New Perspectives at Cinéma ABC

« On n’est pas d’un pays, on est de son enfance. »

-Cesira, Interdit aux chiens et aux Italiens

The students in Toulouse had an opportunity to experience the language and culture of France at Cinéma ABC when they viewed the French-Italian-Swiss film Interdit aux chiens et aux Italiens, which was released in 2022. In the movie, the characters speak French and Italian, and there are subtitles in French.

Cinéma ABC is a small, independent movie theater in Toulouse with three screens that celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2016. Its mission is to promote culture and cinematographic work. The theater shows an eclectic assortment of movies, with more than 400 different titles in a year, and hosts events with directors and film crew. The ABC staff also creates their own short films, and the students watched the newest summer short comedy starring the theater’s employees. 

French director Alain Ughetto created the animated movie  Interdit aux chiens et aux Italiens about the life of his grandparents Luigi and Cesira Ughetto who lived in the Alps in Italy and France. The family was poor and life was difficult, as Luigi was a seasonal migrant worker who had to move to where there was work and the family lived through both world wars. While the movie focuses primarily on the personal history of the family, it also shows a slice of European history from the late 19th century through the mid-20th century and highlights the changing attitudes about immigrants in France. 

At the end of the movie, the students were able to discuss the film with a knowledgeable theater employee, and they asked thoughtful questions. They enjoyed the stop-motion animation of the film and the story of the Ughetto family, yet the experience was more than just an afternoon of entertainment; the movie was layered with many levels of learning.