Prochainement, notre programme d'activités
28 juillet 2014
French Book Giveaway
If you are in Dublin during the summer, up to 5 September, you might like to check out this offer from Alliance Française, Dublin. You’ll find them on the corner of Nassau and Kildare Street, at the side of Trinity College. There’s also a very nice café.
According to AFDublin:
"In order to make room for new books, the Library will be giving books away all summer long! Have a look as you pass through our Reception and Café – with paperbacks, graphic novels, non-fiction, children’s books, you never know what treasure you may unearth!All the books are free, but donations will be gratefully accepted and used for the upkeep of the Médiathèque."
Posted with Blogsy22 juin 2014
French films at QFT
Chers Amis,
Thank you to Hélène and Maude who drew my attention to the fact that over the next few weeks QFT will be screening no less than five French films including Cédric Klapisch’s comedy trilogy L'Auberge Espagnole, Les Poupées russes and Casse-tête chinois.
Sat 28th June at 1:20pm and Sun 29th June at 1:20pm
L'Auberge Espagnole (Pot Luck)
Xavier (Duris) is a young Parisian who embarks on a European exchange scheme in Barcelona - and has to take pot luck by sharing an apartment with a culturally diverse group of fellow students. He says farewell to his family and girlfriend (Tautou)...and then the fun begins.
Director: Cédric Klapisch
Run Time: 2 hours 2minutes
Released: 2002
Country: France/Spain
Cast: Romain Duris, Judith Godrèche, Audrey Tautou
Sat 28th June at 3:50pm and Sun 29th June at 3:50pm
Les Poupées russes (Russian Dolls)
Five years after their year together in Barcelona, the Pot Luck team of Xavier (Romain Duris), William (Kevin Bishop), Wendy (Kelly Reilly), Martine (Audrey Tatou) and Isabelle (Cécile de France) reunite for a Russian wedding. Set in London, Paris and St. Petersburg, Russian Dolls is a romantic comedy about growing up, making choices and finding love in unexpected places.
Director: Cédric Klapisch
Run Time: 2 hours 9minutes
Released: 2005
Country: France/UK
Cast: Romain Duris, Kelly Reilly, Audrey Tautou
The trilogy concludes with Casse-tête chinois (Chinese Puzzle) on
Fri 4th July to Thu 10th July
Casse-tête chinois (Chinese Puzzle)
It's been over a decade since Cédric Klapisch first introduced us to the beloved group of friends sharing a Barcelona apartment in Pot Luck. Three years later, they were brought back together for a wedding in Russian Dolls and now a third outing arrives in the form of Chinese Puzzle.
Xavier's (Duris) life is turned upside down when his wife Wendy (Kelly Reilly) announces she's moving to NY and taking the kids. A few months later, he's on a transatlantic flight as well. From fathering a child to a lesbian couple, to marrying a Chinese-American to get papers, to reigniting a flame with his first love who comes for a visit, Xavier and his world really do seem like a Chinese Puzzle...
Director: Cédric Klapisch
Run Time: 1 hour 57minutes
Released: 2013
Country: France/USA/Belgium
Cast: Romain Duris, Audrey Tautou, Cécile de France
Other French film showing at QFT in July are …..
Fri25th July to Thu 31st July
Grand Central
French nuclear workers face the twin perils of radiation and amorous meltdown in a terrific blue-collar drama starring Tahar Rahim (A Prophet) and Léa Seydoux (Blue Is the Warmest Colour).
Tahar Rahim plays Gary, who signs on for work in a nuclear power plant (the ‘Central' of the title). He's inducted into the workforce by supervisor Gilles (Gourmet) and hard-bitten veteran Toni (Ménochet), only to discover that radiation contamination is not just a risk factor but an everyday hazard. But also pushing Gary towards meltdown is his simmering attraction to Toni's girlfriend Karole (Seydoux).
Rahim and Seydoux crackle like isotopes in their own right, and an urgent jazz score by Robin Coudert pushes this atomic drama into the red.
Director: Rebecca Zlotowski
Run Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
Released: 2013
Country: France/Austria
Cast: Tahar Rahim, Léa Seydoux, Olivier Gourmet, Denis Ménochet
Sun 27th July at 4:30pm
Jeux interdits (Forbidden Games)
Mark Cousins' Cinema of Childhood season continues with one of the greatest anti-war statements ever filmed.
German fighter planes massacre a column of refugees fleeing Paris on a country road. A dazed little orphaned girl is left wandering the fields clutching her dead dog. She's adopted by a peasant boy who brings her into his eccentric family. The children retreat into a fantasy world, but they cannot hide from reality forever.
René Clément's angry masterpiece blends tragedy and farce into a heart-breaking account of children caught in a war they can't possibly understand, and it made Brigitte Fossey a star at the age of just 5.
Director: René Clément
Run Time: 1 hour 26 minutes
Released: 1952
Country: France
Cast: Georges Poujouly, Brigitte Fossey, Amédée
For full details of QFT’s programme seewww.queensfilmtheatre.com
A bientôt,
Philip
Bulletin
Chers Amis,
I’ve recently had word of two theatrical presentations which may well be of interest to our members ….
