Quick Links
Library's Media Collection. The University of Illinois Library has a massive collection of media located on the 5th floor of the Main Stacks, where you can find plenty of French language films. To find films, search the Library Catalog.
Databases--all are UIUC
- FIAF International Film Archive Database This link opens in a new windowContains: International index to film periodicals, 1972- ; International index to television periodicals, 1979- ; List of periodicals indexed; Treasures from the film archives; International directory of film and TV documentation collections; and Bibliography of FIAF members' publications.
- Film & Television Literature Index This link opens in a new window
Alternate version: Film & Television Literature Index in the classic EBSCO user interface (best for exporting more than 50 results or combining saved searches). Film & Television Literature Index is a comprehensive bibliographic database covering the entire spectrum of television and film writing. It has been designed for use by a diverse audience that includes film scholars, college students, and general viewers. Subject coverage includes film & television theory, preservation & restoration, writing, production, cinematography, technical aspects, and reviews--Database description screen.
- Filmakers Library Online This link opens in a new windowThe collection includes documentaries that are already heavily used in humanities and social science classrooms. Topical coverage is contemporary and relevant across the curriculum--race and gender studies, human rights, globalization and global studies, multiculturalism, international relations, criminal justice, the environment, bioethics, health, political science and current events, psychology, arts, literature, and more. The titles in Filmakers Library Online present points of view and historical and current experiences from diverse cultures and traditions world-wide.
- MLA International Bibliography This link opens in a new window
Alternate version: MLA International Bibliography in the classic EBSCO user interface (best for exporting more than 50 results or combining saved searches).Indexes critical materials on literature, languages, linguistics, and folklore. Proved access to citations from worldwide publications, including periodicals, books, essay collections, working papers, proceedings, dissertations and bibliographies.
- Silent Film Online This link opens in a new windowSilent Film Online brings together films which represent the basis of modern cinematic technique and film theory. This database covers silent features, serials, and shorts from the 1890s to the 1930s and includes examples of the silent film movement from Germany, Britain, the Soviet Union, and France. The resource complements its feature films with a selection of related documentaries
Cinema Vocabulary
Find Books
To locate books on French-language cinema, search the Library catalog using the following subject headings.
For French Cinema:
Motion pictures--France--History--19th Century
Motion pictures--French--History--20th Century
Motion pictures--Dictionaries--French
Motion picture producers and directors--France--Biography
For Francophone Cinema:
Motion pictures--Africa, French-speaking
Motion pictures--Africa--History
Motion pictures--Africa, North
Motion pictures--Africa, Sub-Saharan
Motion pictures--Arab countries
For Canadian Cinema:
Motion pictures--Quebec (Province)
Motion pictures--Canada
Cinéma--Canada
For Literature and Cinema:
Film adaptations
French literature--Film adaptations
Motion picture plays--History and criticism
Motion pictures and literature--France
French literature--Film and video adaptations
Motion picture plays. French
Research Guides and Bibliographies
L'encinéclopédie: cinéastes "français" des années 1930 et leur œuvre by Publication Date: 2010
Film Websites
General
French/European Cinema
African Cinema
Canadian Cinema
Watch Films Online
provides online access to over 16,000 films including French-language cinema.
- HENRI de la Cinémathèque françaiseThe HENRI platform of the Cinémathèque française is an online database offering access to a collection of films and video documents on cinema. An initiative launched in response to the closure of cinemas due to the Covid-19 epidemic and confinement, it offers a diversity of content, including little-known works of cinematic heritage. The interface allows you to discover the history of cinema through a selection of films classified by theme.
Find DVDs
French and Francophone films are available on DVD and may be checked out from the Media Collection in the Main Stacks. Search the Library catalog using the following subject headings.
For French Films:
Feature films--France
Documentary films--France
For African Films:
Feature films--Africa
Documentary films--African
For Canadian Films:
Feature films--Canadian
Feature films--Québec (Province)
Documentary films--Canadian
Film Reviews
VideoHound's world cinema: the adventurer's guide to movie watching. Detroit, MI: Visible Ink Press, c1999. xix, 551 p. with illustrations.
Reviews of over 800 films produced outside of the U.S. in the last 100 years, including films from Europe, the Middle East, and Canada. Entries are arranged alphabetically by the English title of the films. There are also sidebars on numerous directors and actors as well as indexes by master titles, countries of origin, cast, directors, writers, cinematographers, composers, and categories.
Allan, Elkan, ed. A Guide to world cinema: covering 7,200 films of 1950-84 including capsule reviews and stills from the programmes of the National Film Theatre, London. London: Whittet Books in association with the British Film Institute; Detroit, MI : Distributed in North America by Gale Research Co., 1985. v, 682 p. with illustrations.
Entries are presented in alphabetical order by film title. French and other non-English film titles are given in English translation. Includes an index of directors.
This search engine allows searching for film reviews by movie title, keyword(s) from the title, or category (such as recent releases and winners of specific film festivals).
Over 7,000 detailed English-language reviews of films from around the world.