La Lettre de l - Alliance Française of Greenwich

La Lettre de l’
Learn French, Live French
January, February, March 2016
(French)
Chers amis francophones et francophiles,
(English)
Dear francophone friends,
Nous sommes heureuses de vous présenter les nouveautés de cette saison, à commencer par une conférence présentée par Beth Gersh Nesic sur « La vente de l’impressionnisme » au sujet des artistes Durand-Ruell, Mary Cassatt et Vollard. Ceci aura lieu le 23 février au Round Hill
Community Church.
We are happy to present to you our upcoming events of the
season starting with a lecture presented by Professor Beth
Gersh Nesic on « The Selling of Impressionism » about the
artists Durand-Ruell, Mary Cassatt and Vollard. This lecture
will be held on February 23rd at the Round Hill Community
Church.
Pour sa douzième édition, Focus on French Cinéma 2016
vous accueillera du 1er au 3 avril à Greenwich encore cette
année, le 4 avril à l’Avon théâtre à Stamford et enfin le 5
avril au FIAF à NYC ! Nous prévoyons cette fois encore un
festival exceptionnel, avec plein de nouveautés et la présentation des meilleurs nouveaux films français !
The 12th edition of Focus on French Cinema will be in
Greenwich again this year April 1-3, at the Avon Theatre in
Stamford on April 4 and at the FIAF in NYC on April 5. It will
be an exceptional year with some new surprises and always
the best new French films !
Nous sommes heureuses de vous présenter la célébration
de la francophonie le 17 mars à l Avon Théâtre avec le
filme documentaire « Mukwege, le docteur qui sauve les
femmes » en présence de Kambale Musavuli et de Nelson
Walker le producteur du film. Une soirée à ne pas manquer !
Un brillant trimestre riche en activités vient de s’achever à
l’Alliance Française de Greenwich. Notre soirée Paris Cocktails a été une grande réussite et notre soirée pour les fêtes
de fin d’année a été très agréable pour tous. Notre
« Playschool » pour jeunes enfants continu de promouvoir
la langue française parmi nos plus jeunes élèves.
L’équipe de L’Alliance Française de Greenwich se joint à
nous pour vous souhaiter une nouvelle fois une Bonne et
Heureuse Année et vous remercier de votre fidélité .
We will celebrate « la francophonie » on March 17th at the
Avon Theatre with the documentary film « Mukwege, the
doctor who saved women ». We will welcome Kambale Musavuli and Nelson Walker, the producer of the film. You will
not want to miss this evening !
Our last trimester has been a rich and active one. Our event
Paris Cocktails was a big success and our holiday party a
warm and fun evening for all. Our « playschool » for young
children is successfully teaching French to our youngest students.
The whole team at the Alliance Francaise of Greenwich joins
us in wishing you all a Happy New Year and we thank you
for your support.
Renée Ketcham & Gail Covney
Sommaire
Pages 2-3:
Page 4:
Page 5-6:
Pages 7-8:
Page 9:
Special Events
Conferences
Cinema
Literature
Past Events
Page 10:
Page 11:
Education
Télètheque
Page 12:
FFC & Membership
299 Greenwich Avenue, Greenwich, CT 06830 Tel: (203) 629-1340 info@afgreenwich.org www.afgreenwich.org
La Table Française
La Galette des Rois Dinner
Thursday January 7 | 7:30pm
Bistro Versailles
339 Greenwich Avenue
Greenwich, CT.
