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to our monthly bulletin on language and culture from the French Embassy.
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February 24
This is the first Academy Award nomination for Marion Cotillard, she plays Edith Piaf, the legendary French singer who rose to international fame from her beginnings on the streets of Paris, in La vie en rose. watch | website
Intersted by Edith Piaf's music? See La vie en rose at the FIAF. (Performing Arts section)
In collaboration with the company "Le meilleur du cinéma français ", the French Cultural Services is offering an Internet portal that enables Universities and Cultural Centers to access films online and to organize public screenings more easily throughout the US.
More than 60 feature-length films are available in the US, most of which figured among the most prominent French independent films in the last few years. website | see
How to apply for Universciné
Fill in the application form and return it to the Audiovisual Services of your location (See below for contact list and application form)
After receiving a confirmation from the Audiovisual Services, you can connect to website
February 2008
First launched by the French-American Cultural Exchange (FACE) and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in 1995, The Tournées Festival was conceived to help isolated universities have access to new French films that are normally only distributed in big cities. SUNY College at Brockport has been chosen as a recipient of this grant to bring French films to its campus. The Tournées Festival is presented on our campus by the departments of Foreign Languages and Literatures, English, Business Administration and Economics and Political Science. We hope you will join us in the discovery of French culture through the viewing of these films.
Film Festival | Brockport
February 2008
It can be argued that no country can lay claim to a cinematic history as diverse and rich as France. Inevitably some works by renowned directors become obscured. With its quartet of films, this diverse series, created by Marie Losier, shines a light on their works that received little attention in America upon their initial release. Now these films take their rightful place alongside more celebrated pictures of their time.
Florence Gould Hall 55 East 59th Street website
Through March 8
For more than a decade, from 1991 to 2003, Pierre Chevalier presided over the fiction department he established at ARTE, the premier French-German television company. In that time, Chevalier was responsible for more than 350 international productions or coproductions, a staggering number that is all the more remarkable for the extraordinary quality and diversity of what was made. The Age of Chevalier marked a renaissance in French cinema and television, heralding the arrival of a daring new wave of French filmmakers—including Laurent Cantet, Claire Denis, Pascale Ferran, Cédric Klapisch, and Sébastien Lifshitz—and demonstrating an unparalleled commitment to filmmakers from developing countries.
The Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53 Street website
February 1–4
Nine years ago the Cannes International Film Festival established Cinéfondation, a not-for-profit organization that promotes the work of student filmmakers. In 2007, an international jury headed by Jia Zhangke (China), and including J.M.G. Le Clézio (France), Niki Karmi (Iran), Dominik Moll (France/Germany), and Deborah Nadoolman Landis (USA), handed out four awards to filmmakers from schools in Argentina, China, Korea, and Serbia.
The Museum of Modern Art 11 West 53 Street website
February 13 7pm
Over the course of one year, photographer and filmmaker Patrick Chauvel traveled with Sarah Caron as she uncovered and photographed events that had been largely overlooked by the media. This documentary follows Caron over several continents and gives a unique insight into her creative process, vision, and motivations.
Presented in conjuction with FIAF Gallery exhibition - Sarah Caron: Itinerrance
Tinker Auditorium 55 East 59th Street
Free and open to the public website | see
Opens February 1
The time is 1984. The place is Paris. A young, handsome man (Johan Libéreau) arrives and strikes up a platonic relationship with a wealthy doctor, Adrien (Michel Blanc), who exposes him to Sarah (Emmanuelle Beart) and Mehdi (Sami Bouajila), a young couple who have just had their first child. An unplanned love affair at the onset of a new, unnamed epidemic upsets the tranquility of their lives. The four friends are confronted with the end of the sexual revolution; each facing new possibilities.
An Official Selection at the Berlin International Film Festival, 2007.
New York IFC Center 323 6th Ave NY review
February 16-21
Celebrating its fifth year at Brooklyn Academy of Music, the African Diaspora Film Festival has quickly become one of our best-loved and attended series. This year is no exception, as the ADFF bring highlights from their sold-out festival to Brooklyn!
