Since there is a large African-American population at BRAMS, I think it is important to show relevant images as well as captivating examples of black people speaking French. It is still widely misconceived that French is a "white" language; you can explain that to students all you want, but until they see it and hear it for themselves, they will not truly believe you. Different shades of dark skin are represented in both African films as well as in the film from Martinique; French is portrayed as a multicultural language, while the films simply reflect the presence of different skin tones everyday, everywhere.
For my students of Puerto Rican descent,
La rue cases-nègres
will provide a look at another Caribbean island, as it introduces the geography of the Antilles. The Malagasy film
Quand les étoiles rencontrent la mer
will speak to the small but consistent Laotian presence at BRAMS, as it introduces the strong presence of Malayo-Indonesian ancestry in Madagascar and its influence on the Malagasy language.
La mystérieuse mademoiselle C
should provide my Caucasian students with some familiarity. Too often, Caucasian cultures get shortchanged in a project of this nature, in a well-meaning effort to make up for the lack of strong black representation in the past. Clearly, our goal is to alienate no child. In any case, neglecting the light-skinned faces speaking the French language would make for an irresponsible discussion of francophony, and would fail to address the vital presence of the French language on the North American continent.
It is important that we teach our students to see the sameness and different-ness in all cultures, those that do and do not look like ourselves. All students should be able to identify in some way with the struggles of human nature that each film portrays.