$38/person
(tax and gratuity not included)
RSVP by January 5
reineesther@earthlink.net
Menu
Spinach and white bean soup
*****
Pâté de campagne
Organic greens, cornichons and toasted baguette
*****
Cast iron seared filet of red snapper
Roasted potatoes, wilted spinach
And Provencal tomato sauce
or
Duck leg confit
Green lentils and haricots verts
Sauce à l’ orange
or
Mini Pork Tenderloin
Roasted creamy mashed potatoes,
Brussel sprout and mustard sauce
*****
Galette des Rois
*****
Coffee or Tea
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March is the Month of la Francophonie
Alliance Française of Greenwich & the Avon Theatre
Present an evening celebrating the month of la Francophonie
Event curated by Lucie Chabrol
Thursday March 17, 2016
7:00pm
Coffee and sweets in the lobby of the Avon Theatre
7:30pm
Presentation of 2 movies followed by Q&A with
Kambale Musavuli : Friends of the Congo,
Nelson Walker : True-Walker Production
Prince Loseno
Animated film in stop motion. Directed by Jean-Michel Kibushi
Ndjate Wooto. Democratic Republic of Congo/ Belgium/France,
29 min. French with English subtitles
Seeking to fulfill his role as leader, King Ngolo is troubled by
the infertility of his three wives and the story follows his search
for a solution to the problem.
Mukwege, the Doctor who Saves Woman
(Mukwege, Le Docteur qui Sauve Les Femmes)
Directed by Angèle Diabang
Senegal/DRCongo, 2015, 52 min.
French & Swahili w/English subtitles.
Congolese surgeon Denis Mukwege has been conducting operations on female victims of sexual
violence in the south Kivu Province for fifteen years, in a hospital he founded himself.
He was nominated twice for the Nobel Peace Prize and awarded the Sakharov Prize in 2014.
This film is his opportunity to speak out, together with his nurses and patients-an alarm call to the
world. The film offers vivid accounts of the resilience and determination of Congolese women to
not be defined by the crimes committed against them.
Avon Theatre - 272 Bedford Street - Stamford, CT 06901
www.avontheatre.org
www.afgreenwich.org
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Conferences
Saturday January 30 - 3pm | Byram Shubert Library
La Broderie de Bayeux et la Conquête Normande de 1066
Une exploration de l'une des œuvres d'art monumentales du Moyen Age , La
Tapisserie de Bayeux , un 170 ft . long conte brodé de la conquête normande de 1066.
Le travail de cette artiste, totalement novateur pour son époque , est l'un des rares
documents visuels qui se dégagent d'un événement qui a conduit à la société chevaleresque et a changé la forme de l'Angleterre et de la France.
R. Howard Bloch is Sterling Professor of French and Chair of Medieval Studies at Yale University. He is the author of numerous books, including, *A Needle in the Right Hand of God. The Norman Conquest of 1066 and Making and
Meaning of the Bayeux Tapestry* (Random House, 2006).
Tuesday February 23 - 1:30pm | Round Hill Community Center
The Selling of Impressionism
Ah, Impressionism! In its infancy, few people recognized its worth. Today, Impressionism is a beloved art movement and also a wise investment. How did this happen? The
brilliant art dealer Paul Durand-Ruel stepped in and supported these radical modern artists with a clever modern plan. Art historian Beth Gersh-Nesic will present a slide-lecture
on his story and the magnificent works he brought to market, in France and abroad.
Beth S. Gersh-Nesic, Ph.D., is the director of the New York Arts Exchange, an
arts educational service. She is best known for her work on Picasso André Salmon and Cubism. Her most recent publication is a catalogue essay in Staring
Back: The Creation and Legacy of Picasso’s Demoiselles d’Avignon at the Fleming Museum, University of Vermont, February – June 2015. She teaches art history at Purchase College.
Tuesday March 8 - 1:00pm | Bruce Museum
Visit of Three Current Exhibits
Visit Bruce Museum with Fereshteh Priou
Fierce and Fragile: Big Cats in the Art of Robert Dallet, the painter of
Hermès scarves. Exhibit includes 60 of artists work.
And Still We Rise: Race, Culture and Visual Conversations:
turies of African American history narrated through 40 quilts.
Four cen-
Secrets of Fossil Lake: See this exhibition and travel back in time to a lake
that vanished 50 million years ago.