Peter Jay Sharp Building , 30 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, NY Call: 718.636.4100 website
February 13 - 6:30 p.m.
Film Screening (in French; no subtitles). Co-sponsored by the Africa House, the Institute of French Studies and La Maison Française.
Directed by Alain Resnais and Chris Marker (1953, 29 min.), produced by Présence Africaine
Panel discussion (in English)
La Maison Française, New York University , 16 Washington Mews, New York website
Through February 25
For more than 20 years, Jean-Paul Viguier has been one of the few French architects to work extensively beyond the boundaries of Europe. Besides numerous buildings in France, he has realized projects in Asia and in the United States.
Cool Models/Maquettes Froides has been organized by the McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, Texas, in cooperation with the Cultural Services of the French Embassy. website
February 7 - March 5
For the past decade, French photographer Sarah Caron has traveled the world, working both in journalism and on longform projects. Her work has taken her to many continents, with assignments in Thailand, Cuba, Burma, and Mexico. In 2006, Caron received a Getty Images Grant for Editorial Photography to complete The Al-Aqsa Martyr Brigades– The Balata Sentinels, a series exploring the martyrdom culture in Palestine. Her work has been published in many international publications, including Le Monde, Le Figaro, The New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, and Elle.
This exhibition features photographs from around the world. Demonstrating her keen eye for subject and story, Caron’s images blur the lines between photojournalism and art photography with a rich depth of humanity and an international consciousness.
FIAF Gallery 22 East 60th Street
Free and open to the public website see
Through February 6
What time is it? What season are we in? Jean-Michel Berts' photographs escape time. A supernatural light wraps the sky, the majestic buildings and light spread off at every crossroads. The abstraction of characters reanimates the city's timelessness with an incredible emotional density.
Sous les Etoiles 560 Broadway #205 New York website
February 5 through February 26
A master of still-lives, landscapes, and nudes, Bou Zeidan descends from Ablah, Lebanon, where he began painting at a very early age. After he fled Lebanon to escape the turmoil of civil war, he moved to France, and currently lives and works in Paris. His work is widely collected in Europe and the United States.
You are cordially invited to attend Elie's opening reception in our gallery, Thursday night, February 7th, 2008 from 6-8 pm.
Agora Gallery, 530 West 25th Street, Chelsea, New York website
February 12 through May 11
French master Nicolas Poussin (1594–1665) painted some of the most influential landscapes in Western art. In them, nature is viewed "through the glass of time" and endowed with a poetic quality that has been admired by painters as different as Constable, Turner, and Cézanne. This will be the first exhibition to examine the landscapes of this great painter. It will bring together about 40 paintings, ranging from his early, lyrical, Venetian-inspired pastorals to his grandly structured and austere works in which the artist meditated upon Nature, its transformations and its renewals. There will also be an equal number of drawings, the most luminous of which were done en plein air.
Met Museum, 1000 Fifth Avenue New York. website
Daily through March 9th, 2008
The New York Historical Society 170 Central Park West at 77th Street
The New York Historical Society, the city's first museum and cultural institution, is proud to present a truly groundbreaking exhibition on the Marquis de Lafayette. This exhibition, which includes a "jewel box" display of Mount Vernon's Lafayette and Washington, explores Lafayette's return visit to the United States in 1824-1825, which rarely exhibited historical materials and objects from New York Historical Society's collection. website
Cutting decisively with a sharp blade with no chance of turning back produces simplified and defined patterns and lines that cannot be matched graphically by other means. Raymond Verdaguer is committed to creating images of ethical value that say something about humanity and the environment. Find new series “ Entonces llegamos al final “ and “ Supplice” on his website
Previews Feb 5-6 / Opens Feb 7-23, Shows at 8pm w/additional 4pm matinee Feb 16 & 23
Translation by Richard Sieburth, Adapted and Directed by John Jahnke
Artaud's infamous version of the Roman scandal of 1599 takes on a wicked life of its own in his lurid account of a wealthy family felled by incest, murder, and Papal oppression. This rarely staged Theatre of Cruelty work, in its first American translation created specifically for The Hotel Savant by Richard Sieburth of the French Institute/NYU, will be mounted in a uniquely terse yet evocative fashion.
