The 10th annual Providence French Film Festival, held at the Cable Car Cinema, will show 14 francophone films and a set of seven experimental French shorts during its week-long run, which began last Wednesday and continues until Thursday. Though the festival's organizers chose not to market it as the 10th anniversary, the festival has become a College Hill tradition and attracts an increasingly diverse audience from the Providence community.
Richard Manning, a film archivist in the Department of Modern Culture and Media, and Sylvie Toux, a former lecturer in French studies, began the festival 10 years ago after Toux proposed the idea to Manning. Manning, Toux and a team of students organized the first festival using a few films provided by a New York organization that promotes French film. Today, the festival is more elaborate and features a schedule specific to the Providence Film Festival.
This year, a panel comprised of Manning, Professor of French Studies Reda Bensmaia, Professor of Modern Culture and Media Michael Silverman and MCM grad students Erika Balsom GS and Cynthia Lugo GS compiled a list of the films they wanted to present and then researched the availability and cost of these films.
Many of the sought-after films were not available in America. "Sometimes we have to decide whether we're willing to pay almost double the cost of a particular movie simply to have it shipped from overseas," Manning said.
The festival staff also sets the overall tone of the festival. Though Manning said this year's festival does not adhere to a particular theme, past festivals have emphasized a particular region or genre, such as Quebecois documentary.
This year's roster includes "Bamako," "Les Amants Reguliers" and "Les Anges Exterminateurs."
Abderrahme Sissako's "Bamako," which topped the staff's "wish list" and is Manning's personal favorite, presents a series of mock trials of international financial institutions - such as the International Monetary Fund - in order to explore African socioeconomic problems and the problems of Western aid.
"Les Anges Exterminateurs," Jean Claude Brisseau's most recent film, explores the psyche through the relationships among female sexuality, taboo and culture. Philippe Garrel's autobiographical "Les Amants Reguliers," another staff favorite, strives to capture the lives of a group of Parisian students and artists during and after the events of May 1968. Almost three hours long, the film narrates the habits and passions of its protagonists, presenting a more realistic counterpoint to Bernardo Bertolucci's surreally erotic "The Dreamers."
When asked why French film merits attention, Manning said despite the increasing predominance of Hollywood and the rise of multiplexes, France has retained a vibrant and widespread "cinephile" culture. As show time approached on opening night, and attendees ranging from students to senior citizens bustled into the Cable Car's cramped cafe, it became apparent that Providence has a few cinephiles of its own.
