THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, AT 6:30 PM
EXHIBITION OPENING

The Alliance Française le Bureau du Québec in Toronto are proud to present this exhibition of Andrew Burlone.


The Camera Loca on Ocean Drive series of digital photographs records the evanescent environment of Miami's Ocean Drive. Distilling and isolating the kinetic energy of light, I pursued here, like an automatist, the elements of line and movement into shapes created in part by a fortuitous hazard beyond my control.

ANDREW BURLONE

For more information, please contact: 416-922-2014, Ext. 35.
Free of charge
At the Gallery of the Alliance Française

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 8, AT 8 PM, AT THE GLADSTONE HOTEL
CONCERT FEATURING ÉMERALD DOYLE AND AMÉLIE LEFÈBVRE

“Rencontres et chansons”, in association with Alliance Française, has the honor of presenting two talented francophone singers, Émerald Doyle and Amélie Lefèbre, in concert at Gladstone Hotel (1214 Queen Street West).

Admission: $7 for members and students of Alliance Française (upon presentation of their student/member card) and $10 for the general public.

Tickets are available on location at Gladstone Hotel.

Information : 416.922.2014 Ext. 35

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 21, AT 7 PM
CONFERENCE ON BURUNDI BY JOSEPH BITAMBA, FILM-MAKER

To mark the Black History Month, the Société d’histoire de Toronto and the Société d’étude et de conférences, in partnership with the production company Médiatique and the Alliance Française, are pleased to invite you to a lecture on Burundi: its history and colonization, its independence and civil war and what is happening today. Joseph Bitamba will present his lecture together with his film Abasaruzi (Médiatique production, with subtitle in English).

Information : 416.922.2014 Ext. 35
Free of charge
At the Gallery of the Alliance Française

JOIN US FOR THE FRANCOPHONIC WEEK AT THE ALLIANCE FRANCAISE !

THURSDAY MARCH 15, AT 8 PM
LECTURE - READING

A lecture/reading for adults entitled “The Seven Doors of the Thousand and One Nights”.
Myriame El Yamani, storyteller, writer and President of Montreal’s Maison internationale du conte, talks about the history of the tale.
In French

Information : 416.922.2014 Ext. 35
Free of charge
At the Gallery of the Alliance Française

FRIDAY MARCH 16, AT 4:30 PM
INAUGURAL COCKTAIL PARTY FOR FRANCOPHONE SHORT FEATURE FESTIVAL : NOMADES

Inaugural cocktail party for the Francophone short feature festival Nomades: Festival international du court métrage francophone de Toronto.
Presentation of a video installation by Stéfan St-Laurent entitled Please Remember Me and Ogopogo and Sasquatch. Until March 19.

Information : 416.922.2014 Ext. 35
or http://www.lesnomades.org
Free of charge
At the Gallery of the Alliance Française

SATURDAY MARCH 17, AT 9 PM, AT THE GLADSTONE HOTEL
CONCERT FEATURING SWAMPERELLA

“Rencontres et chansons”, in association with Alliance Française, has the honor of presenting a concert by the Cajun music group Swamperella at Gladstone Hotel (1214 Queen Street West).

Admission: $7 for members and students of Alliance Française (upon presentation of their student/member card) and $10 for the general public.

Tickets are available on location at Gladstone Hotel.

Information : 416.922.2014 Ext. 35

MONDAY MARCH 19, AT 6:30 PM
A DOCUMENTARY FILM EVENING FOLLOWED BY A DISCUSSION

A documentary film evening followed by a discussion of Carol Ann Pilon’s “Amis pour la vie” [Friends for Life].
This documentary relates the path taken by a number of Ethiopians who have settled in Canada. They all have in common the fact that they attended the Lycée Français Guebre Mariam in Addis Ababa.
In partnership with Médiatique and the Consulate General of France.

Information : 416.922.2014 Ext. 35
Free of charge
At the Gallery of the Alliance Française

TUESDAY MARCH 20, AT 6:30 PM
LITERARY LECTURE BY JAY BOCHNER:
“BLAISE CENDRARS MENTEUR ET BLAISE CENDRARS VÉRIDIQUE" [BLAISE CENDRARS – LIAR AND TELLER OF TRUTH]

University of Montreal Professor Emeritus Jay Bochner will facilitate a lecture on Blaise Cendrars as part of the celebration of the 120th birthday of this Franco-Swiss poet and writer.
Organized by the Consulate General of Switzerland.

