Agnes Varda ’s
Les Plages d'Agnes (2008)
Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2010 - 7PM
Columbia College: Cottingham Theatre
Speaker: Dr. Christine Hait, Associate Professor of English, Columbia College   On the eve of her 80th birthday, Agnès Varda, often referred to as “the godmother of the French New Wave,” decided to make the autobiographical The Beaches of Agnes. The film guides us through her extraordinary 55-year career and her relationship with her husband, filmmaker Jacques Demy. Richly illustrating her documentary with clips from her (and Demy’s) films, Varda remains a constant, lively presence, remarking of her on-screen persona, “I’m playing the role of a little old lady, plump and talkative.”    A special thanks goes to the Columbia College Division of Modern Languages & Literatures, co-sponsor of this film.

To be announced
Monday, Nov. 8, 2010 - 7PM
University of South Carolina
Speaker: selected by the University of South Carolina Jewish Studies Program
Special thanks to the University of South Carolina Jewish Studies Program, co-sponsor of this film.

Phillipe Lioret's Welcome (2008)
Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2010 - 7PM (doors open at 6pm)
Columbia Museum of Art www.columbiamuseum.org   reception to follow
Speaker: Dr. Jeff Persels, Associate Professor of French, University of South Carolina
 Both a study of a budding friendship and a compassionate look at the perils faced by illegal immigrants, Welcome centers on Bilal, a 17-year-old Iraqi Kurd who is stuck in Calais, and Simon, a recently divorced swimming teacher. Desperate to join his girlfriend in London, Bilal vows to swim across the English Channel if he has to, setting the stage for his meeting with Simon. Unmistakably a condemnation of xenophobia in France, Welcome also features richly drawn, fully fleshed-out lead characters.    Special thanks to the University of South Carolina European Studies Program, co-sponsor of this film.

Laurent Cantet's  Entre les murs (2008)
Monday, Nov. 22, 2010 - 7PM
Columbia College: Cottingham Theatre
Speaker: Ms. Hanaa Dornik, Instructor, English, Foreign Languages & Mass Communication Department, Benedict College
The winner of the 2008 Palme d’Or at Cannes, the film follows a class at a diverse Parisian public junior high school. In an unusual example of art imitating life, the film was based on the best-selling book by real-life teacher François Bégaudeau, who also wrote the screenplay and plays himself in the film. As François attempts to teach the French language to his multi-ethnic students, he offers both the opportunity and the threat of modern cultural assimilation. No one is above reproach in this difficult and important film. .   Special thanks to the Columbia College Division of Modern Languages & Literatures French Program , co-sponsor of this film.

Vincent Paronnaud’s & Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis (2007)
Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2010 - 7PM
Belk Auditorium, 005 BA Building, Map of USC Campus including Belk (BA Building)
University of South Carolina   
Speaker: Dr. Jeanne Garane, Associate Professor of French, University of South Carolina
Persepolis is the poignant story of a young girl coming of age in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. It is through the eyes of this precocious nine year old, Marjane, that we see a people's hopes dashed as fundamentalists take power. Clever and fearless, she outsmarts the “social guardians.” But fear of the new regime runs deep, and she is sent to school in Vienna. She returns to Iran to be close to her family, only to leave again at 24. Although she loves her country, she realizes that she cannot live there and she moves to France.                            

                                                                                 
 Synopses & images copied from: http://www.facecouncil.org/tournees                                                                                                  The Tournees Festival was made possible with the support of the Cultural Services of the French Embassy and the French Ministry of Culture.  www.facecouncil.org                                              

 We are very grateful to our local sponsors as well. Presented in collaboration with the Columbia College Division of Modern Language and Literatures, University of South Carolina Jewish Studies Program, the University of South Carolina European Studies Program.