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Westminster College to Host French Film Festival

Posted on Friday, January 18, 2013

NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - Westminster College's Departments of Modern Languages and English, in conjunction with the Jake Erhardt International Film Series, will host  Westminster's second Tournées Film Festival, a series of French and Francophone films to be shown on consecutive Tuesdays, Jan. 29-Feb. 26, at 7 p.m. in the Sebastian Mueller Theater of the McKelvey Campus Center.  The events are free to the public.

The five contemporary films will be subtitled in English with each screening followed by a discussion.

Opening the festival Jan. 29 is Les Femmes Du 6ème-Étage (The Woman on the 6th Floor), directed by Philippe Le Guay.

Set in Paris in 1962, the film centers on the transformation of third-generation stockbroker Jean- Louis, a self-centered businessman who starts to discover his altruistic side after he's made aware of the grave hardships endured by the half-dozen Spanish refugees who live above him. Jean-Louis soon learns there's much more to life than turning a profit in this film about friendship across class and language divides.

Additional films are: Le Gamin Au Velo (The Kid with a Bike), Feb. 5; Joueuse (Queen to Play), Feb. 12; Un Homme Qui Crie (A Screaming Man), Feb. 19; and Une Vie De Chat (A Cat in Paris), Feb. 26.

The festival is supported by a grant from the French-American Cultural Exchange in partnership with the Cultural Services of the French Embassy, the French Ministry of Culture, the Florence Gould Foundation, the Grand Marnier Foundation, and Highbrow Entertainment. Westminster College is one of only 40 colleges and universities nationwide to receive a grant for the Spring Semester.

Westminster faculty involved in planning and organizing the festival are: Régine Ananou, visiting lecturer of Spanish; Dr. Jeffrey Bersett, associate professor of Spanish and chair of Westminster's Department of Modern Languages; Dr. Leslie Kealhofer, visiting assistant professor of French; and Dr. Deborah Mitchell, professor of English; and Dr. Ann Murphy, associate professor of French. 

Alexander Weil, a senior French and music major, is also involved in planning the festival. Weil is a son of Susan Roop of Prospect and a graduate of Slippery Rock Area High School.

Contact Kealhofer at (724) 946-6260 or email for additional information.  Visit www.westminster.edu/frenchfilm for additional information about the festival and the films.