Ohio Theatre 66 Wooster Street New York. Tickets:Theatremania
February 7-9, 8:30 p.m
This winter, we're pleased to present the latest incarnation of Hay's ever-evolving work, now re-envisioned and re-cast with seven French choreographer/performers. In addition to bringing their own experiences and interpretations to the piece, the French dancers were first required to learn Hay's solo Room, and practice their own adaptations for three months before beginning to work on the choreography of "O, O". The performance on Thursday, Feb. 7th will be followed by a Rap Up, a casual discussion with the artists moderated by Danielle Goldman.
Danspace project, 131 East 10th Street New York
reservation | website
February 13 at 11a.m and 1p.m
For Grades 6-12
Performed by Pascal Rioult Dance Theatre.
The enchanting and evocative cabaret songs of Edith Piaf set the mood for La Vie en Rose, a suite of expressive vignettes offering a glimpse into the every day lives and relationships of the characters onstage. In each brief and personal tableau, the dance evokes feelings of love, ambition, lost love, and vulnerability. The company will lead a lecture and demonstration in English prior to the performance, in order to highlight the important link between lyrics and dance. website | reservations
February 12 – 7:00 p.m.
La Maison Française, New York University , 16 Washington Mews, New York website
February 11, 12 p.m
The Center for French Studies is pleased to announce a lunch-talk with Guy Sorman "Integrating and Excluding Immigrants in France and in European Societies" . Guy Sorman is a French journalist, economist, philosopher and author.
216 Aaron Burr Hall, Princeton University website
February 14, 12 p.m
This talk addresses the angles adopted by these two authors from Martinique as they pertain to an origin and a context that are similar in a number of ways. It analyzes the fears, as well as the proposals, of Césaire and Fanon along three lines: assimilation, autonomy, and independence. Their different approaches reveal stakes that we can call socioanthropological in the colonialism as it was practiced in French possessions from Martinique to Algeria.This talk will be in French.
Columbia University,Morningside Campus, Maison Française: Buell Hall, East Gallery
website
February, 20 4:30 p.m
The Center for French Studies is pleased to announce a lecture sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs by His Excellency Pierre Vimont, Ambassador of French to the United States.
Bowl 016 Robertson Hall, Princeton University website
February 26, 12:30 p.m
Sociologist (Université de Paris X-Nanterre); author of Le lien social (2005), La Socio-anthropologie (2000), Socio-anthropologie du contemporain (1995), Le travail au quotidien, démarche socio- anthropologique (1989), Technologie, Travail, Transports (1985), Frantz Fanon (1971)
Luncheon seminar, Institute of French Studies, 15 Washington Mews website
February
One of the most prominent writers from the Caribbean and the Francophone world, Édouard Glissant is the author of nine volumes of poetry, eight novels, and several essays and works of literary criticism. A distinguished professor in the Ph.D. program in French at The Graduate Center, Glissant is revered throughout the French-speaking world and has twice been a finalist for the Nobel Prize in Literature. For the conference date and time please call the Dept of French at 212 817-8365 or email ckulikowski@gc.cuny.edu
Daily through February 10
Piaf: Love Conquers All presents the life and loves of the remarkable French singer. Born in 1915 in the streets of Paris in abject poverty she rose to international stardom and became the world's highest paid female singer in the 1950's. Her voice is unique and her life, with its string of loves, is legendary. Her music reaches over continents and through generations.
Starring Naomie Emmerson as Edith Piaf.
