Ciné Club - Mon Oncle by Jacques Tati

Cinéclub

JACQUES TATI's MON ONCLE
Thursday 29 April - 7.30pm
On the occasion of the Franco-Irish Literary Festival whose theme this year is The City, the Ciné-Club suggests that you see or see once again Mon Oncle by Jacques Tati, which was first shown in 1958. The first film in colour by the director this absolute masterpiece received the Oscar for the Best Foreign Film that year.
M. and Mme Arpel live in a very modern house in a lethargic neighbourhood. Game, chance and humour have no place in this too-well designed universe. Their son, Gérard, is bored. But that's where his uncle M. Hulot makes his appearance, an idiosynchratic misfit...


French version with French subtitles, 110 min.

Information and booking: library@alliance-francaise.ie
Admission Free. Seats are limited to 15 and restricted to Members.

French Film Club "La Danse" by Frederick Wiseman

Monday 26 April at 8pm
Talk 15minutes before the screening

At the IFI (8 Eustace street, Dublin 2)

Ticket on sale at the box office
€7 AF members / €9.50 Non-members

From the talent and application of individual dancers and choreographers to the infrastructure of a venerable Parisian institution, La Danse, The Paris Opera Ballet is an expansive portrait that surveys the totality of presenting world-class ballet to an adoring public.

For the past four decades, Fred Wiseman, the dean of American documentarists, has specialised in allowing the audience the status of invisible observer watching the process of others going about their lives, and here as usual he forgoes captioning and direct-to-camera interviews to give reality to us straight up. The result is compellingly immersive, detailing the day-to-day micro-crises inevitably shaping the fortunes of any large ballet company, yet also encouraging our appreciation of the sheer toil involved in honing physical grace to a fine point of finesse.

The screening of the film will be preceded by a brief introduction by a representative from the Dublin Dance Festival.

Ciné Kid - La Ballon Rouge by Albert Lamorisse

Saturday 24 April 12.15
French version
with French subtitles

Le Ballon rouge is a 1956 fantasy short film (40 minutes)directed by Albert Lamorisse (who also shot Crin Blanc).

The film, which follows the adventures of a young boy who one day finds a sentient, mute, red balloon, was filmed in the Ménilmontant neighborhood of Paris.

It won numerous awards, including an Oscar for best original screenplay in 1956 and the Palme d'Or for short films at Cannes. Many international directors and critics are still considering this film amongst the most influential. It also became popular with children educators.

Free for AF Members only
RSVP: info@alliance-francaise.ie

Photographic exhibition "Beckett's Paris" by John Minihan

"Beckett's Paris" by John Minihan
14 April - 25 June
At the Alliance Française in Dublin (1 Kildare Street, Dublin 2)

The Irish photographer John Minihan first met Samuel Beckett in May 1980, and was to photograph him many times thereafter, in both Paris and London, a privilege afforded to very few. Impossible to interview and famously camera-shy, Samuel Beckett was nevertheless a remarkable subject, with his wise, eagle-like face which reflected his greatness and profundity as a writer.

This exhibition presents some impressive portraits of Beckett and of his surroundings in Paris together with portraits of the famous, like Jean-Louis Barrault or Nathalie Sarraute, who worked and spent time with Beckett in Paris at that time.

This exhibition is kindly sponsored by www.parisbynumbers.ie

Zazie dans le métro de Louis Malle

Thursday 8 April at 6.30pm

Screening. As a prelude to the Franco-Irish Literary Festival, the Alliance Française has the pleasure of offering you the chance to attend a screening of the 1960 cult classic film Zazie dans le métro.

Louis Malle's fourth film, based on the novel by Raymond Queneau, is an absurdist wonder to behold, halfway between slapstick comedy and poetry. A sassy young girl embarks on a madcap Parisian adventure when she visits her transvestite uncle and takes a raucous sightseeing tour of the city.

The film will be introduced by UCD Lecturer Dr Laurent Marie.

