By PAM HARBAUGH
En garde! Tomorrow may be the Eau Gallie Arts District First Friday, but the alliteration continues with the opening of the Foosaner’s fifth annual French Film Festival.
Indeed, the whole area is turning français with food vendors from places like La Crepe, Jacqueline’s Bakery, Le Macaron, etc. The Fifth Avenue Art Gallery will have its reception for artists in its “Inspiration France” exhibit, which will have a variety of works from a “tribute to French graffiti to fields of lavender.” Click on their ad on Brevard Culture. First Friday runs 5:30 to 10 p.m. and is a free event.
The main event, however, is the launch of this year’s film festival with the outdoor screening of LE BALLON ROUGE (“The Red Balloon”) in Eau Gallie Square. That is free and open to the public who are encouraged to bring chairs and picnic items. But you have to eat fast because this is a short film and it’s wonderful and poignant and such a classic that you won’t be able to take your eyes off the screen. And, yeah, bring a hanky or two.
Running through April 22, the French Film Festival features, in all, five films. After “Le Ballon Rouge,” the remaining four films will be screened in the Foosaner’s Harris Auditorium. They also include discussions led by professors from Florida Tech, who helped choose the films along with Florida Tech director of museums Carla Funk and the Foosaner’s curator of education Sara Russo.
Heads up, included in this listing is Jean-Luc Godard’s experimental, 3-D film “Adieu au Langage.” Read more about that below. Ms. Funk said she’s gonna take photos of the audience wearing those glasses.
The Films:
2 p.m. Tuesday, April 11: “L’Armee des Ombres” (Army of Shadows), Jean-Pierre Melville’s 1969 classic black and white thriller. A post-film discussion led by John Christopher Frongillo, assistant professor of humanities at Florida Tech.
From: ‘Adieu au Langage’
7 p.m. Thursday, Aprl 13: “Adieu au Langage” (Goodbye to Language), Jean-Luc Godard’s experimental 3-D film (made in 2014), in which he questions the relevance of language in contemporary society. A post-film discussion by Frongillo.
7 p.m. Thursday, April 20: “Pierrot le Fou” (Pierrot Goes Wild), Godard’s critically acclaimed 1965 film starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Anna Karina. The plot revolves around man who leaves his wife and children runs away with an old girlfriend. A post-film discussion will be held by Anne Smith, who was raised in the south of France and teaches Western Civilization, English and French at Florida Tech.
From left: Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean-Luc Godard
2 pm. Saturday, April 22: “Camille Claudel 1915,” Bruno Dumont’s 2013 drama starring Juliette Binoche as the gifted student and lover of the sculptor Auguste Rodin. Critic Sheila O’Malley called the film “harrowing…made even more so by the raw performance of Juliette Binoche.” Post-film discussion by Smith.
Admission to each film is $5 at the door. A festival pass costs $15 Foosaner Art Museum members or $20 non-members..which may seem like a “push” to some of you, but it also includes free popcorn. Passes are available by advance purchase at FoosanerArtMuseum.org .
All films will be screened in the Harris Auditorium at the Foosaner Art Museum, 1463 Highland Ave., Melbourne. Call 321- 674-8916 or visit FoosanerArtMuseum.org.
