Music, movies and crêpes brought French culture to the limelight at Fullerton College on the nights of April 8 and 9. This two-day celebration that showcased many aspects of French culture ended with a curated French film.
At the festival, student musicians played jazz while adorned in French fashion while a line of food vendors offered pastries, crêpes and savory meat dishes, such as oven roasted chicken or beef kafta. A gallery of classic French art redesigned by Fullerton students was featured on display. Next to the display was a sewing workshop where patrons could observe the fashion students making berets. This all served as a prelude for a screening of “L’Innocent,” or “The Innocent,” a crime thriller on Tuesday night or “Les Petites Victoires,” or “Sweet Little Things,” a comedy on Wednesday night.
French professor and the 2025 Faculty of the Year, Catherine Reinhardt-Zacair, has been leading this event since 2015 and has been helping the French Film Festival gain more traction and improve its features for the last ten years.
“When I came, I added all this cultural part here, the food and the music, the singing and the booths,” Reinhardt said. “Every year there’s a new cultural event. This year we have the beret making booth.”
Volunteer students talked about the history of berets in front of the sewing workshop while fashion students would work on them. The berets were not being sold but were raffled off, and attendees were given one free entry with the price of admission. By the end of the night, seven black handcrafted berets were given out before the movie started.
Also included with admission was a selection of French cuisine, ranging from sweet to savory. Both professional caterers and Fullerton College students used their culinary skills to provide food for the attendees before the show. The most popular selection was a crêpe stand where crêpes were made fresh in front of you, with powdered sugar and nutella. Other sweeter options included a crêpe on a stick with fresh fruit and french donuts. The main dinner tasting was either beef kafta or roasted chicken with vegetables on a bed of rice.
While eating, one could enjoy a revolving pool of talent playing and singing traditional French jazz. Artists performing vocal jazz including Miranda Mower and Paige Heredia, with Christine Araoka on piano. Another musical act was a jazz trio led by Alejandro Martinez. Most of the musicians sported French attire to accompany the event.
Fullerton College artists also set up a venue of recreated French art that featured paintings such as “The Water Lily Pond” by Claude Monet, and architecture such as the Eiffel Tower and the Arc De Triomphe. For those wanting to put themselves in a piece of art, both a caricature artist and a photo booth were other attractions at the festival.
On Tuesday night, the French Film Festival concluded with a showing of “L’Innocent” or “The Innocent,” which centered around a woman marrying an ex convict and her son being paranoid that he still hadn’t left that life behind. It is a tense thriller with a hint of comedy that garnered big reactions from the audience. The night after featured “Les Petites Victoires” or “Sweet Little Things,” a more lighthearted comedy about a 60-year-old man who wants to learn to read and write.
“It takes a whole year to put it together. At the end when I see everybody happy and having a good time and being in having a sense of community, I’m very happy,” Reinhardt said.
