La Lettre de l - Alliance Française of Greenwich

La Lettre de l’
APRIL, MAY, JUNE 2015
Chers amis francophones & francophiles
(French)
Chers amis francophones et francophiles,
(English)
Dear francophone friends,
Nous sommes heureux de vous présenter les activités de cette saison, à
commencer par la conférence présentée par le Professeur Géza von
Habsburg : «Marie-Antoinette, une Habsbourg sur le trône de France»,
qui aura lieu le 2 avril à la bibliothèque de Byram.
We are pleased to present our upcoming events, starting with a fascinating conference given by Dr. Geza von Habsburg: Marie Antoinette –
A Habsburg on the French throne (April 2nd, Byram Shubert Library).
Le 7 avril, Fereshteh Priou nous propose une visite guidée au Bruce
Museum sur l’exposition actuelle, présentant des œuvres classiques de
peintres hollandais et flamands.
Rendez vous à l’Avon pour le film documentaire, «Dior et moi» , le 1er
avril, suivi d’un Q&A avec le réalisateur. Notre French Cinémathèque y
projettera «Grand Central» le 9 avril et «Deux jours, une nuit», le 7 mai,
ainsi que Bande de filles, le 11 juin. Trois films excellents !
Notre «International Book Club» lit un livre de Patrick Modiano, “Rue des
boutiques obscure”. La réunion aura lieu le 21 avril à 17h à la bibliothèque de Byram. Ce club n’arrête pas de s’agrandir et les discussions
sont fascinantes - tout comme à notre Club de lecture, en français.
Les Bourses et Prix seront distribués le 18 mai à 17h. Venez féliciter nos
jeunes étudiants locaux de la langue française !
Le 26 avril, l’Alliance Française de Greenwich et le English Speaking
Union organisent un formidable concert de musique classique à la maison Thomas Higgins (Christ Church). Un évènement a ne pas manquer !
L’Alliance Française continue de développer son programme éducatif et
culturel en proposant maintes nouveautés comme par exemple notre
colonie de vacances pour enfants et nos journées d’immersion.
L’équipe de L’Alliance Française de Greenwich se joint à nous pour vous
remercier de votre fidélité. Profitez bien du printemps !
On April 7th, Fereshteh Priou will lead a tour at the Bruce Museum on
the fantastic exhibition of Dutch and Flemish master works, in French.
The Avon Theatre will be showing the documentary, «Dior & I» on April
1st at the Avon Theatre. Also at the Avon, our French Cinematheque
will be screening «Grand Central» on April 9 and «Two Days, One
Night» on May 7. Three great films for you to enjoy!
Our International Book Club is reading the award winning book by
Patrick Modiano, «The Missing Person». This lively discussion group
will take place on April 21st at 5pm at the Byram Shubert Library.
Our annual distribution of awards and scholarships will be held on May
18th at 5pm. Please come and congratulate our local young students
of French.
The Alliance Francaise of Greenwich will also partner with the English
Speaking Union to present a wonderful afternoon of Tea and classical
music concert at the Thomas Higgins House at Christ Church. This is
surely an event you don’t want to miss.
The Alliance Francaise continues to develop our cultural and educational programs, notably with our summer camp for kids and our immersion days.
The Alliance Francaise of Greenwich team thanks you for your support. Enjoy the springtime weather !
