Running from May 2 to May 30, the Annette Olsen-Fazi International Film Festival has grown from its initial roots as a sole French film festival. In 2007, the late Dr. Annette Olsen-Fazi created TAMIU’s first French film festival. The following year, she applied for grants in order to continue screening international films with the vision of bringing cultures from abroad to our campus. While grants from Humanities Texas, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and Venevision International Films were awarded to the school, Olsen-Fazi was no longer with us to lead the project for a second year. Instead, Marcela Moran, an assistant professor of communication in TAMIU’s Language & Literature Department, took charge and continued with the late professor’s vision. With the help of several other faculty members, TAMIU is honoring Olsen-Fazi’s memory by continuing her dream with the aptly named TAMIU Annette Olsen-Fazi International Film Festival,.Moran is also head of a film workshop sponsored by Media Del Monte that has been taking place since 2007 in La Salle County for aspiring filmmakers from Cotulla and Encinal high schools. The short films the high school students have put together have also been part of the film festival, each of them being screened before the main feature. The 2009 TAMIU Annette Olsen-Fazi International Film Festival began May 2 with the award-winning French biopic, La Vie En Rose. Although the Student Center Theatre was not filled to capacity, there was what Moran referred to as, “a surprising number of members from the community and not solely students.” After the screening of each film,, a panel discussions have been led by Moran along with professors Lola Norris, Dr. Paul Niemeyer, and Dr. José Cardona-López, all professors of the Language & Literature Department as well as members of the film festival committee who were asked to submit two films of their choice to be screened. Norris also expressed joy at seeing more than just students in attendance for each film screening, saying, “TAMIU needs to be a beacon of culture for Laredo and, by doing that, we are honoring the memory of Dr. Olsen-Fazi.” Students, faculty, and staff felt the painful and abrupt loss of Olsen-Fazi in January. Professor Niemeyer was a colleague and friend of the late professor’s who also felt that continuing with Olsen-Fazi’s dream was important. When asked about what students and non-students alike should gain from this festival, Niemeyer said they should gain “a better appreciation for film and a greater sense of international culture that is usually inaccessible.”For a complete listing of movies, visit tamiu.edu/coas/filmfest or email Moran at amoran@tamiu.edu.