(Louisiana Statewide – September 25, 2023) – Louisiana Public Broadcasting’s (LPB) mission to showcase our state’s unique culture and history includes our ongoing support of French heritage and language. We are happy to announce the return of LPB Presents: Cinéma Français – a late night exploration of classic French films. The limited series will begin airing on LPB-HD Sunday, October 1 at 10:00pm and at 11:00pm on WLAE in New Orleans.
The series consists of six films and is hosted by Dr. William Arceneaux, the founder of La Fondation Louisiane and director of The Foundation for Excellence in Louisiana Public Broadcasting. He introduces the films, providing a bit of history and humor each week.
Since its return last year, Arceneaux says the response has been very encouraging. “Groups like the French - American Chamber of Commerce, Friends of French at LSU, and CODOFIL have promoted the series.”
Educators have found the series particularly useful. The films are broadcast in their native French, but subtitles in English are also shown. “Because these films are geared to a more sophisticated audience, French faculty at some Louisiana universities utilize them as a teaching tool,” adds Arceneaux.
The films selected for this series are as follows:
LES CHOSES DE LA VIE
Sunday, October 1 at 10:00pm
This 1970 romantic drama film directed by Claude Sautet is based on the 1967 novel Intersection by Paul Guimard. The film centers around a car accident experienced by Pierre (Michel Piccoli), an architect, and the events before and after it.
POLICE PYTHON 357
Sunday, October 8 at 10:00pm
A tough but honest cop must clear his name after a corrupt colleague implicates him in a murder in this French thriller. Ferrot (Yves Montand) is a hard-as-nails police detective who is attracted to a beautiful woman named Sylvia. The big problem: Sylvia is having an affair with Ganay, who happens to be Ferrot's superior on the force.
LA VENGENCE D’UNE FEMME
Sunday, October 15 at 10:00pm
Isabelle Huppert stars in this psychological thriller as a widow trying to get a confession from her husband’s mistress after he has committed suicide.
LE PETIT CRIMINEL
Sunday, October 22 at 10:00pm
Marc and Nathalie are brother and sister living separately since their parents' separation. Marc decides to visit Nathalie but in order to finance his trip he robs a shop bringing him to the attention of the police.
L’HÉRITIER
Sunday, October 29 at 10:00pm
After his father is killed in a plane crash, Bart Cordell (Jean-Paul Belmondo) returns back home to France to claim his inheritance: to lead the industrial empire his father built. But when a prostitute tries to set him up for a drug smuggling charge, he is forced to accept that his father may have been assassinated and that the killers are out to get him as well.
QUELQUES JOURS AVEC MOI
Sunday, November 5 at 10:00pm
After a mental health hiatus, Martial (Daniel Auteuil) returns to his family business in Paris, where he's in line to inherit his mother's chain of stores. He is sent to Limoges, France, where he is to inspect the finances of a store manager, Fonfrin (Jean-Pierre Marielle). While there, he meets the manager's maid, Francine (Sandrine Bonnaire), and they embark on a fling in spite of her existing relationship. Extenuating circumstances threaten to get in the way of fledgling love.
In addition to Cinéma Français, LPB airs the limited series, La Veillée, a weekly look at the happenings, culture, and people of Louisiana’s French language speaking population. Viewers can also watch limited French language children’s programming on the LPB PBS KIDS 24/7 channel as well as an extensive archive video collection of French programs available on the Louisiana Digital Media Archive website.
LPB has also developed a Spotify playlist of iconic French music from movies and beyond. Stream the playlist by searching for Louisiana Public Broadcasting on Spotify. For more information, go to www.lpb.org/cinemafrancais .
For more information, contact Colleen Spillane, Public Information Officer, Louisiana Public Broadcasting at (225)-767-4453 or 1-800-272-8161 ext. 4453 or by email at cspillane@lpb.org.
About Louisiana Public Broadcasting
Since 1975, Louisiana Public Broadcasting has been the public television network for the state of Louisiana with stations in Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Monroe and Shreveport. LPB is also affiliated with WLAE-TV in New Orleans. In addition to its award-winning documentaries about the history and people of Louisiana, LPB is dedicated to helping children throughout the state develop their literacy, math and science skills through its numerous educational outreach programs.