Renée Ketcham & Gail Covney
Sommaire
Pages 2-3: Special Events | Conferences
Pages 4:-5: Cinema
Pages 6-7: Literature
Pages 8-9: Festival | Education
Pages 10:-11 Cuisine | Near You
Page 12: Membership
Northern Baroque Splendor
Conference
C a mi lle Cla u d e l
Books & Movie
Deux jours, une nuit
Cinémathèque
299 Greenwich Avenue, Greenwich, CT 06830 Tel: (203) 629-1340 info@afgreenwich.org www.afgreenwich.org
Special Events
The Allliance Française of Greenwich &
The English Speaking Union present:
Invite members to a joint
celebration of
APRIL IN PARIS
With classical music of French and
English Composers and
English High Tea with English Trifle
and Devonshire Tea
Sunday 26 April 2015
3pm
Tomes-Higgins House, 216 East
Putnam Ave, Greenwich, CT
Fee $60 - RSVP Emily Toohey
203-661-7988
Meet The Author
Thursday June 25 | 6:30pm
Mary McAuliffe, Author of The Twilight of the Belle
Epoque (International Book Club selection in May)
speaks about her book
Byram Shubert Library
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Conferences & Exhibits
Marie-Antoinette: A Habsburg on the French Throne
Thu., April. 2 | 6:30pm | Byram Shubert Library
The politically expedient marriage in 1770 of the child-bride Maria Antonia, daughter of the
mighty Empress Maria Theresa to the shy Dauphin, Louis Auguste, grand-son of King Louis
XV, placed a headstrong queen on the throne of France. Not heeding her mother’s voluminous cautionary correspondence, she flung herself into pleasure-loving Parisian society, neglecting her duties, in due course helping cause her family’s tragic fate. Yet her 20-year rule,
marked by her love of luxury, has left us with some of the finest examples of architecture, furnishings, porcelain and objets d’art of the entire 18th century: The celebrated Époque Louis
XVI. Reception followed by Lecture, for more information: 203-629-1340
Géza von Habsburg studied at the Universities of Fribourg, Munich and Florence and has a Ph.D. in History of
Art. He was Chairman of Christie’s in Switzerland and in Europe for 18 years, taught at the Bard Graduate Center
for the Decorative Art, at New York University and lectures worldwide. He wrote/co-wrote 15 books on the History of Collecting, Russian Art and Fabergé, and organized 5 international exhibitions attracting over 2 million
visitors.
“Northern Baroque Splendor. The Hohenbuchau Collection from: Liechtenstein.
The Princely Collections, Vienna”
Tue., April 7 | 1.30pm | Bruce Museum
This exhibition of 64 Dutch and Flemish paintings from Europe’s Golden Age were collected
by Otto Christian and Renate Fassbender to hang on the walls of their hunting lodge, Hohenbuchau, for which the collection is named. The paintings are in long term loan to the Collection of Prince of Liechtenstein and this is the first time the whole collection has been shown
in the US. The paintings are primarily comprised of seventeenth-century paintings by Northern Baroque painters. It exhibits all the naturalism, visual excellence and technical brilliance
for which those schools are famous. The Hohenbuchau Collection is admirable for offering
examples of virtually all the genres produced by Lowland artists.
In French
Fereshteh Priou is a docent at the Bruce Museum and gives regular tours of the exhibitions to visitors.
She has organized this special private tour for AFG members. The Exhibit will be followed by a café / croissant at
Bistro Versailles. The entry fee to the Bruce Museum and the following café and croissants are complimentary.
Marie De France : Premiere femme écrivain
Tue., May 12 | 1.30pm | Round Hill Community Church
Marie de France, who lived in the last half of the twelfth century, is the first woman writer of the
French tradition. Fluent in Old Breton tongue, English, Latin, and Old French. She is the author of
three major works– a series of 12 “lais” of short stories, a collection of Aesopean animal tales, a
“Saint Patrick’s Purgatory”.
In French
R. Howard Bloch, Sterling Professor of French at Yale
University, is the author or editor of some dozen books on the history of
medieval French literature, history and art. He teaches courses on
medieval and modern French literature and culture as well as directed
studies: the freshman great books course of Yale.
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Ciné-Club
Byram Shubert Library | 21 mead Avenue | Greenwich, CT 06830 | 7:00pm on a Thursday
Marie Antoinette | Thu. April 30
Marie-Antoinette is a 2006 historical drama film, written and directed by Sofia Coppola. It is
based on the life of the Queen in the years leading up to the French Revolution. An Austrian
teenager marries the Dauphin of France and becomes the country’s queen following the
death of King Louis XV in 1774. Years later, after a life of luxury and privilege, Marie Antoinette loses her head during the French Revolution.
Le Passé | Thu. May 21
Le Passé Written and directed by Asghar Farhadi. An Iranian man deserts his French wife
and her two children to return to his homeland. Meanwhile, his wife starts up a new relationship, a reality her husband confronts upon his wife’s request for a divorce. The film was nominated for the Palme d’Or at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival and was selected for Best Foreign
Language Film at the Academy Awards. A must see!
Camille Claudel 1915 | Thu. June 11
Camille Claudel 1915 Winter, 1915. Confined by her family to an asylum in the South of
France - where she will never sculpt again - the chronicle of Camille Claudel's reclusive life,
as she waits for a visit from her brother, Paul Claudel. Written and directed by Bruno Dumont.
