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Videos:
Festival Description 2003
Promo Video 2000:
Introduction | History
| Academics | Funding
| Distribution | Future
| Three-fold mission of the VCU
French Film Festival: |
- To promote French language cinema and culture
in the United States and encourage the study of French by university
and high school students.
- To distinguish the university, the city of Richmond
and the commonwealth of Virginia with a unique, internationally
recognized French cultural event.
- To create a tradition of Franco-American corporate
and cultural partnerships.
For 15 years, the Virginia Commonwealth University French
Film Festival has earned acclaim, in the U.S. and in France, for
introducing more than 200 French and francophone films (from Belgium,
Africa and Haiti) to American audiences. Since 2003, it has been
recognized formally by former French Ambassador to the United States,
His Excellency Jean-David Levitte, as the most important French
film festival in the country.
This festival, founded and organized by Drs. Peter and Françoise
Kirkpatrick, professors of French literature and culture, has distinguished
itself over the years with numerous North American première
screenings and a growing number of world premières.
The 16th Annual VCU French Film Festival will continue its tradition
of showcasing a diverse sampling of France’s newest feature
films by established, award-winning directors complemented by
a
screening of courts métrages, or short films, by France’s
next generation of groundbreaking filmmakers.
All films are presented by their directors and/or starring actors.
A question-and-answer session with directors and actors follows
each film. All movies have English subtitles, and discussions are
in English or in French with an interpreter. Films are screened
at the historic Byrd Theatre in Carytown, in Richmond,
Va. An official reception with the French celebrities is held each
year, followed by an elegant gala dinner in which festival attendees
also may meet and speak with the French delegation.
Over the years the VCU French Film Festival has attracted a diverse
audience drawing not only from the francophone community in the
eastern United States, but the ever increasing population of American
cineastes, devoted to the appreciation of quality independent film,
as well as a growing fan base comprising individuals from a diverse
cross section of society. This festival provides the audience the
unique opportunity to experience the work of French cineasts. The latter enjoy presenting their works to their new public
and appreciate the authenticity of the reactions. All praise the
event for the close exchange it enables.
The French Film Festival is sponsored by
VCU’ Office of International Education, Division of External
Relations, the College of Humanities and Sciences, VCU Filmmaking,
and the School of World Studies. Official media sponsors include
Richmond’s Community Idea Stations PBS affiliates, WCVE-TV
in Richmond and WHTJ-TV in Charlottesville, as well as 88.9 WCVE-FM,
a National Public Radio Station, also in Richmond. French
support for the Festival includes the SACD (Société
des auteurs et compositeurs dramatiques), the ARP (Auteurs-Réalisateurs-Producteurs),
Unifrance and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in Washington,
D.C.
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