HPU Cinémathèque French Film Festival

 

The Department of Arts, Communication, Languages and Media of the College of Liberal Arts, under an Albertine Cinémathèque Grant, is pleased to present their sixth French Film Festival: HPU Cinémathèque.  Albertine Cinémathèque which brings French cinema to American college and university campuses, is part of the French For All initiative by Villa Albertine and Albertine Foundation and is made possible by the support of the Centre National du Cinéma et de l’Image Animée (CNC)    This year’s program will be in person. Following an opening screening on Nov. 13,  five films will be introduced and shown on the downtown campus on Thursday or Friday afternoons in Spring 2026.   

 

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Les Parapluies De Cherbourg),  thursday, November 13,  3:30 PM               

Location:  WaterFront PLAZA (500 ALA Moana BLVD), building 6, Room 304

An angelically beautiful Catherine Deneuve was launched to stardom by this dazzling musical heart-tugger from Jacques Demy. She plays an umbrella-shop owner’s delicate daughter, glowing with first love for a handsome garage mechanic, played by Nino Castelnuovo. When the boy is shipped off to fight in Algeria, the two lovers must grow up quickly. Exquisitely designed in a kaleidoscope of colors, and told entirely through the lilting songs of the great composer Michel Legrand, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is one of the most revered and unorthodox movie musicals of all time.  Please RSVP here.

 

 

FLOW,  Thursday, FEBRUARY 5,  3:30 P.M., Location: Waterfront Plaza, Building 6, Room 323 

A wondrous journey, through realms natural and mystical, Flow follows a courageous cat after his home is devastated by a great flood. Teaming up with a capybara, a lemur, a bird, and a dog to navigate a boat in search of dry land, they must rely on trust, courage, and wits to survive the perils of a newly aquatic planet. From the boundless imagination of the award-winning filmmaker Gints Zilbalodis (Away) comes a thrilling animated spectacle as well as a profound meditation on the fragility of the environment and the spirit of friendship and community. Steeped in the soaring possibilities of visual storytelling, Flow is a feast for the senses and a treasure for the heart.

                  

 

Holy Cow (vingt Dieux),  Friday,  FEBRUARY 13, 3:30 P.M.,  Location: Waterfront Plaza, Building 6, Room 323 

Totone, 18 years old, spends most go his time drinking beers and partying in the Jura region with his group of friends. But reality catches up with him: he has to take care of his 7-year-old sister and find a way to make a living. He then sets out to make the best Comte cheese in the region, the one that would win him the gold medal at the agricultural competition and 30,000 euros.

 

the Count of Monte Cristo (Le Compte de Monte-Cristo),  thursday, FEBRARY 19, 3:30 p.m.                     

Location: Waterfront Plaza, Building 6, Room 323 

Marseille, 1815. All of young Edmond Dantès’ dreams are about to come true –promoted to ship’s captain he can finally marry the love of hislife, Mercedes.But his success inspires jealousy from various quarters. Betrayed by his rivals and denounced as a member of a pro-Bonaparte conspiracy, he is imprisoned without trial at the Château d’If, with no hope of return. After fourteen years of secret instruction by fellow inmate Abbé Faria, Dantès manages to escape and to get hold of the legendary treasure hidden on the isle of Monte Cristo. Now with a huge fortune, he hatches an extraordinary plan to exact the vengeance he craves. Assuming multiple identitities –“the Count of Monte Cristo” among them –Dantès first courts his enemies, now highly placed dignitaries, the better to strike them down. But the price of revenge is heavy for one’s soul.

 This year we invited the Alliance Française Hawaii to participate in the film selection process and Le Compte de Monte-Cristo was their selection.

 

No Chains, No Masters (Ni Chaines, Ni Maitres),  Thursday, FEBRUARY 27,  3:30 P.m.

Location: Waterfront Plaza, Building 6, Room 323 

 In 1759, the Island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean is under French colonial rule. The enslaved population working in the sugar cane plantation live in constant fear. Among them, 16-year-old Mati refuses to accept her fate. Unlike her father Massamba, who has grown disillusioned by years of oppression, Mati dreams of freedom and a life beyond the plantation. One night, desperate to flee the violence of her captors, Mati finds refuge in a remote part of the island rumored to be home to a community of runaway slaves. Her escape triggers a ruthless pursuit. The plantation owner hires the merciless slave owner Madame La Victoire and her sons to track her down. Massamba realizes the brutal consequences awaiting her daughter if she gets captured. He ha no choice but to break free from his chains and embark on a perilous journey through the island’s dense jungle to find her. The father and daughter’s journey becomes a desperate fight for survival and a final, irreversible break from the colonial system that has defined their lives.

 

 

A Woman is a Woman (Une Femme est une Femme),   Thursday, March 5, 3:30 P.M.

Location: Waterfront Plaza, Building 6, Room 323 

When Angela (Karina) wants to have a baby, but finds her boyfriend Émile (Brialy) an unwilling participant, she goes to his friend Alfred (Belmondo), proving the lengths to which she’ll go to his friend Alfred (Belmondo), proving the lengths to which she’ll go to realize her dream. Festooned with enough eccentric musical moments to satisfy the most avant of gardists, including a Charles Aznavour song almost arbitrarily rocketing on and off the soundtrack and Michel Legrand’s pre-Umbrellas of Cherbourg score thundering into split-second breaks in dialogue, cinematic in-jokes galore, and plenty of anarchic humor, A WOMAN IS A WOMAN is a cinephile’s dream film. A jeu d’esprit of the New Wave that won a jury prize from the Berlin Film Festival for its “originality, youth, audacity and impertinence,” while the enchanting Karina (in her first major role) was named Best Actress.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION: Jury Prize (Berlin Film Festival, 1961) ; Best Actress (BerlinFilm Festival, 1961)

 

The HPU Cinémathèque Film Festival is funded by Albertine Cinémathèque.  Albertine Cinémathèque is part of the French For All initiative by Villa Albertine and Albertine Foundation and is made possible by the support of the Centre National du Cinéma et de l’Image Animée (CNC) 

 

Contact  Dr. Chadia Chambers-Samadi for more information