City Week

Festival With a French Accent

Isn't French a beautiful language? Well, you'll have the opportunity to enjoy it cinematically on five different days.

The UA Department of French and Italian is holding its first French and Francophone film festival from Tuesday, March 20, through Thursday, April 12. The film series, called The Tournées Festival, was made possible by a grant the department received from the French American Cultural Exchange, according to assistant professor Carine Bourget.

Five films have been selected, beginning this Tuesday with the film De Battre Mon Coeur S'est Arrêté (The Beat That My Heart Skipped), which was awarded the Best Film Music Award at the 2005 Berlin Film Festival. All of the selected films have been awarded in some way.

"We wanted to have diversity of film selection," said Bourget.

To make the series of films more eclectic, the Department of French and Italian gathered opinions from French students and selected three films directed by French directors, one film directed by a Senegalese director and another film by a Tunisian director.

Not a French speaker? Not to worry; all of the films will have English subtitles.

Before each film screening, foods from various regions of France will be sold from 6 to 7 p.m. After this Tuesday showing, The Tournées Festival will be held on four successive Thursdays, March 22 through April 12. Anyone interested in seeing some great French films can attend, because the film screenings are free and open to the public.

"We hope this event will bring in a diverse representation of the community," said Bourget. "Not just UA students and staff."

For more information, go to the Department Web site. --K.H.

Entertainment in the Sky

Do you ever look up in the sky at aircraft from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and wish you could get a closer look at their machinery? Perhaps every once in a while, you wish the aircraft would do something besides their everyday flight patterns? This weekend, Davis-Monthan will be allowing both of these things to happen.

The air show is celebrating the 80th anniversary of Davis-Monthan's official foundation in Tucson, as well as the 60th anniversary of the Air Force.

Air show director Lt. Col. Thomas Zupancich says the event is great for families.

"It provides an insight into our aircraft heritage and capabilities," said Zupancich. "It also gives us an opportunity to say 'thank you' to the community for all of its support to our airmen and their families."

Zupancich says the air show will feature many performances, including the U.S. Navy Blue Angels Jet Demonstration Team, the U.S. Army Gold Knights Parachute Team, Davis-Monthan's very own A-10 demonstration and an F-16 demonstration. Also, major aerobatic award-winning pilots will perform, including Kirby Chambliss, Tim Weber and Greg Poe.

On top of all of the fascinating demonstrations, the air show will also feature 45 static-display aircraft, as well as World War I vintage planes.

Zupancich said the last Davis-Monthan air show was held in 2005, with the base typically holding one every other year.

If you want a chance to see these aircraft dazzle the community, head over to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base for this free aerial entertainment. Gates open at 9 a.m., and the show begins at 9:30 a.m. --K.H.

Lennon on Paper

Throughout much of his life, John Lennon was known as a member of the Beatles. Period. Even now, few people realize he was at least as passionate about drawing as he was about music--maybe even more so. In fact, in an early interview, he stated that art was No. 1 for him--the guitar actually came second. Unfortunately, Beatlemania tended to eclipse all of his other methods of creative expression. Even in 1969, when he made some attempts to publicly exhibit his artwork, no one could separate the musician from the visual artist.

Lennon had been producing drawings since childhood, and by the time of his death, Yoko Ono possessed more than 1,500 of his pen-and-ink works that no one had ever seen. Now, many of his lithographs are part of The Art of John Lennon, an extensive collection in the hands of California's Pacific Edge Gallery, which has been working with Ono and the Lennon estate for the last 17 years to exhibit his works throughout the United States. This weekend, some of those works will be visiting our city for the second time.

"The exhibit has changed dramatically since the first time it was in Tucson," says Pacific Edge curator Richard Horowitz. "We have a lot of very rare editions now." These include the "Bag One" lithographs, a series of intimate drawings of Yoko and John that were hand-signed by Lennon and have been shown all over the world. In addition, the show contains some original drafts of song lyrics written in Lennon's own handwriting--most notably, the first draft of "Imagine."

Interestingly enough, the exhibit contains no drawings having anything to do with music. But Lennon's songs will be playing to give viewers the complete Lennon experience. "Seeing this show is wonderfully emotional," says Horowitz. "We actually have people come into this exhibit and cry." Plus, it's free. --A.M.

Saturday Morning Live

Come Saturday morning, a lot of kids spend their time curled up on the floor in front of the TV, watching cartoons and scarfing down sugary cereal. All of that may be enjoyable, but is it conducive to mental, psychological and spiritual growth? Probably not.

How about replacing cartoons with classical music? That's what the Tucson Symphony Orchestra is doing with its "Just for Kids" events, a series of concerts that use music to tell stories to children in an entertaining and educational way. This Saturday's concert, Emily and the Ghost Flute--written, narrated and led by TSO violinist and composer Michael Fan--shares the tale of a young girl who hears haunting sounds coming from an eerie, vacant house across the street from her own. Going over to investigate, she finds out that the sounds are, in fact, made by a flute, a violin and a harp--which audience members can see in action as they listen to the story.

"In these concerts, kids get to sit on the floor and watch live musicians doing dazzling things with instruments," says Terry Marshall, the TSO public relations manager. "They aren't going to be bored, and they'll discover music--which is important, because we know the significance of musical education and its affect on cognitive ability. 'Just for Kids' shows them there are things in life besides sports and cartoons. They make for a more well-rounded childhood."

The concert this weekend is technically free, though a $2 donation is encouraged. It's appropriate for children as old as 8 or 9, and as young as 4. And don't worry--parents don't have to sit on the floor. --A.M.