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Penn State Berks Global Oscars Presents ‘Les Misérable’ Sept. 21

by Penn State Berks

Sep 17, 2021

As part of the “Global Oscars Comes to Berks,” Penn State Berks will present the 2019 film Les Misérables, at 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday, September 21 in room 5 of the Luerssen Building. The presentation is free and open to the public.

This film is not another adaptation of the Victor Hugo novel, although it is set in the same area of France. Les Misérables, written and directed by Ladj Ly, is a 2019 French drama inspired by the 2005 riots in Paris. The film follows Brigadier Stéphane Ruiz, a recent transplant to the impoverished suburb of Montfermeil, as he joins the local anti-crime squad. Working alongside his unscrupulous colleagues, Chris and Gwada, Stéphane struggles to maintain order amidst the mounting tensions between local gangs. When an arrest turns unexpectedly violent, the three officers must reckon with the aftermath and keep the neighborhood from spiraling out of control.

Beginning as a Cesar-winning short film, the film was selected to compete for the Palme d’Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize (in a tie with BACURAU) and was selected as France’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards.

The next film in this semester’s Global Oscars series will be The Man Who Sold His Skin on Oct. 19. The Global Oscars Series is presented by the Penn State Berks global studies baccalaureate degree program and the division of humanities, arts and social sciences. For more information, contact Kirk Shaffer, professor of Latin American studies, at 610-396-6258, or via email at [email protected].

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