Introduction to French Cinema Short Course

A new short course exploring French Cinema. The course will include entrance to three films with introductions, plus an informal seminar following the screenings led by Isabelle Vanderschelden. Seminars will last approximately two hours and include film clips and discussion.

The 400 Blows (Les Quatre Cent Coups): Thursday 8 April – 10.30am

Director: Francois Truffaut
Cast: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Claire Maurier, Albert Rémy, Guy Decomble, Georges Flamant

After being neglected by his parents, Antonie quits school, leaves his home and gets involves in petty crimes across Paris. He wanders the streets of Paris, discovering the city like never before.

Cleo From 5 To 7: Thursday 15 April – 10.30am

Director: Agnes Varda
Cast: Corinne Marchand, Antoine Bourseiller, Dominique Davray, Dorothee Blank, Michel Legrand, Jose Luis de Villalonga

Cleo, a Parisian pop star, spends a few hours in the city as she awaits the results of a biopsy.

Le Boucher: Thursday 22 April – 10.30am

Director: Claude Chabrol
Cast: Stephane Audran, Jean Yanne, Antonio Passalia,

Chabrol’s most celebrated film sees a friendship between a teacher and local butcher darken as a series of murders unsettles life in their village.

Information about Isabelle

Isabelle Vanderschelden taught Francophone Studies, Translation and Film at Manchester Metropolitan University until 2021. She is now a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Chester and is affiliated with the Remelice research Laboratory at the University of Orléans. Her main areas of research include contemporary French cinema; film production; screenwriting; intercultural competence and film literacy. She has written extensively in French and in English in these fields. Her publications include Screenwriters in French Cinema co-authored with Sarah Leahy (2021); Studying French Cinema (2013); Amelie (2007); France at the Flicks: Issues in Popular French Cinema (co-edited with Darren Waldron, 2007). She is co-founder of a collaborative learning and teaching resource website FILTA (Film in language teaching association) and has co-edited with Carmen Herrero using film and media in the language classroom: reflections on research-led teaching (2019).