French Film Festival brings cultural diversity
WSU college hopes to educate students on cultures other than their own
Sabine Davis, clinical professor of French, discusses the impact of the Palouse French Film Festival on students and community members alike on Thursday afternoon in Thompson Hall.
October 14, 2019
Love movies? Interested in French culture? The WSU School of Languages, Cultures and Race will host the Palouse French Film Festival at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre in Moscow.
The Kenworthy is showing four French films including “Les Innocents” (The Innocents). It follows how a girl’s religious faith is affected by various circumstances surrounding her death brother, according to the New York Times.
“To a degree, Maria [played by Agata Buzek], the sister who showed up at the hospital begging for help, speaks for all of them when she describes the challenges and rewards of belief and self-sacrifice as ‘24 hours of doubt for one minute of hope,’” according to the New York Times.
“The Innocents” is the third of the four films presented in the Palouse French Film Festival.
“Some of our films get more toward the history of France, some are more modern and culture, or today’s French society,” said Sabine Davis, WSU clinical professor of French.
All the films reflect on the French lifestyle, Davis said. French movies have been influential to international cinema.
“Over the years, French cinema has really produced some very successful and qualified films,” Davis said.
However, she said, the event is more than an entertaining showcase.
“It’s really for us, for me and my colleague, in organizing this kind of an extension to our class because we teach French films in our classes. We teach French culture,” Davis said. “But taking our students to see those films really gives them a more vivid picture of what it is like to be French, to be part of that culture and that heritage.”
Teresa Spencer, freshman psychology major, said this event showed WSU’s respect to a diverse community because it shows people can come from many different backgrounds and interests but still come together as a community to share and celebrate those differences.
“WSU students come from all over the world, and we enjoy so many different things. I think this event will allow WSU students to experience another culture in a unique way,” Spencer said.
