Public radio from Western Michigan University 102.1 NPR News | 89.9 Classical WMUK
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
0000017c-60f7-de77-ad7e-f3f739cf0000Arts & More airs Fridays at 7:50 a.m. and 4:20 p.m.Theme music: "Like A Beginner Again" by Dan Barry of Seas of Jupiter

The World Languages Film Festival: Not Just French Anymore

Screenshot of "Fair Sex"

For the past thirteen years, Western Michigan University’s Francophone Film Festival gave a peek inside the world of French-speaking cinema. But this year, the festival is taking on a new name and broadening its scope even farther. The newly named World Languages Film Festival will bring in a whole weekend’s worth of films this year in languages like Arabic, Chinese and German, all on top of six more in French. 

Marjorie Zippert, one of the festival's coordinators, says adding the new films led to a few communication problems, especially when the festival’s French-speaking organizers tried to get information on films in Chinese and Japanese. But she says it was for the best.

“We thought that widening our selection would answer better our students’ needs," Zippert explains. "Since the department of foreign language and literatures is teaching more than just one language. So we wanted to have more languages that are taught represented.”

Much of the world already speaks French – France, obviously, but other countries like Canada, Haiti, Africa’s Ivory Coast, and dozens more. But by expanding the selection to places like Japan and the Middle East, Zippert says, festival-goers can be exposed to images and ideas they’d never see anywhere else.

"I believe watching a movie can give you access to a culture you cannot get except for travelling," Zippert says. "But a movie will bring you a different eye to a culture. There’s a lot of implicit culture that is given through images. That you cannot explain."

"Talking about it is not enough," Zippert says. "A movie is completing what we can teach in class. So hopefully they’ll take the time to go watch the movies and get access to a different kind of culture and language because they’re still exposed listening to it. So that’s a great part of these movies."

There’s no better example of that than the movie Les Maneges Humains (Fair Sex).  The film is making its U.S. premiere at the World Languages Film Festival. It confronts the difficult theme of female genital mutilation in Africa through the eyes of a young Canadian girl.

Zippert says this is the strength of foreign film – giving Western students a better handle on important issues that may go unnoticed.

"Well clearly, Fair Sex will probably shake them a little bit, because it is a topic that people don’t mention commonly. It is a different culture for sure," Zippert says. "And then we picked it also because although it’s a hard topic to talk about, it’s very well-filmed. It’s filmed in a way that you’re interested. You’re fascinated. You want to ask questions. But at the same time it’s not unbearable, without being upset or disgusted or anything."

To explore the issue even more, the festival is bringing in the director of the movie, Martin Laroche, on March 20th to spark an even broader discussion about female genital mutilation.

But it’s not the only movie taking on a serious topic. The Arabic film Rags & Tatters shows the aftermath of the Arab Revolution in Egypt. And the French movie Fevers addresses stereotypes and prejudices against Muslims in France.

Altogether, Zippert says, the festival is a sharp contrast to American cinema, where blockbusters tend to take over the market. But as more festivals pop up across the country, she says, the alternatives are growing.

"American productions are producing so many movies, that it’s easy to flood the market with it," she says. "So I understand it’s complicated to bring up foreign movies here, especially when people have to read subtitles. It’s challenging, but I also know that it is accessible thanks to those festivals. Let’s hope the festival will expand and bring more foreign movies to people who are seeking them."

If the new festival goes well, Zippert says, we could soon see a Kalamazoo festival with movies in ten, fifteen, even twenty languages. But for now, we’ll have to wait and see. The World Languages Film Festival starts March 20th at 7:30 p.m. with a showing of "Fair Sex", and will continue through this weekend and next weekend, as well.   

Related Content