Visit followed by complementary tea, coffee, croissant & Danish at Versailles
Tuesday March 22 - 1:30pm | Round Hill Community Center
L’Algérie C’est Beau Comme L’Amérique
Dans sa présentation Binita Mehta va analyser la bande déssinée L’Algérie c’est beau
comme l’Amérique d’Olivia Burton. Dans son oeuvre, Burton essaie de faire face à l’histoire
de sa famille pied-noir tout en explorant les complexités du rapport colonial et post-colonial
entre la France et l’Algérie.
Binita Mehta Binita Mehta est professeur de français et chef du département de langues à Manhattanville College à Purchase, New York.
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Focus on French Cinema of the AFG presents
Ciné-Club
Byram Shubert Library | 21 mead Avenue | Greenwich, CT 06830 | 7:00pm on a Thursday
Girlhood (Bande de Filles) | Thursday January 28
Fed up with her abusive family situation, lack of school prospects
and the “boys laws” in the neighborhood, Marienne, a teenage girl
in Paris, starts a new life after meeting a group of three free spirited
girls.
Two Days, One Night | Thursday February 25
(Deux Jours, Une Nuit)
Sandra, a young Belgian mother, discovers that her workmates
have opted for a significant pay bonus, in exchange for her dismissal. She has only one weekend to convince her colleagues to give
up their bonuses so that she can keep her job.
He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not | Thursday March 24
(A la Folie...Pas du Tout)
A young woman who is in love with a married doctor becomes dangerous when her attempts to persuade him to leave his wife are unsuccessful. However, when things are seen from his point of view,
the real situation becomes clear.
Focus on French Cinema of the AFG presents
Ciné-Critique
Bibliothèque de Cos Cob | 5 Sinawoy Rd | Cos Cob | CT.
Fanfan La Tulipe
Un Homme et Une Femme
Jeudi 14 Janvier | 13 heures
Jeudi 17 Mars | 13 heures
Une comédie de Christian-Jaque avec un jeune et
beau Gérard Philipe et Gina Lollobrigida. Les
aventures rocambolesques d’un jeune soldat intrépide servant sous Louis XV, Fanfan part à la
conquête de la gloire et du Coeur de la belle Adeline, la fille du sergeant recruteur.
Un film de Claude Lelouch, musique de Francis
Lai, avec Anouk Aimée et Jean-Louis Trintiguant.
Un homme et une femme, tous deux veufs inconsolables se croisent et finissent par s’aimer d’un
amour fulgurant et passioné.
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Focus on French Cinema of the AFG presents
French Cinémathèque
Presented by Alliance Française of Greenwich & the Avon Theatre in Stamford
Thursday January 21 | 7:30pm - Avon Theatre
HITCHCOCK | TRUFFAUT
In 1962, Hitchcock and Truffaut locked themselves away in Hollywood for a week
to excavate the secrets behind the mise-en-scène in cinema. Based on the original recording of this meeting– used to produce the mythical book Hitchcock/
Truffaut– this film illustrates the greatest cinema lesson of all time and plummets
us into the world of the creator of Psycho, the Birds and Vertigo. Hitchcock’s incredible modern art is elucidated and explained by today’s leading filmmakers.
The director Ken Jones will be present at the screening.
Thursday February 18 | 7:30pm - Avon Theatre
THE RIVER (Le Fleuve)
In West Bengal, both Harriet, the daughter of a jute mill owner, and her best friend,
Valerie, become captivated by dashing visitor Captain John, who ignores them for
sultry Melanie. However, all find that their lives are shaken up after Harriet's brother is involved in a tragedy. The River is a 1951 film directed by Jean Renoir. It was
filmed in India.
Thursday March 17 | 7:30pm - Avon Theatre
MUKWEGE
THE DOCTOR WHO SAVES WOMEN
Congolese surgeon Denis Mukwege has been conducting operations on female
victims of sexual violence in the south Kivu Province for fifteen years, in a hospital
he founded himself.
He was nominated twice for the Nobel Peace Prize and awarded the Sakharov
Prize in 2014.
This film is his opportunity to speak out, together with his nurses and patients-an
alarm call to the world. The film offers vivid accounts of the resilience and determination of Congolese women to not be defined by the crimes committed against
them.
