FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
INDIANAPOLIS — Tired of the same old sequels at the cineplex? Tired of shelling out an hour’s worth of wages — or more — for a two-star comedy? The School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI has another option for you. And all of the films are free and open to the public.
For three consecutive weekends starting Feb 19, the Tournées Festival of French Film at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis will show nine French films, including the award-winning “The Clouds of Sils Maria” starring Juliette Binoche, Chloe Grace Moretz and Kristen Stewart. All of the movies have English subtitles.
“We are very excited to be able to present such relevant and acclaimed films to the Indianapolis community and to be part of the nationally known Tournées Festival,” said Kathryn Lauten, director of the Program in French and series organizer of the film festival. “It is so nice to be able to bring people together and show these films on the big screen with opportunities for discussion afterward.”
The festival is presented by the IU School of Liberal Arts Department of World Languages and Cultures, the Francophone Student Association, and the Film Studies Program of the Department of English at IUPUI.
All of the films will be shown in Room 152 of the Informatics and Communications Technology Complex, 535 W. Michigan St., at the corner of Michigan and West streets on the IUPUI campus. Parking is available for a fee in the Gateway Parking Garage, 252 N. Blackford St., across Michigan Street from the Informatics building.
The following are a partial listing of the Tournées Festival of French Film at IUPUI offerings:
- “La Folie Almayer” (“Almayer’s Folly”), drama, 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 19: Based on Joseph Conrad’s debut novel, “Almayer’s Folly,” the film focuses on a Dutchman searching for pirate treasure in Malaysia in the 1950s.
- “Le Tableau” (“The Painting”), animated, 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20: A tale of class divide, three subjects inside an unfinished painting go on a quest to find the painter so that the piece may be finished, ending the strife between the artwork’s citizens who are fully painted and those who are not. Winner of best feature film at the 2013 Festival of European Animated Feature Films and TV Specials.
- “L’Écume des jours” (“Mood Indigo”), comedy/ drama/ fantasy, 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb 20: Staring Audrey Tatou (“Amelie”) and co-written and directed by Michel Gondry (“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “The Science of Sleep”), the film is an adaptation of Boris Vian’s 1947 novel, “Froth on the Daydream.” When Colin meets the love of his life, instead of a happy future, he finds his life begins to fall apart.
- “Timbuktu,” drama, 5 p.m., Friday, March 4: Oscar-nominated for best foreign-language film. A cattle herder and his family find their lives torn apart during a jihadist occupation of the city.
- “Sils Maria” (“The Clouds of Sils Maria”), drama, 7:30 p.m., March 5: Starring Juliette Binoche (“The English Patient”), Chloe Grace Moretz (“The Fifth Wave,” “Let Me In”) and Kristen Stewart (“Twilight”). “The Clouds of Sils Maria” tells the story Maria Enders, a famous actress who is asked to star in the play that made her famous 20 years earlier at the age of 18. Binoche won a Cesar Award for best actress, and Stewart won for best supporting actress.
The festival is underwritten by the International Programming Grant through the IUPUI Office of International Affairs, student activity fees through a student organization grant, and the following Tournées sponsors: Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the U.S., Centre National du Cinema et de I’Image Animée, Franco-American Cultural Fund, Florence Gould Foundation, Campus France USA and Highbrow.
For additional information, including a complete schedule of movie showings, contact fsajags@iupui.edu or visit the festival’s website.