If you’re not feeling enough love this Valentine’s weekend, head over to Gainesville State College on Friday night, where poems, music and film are all dedicated to the topic.
As part of the college’s celebration of Black History Month, jazz flutist Galen Razzaq will perform at 6:30 p.m. Friday in the Continuing Education Performing Arts Center. The audience will also participate in a poetry session following the performance.
After the music and poetry have ended, there will be a screening of "Paris, I Love You" ("Paris, je t’aime") at 8:30 p.m. The film is the first in a series of French films that will be shown at Gainesville State as part of a grant from the French Consulate and the French-American Cultural Exchange.
The purpose of the grant is to make recent French films more accessible and to expose students and the general public to them, said French professor Chaudron Gille, who is also co-chairwoman of Gainesville State’s Institute for Global Initiatives, which aims to bring more cultural programs to the general public along with students.
The films, along with the poetry and jazz, are free and open to the public.
Some of the films were chosen because of their subject matter while others were chosen for their star quality, Gille said. For example, next week’s film, "Days of Glory," was chosen because its story paralleled that of the Tuskegee airmen — and a film about the airmen will be shown on campus the previous day.
"Some of the other films we chose partially because actors or directors would be recognized. In "M. Ibrahim," Omar Sharif plays the leading role in that," Gille said. "Our last two films were chosen to tie in a little bit with women’s history month in March."
The films will be introduced by a faculty member, and will be followed by a discussion session led by the professor.