Starting on Jan. 26, anyone can get Frenched in Tampa. OK, well, that's a little misleading, isn't it?
Better: You can watch some fantastic French films — six in all — for free at the University of Tampa's Falk Theatre (428 W. Kennedy Blvd.) or Reeves Theater (Vaughan Center, second floor, 401 W. Kennedy Blvd.) as part fo the Tournées Film Festival, an annual UT event.
At every showing, filmgoers will be party to a discussion with artists, critics, historians or filmmakers. The fest, sponsored by both the French-American Cultural Exchange and the French Embassy of the United States, aims to bring French cinema to US college campuses.
In a press release, Aaron Walker, assistant professor in Department of Film, Animation and New Media, wrote that this year's selections at UT "engage with culturally important moments and intersections in French and global society, with an emphasis on films directed by women or that strongly feature women-led narratives."
Our favorite? The Cocteau's gorgeous Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et la Bête). You'll likely find me there, but that doesn't mean I won't be at others as well. Here's the lineup:
. And the final film of the festival, Fatima, concerns the challenges of gender and integration in France.
- Jan. 26: La Belle Saison — How feminism moved through France in the 1970s. Falk Theatre, 7 p.m.
- Feb. 2: Things to Come — Written and directed by new talent Mia Hanson-Love. Reeves Theater, 2 p.m.
- Feb. 8: The Great Man — Most simplistically put, it's a film about immigration and war. Reeves Theater, 2 p.m.
- Feb. 18: Beauty and the Beast — Cocteau's classic tale of "how the love of a good woman can fix a man." Wait, that's not right — um, something about feminism, maybe? No? Seriously, though, it's a beautiful film. Falk Theatre, 2 p.m.
- Feb. 23: As I Open My Eyes — The first feature-length film from Tunisian filmmaker Leyla Bouzid. Falk Theatre, 7 p.m.
- Feb. 25: Fatima — An award-winning film about a Moroccan immigrant and her daughters. Falk Theatre, 2 p.m.
