By Jennifer Nessmith
stahl@hometownnewsol.com
Florida Institute of Technology is offering residents the chance to immerse themselves in French culture at the university's fifth - and possibly final - Tournees French Film Festival.
The festival, which begins at 7 p.m. March 28 at Florida Tech's Gleason Performing Arts Center, features five films and is funded through a grant from the French American Cultural Exchange and by the support of the Cultural Services of the French Embassy and the French Ministry of Culture.
Gordon Patterson, professor of history for Florida Tech, said the objective of the university's humanities and human services department, is to provide cultural experiences to the community. But no one anticipated the popularity of the event.
"We expected 50 people to show up (to the first film festival five years ago)," Mr. Patterson said. "Four hundred actually showed up."
Florida Tech has received the $2,000 grant five years in a row, the maximum allowable, Mr. Patterson said.
"(This year), we're hoping to generate a community response," he said. "One of the things we'll be talking to the community about is building a community base for this. It's not a great deal of money, but it's something we need support for."
The festival will run for five screenings through April 14. All movies are scheduled at 7 p.m. and will be shown in French with English subtitles.
The first movie, "El Dorado," will be shown on Sunday, March 28. Set for Wednesday, March 31, is "Azur et Asmari." The next show, scheduled Wednesday, April 7, is "Les Amours D'Astree et de Celadon (The Romance of Astree and Celadon)." Screenings will continue on Sunday, April 11, with "Un Conte de Noel (A Christmas Tale)." The final film, "Roman de Gare (Crossed Tracks)," will be shown on Wednesday, April 14.
"The films are really quite different and diverse," Mr. Patterson said.
Admission is free. After each screening, members of Florida Tech's humanities faculty, including Lisa Perdigao, Matthew Ruane, Chris Frongillo, Annie Caza and Andrew Aberdein, will lead discussions on the films.
Films are intended for an adult audience. Children are welcome if accompanied by a parent or guardian. Area French teachers are encouraged to bring their students.
In addition to the festival, the Florida Tech Film Society, an on-campus club, shows a free, Indie-type film every Friday night at the Gleason Performing Arts Center.
"If the fees aren't too high, we try to show films that were shown at Sundance (Film Festival) or other film festivals," Mr. Patterson said.
The Gleason Performing Arts Center is located on the corner of Babcock Street and University Boulevard. For information, call (321) 674-8073 or e-mail kkaiser@fit.edu.