NEWS

French professor presents on film, National French Week

Apr 11, 2011 | General News, Liberal Arts

Dr. Dolliann Margaret Hurtig, an associate professor of French at Louisiana Tech, presented research at the Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages in Baltimore, Maryland. The NECTFL Conference, held April 1-4, is the second largest Foreign Language Conference in the  country. Hurtig, as co-chair of the American Association of Teachers of French Commission on the Promotion of French in the United States, presented in a session on the film, “Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis.” The film, by Dany Boon, is the second-largest box office film ever to be produced, surpassing that of “Titanic,” and rivaled only by “Avatar.” “I chose this movie because it grossed more at the box office ever in the world except for ‘Titanic’ and now ‘Avatar,'” Hurtig said. “It is a tremendous success, and it praises the region of Pas- de-Calais, which has normally not been praised because it is the north of France and has the reputation for being cold and unappealing. The movie shows the region as warm and welcoming. Now the Pas-de-Calais is seeing an upsurge in tourism due to the movie’s giant success.Whereas a lot of French movies focus on Paris and that area or the Riviera, this one is unique in its discovery of the north of France, le Nord.” Included in her presentation, Hurtig displayed an original booklet on the film that included activities, web quests and assessments that could be used by professors and teachers for National French Week, which occurs in November, or for the Semaine de la Francophonie (National Francophone Week).