UMFK French film festival has international feel

FORT KENT – Just in time for folks who may be experiencing a bit of cabin fever, the University of Maine at Fort Kent offers its third annual French film festival Feb. 28-March 2.

This year’s offering of five films is the most international to date, according to event organizer Katharine Harrington, UMFK assistant professor of French.

“This year all the films deal with immigration or migration and immersion experiences in France,” Harrington said. “In every single one of these films, more than one language is spoken.”

In “Depuis qu’Otar est parti (Since Otar Left),” for example, the setting is Tbilisi, Georgia, and in addition to French, the film is in Russian. It follows three generations of Georgian women and how each must come to terms with the departure of their male relative Otar, now employed as a construction worker in Paris.

Harrington stressed French language skills are not required to enjoy the movies as all have English subtitles. All films are shown in the Nadeau Hall teleconference room.

The festival kicks off Thursday, Feb. 28, with “Paris je t’aime” at 6 p.m. Created by a team of international directors, the film is a series of short vignettes, each telling the story of an unusual encounter in one of Paris’ city neighborhoods.

In “Days of Glory (Indigenes),” at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 28, the little-known story of how 150,000 North African and African recruits fought to liberate Italy, Provence, the Alps, the Rhone Valley, Vosges and Alsace during World War II in 1944 and 1945 is shown through four central characters.

While fighting for freedom in a country they had never seen, these native Africans, known as “Indigenes,” faced tremendous racism on the front lines and in French society. The movie documents the story of four of these men.

At 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 29, is the showing of “Depuis qu’Otar est parti.” Immediately following at 8 p.m. is the fourth film, “Le Petit Lieutenant,” which will be repeated at 8 p.m. Sunday, March 2.

This police noir film is the story of Antoine, an ambitious young plainclothes cop with the Paris crime unit. As he spends his days waiting for his first assignment and drinking with fellow detectives, he develops an unlikely relationship with his superior – a veteran policewoman with a troubled past. The discovery of a drifter murdered along the Seine turns a routine investigation violent and changes all of their lives forever.

The festival wraps up on March 2 with two showings of the final film, “Hop,” at 2 and 6 p.m.

This is the story of two illegal Burundi immigrants living in Brussels, Justin and his father, Dieudonne. When a series of events forces the father and son to run from police, Dieudonne is captured and slated for immediate deportation while Justin escapes and is taken in by an anarchist and his girlfriend. Though shot entirely in black and white, this uplifting story is rich and colorful.

“My hope is that these films can open people’s eyes to something outside of mainstream Hollywood,” Harrington said. “People need to know these movies are out there.”

Harrington feels it is the university’s job to provide opportunities to view these films.

“Despite the fact we live on the Canadian border and in an area of rich Franco culture, there is little access to French events like this,” Harrington said. “It’s important for people to be exposed to international films.”

Unlike the contemporary movies coming out of Hollywood, these foreign counterparts are far less predictable in their plots and stay away from standard movie formulas, Harrington said.

“There’s just something about being immersed in a foreign film,” she said. “There’s not always a happy ending and there’s usually a surprise.”

This year’s festival is sponsored by the French-American Cultural Exchange Council, which provided Harrington with a list of films from which to select.

“These are all contemporary films,” she said. “I tried to choose films from different genres.”

For UMFK President Dr. Richard Cost, the annual film festival is a natural fit for the small campus.

“One third of our mission is dedicated to the preservation and celebration of our marvelous French heritage,” Cost said. “It’s part of what makes us unique.”

Past festivals have enjoyed tremendous turnouts, Cost said, and he sees no reason for that to change this year.

“Different events draw different people to our campus,” the university president said. “When we expand what we offer, we reach out to share what we have with new people.”

A festival pass is available for $10 and includes all the films. Individual admission for each movie is $3.50 for the public and free for UMFK students. To purchase a pass or tickets, contact the UMFK University Relations Office at 834-7557. For more information, contact Harrington at 834-7629.