This paper discusses the use of francophone films produced in French-speaking areas outside France in the second-language classroom, using several films from African countries and Canada as examples. The idea is that such films give students more than an abstract idea of a francophone region outside France, and represent large views of language and culture, encouraging students' use of contextualized skills. A synopsis and viewing guide for "La Vie est belle" and a lesson outline based on it are appended. (Contains 29 references, including Internet resources and film distributors.) (MSE)