En Attendant Godot ..... by the shores of Lough Erne?
The opening presentation in Happy Days: the 3rd International Beckett Festival, taking place in Enniskillen from Thursday 31 July – Sunday 10 August 2014, will be a double presentation of Samuel Beckett’s classic “En Attendant Godot” (Waiting for Godot) in two separate productions, one in French and one in Yiddish.
En Attendant Godot will be presented by Theatre NoNo, based in Marseilles, one of the most exciting new French theatre groups, steeped in the clown and cabaret tradition. This will be the first ever professional presentation of En Attendant Godot in Irelandsince its premiere in Paris in 1953.
En Attendant Godot will be performed at the Ardhowen Theatre on 31st July and 1st & 2nd August.
For full details of the festival see …..
The Lantern Man
The play, inspired by the real-life discovery of a collection of glass lantern slides in the attic of a church in Belfast tells the story of Johnny McGrath, who unemployed and down on his luck, signed up for action in France in World War I.
For more information click on the following link …
And finally just a reminder that the film …
Les beaux jours
(Bright Days Ahead)
… a tender and frank romance about taking control and enjoying your life at any age, starring Fanny Ardant, Laurent Lafite, and Patrick Chesnais will be showing at QFT from Friday 20th to Thursday 26th June.
For full details of QFT’s programme see …
A bientôt,
Philip
03 mai 2014
24 avril 2014
09 avril 2014
Trois femmes / Three women: 9 avril 2014
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| Rachel, Philip and Chanel No5 - Photo: Monica Cummings |
Rachel TRACEY made a welcome return to our events programme and treated us to some sights, sounds and scents as she delved into the life and work of three French women, Coco Chanel, Catherine Deneuve and Audrey Tautou.
The star of her talk though was the connections all three had with the perfume, Chanel No.5. Rachel reminded us that 2009 was a year in which two films on the life of Chanel appeared. The first Coco avant Chanel starring Audrey Tautau chronicled Chanel's early life and was followed by Coco and Igor, the story of Chanel's liaison with the Russian composer, Igor Stravinsky. Several biographies were also produced, Karen Karbo's The Gospel according to Coco Chanel and Hal Vaughan's Sleeping with the enemy - Coco Chanel's secret war.
Rachel highlighted Tilar Mazzeo's The secret of Chanel No.5 as having particular relevance to the evening's talk. Mazzeo compared Chanel's creation to Frankenstein's monster - not in a grotesque or derogatory way but rather both creations end up defining their creators.
Rachel outlined Coco's early life as a seamstress, moonlighting as a cabaret singer. Her song of choice was Qui qu'a vu Coco which is most likely how she got her nickname. On to 1908 and meeting the love of her life, Arthur "Boy" Capel who financed her first shops and supposedly inspired many of her fashion designs and the shape of the iconic bottle for No.5.
There followed a series of facts and figures including one from the French embassy which calculates that a bottle of the famous perfume sells somewhere in the world every thirty seconds. The sheer volume of sales has earned the perfume the nickname of Le Monstre. Rachel recounted the story of how the perfume was created and we were treated to connection with the Catherine di Medici, the Romanoffs, Ernest Beaux, Tsarina Alexandra and Galleries Lafayette!
It was surprising to learn that the product did so wełl in its early years despite the fact that there was no no marketing until the 1940s and it was during the Second World War that sales flourished. Chanel closed her fashion house as she believed, "Wartime was not the right time for fashion". She was able to sit out the occupation in rooms at the Ritz hotel in Paris. At that time, apparently unaware to Chanel, the perfume was being produced in a factory in New Jersey by the Vertheimer Brothers who being Jewish had fled France in the early period of the Occupation. Chanel charged that the product was no longer the original fragrance as created by her and could not be endorsed by her. Her efforts didn't succeed as No.5 had been transformed into a symbol of a pre-War time and a token of affection from soldiers and their sweethearts back at home.
Rachel then took us to the 1960s, to the world of glossy magazines and high fashion journals that depicted No.5 as the ultimate feminine accessory. By the 70s however the brand had lost much of its "Frenchness" and some serious revitalisation was needed. Catherine Deneuve was chosen as the new face of Chanel. Much to the delight of some in the audience we looked at an early advert. There was no doubt that the actress epitomised the qualities Chanel was promoting in her designs and perfume.
Next we turned to Audrey Tautau as the face of Chanel. Participants were struck by the physical resemblance of Tautau and Chanel. Rachel made the point that Audrey's face is a "double signifier" standing both for herself and for Coco. Another advert followed and we were treated to an exploration of its finely detailed homages to Chanel.
The talk, as is usual, ended with questions and comments; many of those present recounting when they got their first bottle of the fragrance - clearly treasured possessions. And although it is an expensive product, Rachel had brought just enough to ensure that everyone was misted with the fragrance before being "scent" on their way.
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