Julliette Binoche’s excellent performance cannot be missed!
M O V I E S A R E A LW A Y S I N F R E N C H W IT H E N G L I S H S U B T I T L E S
Ciné-Salon
Ciné-Critique
FIAF (Manhattan) | Tuesdays, 4 & 7:30pm
Cos Cob Library | 1pm
Le Boucher
Haute Couture in Film
Thu 16 April- 13h
In a village in Perigort, the
daily life ceases to be
calm when women are
slaughtered, by whom?
The butcher, who did the
wars in both Indochina
and Algeria, seems to become the number one
suspect in the eyes of the
school director, who had
tender feelings for him.
Jean-Claude Carriere: Writing the Impossible
One the best films by
Claude Chabrol, with
Stephane Audran and
Jean Yanne.
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French Cinémathèque
DV D s
Presented by Alliance Française of Greenwich & the Avon Theatre in Stamford
299 Greenwich Avenue | Greenwich, CT
Thurs., April 9 | 7:30pm - Avon Theatre
Our téléthèque is 30 years old! It consist of
518 movies, probably one of the largest for
Set in and around a nuclear-power
French-language
in Connecticut!
plant,movies
an unskilled
laborer who Unarfortunately, along
movies
rived atthe
the years
facility some
is assigned
a
maintenance
job,
Gary,
like
all
of
his
have been lost. Please enjoy the films, and
lower-level co-workers at the plant
bring them back
on time!
Grand Central
Set in and around a nuclear-power plant,
an unskilled laborer who arrived at the
facility is assigned a maintenance job.
Gary, like all of his lower-level co-workers
at the plant puts himself at tremendous
risk everyday. Gary may be putting himself at even more risk when he and
Karole, the fiancée of one of his workmates, fall madly in love. Disaster,
whether physical or emotional, may be
imminent, but Zlotowski handles the fallout with considerable intelligence.
Thurs., May 7 | 7:30pm - Avon Theatre
Two Days One Night
For the first time, Belgian directors JeanPierre & Luc Dardenne team up with a
major international star, Marion Cotillard,
to create a universal story about working
-class people living on the edges of society. Sandra has just returned to work
after recovering from a serious bout with
depression. Realizing that the company
can operate with one less employee,
management tells her she is to be let go.
After learning that her co-workers will
vote to decide her fate, Sandra races
against time over the course of the
weekend to try and convince them.
Wed., June 11 | 7:30pm - Avon Theatre
Girlhood
Fed up with her abusive family situation,
lack of school prospects and the “boys’
law” in the neighborhood, Marieme starts
a new life after meeting a group of freespirited girls. She changes her name, her
style, drops out of school and starts stealing to be accepted into the gang. When
her home situation becomes unbearable,
she seeks solace in an older man who
promises her money and protection. Realizing this sort of lifestyle will never result in the freedom and independence
she truly desires, she finally decides to
take matters into her own hands.
At the Avon Theatre - 272 Bedford Street - Stamford, CT 06901
Carte Blanche: FREE | Avon & AFG Members: $6 | Nonmembers: $11
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puts himself at tremendous risk everyday. Gary may be putting himself at
even more risk when he and Karole,
the fiancée of one of his workmates,
fall madly in love.
Disaster, whether physical or emotional, may be imminent, but
Zlotowski handles the fallout with
considerable intelligence.
International Book Club
Byram Shubert Library | 5-6pm | rsvp: info@afgreenwich.org - 203.629.1340
Tuesda y, April 21
Missing Person
In this Strange, elegant novel, Patrick Modiano, who won the Prix Goncourt, France’s
premier literary prize, for this work, portrays a man in pursuit of the identity he lost in the murky
days of the Paris Occupation, the black hole of French memory. Missing Person is the sixth novel
by the French writer, published in 1978, 26 years before he received the
Nobel Prize in Literature, last Fall.
Tuesda y, Ma y 19
Tw ilight of the Belle Epoque
In Twilight of the Belle Epoque, McAuliffe portrays Paris in full flower at the turn of the twentieth
century, where creative dynamos such as Picasso, Matisse, Stravinsky,
Debussy, Ravel, Proust, Marie Curie, Gertrude Stein, Jean Cocteau, and Isadora Duncan set their
respective circles on fire with a barrage of revolutionary visions and discoveries. Through rich illustrations and evocative narrative, McAuliffe brings this remarkable era from 1900 through World
War I to vibrant life.
