On October 26, as part of the "C’est Chic!" French Film Festival, award-winning French film director, Claude Lelouch, will teach a workshop of 80 students from the 2nd to 6th grades at Ludlow-Taylor Elementary School about the joy of filmmaking.  Students will be divided into 20 teams of 4 students each and, after creating a story-board, each team will receive hands-on experience to make their own short film. Mrs. Michelle Fenty, wife of D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty, is the co-chair of this program.

In partnership with the French Embassy, the Rotary Clubs of Washington, DC and Paris - Academies, both charter members of the Rotary Capital Cities Network, are the sponsors of this pilot program at Ludlow-Taylor, where teachers and students can learn about the value of film as an educational tool. Ludlow-Taylor Elementary School is a public school located in Northeast Washington, DC and has 210 students from Head Start to 6th grade.  Many of the students have special needs, and 90 percent of the children fall below the poverty line.  Ludlow-Taylor does not have an Art Teacher, and the school’s budget has NO money for any arts programs.

The program is part of the C’est Chic! Junior educational outreach program of the French Embassy.  Rotarians, teachers, Mrs. Fenty, Mr. Lelouch and the French Embassy will oversee the teams and provide coaching assistance.  Take a look at the web site at http://www.cestchic.org/junior.html.