FIAF Montclair presents Festinema Junior, a French film festival and educational program geared toward children and teens. Featuring screenings of three films — Yvan Atal’s Le Brio (2017), Jacques Tati’s classic Jour de fête (1947), and Claye Edou’s animated Minga et la cuillère cassée.
The festival will run from March 11 to 18 at Montclair Film, Montclair Public Library, and Montclair Art Museum. Special advance screenings will be held for teachers and press at FIAF Montclair from February 19 to 21.
Created by the Alliance Française network in the United States, Festinema Junior harnesses the power of cinema to inspire young audiences and spark their curiosity about cultures around the world. It introduces students to international cultures through foreign films and provides tools to encourage critical thinking. This program is also part of Kids Trail, a program initiated by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the US and the FACE Foundation. This is the second consecutive year that FIAF Monclair is participating in the program.
For school group screenings, teachers will have access to free educational materials that include suggestions for pre-screening and post-screening activities in English, French, and Spanish.
Minga et la cuillère cassée
For ages 7–12
Family Screening
Saturday, March 16 at 3pm
Montclair Art Museum, 3 S Mountain Ave, Montclair
$5 FIAF Members / $7 Regular
Screening for Teachers & Press
Tuesday, February 19 at 6pm
FIAF Montclair, 7 North Willow Street, Suite 7, Montclair
Free, advance reservation required.
Screening for School Groups
Monday, March 11 at 10am
Tuesday, March 12 at 10am
Montclair Film, 505 Bloomfield Ave, Montclair
Free, advance reservation required.
Dir. Claye Edou, 2017, 80 min.
In French with English subtitles.
Minga is an orphaned girl living with her stepmother Mami Kaba and her stepsister Abena. One day, when she was washing dishes in the river, she accidentally broke a spoon. A furious Mami Kaba then chased her away from the house, asking her to find the only identical spoon hidden by her late mother. A adventurous journey then begins for Minga in the forest.
Jour de fête
For ages 13–15
Family Screening
Saturday, March 16 at 12:30pm
Montclair Film, 505 Bloomfield Ave, Montclair
$8 FIAF Members (with code 505FIAF) / $10 Regular
Screening for Teachers & Press
Wednesday, February 20 at 6pm
FIAF Montclair, 7 North Willow Street, Suite 7, Montclair
Free, advance reservation required.
Screening for School Groups
Wednesday, March 13 at 10am
Thursday, March 14 at 10am
Montclair Film, 505 Bloomfield Ave, Montclair
Free, advance reservation required.
Dir. Jacques Tati, 1947. 75 min.
In French with English subtitles
Once a year the fair comes for one day to the little town ‘Sainte-Severe-sur-Indre’. All inhabitants are scoffing at Francois, the postman, what he seems not to recognize. The rising of the flagstaff under his direction nearly leads into a catastrophe – but everybody tells him, how important his work is. Sneering up Francois continues in the evening of the festive day. Made drunk, some ‘friends’ persuade him to watch a short-movie in a tent. This film is a stunt-show, covered as ‘The modern delivery-techniques of the US-post. Francois takes it serious, not recognizing being teased. Next day, after getting sober in a goods wagon, he reorganizes his own delivery-methods. He has not the equipment, as his ideals in the short-movie have, but using only his bicycle, he makes good, funny progresses.
Le Brio
For ages 16–18
Family Screening
Sunday, March 17 at 3pm
Montclair Film, 505 Bloomfield Ave, Montclair
$8 FIAF Members (with code 505FIAF) / $10 Regular
Screening for Teachers & Press
Thursday, February 21 at 6pm
FIAF Montclair, 7 North Willow Street, Suite 7, Montclair
Free, advance reservation required.
Screening for School Groups
Thursday, March 14 at 10am
Montclair Public Library, 500 S Fullerton Ave, Montclair
Free, advance reservation required.
Dir. Yvan Atal, 2017, 97 min.
In French with English subtitles.
After an incident, a brilliant professor known for his outbursts is forced to mentor the student he wronged for a speech contest. Neïla, a girl of Algerian descent, lives in a housing project in the suburbs of Paris with her mother and her grandmother. She has good friends in the neighborhood, including a boyfriend named Mounir, an Uber driver. Always a good pupil, she has decided to become a lawyer and to this end has enrolled at the Assas University in Paris. But her first day proves a harrowing experience. Arriving late in the great amphitheater where Pierre Mazard, a seasoned but controversial law professor, gives his class, poor Neïla is taken to task by him, and in words tainted with racism. Some students complain about Mazard’s attitude, which urges the President to intervene. He firmly asks the professor that he do something to redeem himself. And to this end, why not train his victim for the prestigious speech contest Assas is associated with? Reluctant at first, Pierre is forced to accept the deal. But how will Neïla put up with working under the yoke of her torturer? And how will Mazard refrain from taking advantage of the situation to go on mistreating her?