At the Avon Theatre - 272 Bedford Street - Stamford, CT 06901
Carte Blanche: FREE | Avon & AFG Members: $6 | Nonmembers: $11
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International Book Club
Byram Shubert Library | 5-6pm | rsvp: info@afgreenwich.org - 203.629.1340
Tues da y, Ja nua r y 19
To Kill a M ockingbird
The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy Southern town and the crisis of conscience
that rocked it, To Kill A Mockingbird became both an instant bestseller and a critical success
when it was first published in 1960. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 .Atticus Finch,
a lawyer in the Depression-era South, defends a black man against an undeserved rape
charge, and his kids against prejudice.
Tuesday, February 16
Go Set a Watchman
It is a novel by Harper Lee, a sequel to her book To Kill a Mockingbird. Twenty-six-year-old
Jean Louise Finch—"Scout"—returns home from New York City to visit her aging father, Atticus. Set against the backdrop of the civil rights tensions and political turmoil that were transforming the South, Jean Louise's homecoming turns bittersweet when she learns disturbing
truths about her close-knit family, the town, and the people dearest to her. Memories from her
childhood flood back, and her values and assumptions are thrown into doubt.
Tuesday, March 15
The Meursault Investigation
This response to Camus's The Stranger is at once a love story and a political manifesto about
post-colonial Algeria, Islam, and the irrelevance of Arab lives. He was the brother of "the Arab"
killed by the infamous Meursault, the antihero of Camus's classic novel. Seventy years after
that event, Harun, who has lived since childhood in the shadow of his sibling's memory, refuses to let him remain anonymous: he gives his brother a story and a name--Musa--and describes the events that led to Musa's casual murder on a dazzlingly sunny beach.
Club de Lecture
Byram Shubert Library | 13h30
Mercredi 10 Février
Ballaciner
Le Clézio est l’ecrivain du voyage, des îles et du désert, de la vertu d’être nomade. Usant de
son merveilleux style, Il nous emmène cette fois dans un périple à travers le cinéma.
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Proust Corner
Proust, the Gossip
By: Fereshteh Priou
Apopular 1970’s T-shirt had these
words inscribed on it: “Proust is a yenta,” a yenta being Yiddish for a gossipy,
old woman. Reading Proust, you realize that among all the gems that the
author offers in terms of memories and
thoughts on life, love, art, death, etc.,
there are also many gossipy tidbits.
These crumbs of gossip are either the
narrator’s impressions of different people and situations, or they are thoughts
expressed by the other characters and
related to us by the narrator.
Proust talks about the multi faceted
aspect of our persona and the fact that
we can never fully perceive all the potential facets to the characters of the
people we know. We therefore utilize
chitchat to get informed and to figure
things out. Proust also uses the notion
of gossip to demonstrate that gossip is
a large component of our social interactions, but most importantly, he uses this
concept to reveal to us the futility of
such endeavors. The “temps perdue”
not only means lost times in French,
but also wasted times. Proust thinks
that not much good comes out of associations based on class or social status
or club connections. He shows that
casual gatherings that give us a sense
of belonging are also where gossip is
rampant. He believes these gatherings
are pointless, but people nevertheless
engage in them and at times do it with
utmost zeal.
Gossip has an important role in literature. Truman Capote famously said that
“All literature is gossip.” Even though
we might consider these two entities as
two complete opposites, you still can’t
deny that if Proust was not such a gossip, he would have not been able to
enlighten us by his continuous ruminations on facts of life, on people’s behavior and on social situations. The characters’ constant and continuous efforts
to appear a certain way to others make
for comical situations. The homosexual
Charlus derides homosexuality not realizing that his sexual orientation is already common knowledge. The rich
Mme. Verdurin pretends that it is her
decision not to allow those boring aristocrats to attend her salon and ignores
the reality that it is the snob aristocrats
who shun the company of her and her
little clan. The talented musician,
Charles Morel, hides his lowly background and cunningly convinces the
narrator to introduce his father as a
family friend and hide the truth that he
was the valet to the narrator’s uncle.
