French outside France? – Explorations in Francophone Cinema
Starts Wed 10 Oct 2012
18:30 – 20:30
8 weeks
Led by Roy Stafford, Freelance Film Educator with Dr. Isabelle
Vanderschelden, Senior Lecturer in French at Manchester Metropolitan
University and Dr. Joseph McGonagle, Lecturer in Cultural Studies in the
French-speaking World at The University of Manchester.
The French colonial empire once covered large parts of Asia, Africa, North
America and the Caribbean. Wherever those early colonialists went they
planted francophone culture and nurtured it lovingly.
Today most of that empire has gone but francophone culture remains in
place, often vigorously supported by cultural agencies in France. The course
will explore francophone cinema from around the world, focusing specifically
on filmic portrayals of growing up in an environment which is both ‘local’ and
‘global’ with a French connection. The course will draw on and expand
engagement with the wider francophone film season, The French
Connection?, which screens at Cornerhouse during October and November.
Beginner’s level, no prior knowledge necessary.
Films in the wider French Connection? season are also listed alongside the
most appropriate weekly session.
N.B. It has not always been possible to arrange these screenings in the same
week as the course session. Screening times vary, so please consult the
relevant Cornerhouse listings guide. Tickets for these films can be purchased
from Cornerhouse Box Office or online www.cornerhouse.org/film/filmevents/the-french-connection.
Weekly course outline
Week 1: Wed 10 Oct
Introduction (Annexe)
The session will introduce the concept of ‘francophone cinema’, using extracts
from a range of films. It will suggest some of the ways in which such films will
negotiate (or not) their relationships with the culture of metropolitan France,
their own local region and international film culture.
The second half of the session will focus specifically on film cultures closest to
France itself, i.e. in Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland, establishing some
of the conventions of French cinema around production, distribution and
exhibition. These conventions are similar to, but not the same as, those in
anglophone (i.e. US/UK) cinema.
The films in the wider Cornerhouse film season to which this session refers
are: Sister (L'enfant d'en haut, France-Switzerland 2012 – showing at different
times, please consult the Cornerhouse listings guide) and Our Children (À
perdre la raison, Belgium/Luxembourg/France/Switzerland 2012) showing on
Thursday 15 November.
Week 2: Wed 17 Oct
French culture as resistance, ‘nation’ and identity? (Annexe)
Some 10 millions Canadians speak French, one of the two official languages
of the country. Six million Québécois consider French their first language.
Within Canadian film culture, dominated by Hollywood, francophone cinema is
very much the focus for a ‘different’ North American identity – and a partner
for the ambitions of French film exports to both Canada and the US. We’ll look
at some examples of key films from Quebec.
This session will also link to the screening of C’est pas moi, je le jure! (It’s Not
Me, I Swear!, Canada 2008) on Thu 18 October and Laurence Anyways
(2012) on Sun 21 October.
Week 3: Wed 24 Oct
Screening: Rue cases nègres (Black Shack Alley, France-Martinique
1983) (Cinema 2)
Martinique is constitutionally part of metropolitan France. It is an overseas
département with direct representation in Paris, membership of the EU (and
the Eurozone!). However, up until 1946 its status was as a French colony and
Rue cases nègres is a film about a boy from the sugar cane-cutters’
community in the 1930s and his experience of the French colonial school
system as a poor scholarship student in the most prestigious school on the
island. The boy is helped throughout by his grandmother.
Week 4: Wed 31 Oct
The colonial past, négritude and postcolonialism/neo-colonialism
(Annexe)
Rue cases nègres is adapted from an autobiographical novel by Joseph
Zobel, a Martinican who later studied and wrote in France and in Senegal – at
the request of Léopold Senghor, President of independent Senegal and
leading proponent of négritude. Two other Martinicans, Frantz Fanon and
Aimée Césaire also had a big impact on African culture and politics around
the same time. The director of the 1983 film, Euzhan Palcy, has become one
of the most honoured women in France and in the US, but her later career
has been largely unreported in the UK. Discussion of the film will lead to a
broader exploration of colonialism and postcolonialism/neo-colonialism with a
focus on Zobel/Palcy, the négritude movement and cinema in Senegal.