Saturdays and sundays at 2 pm and 8 pm
The Soho Playhouse, 15 Vandam Street, New York
Phone Number (212) 691-1555 tickets
listen
February 17, 6 p.m
The smash hit “Joe Dassin - La grande fête musicale” will kick off its US premiere at the Back Bay Events Center in Boston on Saturday, February 16 2008 and continue to four other US cities including New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, as well as Toronto, Canada. Conceived by producer Didier Morissonneau and director Pierre Boileau of L'Équipe Spectra, this Broadway-style production was created with close collaboration from both of the French icon’s sons Julien and Jonathan Dassin as well as Joe Dassin’s original song writer Claude Lemesle. Celebrating the spectacular legacy of the legendary French-American singer, the show immortalizes his greatest hits such as Et Si Tu N'existais Pas, Salut, A Toi, L'ete Indien, Il Etait Une Fois Nous Deux, L’Amérique and Les Champs-Élysées. website
Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts, Whitman Hall, 2900 Campus Road, Brooklyn
February 1 - 8:00 p.m
The Mirror Visions Ensemble was formed in 1992 to explore and perform the song repertoire, and in particular, multiple musical settings of the same text. After being granted nonprofit status in 2000, the New Haven based Ensemble was able to fulfill its mission to create new works, original and dramatic concerts and develop programs specifically designed to partner visual exhibitions and events in the United States and Europe. website
La Maison Française, New York University , 16 Washington Mews, New York
Concert Reservations: 212-998-8750 website
February 21
What a Neighborhood! 2008, a series of events celebrating West Harlem, Morningside Heights, and the Manhattan Valley, will present the final concert of the spring, a trilingual celebration produced in collaboration with Ascension Catholic Church, located at 221 West 107th street,between Broadway and Amsterdam.
Suggested donation: $10. For more information please call 212-222-2101
The Orfeo Duo will be joined by soprano Beth Ann Hatton, the Ascension Catholic Church choir, and the Neighborhood Composers’ Chorus for this richly diverse Spanish/English/French program that will include the world premiere of composer Nissim Schaul’s take on Raymond Queneau’s classic French text, Les exercices de style. website
The
Waitress Was New
February 25, 7 p.m
The waitress was new launch party, reading, and book signing with the
wonderful DOMINIQUE FABRE.
Co-sponsored by the French Book Office.
At The Old American Can Factory, 232 Third St., Brooklyn (corner of 3rd
St. and 3rd Ave.). Refreshments will be served.
read
February, 6 4:30 p.m
Alain Mabanckou is a much-published writer of African origin. He was “Distinguished Visiting Artist” at the University of Michigan until he moved to UCLA with a full professorship. In the course of his career, both in France and America, he has published half a dozen collections of poems, and written extensively on contemporary African poetry.
105 Chancellor Green, Princeton University website
February 11 7:00 p.m
Jean Echenoz, author of Le Méridien de Greenwich; Cherokee (Prix Médicis); L’Equipée malaise; Je m’en vais (Prix Goncourt); Ravel; in conversation with Olivier Barrot, journalist, Un livre un jour (France 3).
Presented with the support of Directours, l’Avion, the Cultural Services of the French Embassy, and CulturesFrance.
La Maison Française, New York University , 16 Washington Mews, New York website
Multilingualism is a unique value and an opportunity in our multicultural world. More and more parents want their children to be multilingual, how about giving your children this gift?
NY Times | Canada.com
After PS 125 in Harlem, PS 58 in Brooklyn and CIS 22 in the Bronx, another school, PS 73 in the Bronx, will be opening a Dual language program next year. The principal Jean Mirvil plans to start this program with a grade K class with the aim to provide the children with the opportunity to become bilingual, discover a different culture, and achieve academic success.
Deadline for application is March 1. For further information, contact: 718-681-6776
PS 73, 1020 Anderson Avenue Bronx, NY 10452
March 1
The New York/ Metropolitan Chapter announces the 42nd annual Gala at the French Institute Alliance Francaise. Join us for a wonderful day which includes a gourmet buffet in the Atrium and a variety of programs. The day will also include two pedagogical presentations.
Enjoy an entertaining and enriching day with friends & colleagues and have opportunity to share ideas and make new friends in the French speaking world!
