French fest to enliven the weekend

French fest to enliven the weekend

PENANG will come alive with a French passion this weekend in conjunction with the 10th French Art and Film Festival.

First on the list of activities is a French reading contest that will take place at the Gurney Plaza old wing concourse tomorrow and Sunday.

Justine Esteve, the director of Alliance Francaise de Penang who is co-organising the festival, said all French speakers were welcome to join the competition that would start at 4pm on both days.

“We have many students from our language school competing but everyone who can read in French is welcome.

“There will be selected texts available for the participants to choose from but they are welcome to bring their own books and poetry as well,” Esteve said.

She added that each participant would be allowed three minutes to read.

She said the participants would be judged based on three main criteria — pronunciation, rhythm and fluency.

“The first place winners on both Saturday and Sunday will win one free term of French classes at Alliance Francaise de Penang.

“There is no registration fee for the competition and those who want to join can just show up at Gurney Plaza before the sessions begin,” Esteve said.

The second activity lined up for the festival is an Indonesian cultural performance with a French twist.

“Didik Nini Thowok, an accomplished Indonesian dancer, will be performing in the dance and poetry recital entitled ‘Centhini — Empat Puluh Malam dan Satunya Hujan’.

“The performance is based on an old Java-nese literature that has been translated into French by author Elizabeth D. Inandiak,” said Esteve.

“Inandiak, a noted translator who specia-lises in Southeast Asian languages, will be reading extracts from the text in Malay du-ring the performance,” she said, adding that English translations would projected on a screen.

She said the performance would be held in Penang’s Town Hall at the Esplanade on Sunday at 7.30pm.

Tickets are priced at RM20 with a RM5 discount for Alliance Francaise members.

They can be obtained from Alliance Fran-caise de Penang at 46, Jalan Phuah Hin Leong or at the Town Hall before the perfor-mance.

The French Art and Film Festival will also see the screening of six French movies at GSC Gurney Plaza from May 26 to May 31.

A special appearance by Merzhin, a French Celtic Rock band, is also on the cards with the band performing at the Hard Rock Cafe Penang on June 26.

The festival, that started this month in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, is organised by Alliance Francaise and the French Embassy in Malaysia.

For the movie screening schedule and more information about the festival activities, visit www.faff.com.my, check out Alliance Francaise de Penang’s Facebook page or call 04-2276008.

~News courtesy of The Star~