I first fell in love with foreign film when I was 18, a lonely young adult trapped in a small college town in Middle-of-Nowhere, Idaho. I was shy and bad at meeting people and making friends. I watched a lot of movies. Naturally. It was Tom Tykwer's Run Lola Run
that really opened me up to the world – literally – of cinema outside America. My introduction to French film came from Jean-Pierre Jeunet who, along with Marc Caro, created nightmare worlds in
Delicatessen
and
City of Lost Children
, and, on his own, presented wistful romance in
Amelie
and
A Very Long Engagement
. This was an important time in my film education.
The University of Louisville celebrates French film in the month of February with the French Film Festival, which is free and open to the public. It kicks off tonight, Thursday, with Bertrand Tavernier's
. Melanie Thierry stars as Marie de Mezieres, a woman in love with her cousin (Gaspard Ulliel), but is forced into marriage with Philippe de Montpensier for political reasons – a man she has never met.
The Princess of Montpensier
will screen tonight at 5:00 and 8:00 and tomorrow, Friday, at 2:00. Tonight's 5:00 screening will be followed by a discussion led by French professor Wendy Yoder.
The Floyd Theater is located on the third floor of the Student Activities Center on the U of L campus (look for the clock tower). Complete information about the French Film Festival can be found here.
Image: Internet Movie Database
