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CULTURAL/EVENTS AGENDA
JULY / AUGUST 2009
This agenda presents a selection of French or French-related events in the Midwest.
For a complete calendar of events for the French and French-speaking associations
in your area, please visit their respective web sites.
Agenda culturel pour la région de Chicago / Cultural Agenda for the Chicago area: "LIAISON" |
NOT TO BE MISSED:
August 21 – 22: Ilotopie’s Water Fools (Fous de bassin)
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A waterborne theatrical spectacle performed on Lake Michigan, off the east end of Navy Pier Presented by Chicago Shakespeare Theater, A World’s Stage Production from France the acclaimed French troupe Ilotopie has created waterborne theatrical wonders on the Thames in London and the River Seine in Paris. Audiences of all ages will be enchanted as Ilotopie makes its American debut, transforming Lake Michigan into a world where cars drive on water, heads burst into flames and a 12-foot-tall lady glides by on a penny-farthing.
Presenting Sponsor: Motorola Foundation In partnership with and with generous support from Étant donnés: The French-American Fund for the Performing Arts
and the Cultural Services of the French Consulate in Chicago.
Complete Information |
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French architectural photographer Jean-Christophe Ballot celebrates the relationship between sister cities Chicago and Paris. The exhibition juxtaposes formally similar photographs of the two cities, creating a visually rich dialogue. Each image of Chicago is paired with an image of Paris to accentuate the similarities of the two urban centers. In addition to exterior architectural images, Ballot includes images of statuary and interior spaces from the Musée Rodin and the sculptor’s studio in Paris. |
| The exhibition is being held in partnership with the Alliance Française de Chicago, the French Cultural Services in Chicago and the City of Paris – Department of Cultural Affairs. Additional promotional support provided by the Paris Committee of Chicago Sister Cities International Program. The exhibition is organized by Jennifer Norback Fine Art, Inc. Loyola University Museum of Art . |
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A traveling exhibition that has toured the United States since 2004, and is now making its final stop at LUMA. The renowned exhibition, organized by the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, brings together 36 of Auguste Rodin’s bronze sculptures, which present a vibrant image of Rodin’s important artistic legacy when paired with his published writings and original letters. The exhibition also includes a 10-part educational program illustrating the lost-wax casting process, four books, two letters, and large canvas photo murals. A film on the creation of Rodin’s masterpiece, The Gates of Hell, will be shown throughout the exhibition. Loyola University Museum of Art |
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Public Programs related to the exhibition
July 11 at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. / Tuesday, August 11 at 6 p.m. Video documentary : Auguste Rodin, Sculptor
A video documentary directed by Mickaël Gaumnitz, written by Marie Sellier and produced by Esther Hoffenberg. 30 minutes, in English. Courtesy of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs For complete information please visit www.luc.edu/luma |
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MORE EVENTS
Agenda culturel pour la région de Chicago / Cultural Agenda for the Chicago area: LIAISON
Evénements économiques / Economic Events: ECONOMIE/BUSINESS |
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Thursday, July 23 at 3:00 pm: Azur and Asmar (2008) Directed by Michel Ocelot (France)
This poetic fairy-tale story weaves together themes of family, culture, race and tolerance within a visual landscape of incomparable beauty. Azur and Asmar is a brilliant new animated adventure from Michel Ocelot, acclaimed director of Kirikou and the Sorceress. It is the story of two boys raised as brothers, who compete in a dangerous quest through foreign lands to find and free the Fairy of the Djinns, held captive in a crystal palace. |
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Friday, July 24 at 11:00 am: Gentle Planet (2007-2008) Directed by various directors, various countries
This program of animated films celebrates all creatures great and small-from kids who love pancakes, ducks, bugs and broccoli, to gentle globetrotting elephants. Watch a bean sprout grow, learn to tell the truth and travel with some bunnies to a warm and cuddly place. Film program includes: Elephants in New York by several French child directors. |
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Friday, July 24 at 3:00 pm: It's Your World: Films for Kids to Think About (2007-2008) Directed by various directors, various countries
A challenging program packed with stories for kids to discuss, debate and dream about. This mostly animated collection of films provides a global perspective on tough issues ranging from immigration to the environment to family life. You’ll come away with a deeper understand of different ways of life, new ways to look at tough programs and even some ideas about what we can all do to make the planet a better place. |
Film program includes: City of Morose Sheep from Five french child directors and My Little Brother From the Moon by French director Philibert Frederic. Complete information. |
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August 21 — August 27: Summer Hours directed by Olivier Assayas
Family reunions often provide the foundation for comic, tragic, compelling stories because they are usually about characters in conflict, all with their own reasons for thinking and acting as they do. Audiences may find themselves sympathizing with different characters in turn, or even opposing characters at the same time. The psychology of family life is complex and undeniably fascinating. When adult siblings and their families get together, there will be clashes of values, attitudes, personalities, and even cultures.
