”) 7 p.m., April 11, Route 66 Movie Theater

The film follows fictional French Resistance leader Phillipe Gerbier as he escapes from the Gestapo and sets about rebuilding his network. The characters are based on real Resistance figures.

“La cour de Babel” (“School of Babel”) 7 p.m., April 13, Route 66 Movie Theater

The documentary follows a year in a Paris school room for children who have recently immigrated to France. The film creates complex portraits of the children and captures the diversity of their experiences.

“Mon amie Victoria” (“My friend Victoria”) 7 p.m., April 17, Cornell Auditorium

The tale of a young black woman’s uneasy relationship with a wealthy white family is based on author Doris Lessing’s short story “Victoria and the Staveneys.” The final film festival selection was the People’s Choice during a recent online vote.

For more information, visit www.mssu.edu/french-film.