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Grambling French film festival continues

The Tournées French Film Festival continued on Tuesday. Frantz Fanon: sa vie, son combat, son travail (“Frantz Fanon: His Life, His Struggle, His Work”) and Le plafond de verre (“The Glass Ceiling”) were the films viewed and discussed.The first was moderated by Dr. Rose Harris and the second by Dr. Janet Guyden.

Frantz Fanon, was a psychiatrist, originally from Martinique, who became a spokesman for the Algerian revolution against French colonialism.

Expelled from Algeria in 1956, Fanon moved to Tunis where he wrote for El Moudjahid, the rebel newspaper, founded Africa’s first psychiatric clinic and wrote several influential books on decolonization.

Yamina Benguigui’s Le Plafond de Verre (Glass Ceiling) presents a series of first-hand accounts of discrimination against mostly black and North African Arab who are trying to find jobs.

The documentary offers poignant and revealing accounts of discrimination faced by these full-fledged French citizens who are also children of immigrant parents.

Theophila Frederick has viewed all of the films, and she says that they are very informative. She said about Frantz Fanon: sa vie, son combat, son travail, “It brought to realization the injustice, the shame that was brought about merely because of an individual’s skin color, race or ethnicity.”

Another thing she learned from the films is that there are similarities in France and other regions of the world regarding the aspect of colonization and the demands of the colonists.

Albina Ormokoeva is a junior from Kyrgyzstan majoring in intercultural relations.

She said the first movie was comprehensive and cognitive. “It was interesting to hear about Frantz Fanon’s life, his beliefs and philosophy, his struggles and his work. He aroused all his thoughts in his writing and speeches.”

She said, “It’s always beneficial to learn through documentaries.”

The French-American Cultural Exchange program provided the grant for the event.

Dr. Chimegsaikhan Banzar, coordinator, said, “The discussions stimulated the audience’s participation.”

Door prizes, provided by Berlitz Publishing Company, included samples of French-English dictionaries and IPhrase French digital phrase book for iPod.