Several recent films from France (in particular “L’Heure d’été,” “Séraphine,” “Home,” “La Fille du RER,” and “La Graine et le mulet”) center on the role of secrecy and scandal in the lives of women and men in contemporary France, from scandalous passions and romance, to secret talents, motives, and ambitions. In these films, both individuals and families struggle to cover their secret failings, confront their secret histories, exploit their secret recipes, and pursue their secret dreams. By projecting the clandestine and the mysterious onscreen, these films collectively celebrate the diversity of French families, artists, and cuisine, while challenging us to think about cultural confrontation, (trans)national (im)migration, and social integration in contemporary France.
L’Heure d’été: February 7, 2011
Séraphine: February 14, 2011
Home: February 21, 2011
La Fille du RER (The Girl on the Train): February 28, 2011
La Graine et le mulet (The Secret of Grain): March 7, 2011
All films at Images Cinema on Spring Street in Williamstown, Monday nights, 7 PM. Free and open the public.
The Tournées Festival is made possible with the support of the Cultural Services of the French Embassy and the French Ministry of Culture (CNC), as well as The Florence Gould Foundation, the Grand Marnier Foundation and Highbrow entertainment.”