Information : 416.922.2014 Ext. 35
Free of charge
At the Gallery of the Alliance Française

WEDNESDAY MARCH 21, AT 7 PM
LECTURE: “BEING A FRANCOPHONE TOURIST IN TORONTO: COME AND DISCOVER OR REDISCOVER THE CITY WHERE YOU LIVE”.

Lecture offered by the Toronto Historical Association with Corinne Baranger, director of the Toronto Balades walking tours.
In French.

Information : 416.922.2014 Ext. 35
Free of charge
At the Gallery of the Alliance Française

FRIDAY MARCH 23, AT 6 PM
PHOTO EXHIBITION OPENING OF:
“PARIS – MÉTRO”, BY ALEX PARK

Discover the coloured facets of the Paris subway to the beat of background music that will plunge you (once again) into the atmosphere of the métro.
March 23 – April 23, 2007.

Information : 416.922.2014 Ext. 35
Free of charge
At the Gallery of the Alliance Française

MARCH 23 TO APRIL 1st
CINÉFRANCO FESTIVAL 2007

10 years already, blessed with dreams, tears and laughters all shared with you! In the realm of pleasure and discovery, Francophone cinemas are brimming with elating riches and unique cultural diversities. To celebrate this brilliant variety, Cinéfranco joined forces with Diverciné. The numerous journeys throughout the Francophone cinema nation, will focus on Lebanon seen by brutally honest filmmakers.

At the Royal Cinema : 608 College St. (4 blocks west of Bathurst).

$7 for members and students of Alliance Française (upon presentation of their student/member card) and $10 for the general public.

For more information and to buy some tickets, please contact : 416 967 1528 or consult www.cinefranco.com

TUESDAY APRIL 10, AT 6:30 PM
LECTURE IN ENGLISH:
"THE CANADIAN ARMY AND THE TRENCHES OF VIMY: ISSUES AND DAY-TO-DAY LIVING"

To commemorate the 90th anniversary of this battle, two experts, Terry Copp and Nathan Smith, will highlight the strategic importance of this battle, which marked a major turning point in the war, along with the role it played in shaping the Canadian Army and the living conditions faced by the soldiers. Students from the Lycée Français and the Toronto French School will close the homage with a reading of letters from Canadian soldiers – poignant eye witness accounts from those who took part in the Great War.

Organized by the Alliance Française, the Consulate General of France, in partnership with the Lycée Français de Toronto and the Toronto French School.
In English. Free admission.
Info : 416 922 2014 Ext. 35

FRIDAY APRIL 13, AT 8:30 PM
DAMIEN ROBITAILLE'S CONCERT

This franco-ontarian is on a roll! After winning first prize at different Quebec music festivals. He has released an album with great success last fall and has built a reputation that has brought him to France in March 2007. a man with a great sense of humor, he has polished his craft and is known as a songwriter of great promise. With his guitar he is ready to entertain you during his only visit to Toronto this year. Don't miss Damien Robitaille!

Organized by Rencontres en Chansons.

Admission : $10
$7 for students and members of the AFT
(upon presentation of their student/member card) Tickets are available on location at Tranzac (292 Brunswick Avenue).
Reservation : rencontresenchansons@yahoo.ca

MONDAY APRIL 16, AT 6:30 PM
LECTURE ABOUT THE SITUATION OF THE FRENCH CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE WITH
LORETTE NOBÉCOURT, NOVELIST

Aline Mura-Brunel (Université Paris 3 Sorbonne-Nouvelle) and Pascal Michelucci (University of Toronto at Mississauga) will intervene along with Lorette Nobécourt.

Organized by the Consulate General of France and the Alliance Française.
In French. Free Admission.
Info : 416 922 2014 ext. 35

WEDNESDAY APRIL 18, AT 8 PM
LECTURE IN FRENCH ON THE BATTLE OF VIMY

York University Professor Olivier Courteaux will give a lecture in French on the Battle of Vimy in the context of trench warfare; he will then explain why this victory, although limited in military follow-up, has had such an impact on Canadians.

Organized by the Société d’Histoire de Toronto, with the collaboration of the Alliance Française.
In French. Free Admission.
Info : 416 922 2014 ext. 35

MONDAY APRIL 30, AT 6:30 PM
LECTURE ON UNE ENCYCLOPÉDIE SUR LE MONDE ARABE, BY MOHAMED KACIMI, NOVELIST

With the contemporary Muslim world shaken by so many ideological expressions, how is it possible to write an objective dictionary about Islam? How will such a work be received in both the Muslim and non-Muslim worlds? And how can an historical perspective be combined with religious thought? The lecture will be followed by readings of excerpts from the plays of Mohamed Kacimi; these, too, depict the contemporary Muslim world, albeit in a different, i.e., literary, form.

