The Albertine Cinémathèque Festival of French Films is funded by the French government to allow colleges and universities to put on a French film festival. It’s a continuation of what had been known as the Tournées Festival of New French Film on Campus, which the departments of English and World Languages and Literatures held every spring semester at NKU from 2011 to 2015.
Under its new name, the festival is back at NKU. For six weeks beginning March 20th, we will be screening a different French movie (five recent features and one classic) every Thursday at 6:00 p.m. in the beautiful Eva G. Farris Auditorium (MEP 200). The screenings are free and open to everyone. Following each movie, a faculty member from one of those departments will lead a discussion of the film.
Dates: 3/20, 3/27, 4/3, 4/10, 4/17, 4/24
Location: Eva G. Farris Auditorium (MEP 200)
Time: 6:00 p.m.
The Eva G. Farris Auditorium is located in the Mathematics/Education/Psychology (MEP) Building, room 200.
Parking is free and available at the University Center Parking Garage located directly adjacent to the MEP building. Take a parking ticket to enter the garage and we will provide vouchers at the screening.
Directions
For GPS users, here’s the GoogleMaps link for the University Drive Garage: https://maps.app.goo.gl/ggfTfycr2HM2QuNn9
The Auditorium is a very short walk from the second floor of the garage. We’ll have signs and students to help show you the way!
Directed by Trần Anh Hùng
Discussion leader: Dr. Gisèle Loriot-Raymer
Link to film trailer: https://youtu.be/cKKCGtoIOVY?si=zrJGcTfW4RGEIs1f
Set in France in 1889, the film follows the life of Dodin Bouffant as a chef living with his personal cook and lover Eugénie. They share a long history of gastronomy and love but Eugénie refuses to marry Dodin, so the food lover decides to do something he has never done before: cook for her.
Directed by Thomas Cailley
Discussion leader: Dr. John Alberti
Link to film trailer: https://youtu.be/nWAJXTcEEOU?si=kKNKogmxt4eyZnXn
In a world hit by a wave of mutations that are gradually transforming some humans into animals, François does everything he can to save his wife, who is affected by this mysterious condition. As some of the creatures disappear into a nearby forest, he embarks with Émile, their 16-year-old son, on a quest that will change their lives forever.
Directed by Nicolas Philibert
Discussion leader: Dr. Iliana Rosales Figueroa
Link to film trailer: https://youtu.be/i1FB4AWer5c?si=Ujz4XTcbGloIvya6
This affecting, enlightening documentary from nonfiction master Nicolas Philibert (To Be and to Have, In the Land of the Deaf) invites viewers to come aboard the Adamant and witness the transformational power of art and community. The Adamant is a one-of-a-kind place: a floating refuge on the Seine River in the heart of Paris that offers day programs for adults with mental illnesses. Its attendees come from across the city and are offered care that grounds them in time and space, helping them achieve recovery and stability. Through a blend of therapy, education, and culture rooted in music and the arts, the Adamant offers a hopeful vision of what a humanistic approach to mental health care could look like. The community on the boat is intentionally created so that both the staff and the people receiving care are treated with the same respect and dignity. Their meetings and conversations reveal the camaraderie and collective humanity of a group of people whose similarities far outweigh their differences.
Directed by Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach
Discussion leader: Dr. Jody Ballah
Link to film trailer: https://youtu.be/1uNSYE0d978?si=eaG1GrLjMd3xjfB2
Paulette feels guilty after unjustly punishing her daughter Linda and would do anything to make it up to her. Linda immediately asks for a meal of chicken with peppers, which reminds her of the dish her father used to make. But with a general strike closing stores all across town and pushing people into the streets, this innocent request quickly leads to an outrageous series of events that spirals out of control, as Paulette does everything she can to keep her promise and find a chicken for Linda.
Directors Chiara Malta and Sébastien Laudenbach (The Girl Without Hands) unleash a unique visual marvel of hand-painted animation with bright, color-blocked characters, and a story that is an intoxicating blend of slapstick comedy, musical, and family drama, as Paulette and Nina ultimately confront the grief of an unspoken tragedy, and the meal that could finally bring them closer together.
Directed by Nathan Ambrosioni
Discussion leader: Dr. Andrea Gazzaniga
Link to film trailer: https://youtu.be/Boxu0M1q0Xg?si=Nf39n9QiUW8nlIGJ
Antonia, affectionately known as Toni, is a single mother who tirelessly cares for her five children while juggling a demanding full-time job. Her evenings are filled with song as she performs in local bars to support her family. Toni possesses a remarkable talent, evident from a chart-topping single she recorded two decades ago. As her two eldest children prepare for university, Toni faces a poignant question: What lies ahead when her nest is empty? At 43 years of age, can she still grasp the opportunity to regain control of her life?
Directed by Luis Buñuel
Discussion leader: Dr. Caryn Connelly
Link to film trailer: https://youtu.be/dnYA6mj9hDU?si=D7vf2t_YCY1B8MwV
Catherine Deneuve’s porcelain perfection hides a cracked interior in one of the actress’s most iconic roles: Séverine, a Paris housewife who begins secretly spending her afternoon hours working in a bordello. This surreal and erotic late-sixties daydream from provocateur for the ages Luis Buñuel is an examination of desire and fetishistic pleasure (its characters’ and its viewers’), as well as a gently absurdist take on contemporary social mores and class divisions. Fantasy and reality commingle in this burst of cinematic transgression, which was one of Buñuel’s biggest hits.
