Festival de la Francophonie

Festival de la
Francophonie
Alliance Française de Chicago - March 2012
Get your Passeport pour le Monde and take part in our month-long celebration of the
French-speaking culture!
Qu’est-ce que c’est, la Francophonie?
La Francophonie, it’s more than 220 million French-speaking people from over 50 different
countries representing a carnival of cultures spanning the continents from Marrakesh to
Montréal and from Toulouse to Tahiti.
The French language and culture unites people from 33 countries on 5 continents and the
month of March is when Chicago celebrates la francophonie at the Alliance Française.
Get your passeport and travel around the world without having to leave the tarmac… or go
through airport security!
Don’t miss our popular Kick Off Evening on Friday March 9th, and here’s an avant-goût of what
will be going on at the Alliance in March:
Jacques Brel remembered in photos and songs; film directors Daous Aoulad-Syad from
Morocco, Maxime Giroux from Quebec and Hami Ratovoarivony from Madagascar in person at
our Festival du Film francophone, also featuring a symphony orchestra from Kinshasa and
zombies from Haiti; La Foire du Livre Francophone/The International Book Fair pour les
petits et les grands —with book sale, storytelling, and authors on-site; followed by a round table
on Le Citoyen Francophone with experts from Midwest universities; Chicago’s actress Barbara
Robertson in a theater premiere by Quebec author Olivier Kemeid directed by Olivier Goyette
from Belgium and produced by Le Théâtre du Rêve of Atlanta, the only French-language
theater in the United States… and much more.
Most programs are free, with food and refreshments offered by the French-speaking
consulates, governments and associations of Chicago.
Bienvenue
à tous, et que la fête commence !
CONTACTS PRESSE & PROGRAMMATION
Aimée Laberge
Directrice de la programmation
[email protected]
Sabrina Tyus
Marketing & Communications
[email protected]
Alliance Française de Chicago
810 North Dearborn Street - Chicago, IL 60610
Tél : (312) 337-1070 - [email protected] - www.af-chicago.org
Soirée Commune
Kick-Off Evening
Friday, March 9th
6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
54 W. Chicago Avenue
Children $5, Adults $15
Banh mi, gauffre, terrine, raclette, sarmale…
Don’t know what these words mean… or taste like? Come and find out!
On the Kick-Off Evening to our month-long festival, sample delicacies from Belgique, Canada,
France, Québec, Romania, Switzerland, and Vietnam offered by our partners, the Frenchspeaking consulates, governments and associations of Chicago; enjoy our Cabaret with
singer/comedian Noemi Schlosser from Belgium and the amazing French Jazz Trio Flon Flon et
Musette. And… pourquoi pas? Belt out your own version of La Vie en Rose and let your inner
Céline Dion bust loose during the Karaoke de la Francophonie, back by popular demand. Prizes
for the brave!
Pre-register early. Places are limited and this program sells-out every year.
To register for this program: http://www.af-chicago.org/app/Calendar.php?event=863&type=
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Soirée FRANCE-BELGIQUE – Vernissage-Récital:
Thursday, March 1 at 6:30 p.m.
54 W. Chicago Avenue
Free Admission
“Le Grand Jacques: un hommage à Jacques Brel”
Ne me quitte pas/ Il faut oublier
Tout peut s'oublier/ Qui s'enfuit déjà
Oublier le temps…
Opening of an exhibition of photos by Mechtilde Op Gen Oorth inspired by Belgian-born singer
Jacques Brel timeless words, followed by a recital of Brel's songs with Cabaret Duo Marick &
Hélène. The photographer will be present, a vin d’honneur will be served and the exhibition is
open until March 30th.
To register for this program: http://www.af-chicago.org/app/Calendar.php?event=860&type=
Foire du livre francophone/International Book Fair
Saturday, March 3 at 10:30 to 3:00 p.m.
54 W. Chicago Avenue
Free Admission
French book sale from around the world for les petits et les grands plus café et croissants.
Authors on-site for book signing, storytelling, cartoon contest…This event is sponsored
in part by MEP/Europa Books. No registration needed, just come on in. Please consult our
website for authors’ schedule.
Followed by….
Table Ronde (en français) at 3:30 p.m.
Citoyens du monde: Les enjeux politiques et culturels de la Francophonie.
