October 2008

Welcome to our monthly bulletin on language and culture from the French Embassy. Click here to view other months. Click here to be removed from list.
I kiffe New York
From October 6 to October 28
The Cultural Services of the French Embassy in partnership with the French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF) and TRACE Magazine are proud to present I Kiffe NY - French Urban Cultures Festival. The hippest and hottest of France's inner city art will sweep over the city with events ranging from hip hop dance and music, to gritty movies, to thought-provoking talks. I Kiffe NY will bring together edgy French artists with their American counterparts, such as Ocean's Thirteen actor phenomenon Vincent Cassel and legendary filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles, who will co-chair the festival. more | brochure [pdf] | on Facebook
Teach Europe - Seminars 2008
October 24, November 1 & November 12
Teach Europe organizes its annual seminars for teachers in well-known universities of the three following states : New Jersey, Connecticut and New York.
It is a great opportunity for teachers to participate in original programs. Fo example, Columbia University will offer a lecture presented by the French Ambassador of the United States, Pierre Vimont. And, the subject of Rutgers University's workshop will be “Le Nozze di Figaro”. The theme of the Yale University's workshop has to be confirmed. more | website

Dance - As part of "I kiffe NY" French Urban Cultures Festival
From October 6 to October 28
With performances by hip-hop dance companies Accrorap and Pokemon Crew, the stage will be the meeting point of different dance styles. French youth and urban cultures have absorbed and disseminated the American urban tradition of hip-hop largely through these two dance companies. | more

Degrees of Remove: Landscape and Affect
Through November 30
Degrees of Remove regards landscape as an interpreted notion of space. The exhibition examines how contemporary experiences of landscape are increasingly mediated through various forms of documentation within urban societies. The French artists Cyprien Gaillard and Anthony Hamboussi participate in the exhibition. more | website
"Juste la fin du monde"
October 23 & 24 at 8:00pm
The Center for French Studies of Princeton University presents "Juste la fin du monde" by Jean-Luc Lagarce. The production will mark the second production by L'Atelier of a contemporary French play, and the opening production of the new season. | website
Cinema Tuesdays: Focus On The Banlieues - As part of "I kiffe NY"
From October 6 to October 28
Since the mid-nineties, French filmmakers have turned their cameras on the banlieues, the housing projects that have recently become the focal point of French mainstream media. Several different genres will be presented, all of which challenge the misrepresentations of the banlieues and pay attention, in their own ways, to the real social crisis facing their inhabitants.| more

Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait
October 24 to October 30
As part of the Next Wave Festival, BAMcinématek presents "Zidane: a 21st century portrait", a visionary meditation on French soccer star Zinedine Zidane Acclaimed visual artists Gordon and Parreno transform spectacular footage of Zidane setting text over the images and blending stadium sound with an ethereal score by Scottish band Mogwai. more | website
BAM - An Evening with Serge Bromberg: Treasures from a Chest
October 31 at 7pm
This program features live piano accompaniment and commentary by Serge Bromberg.The films come from a treasure trove of found silent films with past programs including shorts by Méliès, the Lumière brothers, Chaplin... | website
Momentum
Euronews launches momentum, a new series dedicated to business. All companies start with the expectation of success, but getting to the top and staying there is a constant challenge in a dynamic, ever-changing and uncertain world. | more
Paris vu par... - BAM Rose Cinema
October 3 to October 9, 2008
Produced by the company Schroeder and Eric Rohmer founded in the early 1960s, Films du Losange, the original Paris, je t’aime-style omnibus film features a series of witty vignettes about the City of Lights by the best of the French New Wave directors. “Probably the best of the anthology films that were briefly in vogue in the early 60s,” remarks Chicago Reader. | website
Music - As part of "I kiffe NY" French Urban Cultures Festival
From October 6 to October 28
Les Nubians will present Echos Nubian Voyager with Poetry & Music from the Urban Edge with Les Nubians, John Banzaï, Souleymane Diamanka, Queen Godis and Jamarhl Crawford at Joe’s Pub. CMJ Music Marathon presents French New Talents at Hiro Ballroom. And don’t miss out a special concert of La Caution at Joe’s Pub. | more
US Premiere- Sonia Weider-Atherton: At the Beginning, Monteverdi
As Part of Crossing the Line: FIAF Fall Festival 2008
October 2 & 4 at 8pm
Sonia Wieder-Atherton, a French cellist is acknowledged to be one of the most powerful and insightful of contemporary musicians. As its title suggests, 'At the Beginning, Monteverdi' came to be through cellist Sonia Wieder-Atherton’s fascination with the work of Monteverdi. more | website
Émilie Simon
Through October 29
Émilie Simon is a French singer and composer of electronic music. Simon is a multidisciplinary artist; writing, composing and singing in all of her albums. She is also familiar with recording equipment, often adding her personal touch into arrangements and production. She programs and edits the sound effects in most of her songs. more | website
LiLi Roquelin
October 4
French Singer-songwriter-producer LiLi Roquelin's captivating voice enchants listeners world wide. After experimenting music styles (acoustic rock-pop, melodic hard-rock) she settled into an alternative trip-hop. Her CD release party will take place on October 4. more | website
French Authors on Tour
October 2008
The Book Department of the Cultural Services of the French Embassy offers financial aid to American institutions wishing to invite and host French authors for readings, signings, and symposia. In the list below, you will find French authors who are already scheduled to visit the USA. Please read their biographies to determine if they are suitable for your needs. This month, you will enjoy listening to Jean-Michel Espitallier, Frédéric Valabrègue, Karim Amellal, John Banzaï & Souleymane Diamanka. more
Visual Arts - As part of "I kiffe NY" French Urban Cultures Festival
From October 6 to October 28
With inspiration drawn from american streets attitudes, I Kiffe NY brings this multicultural and vibrant art to their originator, NYC, featuring a new generation of forward-thinking visual artists: Denis Darzacq, Jérôme Laguarrigue and Fabien Verschaere. | more