Organized by the Consulate General of France and the Alliance Française.
In French. Free Admission.
Info : 416 922 2014 Ext. 35

THURSDAY MAY 3, AT 6 PM
OPENING PHOTOGRAPHS EXHIBITION :
Paris VU’, vision of the city

Organized by Hermès, with the collaboration of the Agence VU’.
As part of the CONTACT Toronto Photography Festival

Helped by the unique perspective of contemporary photographers from all over the world, we wanted to explored the Paris of today, the one in which we live and which cannot be found in either colour post cards or in the nostalgic celebrations of the black and white images of the fifties. More than a description and far beyond mere anecdote, these eighteen ‘authors’ relay to us their surprises, their pleausures and their fears. They reinvent a city which, like all great contemporary capitals, could never be reduced to a sigle vision.

Christian Caujolle, Founder and artistic director of the VU’ Agency and Gallery
Pierre-Alexis Dumas, Artistic director - Hermès

At Alliance Française.
Free Admission.
Info : 416 922 2014 Ext. 35

WEDNESDAY MAY 9, AT 7:30 PM
BOOK - READING
"Slanderous Tongue", a mystery by Jill Culiner

Slanderous Tongue is not your average mystery novel. Culiner employs a literary pen to deliver an offbeat murder story filled with wry humour and fascinating vignettes of French village life. Jill Culiner is an author and professionnal photographer who divides her time between Canada and France. Her previous book, Finding home : in the footsteps of the Jewish Fusgeyers, was published by Sumach Press in 2004.

Organized by Sumach Press and the Alliance Française.
At Alliance Française.
Lecture in English. Free admission.
A cocktail wine and cheese will be offered.
Info : 416 922 2014 - Ext. 35

THURSDAY MAY 10, AT 8 PM
PUBLIC READING OF LE TÉMOIN [THE WITNESS],
by Marguerite Andersen
at Green Room (110 The Esplanade, Toronto)

In 1929, Louis Auger, the youngest federal MP at that time, supposedly raped 17-year old Laurence Martel in his office; she was the daughter of an unskilled, illiterate labourer from Hawkesbury. The girl lodged a complaint and Auger was tried five times. Convicted of seduction, he was sentenced to two years in the Kingston Penitentiary. How can we explain that an accusation of rape made in 1929 by a working-class girl should have had such dire consequences for an educated man in a position of power? Would the trial results have been the same if the accused had been an Anglophone?
The reading will address the subjects of rape, abuse of power and ethnolinguistic tensions.

A reading presented by Marguerite Andersen in collaboration with the Théâtre de la Vieille 17 and the Théâtre français de Toronto.
Cast: Martin Albert, Robert Godin, Julie Le Gal, Guy Mignault, Pierre Simpson and two other actors (to be confirmed)

Please confirm your attendance as soon as possible by calling Marguerite Andersen at
416-361-5070 or you may email her at ssp@vieille17.ca
Free Admission.

SATURDAY MAY 12, AT 2 PM
MAÏTA, BY ESTHER BEAUCHEMIN
A little gem for children that will delight their parents
A play for 8 to 12 year olds
At Théâtre Français (26, Berkeley Street)

To give tomorrow’s audience a taste for the theatre, the TFT (Théâtre Français de Toronto) is reviving its in-house programming for children with a puppet show that’s been a hit since its creation in 2001. Maïta is the daughter of a puppeteer and lives somewhere in Asia. To pay off his family’s debts, her father “rents” her out when she’s eight years old to a factory that employs children. Before leaving his daughter, he entrusts her with his precious puppet Issane on which Maïta’s mother has sewn 1,461 pearls – one for each day until her father returns to get her…

A production of the Théâtre de la Vieille 17 and the Théâtre de Sable in collaboration with the National Arts Centre French Theatre.
Adults: $21 $ | Children: $13
Tickets: (416) 534-6604 or 1-800-819-4981
www.theatrefrancais.com

THURSDAY MAY 17, AT 6 PM
LECTURE
« The Ancient Egypt through its new discoveries »
by Mr. Siro Trevisanato

The discoveries made by archaeologists amplify, confirm, rectify, and even deeply challenge our perspective on Ancient Egypt, a culture that provides a major reference for the ancient world. The presentation that Dr. Trevisanato will hold, explores recent discoveries. He wil also address the emerging convergence among several new elements that are answering the question of the blurry dates characterizing Egypt prior to 664 BC. Moreover, this convergence enables to link the Aegean to Egypt, and supply a synchronism to both cultures.