At the Salina Art Center for complete information click here. |
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| July 10-11-12 and July 17-18-19: Séraphine directed by Martin Provost , 2009 at the Detroit Film Center |
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The still little-known yet utterly remarkable painter known as Séraphine de Senlis (1864 – 1942) was a solitary, simple housekeeper who, in the early years of the twentieth century, produced a series of brilliantly colored canvases which today reside in some of the world’s most famous galleries. This extraordinarily moving, thinly fictionalized new film first introduces us to Séraphine in 1912, when celebrated German art critic and collector Wilhelm Uhde (Ulrich Tukur) moves to Senlis and makes Séraphine’s acquaintance by taking up residence in the home that she cleans. |
| To the locals, the painfully shy and awkward Séraphine (Yolande Moreau in an astounding, revelatory performance) is never taken seriously, nor, to say the least, is her little-seen painting. Yet Uhde is immediately thunderstruck by the profound originality and emotion expressed in Séraphine’s work, and he does everything he can to provide the tools she needs to fuel the fire of her creativity – until her life takes an unexpected turn. Winner of seven 2009 César Awards (France’s Oscar), including Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay. Complete information. |
Opens August 7: Summer Hours directed by Olivier Assayas at the Urban Institute for Contemporary Art
The divergent paths of three forty-something siblings collide when their mother, heiress to her uncle's exceptional 19th century art collection, dies suddenly. |
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Left to come to terms with themselves and their differences, Adrienne (Juliette Binoche), a successful New York designer, Frederic (Charles Berling), an economist and university professor in Paris, and Jérémie (Jérémie Renier), a dynamic businessman in China, confront the end of childhood, their shared memories, background and unique vision of the future. Written and directed by acclaimed filmmaker Olivier Assayas (Clean, Demonlover).
Complete information. |
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Until August 2009: "The French in North America / Les Français en Amérique du Nord - An Enduring Presence"
A series of symposia, lectures, and other public programs to be held in 2008-2009 at Western Michigan University. |
The French have left an enduring legacy in North America, beginning in the sixteenth century and continuing through today. The purpose of this series of events is to examine the motivations, conditions, and effects of French activities, policies, and practices in Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean. Perspectives will be drawn from multiple disciplines in order to frame a fuller understanding of the French place in contemporary economic, political, social, and cultural relations. Co-sponsored by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy - Chicago -
Complete information.
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August 28-30: Cinema St. Louis French Film Festival
Cinema St. Louis, the presenter of the annual St. Louis International Film Festival, is pleased to celebrate the city's Gallic heritage and France's continuing cinematic vitality with its first annual French Film Festival. All screenings will be in Washington University's Brown Hall Auditorium, corner of Forsyth Boulevard and Chaplin Drive (two blocks west of Skinker Boulevard) All films are in French with English subtitles.
