Germany. France. Africa. Just a few of the faraway, exotic places many students did not get the chance to visit during spring break, due to lack of money. Now, University students have the chance to experience these and other cultures free of charge and without leaving Happy Valley.

It's time for the International Film Festival.

Curtis Bayer, Graduate Student Association film coordinator, said that six films will be shown, each representing different cultures, beginning tomorrow and running until March 19. All screenings are free and open to the public, he said.

"(The festival) is a chance to share great diversity with students that might not see the films if they had to pay. Most students see entertaining films. Some (films) are more serious and worldly and deserve to be seen, especially at a university level. This is a way to share them: some of the best films in the world," Bayer said.

Jackie Schwab, treasurer of the International Students Council, also said that she believes the festival provides an opportunity to show students other cultures. Schwab, a German student, said that it also is fun for international students to see films in their own culture and language.

The festival is sponsored by ISC, and is co-sponsored by GSA, the European Student Club, and the Caribbean Student Association, Schwab said.

The six films will be shown at various times and locations, as listed below:

-- Tauw -- 7:30 p.m. March 14 in 112 Kern. This film from Senegal paints the portrait of a dockworker who must confront the world of poverty and unemployment.

-- Sugar Cane Alley -- 8 p.m. March 14 at in 112 Kern. An 11-year-old boy, from a sugar plantation of the same name as the title, must learn to adapt to a new life when he wins a scholarship to a high school run by the Creole aristocracy.

-- Brightness -- 9:30 p.m. March 16-17 in 112 Chambers. This highly-acclaimed film chronicles the intricate conflicts between a father and son in Mali during the 16th century. This is one of the rare African films that actually came to the United States. It also won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1987.

-- Wings of Desire -- 7:15 p.m. March 16-17 in 112 Chambers. This German film is a returning University favorite. It took top director honors at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival and is about the presence of angels in the streets of Berlin.

-- Hotel Terminus -- 7 p.m. March 18-19 in 112 Kern. Klaus Barbie, a Nazi allegedly responsible for the deaths of thousands of Jews during World War II, is the subject of this French film. It is a powerful documentary that tries to uncover the truth about his escape from justice.

-- Fanny and Alexander -- 8 p.m. March 18 in 105 Chambers. A University favorite, this film shows the year in the life of two imaginative children. This is the last film directed by Ingmar Bergman.

The films were chosen by the different groups involved with the event, Bayer said. Two of the films, Brightness and Hotel Terminus, are campus premieres. The remaining ones have been played before but are often requested by students, he said.

Schwab said the festivals now occur once a semester, due to its past success. Last fall, five films were shown and nearly every screening was full, she said.

Bayer said GSA includes one international film in its weekly film screenings, including the summer. He said that he is especially pleased with the selection of films for the festival.

"I've been working here 10 years, and I'm very proud with this selection of international films," he said.