Through Foreign Film Fridays, the Carlsbad City library on Dove Lane imports popular movies from all around the world for the enjoyment of Carlsbad residents. These events take place twice every month with free viewings at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m..

Along with expanding the residents’ cultural awareness, these films bring an opportunity to find similarities as well as explore diversity between foreign and domestic films.

“We started this program in September of last year because we have so many people who really want to have different venues in North County to see foreign films,” curator Karen McGuire said. “Since there are not a lot of places to see these films, we wanted to offer that to our community.”

In fostering the interests of community members, these events continue to advance in prevalence.

“The response has been amazing,” McGuire said. “People really love being able to see great films.”

In order to continue the trend of public pleasure, solely high quality films are available for viewing. To reach this ideal, a highly selective process must take place.

“I have viewed and looked at probably 150 to 200 films in the last year and make a selection based on a few criteria,” McGuire said.

By applying the film filter, any screenplay shown boasts significant merit.

“All of the films that we have selected to show in this series have been award winners,” McGuire said. “They have either won or been nominated for an Academy Award, a Cannes Film Festival award or a Golden Globe award in the best Foreign Language Film category. They may not necessarily be award winners in the United States but they are definitely award winning films in their countries.”

While watching a film in a different language may seem intimidating, whether you are watching an intense murder mystery or a lighthearted comedy, the mood transposes perfectly across all borders.

“I saw the French movie, ‘Tell No One’ and I loved it,” senior Kelsey Adams said. “I never took French or anything, but there are subtitles which help you understand what is going on. Even without completely knowing what is happening, you feel the suspense.”