Assumption College Presents Centennial French Film Series At the Bijou Community Cinema

February, 2004—As part of its Centennial Celebration, Assumption College is pleased to announce a French Film Series, which will take place over four consecutive Thursdays, starting February 12, 2004 and ending on March 4, 2004. All films will be shown at the Bijou Community Cinema in Worcester.

The third film in Assumption College’s French Film Series, Etre et Avoir (To Be and To Have) will be shown on Thursday, February 26, 2004 from 7:00-8:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at Bijou Community Cinema, located at 110 Front Street in Worcester, before the show. The prices are $6.50 for adults and $5.00 for students, seniors, and children under 12. Vouchers for free admission will be available for Assumption College students only. A bus will leave from the Plourde Center at 6:30 p.m.

There will be a reception at the Bijou Cinema in celebration of the Assumption College Centennial, beginning at 6:00 p.m.

Georges Lopez, the schoolteacher in Nicolas Philibertis's great 2003 documentary Etre et Avoir (To Be and To Have), has a soft-bearded, ruminative face and vigilant eyes. He has been instructing children in the Auvergne region in France for twenty years and now, in his mid-fifties, is ready to retire. The film chronicles his final year, and it is one of the most emotionally gratifying movies about teaching ever made. It recalls the best films of Frederick Wiseman.

The theme of the series is “French Films for All Ages.” The protagonists in the films chosen represent all age groups, from young schoolchildren, adolescents and young adults, to mature adults and the elderly. All of the movies present a fresh or amusing view of the lives of these characters.

The series also features the animated comedy Les Triplettes de Belleville (The Triplets of Belleville) on March 4, which is the final film in the series.