Looking for some highbrow culture at an everyman price? Set your sights on the last weekend of February - as if you needed another reason to see northeast Ohio's grimmest month come to a close - when Kent State University and the College of Arts and Sciences' Institute for Applied Linguistics presents the third annual Tournées Festival, a series of five French films (shown with English subtitles) at the Michael Schwartz Center auditorium.

Screenings slated for the festival include recent films that have enjoyed critical and popular success in France, ranging from thriller Roman de Gare and dark comedy A Girl Cut in Two to dramas Un Secret and Le Fils de L'Epicier (The Grocer's Son). "They are accessible and should appeal to a broad audience who is willing to read subtitles," says Francoise Massardier-Kenney, Kent State University professor of French Translation and Director of the Institute for Applied Linguistics. "Before each film, we do a short presentation, followed by a discussion after the movie. People have told us that they love to have the opportunity to discuss what they have seen."

Best of all, the event is free (as is the parking). "It's organized by volunteers who want to bring people together and provide an international perspective to the students and local communities," says Massardier-Kenney. The event is made possible with the support of the Cultural Services of the French Embassy and the French Ministry of Culture.

For a schedule of the screenings and links to film descriptions, click here.