UA News

Scene from "La Promenade"

Since 1998, 2,000 French cinema professionals vote each year to determine Les Lutins honoring short films. Past “Leprechaun” awards were the first major public recognition of film talents such as director Francois Ozon and actress Ludivine Sagnier.

Les Lutins, part two, features five of the 25 nominees for 2008. All have been featured in film festivals around the world. "Even Pigeons Go to Heaven" by Samuel Tourneux was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animation Short.

Shot in different parts of France, the four live action productions examine contemporary problems – corporate culture, racism and layoffs – as well as the age-old problems of relations between fathers and sons.

The films are:

• "Dans leur peau" ("In Their Shoes") by Arnaud Malherbe
• "Bonne nuit Malik" ("Good Night Malik") by Bruno Danan
• "Le Vacant" ("Time Out") by Julien Guetta
• "La Promenade" by Marina de Van.

All films are in French with subtitles in English.

The films are presented by The University of Arizona department of French and Italian as part of Humanities Week. Co-sponsored by Alliance Française Tucson with the assistance of a Cultural Development Grant from the Federation of Alliances Françaises (USA). U.S. showings organized by the Délégation générale de l'Alliance Française.