Admission free but ticketed.
To book your ticket please contact the IFI box office: 01 679 34

The writing competition is over!

Dear writers,

The Writing Competition is now over.

We would like to thank you all for your participation. The Short Story-Poem Competition has been set up for the first time, this year and it has been a real success that we did not expect.

If you get a chance to go to the Festival, which is held at Dublin Castle on the 16th and 17th April and at the Alliance Française on the 18th of April, you will get the opportunity to read the 31 stories and poems in English and French of all candidates.

We all hope to see you at the Festival.

The organisation team of the festival

SEAN HILLEN ON HIS WORK

Talk. Sean Hillen was raised in Newry and studied at the Belfast College of Art. In 1982, he travelled to London to continue his studies at the London College of Printing, and then at the Slade School of Fine Art. The Man from IRELANTIS shows many examples of his highly acclaimed work from the 1980’s up to his most recent and talks about its genesis and history. The exhibition Return to Irelantis is currently on display in our gallery. Read a review here from the Irish Independent.

Tuesday 30 March at 6.30pm
Admission Free RSVP: info@alliance-francaise.ie

CINECLUB: LE GRAND VOYAGE

Screening. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Francophonie the Cinéclub is giving you the opportunity this month to see a screening of Le Grand voyage, a wonderful film by the director of Maroccan origin, Ismaël Ferroukhi. This universal and humanist road movie is carried by the performances of two intense actors, Nicolas Cazalé and Mohamed Majd. Le Grand voyage won the Luigi De Laurentiis Award at the 2004 Venice Film Festival.

Thursday 25 March - 7.30pm
French/Arab version with English subtitles, 108 min.

Information and booking: library@alliance-francaise.ie
Admission Free. Seats are limited to 15 and restricted to Members.

FRENCH FILM CLUB: LE PERE DE MES ENFANTS

Screening. What starts as a tribute to a hero of the European art film becomes an affecting meditation on the pursuit of happiness in this hauntingly beautiful offering from writer-director Mia Hansen-Løve.

The shamblingly charismatic Louis-Do de Lencquesaing plays an unfailingly-enthused, financially-doomed, producer obviously modelled on the late Humbert Balsan. For a while, we’re hooked by the film’s brutally honest depiction of the sharp end of independent cinema, but as worries begin to weigh more heavily, the focus shifts to the
long-suffering wife (Alice Gautier) who is obviously wondering, like us, whether this masculine rage to build a legacy is actually depriving her and her children of a life in the meantime.

Tuesday 23 March at 8.40pm
Ticket: €7 AF members / €9.50 Non-members

Irish Film Institute

ST PATRICK'S DAY PARADE & BRETON EVENING

Parade. To celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day, the Alliance Française will take part in the Dublin parade and be represented by the Bagad (traditional Breton music group), Glaziked of Pouldergat. The group which was created in 1946, has evolved locally since 1990 under the direction of Pascal Le Friant. This ensemble is made up largely of pipers, bombards and drums from the Pouldergat locality, trained at the school of band music. The repertoire is mainly traditional Breton tunes occasionally influenced by traditional tunes from elsewhere. The Costumes known as Glazik are very bright in colour and quite characteristic of the geographical location of Pouldergat (Finistère). This event is supported by Région Bretagne, ULAMIR du Goyen and the St Patrick’s Festival Committee.


17 March From 12-noon to 2pm - starting at Parnell Square, D1

Breton evening. To complete the Breton experience the Alliance Française invites you to come and try out our Crêpes event. In partnership with French Crêpes we offer you the opportunity to enjoy a crêpe meal in a festive ambiance provided by the Glaziked band, who will introduce you to traditional Breton music.

17 March from 6.30pm to 9pm at the Alliance Française

Price: AF members €8 / Non-members €12 Tickets include one drink and one traditional Breton crêpe. Online registration is available. For further information, contact Reception: (01) 676 17 32 or info@alliance-francaise.ie