54 W. Chicago Avenue
Free Admission
Come and discuss “la francophonie dans tous ses états” with our specialists from
universities across the Midwest: Claude Berberat, Consul at the Consulate General of
Switzerland; Ludovic Comeau, Associate Professor of Business Economics, De Paul
University, and president of Groupe de Réflexion et d’Action pour une Haïti Nouvelle (GRAHN);
Eric Marquis, Quebec Government Representative in Chicago; Oana Panaïté, Associate
professor of French and Director of Gradute Studies (French Literature), Indiana UniversityBloomington; Thomas Pavel, Gordon J. Laing Distinguished Service Professor in Romance
Languages and Literature, University of Chicago;
Moderated by Jack McCord, executive director at the Alliance française de Chicago.
Refreshments will be served after the panel…
To register for this program: http://www.af-chicago.org/app/Calendar.php?event=861&type=
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Soirée HAITI– Littérature:
Monday, March 5 at 6:30 p.m.
54 W. Chicago Avenue
Free Admission
Haiti, une traversée littéraire- In FrenchA panel discussion with Goncourtnominated author Lyonel Trouillot and fellow
Haitian writer Yanick Lahens, moderated by
Alain Sancerni. This program is made
possible thanks to the support of the
Cultural Service of the General consulate of
France in Chicago. A vin d’honneur will be
served after the talk.
To register for this program: http://www.af-chicago.org/app/Calendar.php?event=862&type=
Soirée FRANCE– Lecture
Wednesday, March 14 at 6:30 p.m.
54 W. Chicago Avenue
Free for members/$10 non-members
- In English –
Chambord ou la Vie de Château
With Jean d'Haussonville, Director
General of the National Domaine of
Chambord
An exclusive tour of the the royal apartment of François I and Louis XIV at the château de
Chambord, a masterpiece of the French Renaissance, and a look at the fascinating world of the
royal hunting traditions.
To register for this program: www.af-chicago.org/app/Calendar.php?event=871&type=26
Soirée QUEBEC– Film Screening- CHICAGO PREMIERE!
Thursday, March 15 at 6:30 p.m.
54 W. Chicago Avenue
Free Admission
- In French with English subtitlesJo pour Jonathan introduced by Quebec director Maxime Giroux.
Winner of the Quebec’s film critics association, best film prize at
Montreal’s Festival du Nouveau Cinema.
A movie about the true nature of a suburban teenager, filled with cars,
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street chases and exhaust smoke—but don’t expect The Fast and the Furious. Director Maxime
Giroux treats a certain obsession with speed with subdued tones and poetic accent. ––
Normand Provencher, Le Soleil
Maxime Giroux directed videoclips before winning the best short film award at theToronto
International Film festival in 2006. Jo For Jonathan places Giroux at the forefront of Canadian
cinema.
To register for this program: http://www.af-chicago.org/app/Calendar.php?event=864&type=
Soirée MAROC– Film Screening –
US PREMIERE!
Friday, March 16 at 6:30 p.m.
54 W. Chicago Avenue
Free Admission
- In Arabic with English subtitlesA Jamaâ / The Mosque introduced by
Moroccan director Daoud AouladSyad.
To make Aoulad-Syad’s previous film,
Waiting for Pasolini, sets were built on plots rented from those living in the village. A mosque
was erected on the plot belonging to Moha, a local appearing in the film. On completing the
shooting, the film team left the village. The neighbours demolished all of the sets, except for the
mosque, which has become a real place of worship for those who live there. A complete disaster
for Moha, who used to grow vegetables to feed his family on the land.
Born in Marrakech in 1953, Daoud Aoulad-Syad studied at the La Fémis Film Workshop in
Paris, starting a prestigious career as a photographer before going on to make short films and
documentaries. His movie Tarfaya (2003) was a contender in the Official Selection at San
Sebastian 2004, and En attendant Pasolini (2007) was the Best Arab Film at the Cairo Festival.
A physics professor at Rabat University, Daoud Aoulad-Syad looks like a Moroccan Bob Marley.
To register for this program: http://www.af-chicago.org/app/Calendar.php?event=868&type=
CHICAGO PREMIERE!
FESTIVAL DU FILM FRANCOPHONE…
Saturday, March 17 starting at 1:30 p.m.
54 W. Chicago Avenue
$10 for 3 movies, $7 for 1 movie at the door
-In French with English subtitlesAn all-day celebration of francophone filmmaking from around the world — three movies never
seen before in Chicago! Randy Williams, past President of the Alliance Française de Chicago,
long-time Board Member, film aficionado, and Chevalier in the Order of Arts and Letters and the
National Order of Merit, will introduce and lead post-screening discussion.
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1:30 p.m.: Les Amours d’un Zombie (2008, 90 min) - HAITI
A film by Arnold Antonin about Zephirin, a zombi giving
a press conference and clashing with Baron Samedi…
a satire and an acerbic critic of political power.
