On March 17, Salve Regina University presents their 2024 French Film Festival at the Bazarsky Lecture Hall. For just over two weeks (the festival runs until April 2), the university will showcase six films, from classic cinema to contemporary masterpieces, and all of which showcase a wide range of genre and different francophone auteurs.
The film festival is sponsored by the Alliance Française of Newport, whose mission is “to promote an understanding and appreciation of the language and culture of France and French-speaking people and our nation’s historic and continuing relationship with France by providing educational and cultural programs for members and the general public,” says Michael Warren, president of the Newport chapter. “Helping Salve and its French language department produce their annual festival is a perfect fit with our goals. The films they pick are sometimes controversial, but always interesting (even for those of us who are not fluent in French!).”
This year’s film festival is focused on the theme of “transgressions.” Some of the films portray “transgressions” as going against unforgiving societal norms, with “otherness” being the only crime, while other films are crime comedies, “transgressions” in the literal sense of the word.
The lineup of the films is as followed:
March 17: Portrait de la jeune fille en feu (Portrait of a Lady on Fire) at 5pm.
A story of forbidden love at the end of the eighteenth century, a female painter is obliged to paint a wedding portrait of a young woman on an isolated island in Brittany.
March 19: Petite Maman at 7pm.
A fantasy drama, this film follows the story of a little girl coping with the death of her maternal grandmother by bonding with her mother.
March 21: Mon Crime (The Crime is Mine) at 7pm.
Set in Paris, 1935, a young actress gains notoriety after getting acquitted of a murder for self-defense. The question remains: is she really innocent?
March 24: La Reine Margot (Queen Margot) at 3 pm.
France, 1572. A young Queen Margot finds herself trapped in an arranged marriage amidst religious war between the Catholics and the Protestants. She hopes to escape with a new lover, but finds herself imprisoned by her powerful and ruthless family.
March 26: L’Innocent (The Innocent) at 7pm.
Part thriller, part family farce, when Abel learns his mother is about to marry a man in prison, he freaks out. With the help of his best friend, he will do whatever it takes to protect her, but both he and his stepfather will go to dangerous lengths and tell outlandish lies to get what they want.
April 2: Lingui, les liens sacré (Lingui, the Sacred Bonds) at 7 pm.
On the outskirts of N’Djamena, Chad, Amina lives with her fifteen-year-old daughter, Maria. Their fragile world collapses when Maria tells her that she is pregnant and wants to abort the child, an impossible situation in a country where abortion is legally and morally condemned.
For opening night (March 17) and for the Sunday matinee (March 24), special receptions will be held for the films. After Portrait de la jeune fille en feu, wine and cheese will be served until 8pm, and French singer Mathilde Mauguière will perform during the reception. Before La Reine Margot, Middletown patisserie The French Confection will provide pastries for attendees. Coffee and tea will also be served until the film screening starts.
These receptions not only celebrate classic French eating habits, but also provide a space for filmgoers and Francophiles to discuss the films. “French filmmaking is notoriously ambivalent or ambiguous,” Dr. Dean de la Motte, professor of modern languages and coordinator for the festival, relates to Salvetoday, the campus news site. “We want to expose students and the wider public to the French tradition of film that makes you want to have a cup of coffee or glass of wine afterwards to debate.”
Students, faculty, and staff will receive free admission to the films with a valid Salve Regina ID. General admission is $15 for Sunday films and the receptions, $10 for weeknight films. Filmgoers may also buy a festival pass for $40. Customers are encouraged to buy tickets online to avoid lines, but tickets will be available at the door for cash or check only.