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“mso-spacerun: yes;”>   A first has come to Ashland

University. The Tournées Festival will be sponsoring the AU French

Club’s showing of five films in the Hawkins-Conard Student Center

Auditorium Thursdays at 8 p.m. for the next month. All the films

will be in French with English subtitles.

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“mso-spacerun: yes;”>   Assistant Professor of French Dr.

Lisa Bansen-Harp said that these films will be enjoyed by

everyone.

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“mso-spacerun: yes;”>   “They are just good films,”

Bansen-Harp said. “They are not just for French students…They have

high value as films and appeal to different groups on

campus.” 

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“mso-spacerun: yes;”>   For example, “Azur Et Asmar” is an

animated film that would please art and early childhood education

majors, Bansen-Harp said. Likewise, the film “La Vie En Rose” is

about a singing icon and would greatly appeal to music

students.

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“mso-spacerun: yes;”> 

“mso-spacerun: yes;”>  This is the first time the Tournées

Film Festival has come to AU, but the program has been around for

15 years. 

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“mso-spacerun: yes;”>   Bansen-Harp heard about the program

from other colleagues at different universities and applied for a

grant in June of this year. By the first of August, the grant was

awarded.

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“mso-spacerun: yes;”>   The AU French club had already

narrowed down a list of film options in the 2010 spring semester,

and once budget was considered, the five films were

chosen.

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“mso-spacerun: yes;”>   The grant allows the Cultural

Services of the French Embassy and the French Ministry of Culture

to sponsor the film festival for up to five years. The response

from students will determine whether the film festival will return

to AU or not.

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“mso-spacerun: yes;”>   “This is our first experience and we

are hoping we get a good turn out,” Bansen-Harp said. “The beauty

is we had the possibility to schedule over a month and our goal is

that students will be intrigued and come back.”

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“mso-spacerun: yes;”>   Flyers were sent out to local

libraries and schools around Ashland, so that the films could be

viewed by community members, as well as AU students.

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“mso-spacerun: yes;”>   “Given the work involved, the

turnout will give us a gauge on whether or not this is where we

should put out energies,” Bansen-Harp said.

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“mso-spacerun: yes;”> 

“mso-spacerun: yes;”>  She hopes that this film festival

will help spark students’ interest in international experiences and

show that the foreign language department is not just about

language and vocabulary.

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“mso-spacerun: yes;”>   While the Tournées Film Festival is

just for French films, the possibility of hosting other

international films has been left open.

“mso-spacerun: yes;”>  If the film festival returns next

year and time and budget allows, it is possible that the five

French films shown could be accompanied by a film of another

language, such as Spanish.

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“mso-spacerun: yes;”> 

“mso-spacerun: yes;”> But that all weighs on how well the

festival is received, and Bansen-Harp said she hopes that students

will open their minds and embrace this new experience.

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“mso-spacerun: yes;”>   “These are really great films,”

Bansen-Harp said. “I would highly encourage people to come just to

see.”

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“mso-spacerun: yes;”>   The first film, “La Vie En Rose,” is

showing for free tonight at 8 p.m. in the Student Center

auditorium.