3:30 p.m.: Les Barons (2009, 111 min) – BELGIUM
A film by Nabil Ben Yadir about four Moroccan friends from a working class
suburb of Bruxelles who called themselves The Barons in a flagrant denial of
their everyday reality.
5:30 p.m.: Kinshasa Symphony (2010, 95 min) - CONGO
A documentary by German directors Claus
Wischmann and Martin Baer, Kinshasa Symphony
shows how people living in one of the most chaotic
cities in the world have managed to forge one of the
most complex systems of human cooperation ever
invented: a symphony orchestra. It is a film about
the Congo, about the people of Kinshasa, and about
music.
In partnership with the Festival du Film Francophone de Kalamazoo from Western Michigan
University.
The Festival du Film Francophone is dedicated to the presentation of original creative cinema
from the Francophone world, focusing on North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Quebec and the
French Caribbean. It is a unique venue for independent films that are not distributed in the
United States, including the works of some of the best foreign film makers in the world.
"As always, we have some wonderful films this year," says Dr. Vincent Desroches, Western
Michigan University associate professor of foreign languages and the festival's organizer. "It's a
great chance to see some extremely rare and wonderful films. People will not be disappointed."
To register for this program : http://www.af-chicago.org/app/Calendar.php?event=869&type=
Soirée BELGIQUE/CANADA/QUEBEC – Theatrical Performance:
Celles d’en Haut/The Women From On High
By playwright Olivier Kemeid (Quebec)
Directed by Olivier Coyette (Belgium)
Monday, March 19 at 6:30 p.m
54 W. Chicago Avenue
Free Admission
-In French and EnglishWith Chicago-based actress Barbara Robertson,
Park Krausen and Carolyn Cook from Le Théatre du Rêve in Atlanta, and
Kevin McCoy, director of
Théâtre Humain and collaborator of Robert Lepage’s
Ex-Machina company.
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Set in a sanatorium and inspired by a Cindy Sherman photograph, this original work by Olivier
Kemeid is crazed, colorful, shrewd and full of humor. It is about the question of human choices,
the theme of sickness, the power of medicine and our quickness to submit blindly to it. Therein
lies the “possibility of an island,” medical or not: beneficial and restorative, set apart from the
deafening din of the world.
The work of Quebec director Olivier Kemeid has been played at the Festival d’Avignon, the Red
Bull Theater in NYC as well as in Quebec, Belgium, Germany and Hungary. Olivier was also the
artistic director of Théâtre Espace Libre in Montreal from 2006 to 2010.
Théâtre du Rêve is the only professional French-language theatre company in the United
States, and is dedicated to the performance of high-quality theatre from across the Francophone
world right here on the American stage.
To register for this program: http://www.af-chicago.org/app/Calendar.php?event=867&type=
Soirée MADAGASCAR – TEST SCREENING:
Wednesday, March 21 at 6:30 p.m.
54 W. Chicago Avenue
Free Admission
-In Malgasy with English subtitlesLégendes de Madagascar introduced by director HAMINIAINA RATOVOARIVONY
Take part in the test-screening of Hami’s first feature film! Your input
will count for the final cut of this ménage à trois set in the lush island of Madagascar.
Sponsored by the Groupe Professionnel Francophone.
To register for this program: http://www.af-chicago.org/app/Calendar.php?event=872&type=
Soirée ROUMANIE - Film Screening:
Tuesday, March 27 at 6:30 p.m.
54 W. Chicago Avenue
Free Admission
-In Romanian with English subtitles-
The World According to Ion B. (2009) by Alexander Nanau
Winner International Emmy Award for Arts Programming 2010
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A documentary following the dream of a man living on the streets: to one day become famous
and leave behind a life of poverty, misery and humiliation. Ion Barladeanu is on his way to
becoming an important contemporary artist, but in May 2008 he was still an anonymus tramp on
the streets of Bucharest.
To register for this program: http://www.af-chicago.org/app/Calendar.php?event=866&type=
More information about the movie:
http://www.theworldaccordingtoionb.com
Soirée SUISSE - Film Screening:
Thursday, March 29 at 6:30 p.m.
54 W. Chicago Avenue
Free Admission
-In French with English subtitlesOpération Casablanca (2010) by Laurent Nègre.
Mistaken for a dangerous Islamist, Saadi - a regular guy
who happens to be an illegal Arab immigrant - sets out on
the most dangerous day of his life. A satirical and thrilling
comedy where a wrongly accused suspect gets mixed up
in a worldwide terrorist plot.
To register for this program: http://www.af-chicago.org/app/Calendar.php?event=865&type=
The Alliance Française de Chicago is a non -profit 501 (c) (3) institution.
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