Week 5: Wed 7 Nov
Screening: War Witch (Rebelle, Canada 2012) (Cinema 2)
This Canadian film is set in an un-named Sub-Saharan African country (shot
in the Democratic Republic of Congo) with a story about child soldiers derived
from a Burmese news report about what has become a global phenomenon.
The soundtrack includes both French and Lingala dialogue. War Witch has
been selected as the Canadian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film
Oscar in 2013.
Week 6: Wed 14 Nov
Global cinema and francophone Africa (Annexe)
Africa is the continent where ‘local’ filmmakers struggle hardest to make films
and get them distributed. Apart from the vibrant cinemas of Nigeria and
Ghana (‘Nollywood’), all other production in Sub-Saharan Africa needs the
support of Hollywood/UK or France. This session will explore the concept of
transnational film and the intercultural aspects of francophone filmmaking.
How does a francophone Canadian film represent Central Africa?
Although they are not part of the season, students may wish to watch the
recent francophone Canadian films Monsieur Lazhar (2011) and Incendies
(2010) on DVD – both films have narratives that link Canada and conflicts in
Africa and the Middle East.
La pirogue (France/Senegal/Germany 2012) is the African film in the wider
Cornerhouse French Connection? season. It screens on Mon 12 November.
Week 7: Wed 21 Nov
Screening: West Beyrouth (À l'abri les enfants)
France/Belgium/Norway/Lebanon 1998) (Annexe)
Lebanon was a French-controlled mandated territory between 1918 and 1946.
Francophone culture became part of the daily life, including education, of a
significant part (mainly Christian) of the population. The film focuses on three
students at a French lycée in Beirut in 1975 when civil war breaks out and
follows their personal stories.
N.B. The screening will be from DVD in the Annexe. The film will run for
approx. 100 mins leaving time for a short introduction.
Week 8: Wed 28 Nov
Francophone cinema in the Arab world (Annexe)
In this concluding session there will be an opportunity to discuss West
Beyrouth and to consider the wider implications of francophone cinema in
Lebanon and the Maghreb (Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco). This will also allow us
to link back to the work of diasporic Maghrebi directors working in France and
to draw conclusions about the course overall.
Also of interest:
Intouchables (France 2011)
This film is not part of the Cornerhouse season but it will be in UK cinemas
during the run of the evening class. It screens at Cornerhouse from Fri 28
September. As one of the most successful French language films ever seen in
French cinemas and around the world (heading for $400 million worldwide),
the film has both pleased audiences and won the Best Actor César Award for
one of its stars, the French-West African actor Omar Sy. We might want to
consider the film’s significance in terms of francophone film culture.
Background reading/research
There is no single source for ideas about francophone cinema, but the
following resources all include useful material:
Armes, Roy (1987) Third World Film Making and the West, Berkeley:
University of California Press
Dönmez-Colin, Gönül (ed) (2007) The Cinema of North Africa and the Middle
East, London: Wallflower Press
Gittings, Christopher E. (2002) Canadian National Cinema, London:
Routledge
Hayward, Susan (1993) French National Cinema, London: Routledge
Pfaff, Francoise (ed) (2004) Focus on African Films, Bloomington: Indiana
University Press
Shafik, Viola (2007, 2nd ed.) Arab Cinema: History and Cultural Identity, Cairo
and NY: The American University of Cairo Press
Shohat, Ella and Stam, Robert (1994) Unthinking Eurocentrism, London:
Routledge
Shaka, Femi Okiremuete (2004) Modernity and the African Cinema, Asmara,
Eritrea & Trenton NJ: Africa World Press, Inc.
Websites (most of these have both English and French versions)
CNC (Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée):
http://www.cnc.fr/web/en
Unifrance (French film export organisation): http://en.unifrance.org/
Europa Cinemas: http://www.europa-cinemas.org/en/Network/AboutEuropa-Cinemas
Telefilm Canada: http://www.telefilm.ca/en
Belgium Film Industry: http://www.belgiumfilm.be/
International Francophone Film Festival of Namur (Belgium):
http://www.fiff.be/ (French only)
Other resources will be listed in the notes for each session.