The Department of Modern and Classical Languages would like to bring the world to you. Or at least a better understanding of it.
The Spring 2001 International Film Series is already under way. The department of Modern and Classical Languages has planned 12 movies to be screened over the spring semester with nine still to be shown.
There are two movies from all six languages of the department: German, Hindi, Italian, French, Spanish and Russian.
According to the series director, Jean-Louis Pautrot of the French Department, there are several purposes for the holding the International Film Series.
“We want to make foreign cultures much more present for the Saint Louis University Community,” said Pautrot.
According to Pautrot, the film series is not just intended to be enjoyed by students who study a foreign language.
For students who don’t study a language, the movies, all of which are shown with subtitles, can be an effective way to get familiar with another culture.
Students interested in film have the special opportunity to take a broad look at other types of cinema from around the world.
“[The film series] is full of opportunities for students to see movies beyond Hollywood productions,” said Pautrot.
Pautrot added that language professors often organize projects around the international films or hold class discussions about them so that students have the opportunity to extend their knowledge of the culture they study.
Mauricio Souza of the Spanish Department has chosen the two Spanish films to be shown this semester. Souza said that he chose the movies because they are great movies that aren’t being shown in the United States.
“One of our main objectives is to show movies that students at SLU would not have access to otherwise. We want to expose them to quality foreign movies that aren’t shown in commercial theaters in the United States,” he said.
All the movies are on Thursdays at 7 p.m. and are shown in either Ritter Hall 331 or Kelley Auditorium. Tonight’s screening is the 1946 French movie La Belle et la bete (Beauty and the Beast) directed by Jean Cocteau.
El dia que me querias (The Day that You Love Me), one of the two movies that Dr. Souza has chosen, is a 1986 musical drama set in Venezuela. According to Souza, there is a possibility that Colombian director Sergio Dow may be at the screening and available for discussion after the viewing of the movie on Feb. 22 in Ritter Hall 331.
Admission for students is free.