With the collaboration of Gorgias Press.
At Alliance Française.
Lecture in French. Free admission.
Info : 416 922 2014 - Ext. 35

THURSDAY MAY 24, AT 8 PM
VERONIC DICAIRE’s concert
At Al Green Theatre (750 Spadina av.)
Organized by the Centre Francophone

Véronic DiCaire hails from a small Francophone village in Ontario and already has a long track record, including the role of Roxy in the musical Chicago. To the accompaniment of three musicians, Véronic will give a stage performance of excerpts from her second album, "Sans Détour", released in April 2005, and much more.

Admission : $20
$17 for students and members of the AFT (upon presentation of their student/member card)
Tickets are available on location
Info: 416 922 2014 - Ext. 35

June 2007

SATURDAY JUNE 2, AT 8 PM
CHRISTIAN AUBIN ’s concert
At Tranzac (292 Brunswick av.)
Organized by the Rencontres en chansons, with the collaboration of Franco-Fête

Christian Aubin has now been writing songs for a dozen years. Recognized for his highly varied repertory (Québécois, French, English), his career as a songwriter has given him the opportunity to perform throughout the provinces; he has also appeared at such festivals as Winnipeg’s Festival du Voyageur (1997 and 1998) and at Toronto’s Franco-Fête (2006).

Free admission.

WEDNESDAY JUNE 6, AT 6:30 PM
LECTURE BY SOPHIE LAVAUD
Artist, teacher, Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne

"From Painting to Virtual Space, or the Art of Travel and Multi-Sensory Experiences”

Inspired by the Communication Esthetics of the 1980s, artist/painter Sophie Lavaud gradually came under the influence of the experimental practices initiated by some of the telematic artists. From two-dimensional paintings, which are closed, fixed material objects, she has evolved in the direction of “open” works, that is, towards interactive digital images. As in the most modern simulation exercises, these images use sensors that enable the spectator’s body to walk inside a virtual painting. Sophie Lavaud will address these new paths in contemporary art through a presentation of her own artistic journey. The techno-sciences and computer-based models are evolving jointly, a phenomenon that gives the artist new tools to invent new scripts in which the body is led to (re)play a critical role, and to set forth on the discovery of new artistic worlds.

A Profile of Sophie Lavaud
Sophie Lavaud is an artist, an academic and a researcher. She has just completed her thesis entitled “Interactive Scenography, Interfaced Bodies and Dynamic Systems” at Université Paris I - Panthéon-Sorbonne in Art and Art Sciences. She has long been interested in the esthetic potential of Virtual Reality in artistic creation. Starting off as a painter, she creates interactive installations which she calls “extended paintings”; these installations use the technical possibilities of digital tools to develop paintings in virtual spaces and communication networks in which the spectators can immerse themselves. Walking through these virtual artistic creations, spectators become actors who develop a new vision not only through their eyes but, thanks to the interface, through their bodies, as well.

Organized by BRAVO (Bureau des Regroupements des Artistes Visuels de l'Ontario), and the Alliance Française.
Info: 416 922 2014 - Ext. 35

Press article : Le Métropolitain

THURSDAY JUNE 15, AT 7:30 PM
The Alliance Française welcomes Philippe Flahaut as a guest performer at one of its Boîte à Chansons evenings

Toronto-based singer-songwriter Philippe Flahaut draws inspiration in equal measures from two sources: the masters of French chanson and those of the Chicago blues. A native of the Paris area, Flahaut worked the city’s club scene throughout the 80’s with his group Shakin’ Blues. Upon his arrival in Toronto in 1991, Flahaut hit the local blues trail and worked as a studio guitarist. Around the same time, however, he found his true calling as a singer-songwriter, and began to establish himself on the Franco-Ontarian scene. In the Fall of 2002, after several years of solo gigs, Philippe begins collaboration with Toronto-based acoustic bassist Bernard Dionne. Together, they have been exploring an acoustic setting which provides room for improvisation and brings out the intimacy of his material.

Free admission.

Click on the picture to see photos

THURSDAY JUNE 21
FROM 1:30 PM TO 9 PM
At U of T

Fête de la Musique 2007!