Tickets are $10 each; $8 for students with valid and current photo ID, Cinema St. Louis members with valid membership cards, and Alliance Francaise members. Tickets can be purchased in advance by calling the Cinema St. Louis office at 314-289-4153. Click here for complete information. |
| Friday, August 28 at 7 pm: Captain Ahab (Capitaine Achab) directed by Philippe Ramos, 2007 |
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A French take on an American classic, "Captain Ahab" fills in the biographical and psychological background of the monomaniacal whaler of Herman Mellville's "Moby Dick." Told in five stylized chapters, the film begins with Ahab's birth, details important sequences in his life, and finally concludes with the story of his death. |
| Friday, August 28 at 9:15 pm: La France directed bySerge Bozon, 2007 |
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Troubled by a letter from her husband, a soldier in World War I, young wife Camille disguises herself as a teen boy and sets off to find him, joining soldiers mobilized to the front. "La France," however, is by no means a typical war film, as this band of brothers (and sister) periodically breaks into song. "La France" earned director Bozon the coveted Prix Jean Vigo, which has been given since 1951 to directors for a spirit of independence and extraordinary style, and stars two of the principals of "La vie en rose," Sylvie Testud and Pascal Greggory. |
| Saturday, August 29 at 7 pm: Made in U.S.A. directed by Jean-Luc Godard, 1966 |
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Never available on 35mm or released on video in the U.S., "Made in U.S.A." makes its much-belated St. Louis debut. A key work by New Wave icon Jean-Luc Godard, the film is a byzantine, politicized Cold War quasi-thriller. Loosely based on Donald Westlake's "Nothing in the Trunk" and partially inspired by Howard Hawks' "The Big Sleep," the film more provocatively references the "Ben Barka affair," the disappearance/murder of a left-wing, anti-colonialist Moroccan who was abducted by the French secret police. |
| "Made in U.S.A." stars Godard's muse/ex-wife Anna Karina and regulars Jean-Pierre Leaud and Laszlo Szabo, with a cameo by singer Marianne Faithfull doing an a cappella rendition of the Stones' "As Tears Go By." Raoul Coutard contributes the gorgeous CinemaScope color cinematography. |
| Saturday, August 29 at 9:15 pm: Towards Zero (L'heure zero) directed by Pascal Thomas, 2007 |
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In this breezily entertaining adaptation of a highly regarded (if lesser known) Agatha Christie mystery, an extended family gathers for a reunion at a manse in contemporary Brittany, with murder the inevitable result. The owner, a dowager aunt, is played by Danielle Darrieux, a grand dame of French film whose career began in 1931. The exceptional cast includes comedian Francois Morel (as crime-solving Inspector Bataille) and a host of young talents (Laura Smet, Chiara Mastroianni and Melvil Poupaud). |
| Sunday, August 30 at 7 pm: Lola Montes directed by Max Ophuls, 1955 |
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The Cinematheque Francaise offers a stunning restoration of "Lola Montes," a late masterpiece by legendary director Max Ophuls ("The Earrings of Madame de ...," "Letter From an Unknown Woman," "La Ronde") and a film that critic Andrew Sarris calls "in my unhumble opinion, the greatest film ever made." |
| Based on the tumultuous life of the 19th-century dancer and courtesan - lover of both Franz Liszt and King Ludwig of Bavaria - "Lola Montes" recounts the adventuress' romances in flashback, a series of tableaux vivant narrated by the ringmaster of the circus at which she now works. Originally released in three languages - French, German and English - the mega-production features an international cast that includes Peter Ustinov, Anton Walbrook, Oskar Werner and France's proto-sexpot, Martine Carol, as Lola. |
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| Through August 2nd: Chantal Akerman: Moving Through Time and Space |
| The Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis is very pleased to present the first museum survey the works of filmmaker and video artist Chantal Akerman. The exhibition features five works including single-channel pieces Sud (South), 1999; and Là-bas (Down There), 2006; as well as multi-channel works, D’est: Au bord de la fiction (From the East: Bordering on Fiction), 1995; De l’autre côté (From the Other Side), 2002; and Femmes d’Anvers en Novembre (Women of Antwerp in November), 2007, a new work created especially for the exhibition. Chantal Akerman is widely regarded as one of the most important directors in film history. |
Chantal Akerman. De l'autre côté (From the Other Side) [still], 2002. Video installation. Courtesy the artist and Marian Goodman Gallery, New York and Paris |
| Since 1995, Akerman’s artistic practice has melded documentary filmmaking techniques with video installation. Moving through Time and Space explores her work in the crossover genre of film and visual art. Chantal Akerman: Moving through Time and Space was organized as a collaborative effort by The Blaffer Gallery at the Art Museum of the University of Houston, the MIT List Visual Arts Center, the Miami ArtCentral/Miami Art Museum, and the Contemporary Art Museum St Louis. |
