Film Screening:

La Sapienza
(Eugène Green, 2014, 100 min, France/Italy, in French & Italian w/ English Subtitles, Color, DCP)

-- Introduced by Camille Chanod, Romance Studies/PhD exchange student, Université de Paris-Diderot; Q&A to follow! 

Named for the famous seventeenth-century Roman church Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza, which was designed by the legendary architect (and Bernini rival) Francesco Borromini, La Sapienza echoes Rossellini's Viaggio in Italia in its tale of Alexandre Schmid (Fabrizio Rongione), a brilliant architect who, plagued by doubts and loss of inspiration, embarks on a quest of artistic and spiritual renewal guided by his study of Borromini. His wife Aliénor (Christelle Prot), similarly troubled by the crassness of contemporary society - as well as the couple's lack of communication and passion - decides to accompany him. In Stresa, a chance encounter with adolescent siblings Goffredo (who is about to commence his own architectural studies) and his fragile sister Lavinia upends the couple's plans. As Borromini's spirit and the vertiginous splendor of his structures spin a mysterious web among them, within the course of a few days the foursome experiences a series of life-altering revelations.

-- Winner for Best Film at Seville European Film Festival (2014)! 

Cost: Free and open to the public.

Sponsors: The Center for French and Francophone Studies (CFFS), the Program in Arts of the Moving Image (AMI), the Department of Art, Art History & Visual Studies (AAHVS), the Department of Slavic and Eurasian Studies, and the Department of Romance Studies.