The festival, which officially starts on March 8 and lasts till the end of the month, will see the inauguration of the young professional residency program at the end of February. An important part of the Francophonie Festival, the workshop gathers French and Chinese speaking young professionals and provides them the opportunity to meet, interact and improve their skills and create new works in their own artistic fields.
With the focus on pastry, this year’s workshop will bring 20 young chefs from Belgium, Canada, France, Switzerland, Morocco and China to Beijing and Changsha. With the coach of famous Swiss chef Joachim Caula, the two youngsters from Switzerland - Sara Bezençon and Normand Jubin - will be working with the other young chefs, to develop new recipes and create new works. Their creations will be showcased during the Francophonie Festival.
A literary program that should not be missed is the literary salons and lectures given by Genevan author Daniel de Roulet. Throughout his 24-year literary career, de Roulet has penned 10 novels and three autobiographies, documenting 18 historical figures and portraying 29 characters and 12 places. The high-achieving author is renowned for creating “dreamers” in his fictional stories.
During his visit to China from March 3 to 22, de Roulet will give readings of his latest publications: Terrestrial Terminal: 200 Love Letters; and You Haven’t seen Anything in Fukushima: About March 11, 2011. During his lecture on the writing and numerical tools, de Roulet, a former director of a computer center at a university hospital, will demonstrate the advantages and limitations of reconstructing novels in the digital age.
A partner of the Francophone Film Encounters, this year Switzerland presents the award-winning animation ‘Ma Vie de Courgette’ (‘My Life as a Zucchini’) to the audience in Beijing, Chengdu, Jinan, Tianjin and Guangzhou from March 9 to 28. Directed by Swiss director Claude Barras, the film is Switzerland’s entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars 2017.
In this beautifully animated film, a young boy is sent to a care center after the death of his mother. Contrary to the often dark and depressing images of orphanages, the boy finds comfort, acceptance, and hope with his equally troubled new companions. Director Barras will meet and interact with audience following the screenings in Beijing on March 9 and 10.
In Shanghai and Hong Kong, audiences are invited to the screenings of Keeper, an award-winning film focusing on the popular topic of teen pregnancy. Maxime and Mélanie, both 15 years old are in love. One day, Mélanie finds out she is pregnant. Maxime wants to keep the baby no matter what. Director Guillaume Senez and Swiss rising star Kacey Mottet Klein give a deep analysis of the characters and the topic.
Mars en Folie, a unique French contemporary music festival, will kick off on March 9 in Beijing. Now in its tenth year, the music festival, organized in collaboration with the Alliances Françaises network, the embassies of Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg and Canada, Quebec government offices in China, the Wallonia-Brussels Delegation will have five distinguish bands staging 30 concerts in 11 Chinese cities.
After more than 300 concerts, Swiss singer, songwriter LiA (aka Félicien Donzé) refined his artistic identity upon the release of his third album “Quand l'Homme s'endort” (“When the man falls asleep”) in 2015. LiA, 26, develops and deepens his characteristic simple and sincere way of singing and songwriting in an exploring manner. His songs delve into human mysteries, dreams, languages, and inner beings.
A dictation competition, “La Dictée de Pivot” (“Pivot Dictation”) returns to China for its second time on March 20. After an initial competition and selection through social media, finalists will be invited to the Swiss Embassy in Beijing for the competition. Winners will be awarded prizes by organizers.
The dictation is co-organized by the embassies of France, Switzerland and Quebec government offices to promote French language learning. The first Dictée de Pivot was held at the Swiss Embassy last year, and its online competition attracted over 30,000 participants from more than 250 Chinese cities.
