Vive la France! Its Another French Film Festival at Florida Tech

MELBOURNE, FLA. — In April Florida Tech will once again become a cinematheque, showing recent French films for free. The university won its second annual
Tournées Festival Grant for a showcase of contemporary, critically acclaimed French cinema. Screenings will be in the Gleason Performing Arts Center. The
Tournées Festival was made possible with the support of the Cultural Services of the French Embassy and the French Ministry of Culture.
Carla Funk, director of special projects, and Gordon Patterson, professor of humanities, successfully applied for the grant, which pays for rental fees and
rights to screen the films.
The festival begins Wednesday, April 11, with Comme une image (Look at Me) at 7 p.m. An opening reception at 5:30 p.m. in the center lobby precedes the
screening. Films will be shown in the original French language with English subtitles.
A comedy, Comme une image (2004, PG-13), centers on 20-year-old Lolita, a stocky, dark-haired aspiring singer, who knows her look conflicts with that of
the world-ruling skinny blondes. Brimming with music, food and parties, “Look at Me” paints a vibrant portrait of the glittering Parisian social whirl and
its dark undercurrent. The film won Best Screenplay, Cannes Film Festival, Stockholm Film Festival, and a Best Screenwriters European Film Award. Running
time is 110 minutes.
Screenings will continue on Sunday, April 15, at 4 p.m. with Cache (2005, R).
Cache explores France’s bourgeoisie in a psychological thriller about a couple whose comfortable, secure life is disrupted. After they begin receiving
videotapes, which reveal that their house has been filmed by a hidden camera, husband Georges sets out on an investigation that uncovers secrets from his
past. The film won Best Director, Cannes Film Festival; Best Director, Best Film, Best Actor, European Film Awards; and Best Foreign Language Film, Los
Angeles Film Critics Association Awards. Running time is 117 minutes.
De Battre mon coeur s’est Arrête (The Beat that My Heart Skipped, 2005, NR) will show on Wednesday, April 18, at 7 p.m., Director Jacques Audiard combines
equal parts Bach and rock in this gangster-seeking-redemption film. Twenty-eight-year-old Thomas is following in his father’s footsteps as a sleazy real
estate manager who expels squatters from low-rent buildings. An unexpected occurrence reignites Thomas’s long-buried desire for a life as a concert
pianist. The film won Best Film Music, Berlin Film Festival. Running time is 107 minutes.
In La Face Cachee de la Lune (The Far Side of the Moon, 2003, NR), on April 22, at 4 p.m., estranged brothers Philippe and Andre relive childhood
disputes as they dispose of the belongings of their recently deceased mother. Andre, a TV meteorologist, has little in common with his older sibling
Philippe, a forty-ish doctoral student who repeatedly fails to defend his dissertation on human narcissism and space exploration. This cinematic journey of
competition, reconciliation and the search for meaning in the universe won a Best Adapted Screenplay, Genie Awards and Best Film at the Namur Festival of
Francophile Film. Running time is 105 minutes.
The festival finale on April 29, at 5 p.m., is the documentary Mondovino (2004, PG-13). Winemakers and wine consultants, mom-and-pop growers and
conglomerates in France, Italy, the U.S.A., England and Argentina took part in a look at the traditions and industry of wine. This is a sometimes
controversial glimpse into something many people enjoy but few people know much about. This film will be in French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and
English, with English subtitles. Enjoy wine-tasting before the film. Running time is 135 minutes.
For more information, contact Carla Funk at (321) 674-6129. Bienvenu!