Exploring French Art and Film: Brendan Berger’s ‘Life-Changing’ Year Abroad

The senior French and film student took in art at renowned museums and attended the Cannes Film Festival.

By Lauren Hargrave & Jessica Weiss ’05

Exploring renowned museums like the Musée Matisse and Musée National Marc Chagall. Strolling the narrow streets of Nice’s Vieux-Ville (Old Town) amid centuries-old architecture. And diving into the world of European cinema at one of the most prestigious film festivals on the globe. 

For Brendan Berger ’25, a senior double majoring in French and cinema and media studies, his year abroad in the South of France didn’t just deepen his appreciation for art—it opened doors to a future in European culture.

“It was a life-changing experience,” said Berger, who is also pursuing a minor in creative writing. “Seeing art and film while being immersed in the French language gave me a fresh perspective on my interests, and it made me realize that a career in European art is possible.”

From a young age, Berger was captivated by the idea of speaking a second language. He began studying French in middle school when it was offered as an elective. His passion for art followed, and by high school, he was pursuing fine art photography. While researching university degrees, he discovered film studies, a field he describes as “a theory-based degree that encourages critical thinking and the examination of cinema through various contexts.”

“It felt like the perfect fit—a mix of my intellectual and creative interests,” he said. “I was drawn to the idea of exploring filmmaking in an international context and, eventually, studying abroad.”

Berger was particularly attracted to the University of Maryland’s decades-old Maryland-in-Nice program, which offers students the opportunity to earn 18 credits per semester while immersing themselves in French language, culture and history along the picturesque Côte d'Azur.

During his freshman year, Berger rekindled his passion for French and declared a double major, with the ultimate goal of studying abroad. Beyond his coursework, he attended coffee chats at the Language House and watched countless French films. The overlap between his two majors often emerged—he’d study films in his French classes or analyze French cinema for his film studies courses.

Last year, Berger’s study abroad dream became a reality. In Nice, he took classes in French, poetry, fiction and history while fully engaging with the city’s vibrant art scene. “France has such a clear artistic identity, and I was excited to experience that through the language,” he said. “I wondered, ‘What would it be like to live in France, visit a museum and see art with this new perspective?’ It was incredible.”

At the end of the year, Berger capped off his experience with a month in Cannes, attending the world-famous film festival through the University of Georgia’s Cannes Film Festival Study Abroad Program. There, he took courses in global media and film, watched 24 films over two weeks, and networked with film critics, distributors, directors and producers.

“It was the convergence of my specializations. Not only did I experience the festival as a film student, but being fluent in French meant I could engage with the environment on a deeper level,” he said. “I saw the French films in competition and got all the nuances—the jokes, the cultural references. It felt like everything I had studied for the past four years had come together.”

The experience also solidified his interest in European cinema, which he found more creatively fulfilling than Hollywood productions: “I was watching contemporary filmmaking that was challenging and unfamiliar, but it spoke to me in a way that Hollywood blockbusters don’t.”

As Berger looks toward the future, he hopes to pursue a graduate degree in film production in Europe, with plans to eventually write and direct his own films. “Living and studying in France opened up a new world for me. And I think that’s where I want to be as I continue my career—surrounded by the art and cinema that inspire me most,” he said.