Andrée Putman, Beyond Style
Through October 10
Twenty-five years ago, Andrée Putman revolutionized the world of style. Her innovative design for Morgans, the world's first boutique hotel, ushered in a new approach to luxury: it became sleek, minimal, contemporary. For its 25th anniversary, Morgans will pay homage to her original design, with its iconic black and white palette. On this occasion, the Cultural Services of the French Embassy will mark Putmans illustrious career with an unprecedented retrospective of her designs, including the new Voie Lactée grand piano, which will make its first appearance in America. more | website

French Style at Home - Charlotte Moss: The Elegance of French Style
October 6 at 7pm
This fall, FIAF’s Art de Vivre program of special events dedicated to the French art of living will focus on French interior style: Meet a contemporary American designer; explore the décor of a classic French château... Renowned New York Interior designer Charlotte Moss stands as one of the most celebrated names in contemporary interior design. more | website
Pari Ravan
October 1 to October 21
The Agora Gallery is proud to present Pari Ravan. The collection will feature a captivating selection of Pari Ravan's surreal paintings. Born in Iran, Ravan is no stranger to the sweeping desert landscapes that prove to be fantastic backdrops for many of her paintings.Ravan later immigrated to Europe, where her work has been sold and displayed in venues such as the Museum of Siegburg in Germany. In 2007 her artistic achievements were recognized with the Prize L’Aigle de Nice. Presently, Ravan lives and works in France. | website
Louise Bourgeois
October 26, 2008 to January 25, 2009
Louise Bourgeois is an artist and sculptor. She is best known for her ’Cells’, ’Spiders’ and various drawings, books and sculptures. Moving freely between abstraction and figuration, she has developed a richly symbolic visual idiom that encompasses totemic forms, ambiguously gendered anatomical fragments, and towering spiders, as well as the assemblages of found objects that are encased in her environmental-scale installations. more | website
Infinite Light
Through December 6
Infinite Light, a large scale work by French artist Laurent Grasso is an exhibition which is part of the College wide-ranging to: Night exhibition. By playing with the technique of day for night, Infinite Light produces an effect which is both spectacular in the visual seductiveness of the material used. | more


Docs & Talks - As part of "I kiffe NY" French Urban Culture Festival
From October 6 to October 28
Discussions and screening series with American and French artists, researchers, writers and movie directors. The series features four topics plus a special screening on October 11 and 12 called Banlieues With Attitude. And other screenings followed by talks are scheduled: Rap Politics: Sociology of A French Urban Culture Today, Affirmative Action in France and in the US : A Comparative Perspective and Urban Cultures In France And In The United States...| more
Tribute to Aimé Césaire
October 2008
The Maison Française of the University of Columbia will host evenings dedicated to commemorating the legacy of Aimé Césaire, the Martinican writer and politician Especially, around-table tribute will be led by Maryse Condé, Professor Emeritus in the Department of French and Romance Philology.
Other events will be led as, for example “Les grands axes de la politique étrangère de Nicolas Sarkozy dans le cadre de la Présidence française de l'Union européenne“. | website

13 to 17 year-old students: spend 1 month in France and live a cultural reciprocal exchange.
O.S.E.F France-USA – a non-profit organisation - invites you to discover France and improve your French language skills. You will spend the month of July in France in a family and return home with your exchange partner at the end of the month. Your French partner will return to France at the end of August. The association promotes foreign language learning, personal growth and development, increases awareness of another culture and fosters a global perspective. | website
Contact Francophone
The purpose of frenchspeakingpeople.com is to help French enthusiasts from around the world to get in touch with each other. The website is designed for both French speakers and all types of French learners. Whether French is your native language or you’re learning French somewhere in the world, you can use this global network to meet new people and expand your address book of contacts in your own country or on the other side of the planet. | website
The Great Explorers Student Contest
Deadline: October 29
The French Embassy and the Québec Government Office in New York, in partnership with the American Association of Teachers of French host a series of school contests to celebrate Quebec's 400th anniversary and to honor the famous French explorers of North America as Jacques Cartier, Samuel de Champlain and La Salle. All tri-state students from grade K to 8 are eligible to participate. 50 winners will be chosen and great prizes will be offered: the first super-winner will win a trip to Quebec! And the following 4 winners will receive a scholarship valued at $500 each. The contest will be launched on September 1.more | flyer [pdf]
Student contest on Europe
Deadline: November 3
To celebrate France’s European Union presidency, taking place from July to December 2008, the French Embassy in partnership with the French-American Chamber of Commerce, the French Institute Alliance Française and the French-American Fondation organize a high school contest opened to Tri-state high school students only. "Concours sur l'Europe" is an essay competition. Great prizes will be offered: one-week trips to France valued at 5 000€ and 2 000€! The Deadline to participate is November 3, 2008 at Midnight. more | website | flyer [pdf]
Volunteer Correctors Needed
Volunteer correctors needed for the high school contest on Europe which was lauched in August 2008. Volunteer correctors will have to read fifty 500-word student essays during the first week of November 2008. Volunteer correctors must be 21 or older and be able to read French and English perfectly. Volunteer correctors will receive a gift and will be invited to the contest's ceremony and cocktail reception in New York in December 2008. Please email your name, contact information and a short bio to contest@teacheurope.org. more | website

A bientôt,

Fabrice Jaumont
Education Attache
French Embassy
972 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10075
fabrice.jaumont@diplomatie.gouv.fr

More news on French cultural and educational events on http://www.frenchculture.org
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