A whole range of visions of America and from America will be screened from 31 August to 9 September at the 44th Deauville American Film Festival. Fiction (both films in competition and premieres) and documentaries combine to give fascinating insights into U.S. life and culture as it is, or as filmmakers imagine it. The jury … Continue reading “Welcome to Deauville!”
Spike Lee’s latest film, BlacKkKlansman, is based on the true story of an African-American police officer who managed to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan in the 1970s. Incredible as it sounds, Ron Stallworth masterminded an infiltration operation by posing as a white racist on the phone. The film, which won the Grand Prize at the … Continue reading “Spike Lee is Back”
A film about Frankenstein author Mary Shelley is being released on 8 August. This B1-B1+ resource allows pupils to explore an interview with Haifaa-Al-Mansour, its director, about Shelley, filmmaking and being the first female Saudi Arabian director. You may want to introduce the topic of Mary Shelley and Frankenstein first with our Ready to Use … Continue reading “Audio Interview with the Director of Mary Shelley”
In the year in which the bicentenary of the publication of Frankenstein is being celebrated, a new biopic of its author, Mary Shelley, turns the spotlight on the young author who has long been eclipsed by a creation which escaped the pages of her book to enter popular culture. Rather like the eponymous Dr Frankenstein … Continue reading “Making Mary Shelley”
Two films present a modern take on the Western, through the eyes of a British and a Chinese director, and centring on the relationships between horses, a 15-year-old boy and a Native American cowboy. Lean on Pete tells the story of a 15-year-old boy searching for a home and a race horse destined for the … Continue reading “The Western Re-invented”
“A Ghost Story”, “Brooklyn Yiddish”, “The Rider” win Prizes at 43rd Deauville American Film Festival. David Lowery’s A Ghost Story is the big winner of the 43rd Deauville American Film Festival winning three awards on 9 September : the Jury Prize the Revelation Prize the Critics’ Prize A Ghost Story is a supernatural drama with Casey Affleck and Rooney … Continue reading “2017 Deauville American Film Festival winners”
The cream of Hollywood talent will be on display once more on the Normandy coast from 1 to 10 September for the 43rd Deauville American Film Festival. The festival seems to expand every year and now includes not just the feature-film competition, tributes and premières, but a selection of documentaries on American themes and “Season … Continue reading “Hollywood on Sea”
Chicago is the focus of the first ever American Week organised by the Institut franco-américain in Rennes, from 20 to 24 March. Chicago, the third-largest U.S. city has plenty to offer. The so-called Windy City, situated on Lake Michigan has a rich architectural and cultural heritage. The American Week will give you the opportunity to … Continue reading “American Week in Rennes”
In this B1-level article, your students will learn how a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as ‘human computers’ used their talents to help NASA launch rockets, and astronauts, into space. Even if Virginia’s Jim Crow laws required them to be segregated from their white colleagues, the black women of Langley’s group contributed to America’s … Continue reading “Hidden Figures in the Space Race”
The film Hidden Figures reveals the untold true story of a team of African-American women mathematicians, or “human computers” who helped the success of the Apollo Moon landings program in the 1960s. These videos are a great follow-up after using our B1-level article and teaching activities with your pupils. This short video introduces the film … Continue reading “Hidden Figures: Teaching with Trailers”