MEET THE AUTHOR! (page 2)
Tuesda y, June 23
The Greater Journey
In The Greater Journey, David McCullough tells the enthralling, inspiring—and until now, untold—
story of the adventurous American artists, writers, doctors, politicians, and others who set off for
Paris in the years between 1830 and 1900, hungry to learn and to excel in their work. What they
achieved would profoundly alter American history. Telling their stories with power and intimacy,
McCullough brings us into the lives of remarkable men and women who, in Saint-Gaudens’
phrase, longed “to soar into the blue.”
Club de Lecture
Byram Shubert Library | 1:30pm
Mercredi 8 Avril, 13h30
Mercredi 3 Juin, 13h30
Cet ouvrage, qui comporte une
part autobiographique, est basé
sur les réminiscences d’un groupe
d’amis de toutes confessions qui
se retrouvent au Liban, lors du
decès de l’un des leurs, alors
qu’ils sont dispersés un peu partout sur la planète suite a une
guerre qui a ravagé le pays.
De Paris a Venise en passant par Smyrne,
deux voyageurs persans echangent des lettres
avec leurs amis en Perse. Pendant 8 ans, ils
observant et décrivent les moeurs occidentales, le fonctionnement de la monarchie
absolue, ainsi que le pouvoir de l’Eglise.
A travers ce roman épistolaire, Montesquieu
compose un tableau critique de la France de
l’Ancien regime.
mimiwind@optonline.net | info@afgreenwich.org
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Proust Corner
Proust Group meetings: Byram ShubertLibrary | 5-7pm | contact: fereshp@yahoo.com
A Futile Search...
By Fereshteh Priou
Reading Proust, you get the impression that the narrator of his book is a
child one moment and an old man the
next. We can’t help but wonder if this is
not an attempt on his part to prove that
those two stages of life are the only
reflective moments of our lives. What
happens between childhood and old
age, for most part, is mostly a blur, and
at times, we have difficulty remembering many precious moments except for
excerpts here and there. We sense
that there are whole slices of our lives
that have passed too quickly without us
taking the time to cherish and savor
the moment. Proust reflects on this
experience and tells us that, for most
of us, the time is wasted, gone—
perdu—and the search or recherche
for the lost time, useless.
Proust’s reflective prose focuses on
childhood and makes it appear idyllic
with the slow pace which is typical of
youth. As children, we never complain
about not knowing where our day or
our week went. Childhood is the time
of discovery and wonderment. Everything is new and full of possibilities.
Whether or not our childhoods were
spent in a world of privilege or poverty,
we preserve vivid memories of those
days. The narrator’s of the book describes his nightly suffering as a child
while waiting for his mother’s good
night kiss in a heart-wrenching way.
The recollections are very real even
though he is recanting the story as an
older man.
Then comes adulthood, when time
speeds up and disappears like a movie
put on fast-forward. Our jobs, family
life, loves, friendships, and many other
activities we engage in, dart us
through life and speed us towards an
undetermined, unknown and unimagined destination. Our days are filled
with our preoccupations and the challenges we face. Our occasional victories and disappointments are what we
preserve in our memories; the rest is a
haze and as obscure as objects hidden behind a thick fog that parts every
now and then and gives us a glimpse
of what once was.
The remembrances happen as we
age. We rely on our senses to stimulate our brain in order to have a Madeleine moment and get recollections of
instances deeply buried in the crevices
of our minds. Our brains cling to things
we like or dislike and preserve them
deep inside like a time capsule that,
once opened, can bring hints of the
past. We also try to look back on our
lives and grasp the meaning of it all.
Proust does this beautifully and with a
lot of humor. His prose and his reflections on the world that surrounds him
and the people he encounters are deliciously funny. He pokes fun at how
people are mostly preoccupied with
appearances and social status. He
describes people’s insecurities that
manifest in odd and comical behavior.
His observations cut through our
sense of what is real and what is only
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a perception. His musings on memory
and the games it plays with our minds
are original and amazing. People’s
mannerisms and their usage of language are a constant theme in his
book. He tells us what is said and what
is meant. One can imagine him as a
spectator in the circus of life, observing
the freaks, the clowns, and the lion
tamers and the trapeze acrobats. His
characters, including the narrator himself an avid social climber - are
constantly trying to one-up each other
and prove superior by deriding, ignoring, or patronizing one another.
