April in Paris Cinema Festival Begins at Cinestudio

Gillian Reinhard ’20
Editor-in-Chief
The April in Paris Film Festival, a series and study of Francophone films, is celebrating its twentieth year at Cinestudio. Each year, the festival is grouped around a theme or director. This year, the festival will present “masterpieces of French cinema,” according to Principal Lecturer in Language and Culture Studies Karen L. Humphreys. “They are fantastic films, each one is something everyone should see to gain an understanding of French cinema,” explained Humphreys.
The festival is open to the public, but is also offered as a half-credit course available to Trinity students. While the course is geared towards French Language and Culture Studies, students of all majors interested in Francophone cinema have taken and enjoyed the class. A discussion is held following each film open to the audience. Each year, the festival begins with a silent film. This year, Foolish Wives (1926) directed by Eric von Stroheim, will be shown at Cinestudio with a special twist. University of Hartford Associate Professor of Music Theory Patrick Miller will play the piano accompaniment to the silent film throughout the nearly two and a half hour film. A reception will follow hosted by Alliance Franciase.
Some highlights of the nine films include Fatal Assistance (2012), a documentary on the Haitian earthquake relief efforts, Belle du Jour (1967) a quirky classic, and Beauty and the Beast (1946), a timeless rendition of the classic fairy tale. The festival will conclude with a double feature, La Haine (1995) and La Persistente (2018). The latter film is directed by Camille Lugan, who will attend Cinestudio that night. The director will attend the screening and concluding reception of the festival, and will also take part in a Q&A session.
The April in Paris Festival Committee is led by Professor Karen Humphreys, Prof. Jean-Marc Kehres, Prof. Sara Kippur, Prof. Emerita Sonia Lee, James Hanley, Peter McMorris, Christine McCarthy and festival designer James Hanley.