The Alliance Française of Toronto presents its third cabaret-chanson of the season :

Bleu, Blanc, Blues

With Treasa Levasseur and Donné Roberts

As part of Black History Month, the Alliance française of Toronto presents Bleu, Blanc, Blues, a cabaret-chanson with Treasa Levasseur and Donné Roberts sketching the sometimes unsuspected links between blues and the French chanson.

Blues is a genre that has travelled far and wide. From its roots in West African it followed the slave migrations as far as the Mississippi River and then boarded the train for Saint Louis, Chicago and New York. From there, it conquered the whole world, crossing every border and finding expression in every language – including French and joual!

This is the heritage that Treasa Levasseur and Donné Roberts revisit in Bleu, Blanc, Blues. Although Treasa hails from North Bay, you would swear comes from Memphis when you hear her sing. Guitarist Donné was born in Madagascar but wears the blues as comfortably as a sweater knitted with his own hands. These two rising stars of Canadian music have appeared together on the same stage only a few times – so Bleu, Blanc, Blues is a special occasion in more ways than one.

-Dominique Denis, Artistic Director

As part of the monthly lecture series organized by the Société d’Histoire de Toronto,

Le monde créole [The Creole World]

From its origins to the present

Lecture by Paul Comarmond

This slide show relates the history of a widely-scattered people who have taken up the challenge of coming together again. Long neglected, Creoles are now struggling to have their voice heard. From the earliest days of colonization to the present time, the images review the journey of people who owe their ethnically diverse roots to the force of events.

Paul Comarmond has lived in Toronto for a number of years. A Mauritian by birth, he worked in the field of graphic communications before devoting himself to the Creole cause. He founded the Canadian chapter of the International Organisation of Creole People. For more information : http://www.iocp.info/canada/index.php

The Last Lumberjacks

An exhibition by Rita Leistner

Abitibi-Consolidated’s Camp Vermillon, in the Mauricie region of central Quebec, is one of the largest of the province’s 200-odd logging camps. The 150 men who work the site will tell you that they’ve come a long way from their profession’s roots. These days, they’re not loggers so much as mechanics, drivers, and machine operators. Logging began to move away from the romantic image of the traditional logger as the technological shifts that have rapidly evolved since the advent of the chainsaw in the 1920s require few workers and fell entire forests at a dizzying speed.

Yet the lure of life in the forest remains. The landscape has a silent, isolated quality that verges, even amid the big machines, on the serene. Asked what drew him to work in the woods, thirty-nine-year veteran Jean Paquin did not hesitate to respond: “C’est la liberté.”

Rita Leistner Rita Leistner is an award-winning independent photojournalist. Her work has been exhibited widely and published in books and magazines such as Vanity Fair Italy, Rolling Stone, The Walrus, Time and Newsweek. She is co-author of Unembedded: Four Independent Photojournalists on the War in Iraq, and is represented by Redux Pictures in New York.
www.ritaleistner.com

An encounter with

Amélie Nothomb

A conversation between the author and Professor Pascal Michelucci during her visit to Toronto

Since her debut on the French literary scene over a decade ago, Amélie Nothomb has become a worldwide literary phenomenon. Her books have garnered both critical acclaim and enormous popular success and have been translated into over fifteen different languages. Her numerous awards include the French Academy’s 1999 Grand Prix for the Novel, the René-Fallet prize, and the Alain-Fournier prize. So far, two of her books gave birth to movies: Stupeur et tremblements by Alain Corneau (2003) and Hygiène de l’assassin (1999) by Francois Ruggieri.

Nothomb was born in Japan of Belgian parents in 1967 and has lived in China, New York, Bangladesh, Burma, and Laos. Her first novel, Hygiène de l’assassin, was published in 1992. Since then, she has published approximately one novel per year with French publisher Albin Michel. She lives in Paris.

Her latest translated novel as published in North America: -Tokyo Fiancée (Ni d’Eve, ni d’Adam, Albin Michel, 2007) will be released by Europa in January 2009.

“Nothomb’s novels are characterized by that most French of combinations: playfulness and intellect.”—The Independent (UK).

The author will autograph her works following this event.

Professor Michelucci completed his doctorate at the University of Toronto and teaches French language and French literature in the Department of Language Studies at the University of Toronto Mississauga. Cross-appointed with the Communication, Culture, and Information Technology program (CCIT) at UTM, he also teaches courses about contemporary media and the use of communication technologies in language education, as well as a variety of offerings in French Studies, from the introductory first-year survey course to special capstone topics on poetry and the French short story collection.

An encounter with Amélie Nothomb. Click here to see her interview at the Alliance Fraçaise.

This month's edition of the Jeudis littéraires presents

L’amour à la dérive [Love Adrift]

With Gisèle Fredette, Paul Savoie, Larry Lewis

L’amour à la dérive [Love Adrift] is a show with music and song about love on the run. Gisèle Fredette, a well-known opera and jazz singer, will perform several songs written by Paul Savoie. She will be accompanied by Larry Lewis, an outstanding Toronto guitarist who specializes in classical and fado music. Larry will also perform a few musical works for guitar and Paul Savoie will improvise on the piano. This is an evening you will not want to miss.

Gisèle Fredette has appeared in a number of operas with the Canadian Opera Company; she has also performed in musical comedies and in jazz and blues shows. She loves dancing on stage and is especially fond of Spanish and South American music. Gisèle has also recorded a few CDs.

Paul Savoie is the author of some 30 books in several literary genres. He also writes songs and composes music for the piano. His poetry collection, Crac, won the 2007 Trillium Prize. He also won the Prix du Consulat de France for the entirety of his poetic works.

Larry Lewis is an outstanding accompanist and is a regular on the Toronto club scene. He has also written some plays and is fluent in French and Spanish.

