A viewing of the documentary “Le Carrefour/The Intersection” and a Q&A with the creators and stars of the film will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 17, at The Franco-American Collection at the University of Southern Maine in Lewiston.

A heartfelt and gritty documentary, “Le Carrefour” shines a bright light on the intersection of past and present immigrant realities brought together by the French language. The documentary received the first ever Maine Heritage Film Grant from TV5Monde and the Points North Institute as well as a grant from the Maine Humanities Council. “Le Carrefour” was chosen for the Camden International Film Festival in 2021, where it won the Audience Award for Best Short. It also won the Tourmaline Prize for Best Maine Film Short at the Maine International Film Festival in Waterville in 2022.

The film tells the story of Cécile, a Franco-American woman, as she reconnects with her Franco culture and reacquires her French language skills, thanks in part to Trésor, a Congolese asylum seeker, and other French-speaking immigrants in her city. The marvel of this unexpected relationship takes place in Cécile’s hometown of Lewiston. Cécile’s Franco roots tie her to the tens of thousands of French-Canadians who came before her to power the mills of New England, and who suffered from decades of discrimination and oppression.

Professor and French language advocate, Jessamine Irwin and documentary filmmaker Daniel Quintanilla are co-directors of “Le Carrefour/The Intersection.” For more information on the film contact Jessamine Irwin at theintersection2021@gmail.com or visit the website at lecarrefourfilm.com.

There is no fee for the program.

For more information or to register for this event, contact the FAC archivist, Anna Faherty at anna.faherty@maine.edu or by phone (207) 753-6545. If you have questions about disability access or need to request disability accommodations (e.g. sign language interpreters, materials in electronic format, etc.), please contact Anna. Requests should be made as soon as possible to allow sufficient time for the accommodation process.

The Franco-American Collection at the University of Southern Maine at is located at 51 Westminster St., Lewiston.

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