A literary tale of determination French Film Festival continues with Balzac adaptation

The French movie “Lost Illusions” or “Les Illusions

Perdues" showcases the rise and fall of a young man, the protagonist, Lucien de Rubempré who came from humble beginnings. In the movie, we see how French society functioned in the 1820s and how the intricacies of Lucien’s life played out in it.

Located in the Multicultural Center hosted the French Film Festival, screening the French film, ”Lost Illusions” on Monday, March 27.

The movie, released in 2021 is an adaptation for the famous Balzac novel. The Film Festival was free for students and community members.

The event was catered by Pascal Patisserie and Cafe, and they served a variety of colorful French pastries such as eclairs and fruit tarts.

English professor Donna Accardo thanked Student Services and the Bookstore for contributing to the raffle prizes, as well as Pascal Patisserie and Cafe.

French language instructor and French Club adviser Denis Pra helped organize and host the event. He mentioned how community at Pierce is important, especially after the COVID-19 Pandemic.

“It’s great to be here on campus to share music, food and cinema,” Pra said.

After music, food and a raffle, the film was screened.

The Q&A session after the film prompted discussion about the themes that were explored.

Communication professors

Yeprem Davoodian and Jennifer Rosenberg conducted the Q&A session. Davoodian stated that the movie had many concepts that could be discussed.

As Davoodian prompted the audience to weigh in on what they thought about the film, the discussion became lively. Students and community members talked about topics ranging from the film’s storyline, news media, politics, World War II history and its relationship to mass media, social structure and French history.

Accardo, who also helped host the event, emphasized the importance of a vibrant student and campus life.

“A lot of students are still struggling with the idea of whether or not they should come back to campus or not,” Accardo said. “And to see this kind vibrant discussion and these kinds of wonderful works presented by our own faculty, I think is the best example and reason to have students say it’s a great place to be.” msharifi.roundupnews@gmail.com