There are many more examples of
characters obfuscating reality to suit
their fantasies. Proust observes it all
and philosophizes on the minutiae of
these interactions, on what is real and
what imaginary.
Reading Proust teaches us that no
matter how hard we try, we rarely know
what people think about us. The gossip
is done behind our back and we are the
only person not to be in the know until it
finally reaches our ears. He pokes fun
at the fact that certain actions which we
undertake for the purpose of appearing
a certain way to others, will go completely unnoticed while some other
things we did that we thought were insignificant, becomes an important part
of our personality in the eyes of our
friends and will be gossiped about incessantly. In the second volume, the
young narrator is madly in love with
Gilberte, Swann’s daughter and once
meeting with Swann’s friend, Mr. de
Norpois, he tries hard to appear worldly, articulate and intelligent in hopes
that he would put in a good word to
Swann for him. At the end of their
meeting, he clumsily makes an attempt
to kiss de Norpois’ hand, but refrains
and thinks that he didn’t notice. He realizes later that de Norpois not only did
not mention anything about his intellect,
but everyone in society found out about
the hand kissing situation.
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We can’t dismiss gossip offhandedly
because, even though gossip is a commonplace activity looked down on by
most of humanity, it has a significant
effect on our recognition of our environment, our culture and our world. We
constantly observe and judge others
based on a set of norms dictated to us
by our society and our culture and
through gossip, we divulge the behavior we deem unacceptable. Through
gossip we reveal little secrets about
others’ lives. We are social animals and
our happiness, success and well-being
depends on others and our thoughts
are formed and defined through the
filter of other people. We seek this connection through the bonds that gossip
provides.
Gossip’s idle talk with its cruel and
wicked intentions is the way some people try to gain control and influence
others or at times even evaluate their
own worth. By putting others down, one
makes a weak attempt to look better
than the one he is gossiping about.
Gossip is also a way to bond with others. People reveal secrets and by doing
so, they make the listener special and
worthy of being privy to these secrets
and therefore they create bonds. We
experience this in the Verdurins’ little
clan where Gossiping about Charlus or
Brichot makes some members of the
clan feel a closer connection to their
host.
Even though the narrator and many
other characters in the book recognize
the uselessness of many social interactions for the sole purpose of belonging,
he tells us that the desire to belong to
an elite social level is much stronger
than the reluctance to waste time adhering to these groups. So we spend
most of our life in pursuit of banal and
mundane activities that have little objective than occupying our free time
with no obvious fruitful results. But
Proust would have not written his book,
full of gossip, if he did not engage in
the exact same activities and interactions that he so convincingly denigrates.
Proust Meetings are on 1/14 & 3/10
5 to 7 pm at the Byram Shubert Library
Contact Fereshteh Priou for information
fereshp@yahoo.com 203-918-1238
Past Events
Flag raising at Greenwich Town Hall
In honor of the victims of the Paris attacks
Pictures Anne Friday
Paris Cocktails Fundraiser
Part of the proceeds Donated to L’Association des Victimes du Terrorisme
Pictures Anne Friday
Holiday Party & Caroling
With champagne and hors d’oeuvres
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Education
www.afgreenwich.org (to access all the brochures…)
Contact: education@afgreenwich.org | 203.629.1340
French Immersion
Playschool
Ecole du Samedi
For Children 3-5
Tuesday - Friday 9am - 11:30 am
For Bilingual Children
3 Sat. per month
9:30am - 12:30 pm
New Location
299 Greenwich Ave
Greenwich, CT
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Board of Directors
2014 - 2015
President
Co-President
Treasurer
Renée Ketcham
Gail Covney
Fereshteh Priou
Les Nouveautés à la
Téléthèque
Committees
Honorary Board Member
Board member
Ciné-Club
Ciné-Critique
Conferences
School Relations
Bourses et Prix
Education outreach
Francophonie
Soleil
International Book Club
Table Francaise
Proust Group
Cultural Liaison
Office
Jean-Louis Gerin
Karen Bacon
Gail Covney
Mimi Wind
Catherine Ladnier
Renée Ketcham
L’Homme qu’on aimait trop (In the Name of my Daughter),
André Téchiné (2014) with Catherine Deneuve and Guillaume Canet.