Proust has literally written volumes
about what happens in people’s lives
between childhood and old age. He
tells us that if there is no passion, vocation, or calling, our lives would be
mere gyrations, twists and twirls that
will amuse the spectators of our existence. He demonstrates all through
the book that there is no truth outside
of being true to oneself; that cultivating a unique and authentic self should
be the aim, or else we will be hypocritical towards ourselves and others.
He reminds us constantly of the ridiculousness of a life spent in an attempt to appear a certain way to others. He illustrates that the way people
see you, could be as alien to you as a
shadow in the dark of the night. You
can never decipher the mystery of
how you are perceived and judged
and any attempt in discerning it is
futile, therefore stop and don’t waste
the precious time.
The Proust group is reading
Volume 4, Sodom & Gomorrah or
Cities of the Plain.
Discussions are led by Fereshteh
Priou in English.
Upcoming Meetings: 4/9, 5/5 & 6/12
5 -7 pm at the Byram Shubert Library
11th Edition of
Focus on French Cinema
March 27 - 31, 2015
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT !
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Education
FRENCH SUMMER CAMP
FOR CHILDREN AND TEENS
One week sessions
June 21-August 14
9am-12pm
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 | 9:30 - 11:30 am
For Bilingual Children
3 Sat. per month | 9:30 - 12:30 am
>> almost full, contact us to open
more classes!
at Audubon Center
Contact us now!
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Board of Directors
2014 - 2015
President:
Co-President:
Treasurer:
Renée Ketcham
Gail Covney
Fereshteh Priou
La Table Française
T h u r s d a y, Ap r i l 9 | 11 . 4 5 a m
Conception du Cassoulet Traditionel*
Committees
Honorary Board Member
Ciné-Club:
Ciné-Critique:
Conferences:
School Relations:
Bourses et Prix :
Education outreach:
Francophonie:
Soleil:
Potage Parmentier
Jean-Louis Gerin
Gail Covney
Mimi Wind
Catherine Ladnier
Renée Ketcham
Gail Covney
Marcia Josephson
Gail Covney
Anne Kern
Lucie Chabrol
Paule Khoury
Gail Covney
International Book Club:
Renée Ketcham
Table Francaise:
Sylviane Leibowitz Ely
Proust Group:
Fereshteh Priou
Cultural Liaison
Miguel García-Colón
Office:
Farah Walczuk & Antoine Bancharel
Les activités habituelles de l’Alliance
Conférences
Round Hill Community Church Parlor
Tuesdays |1.30pm
397 Round Hill Road
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
Tartine de Tomate
Salade de la Maison et Viinaigrette
*
Cassoulet Traditionel
*
Profiteroles
Le Cassoulet
Demonstration & Lunch
Encore Bi st rot
67 Purchase Street
Rye, NY.
Crème Brulee
Tarte au Citron
$35 per person
RSVP: rei neest her@ea rth li nk .n et
Announcements
Monday May 18 | 5pm
Bourses et Prix
Annual Lobster Bake Picnic
Date to be announced
Reed Lecture Conversation
Troisième mardi à 13h30
@ Byram Shubert Library
Francis Polizio, Tél: (914) 939-1092
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
Club de lecture
Discussion dirigée de 5 livres dans l’année.
Mimi Wind, Tél: (203) 355-9499
Claire Schwartz, Tél: (914) 273-9588
Ciné-Club
Le dernier jeudi du mois à 19h @ Byram
Shubert Library
Federation des Alliances Française USA
Mid-year Board Meeting
April 30-May 2
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
The Alliance Francaise of Greenwich welcomes the
Federation des Alliances Françaises USA
in Greenwich!
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Art to the Avenue
Artist at the AFG
Margaret Simon is an established Greenwich
artist who has exhibited and won awards in
numerous shows and her work is represented in various private collections in the
United States.
Margaret’s artwork will be in view starting on
May 7 at the Alliance, as part of Art to the
Avenue, presented by the Greenwich Arts
Council.
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299 Greenwich Avenue
Greenwich, CT 06830
Tel. : (203) 629-1340
info@afgreenwich.org
www.afgreenwich.org
The Alliance Française of Greenwich is also…
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!
Prices upon request
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