Long, aesthetically jarring scenes, unconventional plot lines, and abrupt endings are what really distinguish French cinema from its less daring American counterpart.
This week, a survey of French cinema rolled through the Bowdoin campus with the Tournées Festival.
The festival, a program of FACE (French American Cultural Exchange), is overseen by the Cultural Services at the French Embassy that provides access to French language films to colleges and universities throughout the country.
While the festival has been active for 17 years, Bowdoin did not become involved until 2012, when the members of the romance languages department organized the festival.
“We in the romance languages department see it as a perfect opportunity to offer our students and our college community—but also the wider Brunswick community—a vibrant illustration of exciting new film projects,” wrote Associate Professor of Romance Languages Hanétha Vete-Congolo in an email to the Orient. “We also see this as a great opportunity to supplement our courses and reinforce them with another dimension of French culture.”
One of the festival’s greatest strengths is the variety of films it offers. Bowdoin’s festival will run through tomorrow evening and include five films, all which will be followed by facilitated discussions.
“We use films in our courses extensively,” said Vete-Congolo. “But a festival is special with several movies shown in a week, watched by many at a time. The movies develop ideas, notions, subject matters that we deal with in our courses. Students have the opportunity to explore topics they are familiar with but from new angles.”
French major Ryan Larochelle ’13 agreed that the festival adds another dimension to his experience of the French world.
“The festival draws students from all levels of French, professors both within and outside of the department, and even friends and community members who may or may not have particular strong ties to the language,” wrote Larochelle in an email to the Orient. “With such a diverse audience, we are able to see many different viewpoints and have an stimulating discussion.”
While all five films grapple with serious topics, the subject matters range widely. “Tomboy,” a 2011 film by Céline Sciamma that showed on Wednesday, tells the story of a 10-year old girl who takes her family’s recent move into a new town as an opportunity to assume a male identity.
The film takes its presumably more mature audience on a trip down memory lane to childhood innocence. With its intimate camera angles and effortless ability to capture a genuine sense of childhood, “Tomboy” allows its viewers to slip into a playful nostalgia, despite the ever-present anxiety that the protagonist’s cover will be revealed. While the film is shown through a child’s perspective, it tackles heavy issues relating to gender norms, childhood sexuality and social limitations.
“The films inspire meaningful discussions that typically fit well into the context of the courses offered in the [French] department,” wrote Larochelle. “[My] seminar on corporeality in French literature throughout history is currently discussing gender, sex and sexuality, so this film was a great way to see many of the themes we discuss in action.”
In keeping with the educational nature of the festival, each film is followed by a discussion facilitated by a Bowdoin faculty or staff member. Assistant Professor of Education Doris Santoro led the discussion after “Tomboy.” Santoro discussed the politics of childhood gender experimentation, drawing on aspects of the course she taught last semester, Gender and Sexuality in Schooling.
The festival runs until Saturday evening. Here is a full schedule of upcoming films:
“Curling”: Friday at 7 p.m. in Kresge Auditorium (discussion moderated by Visiting Assistant Professor of Romance Languages Jay Ketner).
Description: Two people having difficulty connecting with those around them venture into disorienting zones in search of something real. A moving portrait of a family in transition.
“17 Filles”: Saturday, February 23 at 4 p.m. in the Beam Classroom (discussion moderated by a member of the counseling center).
Description: When Camille accidentally becomes pregnant, 16 of her friends and classmates decide to follow suit, throwing their town and school into chaos.
“Le Havre”: Saturday, February 23 at 7 p.m. in the Beam Classroom (to be preceded by a reception at 6 p.m.- Discussion moderated by Jean-Paul Honegger ’15 and Faith Biegon ’14).
Description: When an African boy arrives by cargo ship in the port city of Le Havre, an aging shoe shiner takes pity on the child and welcomes him into his home.