French Film Festival 2018

Photo+of+AP+French+students+Jasmine+MacFarlane%2C+Tori+Millsap%2C+and+Julianna+Cann+with+their+Frenchies+from+the+Film+Fest+on+Thursday+night.

Photo of AP French students Jasmine MacFarlane, Tori Millsap, and Julianna Cann with their “Frenchies” from the Film Fest on Thursday night.

The third-annual French Film Festival was held in Roberto Hall on Thursday, March 1st. French students in levels three and higher were given the task to create videos reciting a poem, giving the ABCs of France/French culture, and/or singing a French song. Students are encouraged to be creative with this assignment and may work individually, in pairs, or in groups of three. Friends and family are then invited to Padua Academy to watch the showing of the videos and be immersed into the French culture for a night. At the end of the night, each group is awarded a “Frenchie” to acknowledge all of the hard work that was put into the creation of the videos.

I used all of my pictures and videos from the school trip to France over the summer in my film. It fun to reminisce on everything that we did.

— Aliya Curran

Given the option of reciting one of four different poems, creating their own script using the alphabet, and recreating a song (as a music video), students took on this challenge with an enormous amount of creativity and excitement. Junior Aliya Curran, who is currently enrolled in Honors French III, says, “Honestly, I was skeptical at first but making the video for the Film Fest ended up being really fun! I did the ABCs of France so I used all of my pictures and videos from the school trip to France over the summer in my film. It was really fun to reminisce on everything that we did and get to share it with my classmates.” She also mentions that it was interesting to get to see the different interpretations of the poems and alphabet, saying, “I really liked that we got to watch everyone’s videos together. It was really cool to see how everyone took things differently and truly made them their own.”

Before the showing of the films, there was a French themed dinner served in the cafetorium, provided by CulinArt. The menu consisted of French Onion Roasted Chicken, Parsley New Potatoes, and Hericots Verts (green beans), followed by a French dessert. Afterwards, everyone was invited downstairs for the viewing in Roberto Hall. Senior Julianna Cann, who is currently enrolled in AP French, said, “Every year I’ve had such a great time at the French Film Fest, and this year was no different. I love being able to celebrate one of my favorite classes with my friends and family, and also to get to enjoy everyone’s hard work.” The AP students were not required to participate in the Film Festival this year, but Cann, along with Tori Millsap and Jasmine MacFarlane, participated anyway because they wanted to continue their three year tradition and finish their French career at Padua with one of their favorite events. The trio was also awarded with the “Lifetime Frenchie Award” for their dedication not only to the event, but the entire French language and program.

I love being able to celebrate one of my favorite classes with my friends and family.

— Julianna Cann

Other Frenchies that were awarded to students included, “Best Use of Padua Academy as a Prop,” “Best Video to Use as Promo for Future Trips to France,” and “Overall Funniest Film.” The award for Best Overall Film went to Junior Alicia Lenoir, who is currently enrolled in French III and did her own interpretation of the ABCs through drawings.