Following a young man navigating the death of his father, Louise Courvoisier’s film Vingt Dieux (Holy Cow) captivated audience members with a story that showcased the hardships of falling in love, growing up and cheesemaking.
The screening was held in the UW-Milwaukee Union Cinema, 220 E. Kenwood Blvd., on Feb. 20 for the 29th Annual Festival of Films in French. Over six days, the program screened 10 French films from Feb. 13-15 and Feb. 20-22.
Established 29 years ago by two former UW-Milwaukee French professors, the festival now attracts crowds from not only the Milwaukee community, but surrounding areas.
Festival Manager Juliette Acosta added that this was the second year that students from UW-Platteville’s film club attended.
The festival was organized by the UW-Milwaukee Department of World Languages and Culture’s French Program, along with Student Involvement.
Assisting Acosta was Nicolas Russell, UW-Milwaukee’s Associate Professor of French and Manager for the Arts Programming in Student Involvement.
Set in the western French Alps, Vingt Dieux highlights French agriculture and rural traditions, setting it apart from other films in the festival with varying genres and settings.
Each film was selected from a list of 20 titles provided to Acosta through the Albertine Cinémathèque grant from the French Consulate. From that list, six films were then carefully selected based on the festival’s criteria, according to Acosta.
“Our big criteria is films in French, not necessarily from France, because they can be from any country that speaks French,” Acosta said. “We have one film set in Cambodia, one documentary about the Democratic Republic of Congo, and a film set in Canada. It’s quite international.”
The festival was additionally supported by various UW-Milwaukee departments and community organizations.
“We partner with a lot of other departments on campus, like Political Science, History, Women and Gender Studies, The Stahl Center for Jewish Studies, and more,” Russell said.
Acosta added that the festival also partnered with organizations like the Lynden Sculpture Garden as well as the Alliance Française de Milwaukee, which is a French cultural center in Shorewood.
Overall, the festival’s selections received lots of positive responses from attendees.
“Last Friday, our opening screening was almost full. I think it was one of the most full screenings that we’ve had at the festivals,” Acosta said. “We had great feedback about that film, La venue de l’avenir (Colors of Time), and I think it showed that it was a great choice for us. It really connected to French culture and art, and I think that’s why people resonated with it.”