A scene from "Bamako," which will show at Tournees, a contemporary French film festival at Marian College.

The arrival of the Tournées Festival at Marian College next week will give local Francophiles and cinephiles something to cheer about.

Launched by the French-American Cultural Exchange and the French Embassy in 1995, the Tournées Festival gives American colleges access to contemporary French movies. Three other Hoosier schools -- Ball State University (Muncie), Indiana University Northwest (Gary) and Saint Mary's College (South Bend) -- will also host the event.

"If you are in New York, L.A. or Miami, you get to see French films regularly," Andrea Fagan, director of marketing communications for Marian College, said. "But in Indianapolis you don't typically get to see them, especially contemporary films."

All screenings will take place in the Library Auditorium on the Marian College campus April 12-20. Most will be followed by faculty-led discussions.

Admission is free, but attendees are required to register online at www.marian.edu/filmfestival. You can also find details about each film's content, running time and more at the Web site.

Paris, je t'aime (Paris, I love you)
7 p.m. April 12.
Hosted by the Marian College Department of Modern Languages.

Into Great Silence (Le Grand Silence) 2 p.m. April 13.
Hosted by the Bishop Simon Bruté College Seminary.

Bamako
7 p.m. April 13.
Hosted by the Richard G. Lugar Franciscan Center for Global Studies at Marian College.

Vers le Sud (Heading South)
7 p.m. April 19.
Hosted by the Marian College Honors Program.

Le Fond de l'air est rouge (A Grin Without a Cat)
2 p.m. April 20.
Hosted by the Marian College History Club.

Chats perchés (The Case of the Grinning Cat)
7 p.m. April 20.
Hosted by Marian College's Department of Performing and Visual Arts and Department of History and Social Science.