FIAF 22 East 60th, New York
March 15th
A gala event is organized by Accueil New York to bring together everyone in the French American community and celebrate 20 years of active life in New York. We have planned a wonderful evening of gastronomy, music and dance on a cruise around NYC with prestigious surprise gifts.
$100 per person for ANY members and their spouse, $150 per person for non members. You can reserve this magic evening sending an e.mail to any20ans@earthlink.net and your check to the order of Accueil New York and at the following address: Accueil New York, Consulat General de France
ANY 20 Ans, 934 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10021
A l’approche du rendez-vous du 20 mars, Journée internationale de la Francophonie, Abdou Diouf, Secrétaire général de la Francophonie adresse un message aux francophones des cinq continents qui s’apprêtent à célébrer la langue française et les valeurs de la Francophonie. read
The new edition of the letter Coast to Coast is available. (in French) read
July 7 to July 25. Deadline for applying: February 8
Every year, the French Government, through their Cultural Services in the U.S., offers 3 week grants in France, to qualified Primary and Secondary Schools French Teachers who would like to improve their language skills and enhance their knowledge of French culture. pdf | website
For any question, please send a message to marie.muller@diplomatie.gouv.fr
information | to apply | instructions
Teach English in France! Every year, the French Ministry of Education and the Cultural Services at the French Embassy offer between 1,000 and 1,500 teaching assistant positions in French primary and secondary schools and in Instituts universitaires de formation des maîtres (IUFMs) in all regions of France and the DOM-TOMs. website
information | instructions | application form
Date limite de participation : 28 mai 2008
La Fédération internationale des professeurs de français organise, avec le Musée de la Poste, le Prix Mail Art 2008.Le but de ce concours est de créer un "Mail Art" avec ses élèves, en utilisant un ou plusieurs des 10 mots de la Semaine de la langue française : apprivoiser, boussole, jubilatoire, palabre, passerelle, rhizome, s’attabler, tact, toi, visage.A vos ciseaux, colle, papiers. website
14 au 24 mars 2008
Participez à la Semaine de la langue française
Place à l’imagination et à la créativité ! Les dix mots sont autant de portes ouvertes vers l’imaginaire, autant de manières de (re)découvrir la richesse de la langue française.Pour fêter notre langue à travers de multiples manifestations, la Semaine de la langue française fait appel à toutes les initiatives publiques ou privées, régionales, nationales et internationales. Que vous soyez un particulier, une association, une structure culturelle, un établissement scolaire, une bibliothèque, une collectivité locale, une entreprise ... n’hésitez pas à y participer. website | pdf
En 2007, plus de 1000 manifestations s’étaient déroulées dans 120 pays. Concerts, expositions, concours, gastronomie, rencontres littéraires et poétiques… ont pu être connus et recensés grâce à ce site.
NYU Steinhardt and NYU's Graduate School of Arts and Science have joined forces to offer a new master's program in Teaching French as a Foreign Language.
You can read more about the program here:website
The French books, including dictionaries and textbooks, but also novels and comic books, were offered to the children participating in New York’s newly launched French-English dual-language programs, as well as to New Orleans schools devastated by hurricane Katrina.
le nouvel obs | news 12 | TF1 | NY1 | frenchculture.org | le figaro
The search committee will begin reviewing applications immediately and will continue to receive applications until the position is filled.
CCSU aggressively pursues a program of equal employment and educational opportunity and affirmative action. The Department of Modern Languages is committed to increasing the diversity of the campus community and the curriculum. Candidates who can contribute to that goal are encouraged to apply and identify their strength or experience in this area.
job description
Please send applications to Dr. Paloma Lapuerta, Chair, French Search Committee, Department of Modern Languages, Central Connecticut State University, 1615 Stanley Street, New Britain, CT 06050. website
Envoyer CV, lettre de motivation, copies de diplômes et lettre de recommandation à kahina.hadim@parlez-vous-français.com. website
A bientot,
Fabrice Jaumont
Education Attache
French Embassy
972 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10021
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