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| July 31 - August 6: Summer Hours directed by Olivier Assayas at the Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center |
| The divergent paths of three forty-something siblings collide when their mother, heiress to her uncle's exceptional 19th century art collection, dies suddenly. Left to come to terms with themselves and their differences, Adrienne (Juliette Binoche), a successful New York designer, Frederic (Charles Berling), an economist and university professor in Paris, and Jérémie (Jérémie Renier), a dynamic businessman in China, confront the end of childhood, their shared memories, background and unique vision of the future. Written and directed by acclaimed filmmaker Olivier Assayas (Clean, Demonlover). |
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Wednesday, July 22 at 6:30: Seraphine directed by Martin Provost at the Cleveland Museum of Art
Be among the first to see the most lauded French film of the year! Winner of seven 2009 César Awards (France’s Oscars) including Best Film, Actress, and Original Screenplay, Séraphine dramatizes the life of Séraphine Louis (1864–1942), a shepherdess, servant, and self-taught artist who found fleeting fame as French naïve painter now known as Séraphine de Senlis. Cleveland premiere. Complete information. |
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| July 2nd - 5th: Mr. Hulot's Holiday (Les vacances de Monsieur Hulot) France, 1953, Jacques Tati |
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Here’s a new 35mm print (from France) of one of the funniest slapstick comedies ever made! It’s also the movie in which Jacques Tati introduced his lovable alter ego, Monsieur Hulot, who would be featured in three subsequent films. The gangly, pipe-smoking Hulot is a polite, well-meaning, but bumbling bachelor who suffers one hilarious mishap after another. Here Hulot spends his summer vacation at a quaint seaside resort on the Breton coast. Misfortune, however, does not take a holiday Special thanks to Delphine Selles, French Cultural Services, New York. |
| July 9 - 10th: Frontier of Dawn (Frontière de l'aube) France, 2008, Philippe Garrel |
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Elegantly, sensuously shot in black and white (like his 2005 epic of 1968 Regular Lovers), the new film by Philippe Garrel is a haunting love story in which a young photographer (Louis Garrel, the director’s son) is sucked into a whirlpool of passion. First he falls for a tempestuous actress (Laura Smet), then for a less volatile woman (Clémentine Poidatz), who promises him a child. “NY Times Critics’ Pick…A romantic cry from the heart…(Garrel is) one of the most important French filmmakers of the post-New Wave generation.” –The NY Times. Cleveland premiere. Subtitles. 35mm. 106 min. Presentation of this film supported by a generous grant from La Maison Française de Cleveland. |
| July 23 - 24: Julia France/USA/Mexico/Belgium, 2008 |
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Erick Zonca Oscar winner Tilda Swinton, usually seen in supporting roles, gives a ferocious, unforgettable lead performance in this harrowing, Cassavetes-esque new film from the French director of The Dreamlife of Angels. Swinton plays a self-absorbed alcoholic who recklessly agrees to take part in a child-snatching scheme in order to make some easy money. “NY Times Critics’ Pick…Ms. Swinton demands to be seen…I was grateful to watch an actress at the height of her expressive powers claw toward greatness.” –Manohla Dargis, The NY Times. Adults only! |
| July 25: Shall We Kiss? (Un baiser s'il vous plaît) France, 2007, Emmanuel Mouret |
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A woman refuses a casual goodnight kiss after a first date with a man she just met. She explains her reluctance by telling him the story of another “innocuous” kiss between another pair of friends—and its life-changing repercussions. This wry, witty, delightful French film—one of the best movies of the year, and not the “trifle” so many critics have described—boasts a loquacious original screenplay that evokes Rohmer and Woody Allen, and a flashback/Scheherazade structure (and use of classical music) that recalls Oliveira. With Virginie Ledoyen and writer-director Mouret. Subtitles. |
| August 21 - 22: Léon Morin, Priest (Léon Morin, Prêtre) France/Italy, 1961, Jean-Pierre Melville |
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This extraordinary film by Jean-Pierre Melville (Army of Shadows) is only now being released in America. A handsome young priest (Jean-Paul Belmondo) serving in a French village during the German Occupation tries to convert the widow of a Jewish Communist (Emmanuelle Riva) to Christianity. She in turn tries to get him to break his vow of celibacy. “Film of the week…Jean-Pierre Melville’s masterpiece.” –Time Out New York. “Miraculous cinema, even for heretics.” –Time Out Film Guide (4/16-22/09). Cleveland revival premiere. |
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July 18th: M83 at the Wexner Center for the Arts
Saturdays=Youth --the latest release from M83, the nom de musique of French synth enthusiast Anthony Gonzalez and his various associates--proudly wears its 1980s' obsessions on its sleeve as it celebrates eternal summers and young love, as well as their afterglow. Gonzalez's fond and affectionate sonic remembrances lift off on layers of synths, stretching his range and featuring some of his best songs to date.
