This February, French cinema marches to the beat of the Academy Awards: both Amélie and Le Pari are screened at French restaurant La Voile, and the Williams College French Film Festival still has one more screening to offer: Abd Al Malik’s poignant Qu’Allah bénisse la France! Also, don't miss the opportunity to see Elle before the Oscars, for Isabelle Huppert may receive a golden statue this weekend...

The annual Providence French Film Festival is back at the Cable Car Theater this month, with dozens of renowned French films being shown, starting with Son of Joseph, a New York Times Critic's Pic! Other films being shown this year include: Frantz by François Ozon, Fatima by Philippe Faucon, or Being 17 by André Téchiné.

The first talkie was directed by Alice Guy, the first color film was produced by Lois Weber. Frances Marion wrote screenplays for the Hollywood Star Mary Pickford and won two Oscars, Dorothy Arzner was the most powerful film director in Hollywood. And what do all of them have in common? They are all women and they have all been forgotten.
This documentary by French directors Clara and Julia Kuperberg uncovers their untold story.

When she is not busy being featured in the Showcase series The Affair or earning top honors at Cannes for her role in La Double Vie de Véronique -- Irène Jacob loves to sing. And when she sings, it’s with her brother, Francis, and his band.
Join the party for an evening of jazzed up chansons françaises with a true French star.

For the inauguration of its Center of Excellence, Brown University invites you to attend this conference questionning the place of Islam in French Society today. Focusing on the current polemics surrounding laïcité--a uniquely French phenomenon in that the State guarantees the private practice of religion while insisting on a strict separation of Church and State--participants will ponder on the emergence of a new public visibility of Islam in the West and the anxieties it is generating.

In February, the CES honours French culture by proposing thought-provoking lectures about French history and politics and France in the European Union, held by prominent specialists of France. Whether you worry about Material hardship or are interested in the history of French slave-ownership, whether you have always wondered about the Future of European political debate, these conferences are just for you!

Click on the link down below if you want to learn more about these great CES events.

Next month, France will be particularly well represented in lectures held by New England University and Museum. The Artist's Museum will host Pierre Leguillon for a special screening of his performative work The Promise of the Screen, followed by an informal lecture. Professor Alan Hoffman, translator of the travel's chronicles of Marquis de Lafayette around the U.S. in the 1820's, will talk about these fascinating texts at UMass Dartmouth. Lastly, Professor Frédéric Bozo will give a lecture at Harvard about “France, Europe and Transatlantic Relations in Testing Times”.

Bernar Venet has spent decades exploring painting, poetry, film, performance and sculpture, for which he is best known and admired around the world. This intimate exhibit features unpublished photographs brought together for the first time in the US. These images of icons of art in the 1960s' (Warhol, Rauschenberg, Indiana...), are truly unique as a valuable mix of historical evidence and friendly instantaneous moments.

The artist lecture will be the occasion for Venet to share his experiences focusing on his interactions within the contemporary art world.

Don't miss the chance to hear the work of Pascal Szymczak, a French composer specialized in classical music. Love Cantata for Tenor is the fruit of a unique collaboration between Szymczak and two American artists: David Won, tenor, and Timothy Steele, pianist.

You can now enjoy a new package of TV5MONDE channels online: TV5MONDE Style; TV5MONDE Cinema, featuring recent and classic French language films; TiVi5MONDE, the children’s network; and TV5MONDE Info with the latest newscasts.