Collaborative film festival to showcase French cinema at GVSU, GRCC

A collaborative film festival, hosted by the French programs at Grand Valley and Grand Rapids Community College, will introduce the West Michigan community to films with a bit of international flavor.

The Tournées Film Festival will offer free screenings of six primarily French films October 26-November 4. Dan Golembeski, professor of French at Grand Valley, and Hillery Haney, professor of French at GRCC, are coordinating the festival, which is being funded through a French-American Cultural Exchange (FACE) Foundation Tournées Film Festival Grant.

Golembeski said the film festival will provide viewers with an opportunity to become familiar with cinema produced outside of the U.S.

"The perspectives in these films are different and you will see things that American cinema will not show you," said Golembeski. "Foreign cultures will open your mind to new possibilities that before exploring them, you would never even think about. Learning about a new culture is an eye-opening experience that will change you forever."

Below is a full schedule of film screenings. The October 26, 27 and November 2 screenings will take place in Loosemore Auditorium, located in the DeVos Center on the Pew Grand Rapids Campus. The screenings on November 3 and 4 will take place in the ATC Auditorium on the GRCC campus.

October 26, at 6:15 p.m. - "Valley of Love" (2015)

October 27, at 7 p.m. - "Phantom Boy" (2015)

November 2, at 6:30 p.m. - "La Sapienza" (2014)

November 3, at 6 p.m. - "Chocolat" (1988)

November 4, at 4 p.m. - "Jauja" (2014)

November 4, at 7 p.m. - "Le Grand Homme" (2014)

Alain Gagnol, director and writer of the animated film "Phantom Boy," will be visiting Grand Valley to work with students during the festival, and will facilitate a Q&A session following the screening of his film on October 27.

The Tournées Film Festival is supported by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in U.S., the Centre National du Cinéma et de l'Image Animée (CNC), the French American Cultural Fund, Florence Gould Foundation, and Highbrow Entertainment.

For more information about the film festival, contact Golembeski at [email protected] or (616) 331-3169.