University of Idaho and Washington State University students, as well as residents from the surrounding areas, can enjoy French films Tuesdays throughout October at the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre.
The series, sponsored by UI and WSU, is a part of the 9th annual Palouse French Film Festival, which started in 2010. Tickets are $5 per film, $10 for a festival pass or free admission for UI and WSU students.
The festival began Tuesday with an opening reception, where attendees enjoyed wine, cheese and meats before the showing of the film “Ce Qui Nous Lie.”
Sarah Nelson, a UI associate professor of French, worked with Sabine Davis, a WSU associate professor of French, to bring the festival back with the help of the Kenworthy and several local donors.
“We keep track of who comes, whether it’s students or community members and it seems like it’s always right about 40 percent students and 60 percent community members,” Nelson said. “It’s a great event that brings people together.”
Sere Previto, an Italian and Spanish professor at WSU, was at Tuesday’s film. She has attended the festival for many years and recommends people to view these films.
“The movies are great and people need to watch movies from other countries to understand another type of sensitivity that other people have towards life,” Previto said. “I want to see that because I want to know these different kinds of people and it’s nice to see how many variations we have.”
Clyde McCaw | Argonaut
A community member receives a ticket for the show.
Tuesday’s film, “Ce Qui Nous Lie” (Back to Burgundy), is a drama and comedy, showcasing three siblings and their father’s vineyard. One of the siblings comes back after 10 years due to their father’s death.
On Oct. 9, “La Fille Inconnue” (The Unknown Girl) will show. The film is a drama following a female doctor who is determined to identify a dead woman after learning she died while ringing the doorbell at the hospital where she worked.
“Rodin” will show Oct. 16 and is set in France during 1880. The romantic drama is about Rodin, a famous French sculptor, and his romance with a student, Camille Claudel.
“We’re always looking for something light-hearted to end the festival on an up note and we definitely got one,” Nelson said.
The festival will end Oct. 23 with “C’est Quoi Cette Famille?!” (We Are Family), a comedic take on French family life. Bastien has seven half- and step-siblings from four different sets of parents. He never knows where he is going to stay, which he soon grows tired of and starts a revolution, putting the children in charge of where they stay.
“Everybody should come to talk about the movies and compare it with our culture,” Previto said. “It is important to see our culture from the perspective of another and if we can learn from them, it can enrich our world.”
Clyde McCaw can be reached at [email protected]