The true story of Agnès le Roux, young heiress to a failing
casino, who disappeared in the 1970’s Nice.
Gail Covney
Gail Covney
Anne Kern
Lucie Chabrol
Paule Khoury
Gail Covney
Renée Ketcham
Sylviane Leibowitz
Fereshteh Priou
Miguel García-Colón
Farah Walczuk &
Antoine Bancharel
Je n’ai rien oublié (Small World), Bruno Chiche (2012)
with Gérard Depadieu.
When Conrad, in the service of the Senn family since
early childhood and suffering from Altzeimer’s desease,
tells his memories, they do not match with the official
history of the family.
Les activités habituelles de l’Alliance
Conférences
Round Hill Community Church Parlor
Tuesdays |1.30pm
397 Round Hill Road
Le Vieux Fusil (the Old Gun), Robert Enrico (1975) with
Philippe Noiret and Romy Schneider.
Les Causeries
Le deuxième lundi du mois à 13h30 à moins d’un avis contraire @ Cos Cob Library
Marie Agnès Peters, Tél: (203) 355-1787
Gérard Laurent, Tél: (203) 661-9420
A World War II movie where a French surgeon begins
taking lives one by one from the enemy when he discovers that his wife and daughter have been murdered
by Nazi soldiers. The movie got three Césars in France.
Reed Lecture Conversation
Troisième mardi à 13h30
@ Byram Shubert Library
Francis Polizio, Tél: (914) 939-1092
Pour Une Femme (For a Woman), Diane Kurys (2013)
with Sylvie Testud.
Café franco-américain
Tous les deux vendredis à 9h30.
Discussion chez un particulier. Une heure en anglais et
une heure en français.
Susan Benthall, Tél: (203) 322-9219
After her mother’s death, Anne discovers old photos
and letters that convince her to take a closer look at her
parents’ life.
Club de lecture
Discussion dirigée de 5 livres dans l’année.
Mimi Wind, Tél: (203) 355-9499
Claire Schwartz, Tél: (914) 273-9588
Dans La Cour (In the Courtyard), Pierre Salvadori
(2014) with Catherine Deneuve.
Ciné-Club
Le dernier jeudi du mois à 19h @ Byram Shubert Library
Middle aged musician Antoine decides to end his career
and ends up as a caretaker of an old Paris apartment
building.
Ciné-Critique
Le jeudi à 13h00 @ Cos Cob Library
Pour les amoureux du cinéma français.
Projection vidéo suivie d’une discussion.
Mimi Wind, Tél: (203) 355-9499
Proust Group
17h00 See page 7 for dates & location
Fereshteh Priou, Tel: (203) 918-1238
La Table Française
Le premier jeudi du mois
Sylviane Liebowitz, Tel: (914) 536-8643
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For ticket sales and discounts, please visit www.focusonfrenchcinema.org
Membership
Le Centre de l’Alliance Française: our center, located in the Arts Center, 299 Greenwich Ave., Greenwich,
CT is open to the public Monday through Friday from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM.
French Classes: classes are held at the AFG Center, Monday through Saturday. Call Farah Walczuk
(203) 629-2301
Website : Visit us at: www.afgreenwich.org
For more information, please contact our office during our regular business hours at (203) 629-1340
The Alliance Française of Greenwich is a non-profit organization.
Amazing Co-membership offer with
French Institute - Alliance Française
(FIAF) in New York!
Please call us, email us, or stop by the
office for more information on this
incredible opportunity
Starting this year, new Members of the Alliance
Française of Greenwich, CT also automatically
become FIAF Members, gaining access to all FIAF
Member benefits, including amazing cultural
programs & discounts in NY!
Current Members of the Alliance Française of
Greenwich can also upgrade to this co-membership
and start enjoying the many programs & world-class
events of one of the most respected centers of
French-American activities in the U.S!
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