Click here to view the recording of this Jeudi Littéraire.

As part of the « Séminaires d’Histoire de France »,

Towards an Ecocolonial History of the Sahara: Water and Economy in Algeria

With George Trumbull IV, Assistant Professor of History, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA

The Séminaire d’Histoire de France invites University professors and historians to present French History lectures at the Alliance Française de Toronto on a monthly basis.

A recital by pianist

Ivan Ilic

"Une sensibilité fine, ciselée, suractive qui exprime toute la délicieuse séduction des Préludes aux multiples facettes." Classiquenews, Paris

Paris-based pianist Ivan Ilic visits Toronto to give his Canadian recital début on Thursday, February 19, at 8 PM, at Glenn Gould Studio. His concert is co-sponsored by Alliance Française de Toronto and the Consulat General de France à Toronto. Mr. Ilic has agreed to present a soirée at Alliance Française (24 Spadina Road) on the evening following his concert to discuss the relationship between culture and music in France. Using the Debussy Préludes as a point of departure, the talk is geared towards a general audience. Mr. Ilic recently released his first CD of Debussy's complete Préludes which has received considerable international praise.

For more information about Ivan Ilic, visit his website at www.IvanCDG.com

Radio-Canada interviews the renowned pianist Ivan Ilic on Feb. 18th as part of the radio show Les arts et les autres

Recital by pianist Ivan Ilic at the Galerie Pierre-Léon on February 20th, 2009. Click here to hear the recording.

The best short films of the year at the NFB Mediatheque selected by Les Lutins du court-métrage

The Alliance Française and the National Film Board of Canada are pleased to present three evenings (one in February and two in April) featuring the best short films from Les Lutins du court-métrage.

Les Lutins du court-métrage has been actively promoting the public distribution of short films since 1998. It has participated in the emergence of such directors and actors as François Ozon, Jérémie Rénier, Ludivine Sagnier, Sylvie Testud and many others, thereby playing a vital role in discovering the new cinematic talents of tomorrow. The organization’s objective is to bring the short film out into the open through a variety of initiatives; these include a festival and a tour of several French cities as well as overseas initiatives. Among the latter are the upcoming co-screening by the Alliance française of Toronto and the National Film Board of a selection of the best short films featured in the 2008 festival.

As part of the Médiatique Screenings

Sous le toit du monde [Under the Roof of the World]

A documentary directed by Izabel Barsive for SRC/RDI

Sous le toit du monde is a documentary that reflects the new rush to the exploit the subsoil of the North in search of its treasures of gold, diamonds, nickel and uranium. The people who inhabit this region go about their business above this subsoil; it does not belong to them, however, and is now being explored and exploited by the mining companies with renewed fervour. The local residents want to benefit from these riches and gain control over them; but this is a long-term struggle that is sometimes part of their autonomy claims.

How are these Northerners making the transition towards the extractive industry? To what extent are they taking part in the employment advantages being offered? What conditions apply to their becoming workers and managers? Is this activity attracting young people?

Sous le toit du monde examines this issue by introducing us to mining industry players in three territories: Quebec’s Nunavik region, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. Whether optimistic or pessimistic, they are at all times clear headed and share a great passion for this little-known region of Canada.

With the collaboration of EcoAmbassadeurs du Monde. Info : http://www.ecocollaboration.com/

For more information, contact :
danielecaloz@mediatique.ca
Tel: (416) 939-5744

As part of Universciné,

Bamako

By : Abderrahmane Sissako
With : Hélène Diarra (Saramba),Aïssa Maïga (Melé),Tiécoura Traoré (Chaka)

2006 - 118 min

Mele and her husband Chaka are going through a tough time and divorce may lay ahead. While their relationship lies in the balance outside their front door a court has been set up, where local residents of the African town in which they live, have taken proceedings against the World Bank and the IMF whom they blame for their woes...

As part of Ciné-jeudi, The National Film Board of Canada presents

Junior

A film by Isabelle Lavigne & Stéphane Thibault
(2007, 88 min, Canada)

Filmed in the “direct cinema” tradition, Junior takes in one complete season with the Baie-Comeau Drakkar. And it proves that reality is no less exciting than fiction.

To see the trailer and learn more about the film, go to: www.onf.ca/junior.

In partnership with Alliance Francaise, Bureau de Québec, Cinéfranco and the Consulate General of France in Toronto.

As part of Rencontres en Chansons

Concert by Serge Monette and Philippe Flahaut

Ticket : $10 - 7$ for members and students of AFT.
Info : Bernard Dionne rencontresenchansons@yahoo.ca

The Théâtre français de Toronto presents:

Le Filet, de Marcel-Romain Thériault

Directed by Michel Monty
With Eric Butler, Bertrand Dugas and Robin-Joël Cool

For all inquires and ticket sales, visit the TFT's official website at : http://www.theatrefrancais.com/right_billets.php

The Théâtre français de Toronto presents :

Poems and Songs of the Black Resistance

An overview – past and future

Directed by George Mulamba
Artistic collaborators: Emery T. Lumembo and Vital Kasongo

February is Black History month. The TfT invites you on this occasion to come and discover the texts of Léopold Sédar Senghor, Aimé Césaire, Ousmane Sembène, Birago Diop and Nicolas Machiavel in a theatrical and poetic ambiance blending melancholy, humour, despair and hope.

For further information, go to :
http://www.theatrefrancais.com

The Théâtre français de Toronto presents,

Une Maison face au nord

Directed by Jacinthe Potvin.

With Marcelo Arroyo, Eric Chalifour, Louisette Dussalt, A-J Henderson, Guy Mignault and Sara Simard

For further information, go to: http://www.theatrefrancais.com