French Film Festival Features Diversity of Subjects

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — From the streets of Paris to a village in Burkina Faso, and from the perspective of a former colonial soldier to the lives of three women in modern-day Algiers, the Tournées French Film Festival at the University of Arkansas will take viewers across the globe to explore different worlds.

The festival begins at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 27, in Kimpel 306 with the film Le Petit Lieutenant by Xavier Beauvois. The film, released in 2005, chronicles the life of a young detective from the provinces who is selected for an elite plainclothes unit in Paris.

The second film, Tasuma, written by Kollo Daniel Sanou in 2003, is about an African man who fought as a colonial soldier alongside the French in Indochina and Algeria, and his struggle to return to a normal life after the war. It will be shown at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 3, in the Arkansas Union Theatre.

In Le Plafond de Verre, or The Glass Ceiling, director Yamina Benguigui uses the metaphor used to describe the trials American women face advancing in the workplace to examine the struggle immigrants face when trying to find work in modern-day France. She interviews students, workers and experts who examine the issues of discrimination that many immigrants face. The 2004 film will be shown at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 8, in Giffels Auditorium in Old Main.

The film Viva Laldjérie depicts the lives of three women living in Algiers. The film, released in 2003 and directed by Nadir Mokneche, highlights the tensions between modern and traditional society in a country emerging from civil war and dominated by men. It will be shown at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16, in Giffels Auditorium in Old Main.

Based on a true story, the final film, Delwende, lève-toi et marche by S. Pierre Yaméogo, focuses on the injustice of some traditional practices in Africa and women’s struggle for equality. It won the Regard Hope Award at the Cannes Film Festival in 2005. The film will be shown at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 22, in the Arkansas Union Theatre.

All five films are free and open to the public, and all feature English subtitles. The festival is sponsored by the department of foreign languages in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences.

The Tournées French Film Festival is made possible with the support of the Cultural Services of the French Embassy and the French Ministry of Culture.