These coming days, join the various in-person events happening in Texas and Oklahoma to celebrate the French national day:

- On July 11 in Edmond, OK with the Alliance française of Oklahoma City (food, French music and games);

- On July 14 in Dallas, TX with the Alliance française of Dallas (at Lavendou Bistro Provençal), and in San Antonio, TX with the Alliance française of San Antonio (special menus at local restaurants and cultural activities from home).
 

Following the devastating fire of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral in April of 2019, Houstonian Philanthropist Becca Cason Thrash led a fundraiser held late February-early March in Mexico City, inviting charitable patrons and socials from around the world. Get a glimpse of the three-day event in this article published last June by PaperCity Magazine.

Highly dedicated to supporting French cultural institutions, Becca Cason Thrash is also the current Vice Chairman for the American Friends of the Louvre, a member of the Biennale Commission of Paris and received from the French government in 2010 the Legion of Honor.

Henri Matisse's Jazz is one of the masterpieces of 20th-century art. The hypnotic artist’s book is made of 20 plates created from cut and pasted colored papers and illustrates the circus, mythology, and travel. The jazz element can be found in the improvisational techniques seen throughout the book.

Matisse’s Jazz will be on view through August 16.

Opera in the Heights and Musiqa present a virtual encore of The Leader which premiered last February for two weekends at Opera in the Heights. A new opera by Karim Al-Zand, with words by French-Romanian playwright Eugene Ionesco.

Approximately 35 minutes in length, the video performance is followed by an artist talkback held on Youtube Live late June.

Good news to all students planning on studying in France. France will progressively start to open its Schengen Area external borders from 1 July. This will occur gradually and in a differentiated manner depending on the health situations in third countries, and in line with the European procedures to be issued by that time.

Given the importance of the attractiveness of French higher education, international students will be allowed to travel to France, regardless of their countries of origin, and visa procedures will be facilitated. Visa and resident permit applications will be processed as a priority.

As large scale protests have unfolded throughout the world since the death of George Floyd, we thought it would be useful we could point you to some major works that could shed a useful light on the questions of new and old forms of racism, discrimination, representation, unrest, past and current violence, identity, policing and justice.

Here are a few must-reads translated from French into English. We hope they will keep the conversation going.

Screening of 2019 French-Japanese drama film The Truth (in French: La Vérité), written and directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, starring French actors Catherine Deneuve, Juliette Binoche and Ludivine Sagnier.

The film will be screened in the Noble Theater of the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, which reopened late June.

The Institut Français presents an exceptional francophone film festival: IFcinéma à la carte! Discover 11 short films and 6 feature films such as Olivier Babinet's Swagger, carefully curated by the Institut Français, available online for free. Until July 14.

The Cultural Services of the French Embassy have made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 edition of New York outdoor festival Films on the Green.

However, in an effort to keep the festival’s fans and communities entertained while at home, they will present each week, until early August, curated recommendations of films to watch online inspired by the festival’s past editions and based on each year’s theme.

Check out this list of French movies to stream for free, gathered by FrenchFlicks.

Whether you prefer comedies like The Intouchables, romance like Priceless (Hors de prix), thrillers like Mesrine: Killer Instinct or dramas like Little White Lies (Les petits mouchoirs), there must be a film for you!

The Consulate General of France in Houston is committed to support the French community in the framework of the COVID-19 crisis.

Stay informed by regularly checking out the French Consulate in Houston's page dedicated to COVID-19 information.