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Through August 31, 2009: Hogarth and Beyond: Global Cartoons from the International Museum of Cartoon Art Collection
The works in this exhibit are a fraction of the many thousands of works in the IMCA Collection, which includes a wide range of cartoon art from around the world including French cartoonists François Bourgeon, Honoré Daumier, Pierre Tranchand. During the museum's years in Boca Raton, Florida, board member Jerry Robinson was especially active in building its holdings of cartoons by contemporary international cartoonists.
Reading Room Gallery -
27 West 17th Avenue Mall - International Museum of Cartoon Art Collection - Ohio State University. Complete information.
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| Through August 1st: RODIN: A Magnificent Obssesion, Exhibition at the Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science: |
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The Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science will host the largest international exhibition that the state of South Dakota has ever seen. Beginning May 9, 2009, sixty-two original bronze sculptures by renowned artist Auguste Rodin will adorn the Everist Gallery of the Visual Arts Center. |
The exhibit includes such celebrated pieces as The Thinker and The Kiss, as well as studies and maquettes for the Monument to the Burghers of Calais, the Monument to Balzac and The Gates of Hell. The exhibition, RODIN: A Magnificent Obsession, Sculpture from the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Foundation, has been traveling since May of 2001 and will complete its eight-year International tour schedule in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, at the Washington Pavilion.
Complete information. |
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Through August 23rd: Exhibition: Return to Function at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art
Return to Function will bring together contemporary artists who make functional objects based on theoretical principles. Featuring a dune buggy, a camper, a soccer ball with right angles, a cellular telephone that doubles as an exercise device, and a mobile studio—as well as garments and a do-it-yourself coffin, among other works—Return to Function examines the role of objects in our lives as perceived by 20 contemporary artists who employ the expansive nature of art to illuminate unexplored aspects of the familiar. Return to Function presents the work of established and emerging artists from national and international contexts including French Artists : Jules De Balincourt, Davide Balula, the collaborative Claire Fontaine, François Curlet, Fabrice Hyber, Mathieu Mercier and Franck Scurti. |
 Claire Fontaine, In God They Trust, 2005. Twenty-five cent coin, steel box-cutter blade, solder and rivet. 1 inch diameter. Courtesy of the artist and Reena Spauling Fine Art, New York.
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Films at the Cinemathèque Madison
July 24: Article 15 bis Directed by Balufu Bakupa-Kanyinda Democratic Republic of Congo, 2000
While 3 guards reveal their nature by talking leisurely about public service, corruption and back-pay, somebody urinates against the wall. That deserves a fine and the guards immediately try to extract money from him. This contemporary fable examines the abuse of power by private guards and won the Poitou Charentes Award at FESPACO 2001. In French with English subtitles. |
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July 30: Juju Factory Directed by Balufu Bakupa-Kanyinda Belgium/Democratic Republic of Congo, 2006
Juju Factory is about the ethical dilemma of a writer named Kongo Congo. Kongo lives in Brussel's Matonge district (an African neighborhood) and is supposed to write a travel guide about it. His findings lead him toward writing about truths that his editor has no interest in making public. Aliko Songolo's 2007 FESPACO pick. In French with English subtitles. |
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