Most of you are probably like me: limited to fluency in only our native tongue. While there is nothing wrong with this, it can be restrictive in successful communication, business and travel. Plus, language is key to culture.

For the second year, Linda James from the Art department and Laura Beadling from the English department are putting on a French and International Film Festival, through the support of the Tournees Film Festival grant from the French American Cultural Exchange Council. On Monday night, the French film “The Class” was shown at the Lundeen Lecture Hall. The Festival will end on Wednesday evening with a showing of “The Little Lieutenant.” After the film, Tom Caywood from the criminal justice department will present differences between law enforcement in France and the United States.

Although the Fesitval has been a success this year, with about 370 people attending the six films showed so far, many are missing out. People may hesitate to attend an international film because they have misconceptions about the viewing experience of watching a “foreign” movie. It is commonly thought that watching a movie with subtitles adds up to a lot of reading. People may think that because a film is in a language they do not speak, they will be unable to understand anything beyond the printed text at the bottom of the screen. Others think of international films as exaggerated indie-type, or black-and-white, overly dramatic romance movies.

The truth is, none of these stereotypes are accurate. Subjects can range widely; “The Class” was about a contemporary classroom with power dynamic struggles between teacher and student. And the language barrier is far less than one might think.

Subtitles do not feel like an exhausting amount of reading, nor is the viewer’s understanding limited to text-only cues. The actors’ body language, facial expressions and tone of voice all lend to understanding exactly what is occurring. Subtitles only help define the visual information received by the viewer.

Allowing yourself to be limited to a rewarding media experience simply because you do not understand the spoken words is foolish.

Beadling offers a new spring semester class, international cinema, which counts for humanities as well as international experience. Treating yourself to the International Film Festival may lead to an entire semester of dabbling in a whole new media experience.