Ernesto Hernandez and Kathy Holder talk about J’ai Tue Ma Mere after the showing. Photo Eva King

By The Clackamas Print Staff

Ernesto Hernandez maintained a smile and a welcoming presence, despite lackluster attendance at the Oct. 25 International Film Festival.

Held in McLoughlin Auditorium at Clackamas Community College, the event was intended to “promote our languages and to get people thinking about film and international events,” said Hernandez, chair of the World Languages department at CCC.

The turnout is always small because people are busy, Hernandez said.

“It’s always one of those events that you can pop in, grab yourself a snack,” he said. “There’s no shame.”

This year’s festival featured films in French, “J’ai Tue Ma Mere;” Spanish, “Tambien La Lluvia” and German, “Der Blinde Fleck.”

Student Kathy Holder, a retiree taking French at the college, used the event to help practice her language skills.

“As a first-year French student, it was difficult for me, but I picked up some,” said Holder speaking of the 2009 French Canadian film, J’ai Tue Ma Mere.

A table in the lobby was adorned with free food. Cookies and pomegranate juice, charcuterie and crudité; that’s sliced meat and sliced veggies for those who don’t speak French or eat at pretentious Portland restaurants.

“I come to all the World Languages events,” said Amy Burghardt, administrative assistant for the World Languages department. “It was a fabulous movie; I wish I’d seen the whole thing.”

Hernandez is no stranger to differences in languages or cultures. He grew up bilingual speaking English and Spanish, studied French and German in college, lived in Japan and learned to speak Japanese while there.

“My body is Nicaraguan,” said Hernandez. “I’m American; my heart is French.”

This year’s event, Movie Marathon Madness, continued Hernandez’s tradition of creating catchy titles to draw attention and have a bit of fun. Speaking on next year’s festival Hernandez said, “You can rest assured that it will be a title that trips off the tongue, preferably something alliterative.”