The Global Film Festival is an annual event at Elizabethtown College sponsored by the Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS), the High Library and Modern Languages department. Each year the festival has a different theme, and this year, the included films are inspired by music.

The Global Film Festival is a series of movies with three movies in the fall and three movies in the spring. The films are from around the world and exhibit clashes between different cultures. All films included in the festival are shown in their native languages with English subtitles.

Last fall the College showed “Buena Vista Social Club,” a film set in Cuba, Sept. 13, “Once,” an Irish romantic drama Oct. 18 and “Vengo,” a French film set in Spain, Nov. 8.

Thursday’s movie was “Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life,” which showcases the life of Serge Gainsbourg, born Lucien Ginsburg.

Gainsbourg was a Jew who grew up in German-occupied France during World War II. The movie features songs from Gainsbourg, like “Valse de Melody,” “L’Eau à la Bouche” and “Le Poinçonneur Des Lilas.”

When he was growing up, Gainsbourg’s father played the piano professionally in bars and casinos and taught Gainsbourg to play.

Throughout Gainsbourg’s career he composed and performed music across many genres including French pop, rock, jazz and reggae.

Gainsbourg started his career as a pianist, songwriter and painter. His passion was for painting, but he made his living playing the piano. He was also involved in writing poetry, screenwriting, acting and directing.

The movie “Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life” takes an original and artistic view of Gainsbourg’s life. The movie follows his rise to stardom and his numerous love affairs.

The movie also incorporates an element of fantasy. Throughout the movie Gainsbourg is followed by one character from his childhood drawings that he calls “My Mug” at times, referring to his “ugly mug,” as well as “Professor Flipus.”

Flipus is a life-size puppet that resembles Gainsbourg but has exaggerated features. The puppet represents an alter ego and moral compass that advises him during important life events.

The biopic ends with Gainsbourg’s entrance into reggae music and one of his largest controversies. In 1978, Gainsbourg re-wrote the French national anthem, “La Marseillaise.”

He put the song to reggae music and called his version “Aux Armes et Caetera.” In response to this version the French people revolted against him and threatened to kill him. One of the most famous incidents occurred in 1980 during one of his concerts in Strasbourg after some patriotic citizens broke into the concert. To defuse the tensions, he sang the original song a cappella, and was joined by the audience.

To further reinforce his lack of wrongdoing, in the following year Gainsbourg bought the original manuscript of “La Marseillaise,” written by Rouget de Lisle. Gainsbourg proved publicly that his version of the song is the most accurate to the written text of the original.

The film won three César Awards and was nominated for eight more. After the film debuted it received mixed reviews. Rotten Tomatoes critics gave it a 73 percent and IMDb rated it 6.9 out of 10.

One attendee of the event was community member Clint Spiegel. Spiegel lives in Masonic Villages and enjoys coming to the College for events open to the public. He came to see this movie out of curiosity and because he had come to a global film event before.

Seeing the film reminded him of when he lived in New Haven, CT and would go to see the art films popular at the time. He had not heard of Gainsbourg or the movie before, but said he enjoys art and foreign films.

In regards to the more fantastical elements of the film, Spiegel said he was “not sure [what to make of] this except [he] enjoyed it.”

Upcoming films for the remainder of the semester include “Departures,” a Japanese drama which will be shown Feb. 21 and “The Overture,” a Thai drama which will be shown March 21.

All events are free and open to the public. For more information, interested parties can visit the International Students and Scholars’ webpage on the Etown website or contact OISS Director Kristi Syrdahl at 717-361-1594 or syrdahlk@etown.edu.