Michigan Journal

Issue date: 4/8/08 Section: Student Life

Media Credit: IMDB.COM "Paris Je t'aime," a French film, was part of the International Movie Festival on campus last week.

Media Credit: IMDB.COM A Touch of Spice, a Greek film, was among the 10 different films shown during the International Movie Festival.

It was a week of culture mania as the International Movie Festival took place in Kochoff Hall and the Social Science Building last week.

Co-sponsored by the Albanian American Student Organization, Arab American National Museum, Catholic Student Association, French, German & Spanish Section Greek Leadership Council, Hellenic Student Association, Iraqi Students Association, Kurdish American Youth Organization, La Mezcla, Maltese American Student Organization, Student Activities Board, Student Government and SOAC, the International Movie Festival's main purpose was to show students the diverse cultures of the world. Ranging from French to Maltese and German to Epytian, the festival showcased 10 different genres of movies.

The event was thought of by the Iraqi Student Association, along with Public Relations Specialist Sarah Yosif and Secretary Rand Kazanji, who implemented it.

Through e-mail and with the help of professors in the French, Spanish and German departments, who gave their insight and were able to present the movies they thought students would enjoy, Yosif and Kazanji made sure that students got a taste of culture with a vast selection of different movies throughout the world.

"The event had a decent amount of students attending with it being the first International Movie Festival," said Yosif. "I think that all of the movies chosen gave a great insight to different cultures around the world."

"I feel like International Movie Festival was a way for students to get exposed to the different cultures and traditions," said Kazanji. "I think it was a great opportunity to get a different source."

Some of the movies shown at the festival were "Motorcycle Diaries" from Latin America, "Ahlamm" from Iraq, "A Touch of Spice" from Greece, and "Half Moon," filmed in Kurdish. James Blunt's documentary, "Return to Kosovo" was also shown at the Poetry Slam as a part of the festival.

The International Movie Festival will likely be an annual event and it may return as early as next fall.

"Our first instinct of this festival was to enrich students of diverse cultures," said Yosif. "But it is only when we presented it to the SOAC that they thought of implementing it for future years. We hope to make the festival an annual event, but like with other events, we need the support of all organizations who wish to get involved and to inform all students as much as possible."

"Overall the event was a success and I would like nothing more than to do a repeat of this event in the fall semester," said Kazanji. "This was a big event for Sarah and I but we learned from out mistakes and we are excited to bring it back."

"I had a few students come to me after the movies and thank me for holding the event," said Yosif, "and said that they learned things that they would probably never learn in a textbook. Overall, I think that the event was a success and we hope to have it at UM-D again."

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