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Lost in Frenchlation

See new French movies with English subtitles in Paris (and meet people in the bargain).

ABOVE: Moviegoers share a laugh at a Lost in Frenchlation movie screening in Paris.

By Durant Imboden

Visiting Paris without seeing a French movie is like visiting Seville without attending a flamenco show. Unfortunately, movies have one big disadvantage over dance: If they're in French and you aren't a Francophone, you'll spend a lot of time trying to figure out the plot while waiting for the nude scenes.

Spoiler alert: Lost in Frenchlation has already come to your rescue. Nearly every week throughout the year, Lost in Frenchlation screens a French movie with English subtitles at one of "three iconic art-house Parisian cinemas":

• Club de L'Étoile Champs Élysées
• Luminor Hôtel de Ville
• Studio 28 Montmartre

The screenings feature recent movies (typically films released in the preceding three or four weeks), with a social hour beforehand that offers drinks and snacks.

On average, 150 people attend the shows. The founders of Lost in Frenchlation, Manon and Matt, report that their audience is a "healthy mix of ages" drawn from three English-speaking groups: tourists, expats, and foreign students.

• Note: The organization can also arrange private screenings for groups of 30 to 100 people, with optional walking tours of famous Parisian film sites in partnership with Ciné Balade.

For more information, including upcoming movies and screening dates, visit the organization's Web site at www.lostinfrenchlation.com.

BELOW: Arrive early, and you can have a drink (and maybe strike up an English-language conversation):

About the author:

Durant Imboden is a professional travel writer, book author, and editor who focuses on European cities and transportation.

After 4-1/2 years of covering European travel topics for About.com, Durant and Cheryl Imboden co-founded Europe for Visitors (including Paris for Visitors) in 2001. The site has earned "Best of the Web" honors from Forbes and The Washington Post.

For more information, see About our site, press clippings, and reader testimonials.

Photos: Lost in Frenchlation. Used by permission.

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