Students attend largest, oldest French film festival in the U.S.
Students from the ECU French Club stand outside the historic Byrd Theater in Richmond, Virginia, at this year’s 26thannual French Film Festival. Pictured from left to right are Julia Beauchamp, Sadie Crockett, Jon Cockerham, Kara Hall, Chase Ottensen, Marylaura Papalas (ECU faculty representative), Gary Lavenia, Amanda Curran, Rachel Griffith and Roylanda Merricks.
(Contributed photo.)
Students in East Carolina University’s French Club enriched their knowledge of French culture by attending the 26thannual French Film Festival in Richmond, Virginia, March 23-25.
“For years the club has tried to make a trip happen, but it just hadn’t worked out,” said Julia Beauchamp, president of the ECU French Club. “This was a great opportunity. Rarely do you get a chance to find a Francophone activity around the North Carolina, Virginia area. What a wonderful opportunity it was to have something so significant so close to us.”
As one of the French Club officers who planned the trip, Beauchamp, who is a junior majoring in communications and minoring in French and business, said the trip offered students a new opportunity to emerse themselves in the French culture.
“This trip gave us the real-life experience of being around another language,” Beauchamp said. “It revived my energy toward learning a second language.”
The festival is one of the largest and oldest French film festivals in the United States and offered the students a unique experience.
“French films are so different than Hollywood. They keep you at the edge of your seat, and you can’t guess the ending,” said Beauchamp.
During the three-day festival, students attended films each day in the historic Byrd Theater in Richmond.
“Each student had a favorite film, but one that everyone was particularly enthusiastic about was ‘Au revoir là-haut’ [English translation: ‘See you up there’], which won 5 Césars this year – France’s equivalent of the Oscars,” said Dr. Marylaura Papalas, assistant professor of French, who attended the festival with the students.
Students also had the opportunity to interact with directors, actors and musicians involved with the films.
“Many of the students bought the novel (‘Au revoir là-haut’), on which the movie was based. They were then able to talk to the music composer, Christophe Julien, and obtain his autograph,” Papalas said. “The privilege of talking to someone involved in the production of the film as well as conversations with other actors and directors at the conference were once-in-a-lifetime experiences.”
Officers of the French Club sought and received funding from ECU’s Student Government Association and the Student Activities and Organizations’ Co-Curricular Programs to attend the event, which covered the cost of lodging and cinema passes.
-by Lacey Gray, University Communications