Quebec filmmaker featured in Pallister series

Léa Pool, a French-language filmmaker from Quebec, will visit the University Monday (Feb. 23) to screen her film, "Emporte-Moi (Set Me Free)," at 7 p.m. in the Gish Film Theater.

Pool comes to campus as the featured artist in BGSU’s annual Pallister French-Canadian Lecture Series. The series is named for Janis L. Pallister, Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Romance Languages, who established it five years ago to increase awareness of French-speaking Canada by exploring French-Canadian cultural experiences.

Pool wrote and directed “Emporte-Moi,” a semi-autobiographical film portraying the coming-of-age experiences of a 13-year-old girl who escapes her troubled life in the 1963 tenements of Montreal by going to the movies. Preceding the screening will be a 6 p.m. reception for Pool outside the theater in Hanna Hall. Following the film, she will discuss her work further.

The Swiss-born Pool moved to Canada in the 1970s to study film and video. She taught for several years at the University of Quebec and, in addition to her films, has directed several programs for television.