The Alliance Française and the French Consulate, with the collaboration of the Faculty of Music of the University of Toronto, have the pleasure of presenting the new edition of the Fête de la Musique in Toronto. The Summer Solstice will be observed on all five continents with the 26th edition of this music celebration initiated by the French Department of Culture. Dedicated to music in all of its forms and open to one and all, this celebration is a one-of-a-kind event on the international stage. It currently brings together players from more than 120 countries and some 250 cities under the now-famous slogan "Make music!"

Press article: Le Métropolitain
Press article: L'Express

PROGRAM

The Fête de la Musique will be presented by Dominique Denis, master of ceremony.

1:30 pm – 2 pm: Choir (École Gabrielle Roy)

2 pm – 2:30 pm: Choral (Lycée Français de Toronto)

2:30 pm – 3 pm: Dave Neill Trio – jazz (Faculty of Music – University of Toronto)

3:15 pm – 3:45 pm: Kiyoshi Nagata Ensemble - Japanese Taiko (Faculty of Music – University of Toronto)

4 pm – 4:45 pm: Humber-Euro All Stars (Humber College)

5 pm – 5:30 pm: The Three Young Tenors (The Royal Conservatory of Music – Glenn Gould School)

5:45 pm – 6:15 pm: The Divas (The Royal Conservatory of Music – Glenn Gould School)

6:30 pm – 7:15 pm: The Celia Palli Group (Humber College)

7:30 pm – 8 pm: The University of Toronto West African Drumming Ensemble - African drumming and improvisation (Faculty of Music – University of Toronto)

8:15 pm – 9 pm: The Humber Afro-Jazz (Humber College)

Free admission.
At Philosophers’ Stage patio, in the University of Toronto (near the subway station Museum)
Info : 416 922 2014 Ext. 35

Click on the picture to see photos

FROM JUNE 30 TO JULY 2

Weekend to Montréal

Come to discover Montréal with the Alliance Française!!!

Cost: 275 $
(Hotel, transport by bus and guide tour of Montreal included)
Info : 416 922 2014 Ext. 26

Click on the picture to see photos

JULY & AUGUST: SUMMER BREAK

Dears members, students and friends of the Alliance Française de Toronto

We would like to inform you that the cultural activities of the Alliance Française will stop during July and August, due to holidays. Those activities will restart in September… Then, you can again look forward to our exhibitions, our movies and documentaries projections and our conferences on Francophone literature. We will also celebrate music with the programming of some concerts throughout the year. We wish you a good summer and hope to see you again in September!

Rugby World Cup

Friday September 7, 3:00 pm
France-Argentina

Sunday September 16, 3:00 pm
France-Namibia

Friday September 21, 3:00 pm
France-Ireland

Sunday September 30, 9:00 am
France-Georgia

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, AT 7 PM
Lecture by Christian Bode :

History of Canada : «The great ministry of Lafontaine-Baldwin»

“You are our equals in everything, and between us there can’t be question of race.”

1840, after the tumultuous years of the 1837-38 Rebellion, which ended in disaster for the reform movements both in Upper and Lower Canada, the British Crown, imposed a new Constitution which created the United Province of Canada, and a Constitution which abolished the usage of French as an official language in Parliament. This Constitution also rejected the principle of Responsible Government, and kept a coterie of individuals (the Family Compact) their exorbitant privileges, which had the assimilation of French-Canadians as an avowed goal. To be French Canadian in Canada was to live in despair. To be English Canadian from the lower classes was to see the ideal of a democratic society get further away.

Two men will change the course of history and by sealing a political alliance away from ethnic feuding they established the foundation of modern politics in Canada. Between 1841 and 1851, Louis Hyppolite LaFontaine and Robert Baldwin will abolish the Family Compact privileges, limit the power of the Anglican Church, reform higher education, will establish responsible government as an irreplaceable concept of governing, and reinstate French as an official language in Parliament. “My dear friend”, were they writing to each other.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, AT 7:30 PM
Book launch: "Pain of death, a sumach mystery", by Jan Rehner
Organized by Sumach Press and the Alliance Française.

Trapped in Paris during the German Occupation, Canadian Sorbonne student Juliette Benoit finds her life in tatters. She has had to abandon her Canadian identity for fear of arrest, her lover has disappeared without a trace, and a good Jewish friend has been taken away to Drancy, a German transit camp, leaving her little sister behind in Juliette’s care. One step ahead of the Gestapo, Juliette obtains a new identity and joins an escape network of the French Resistance to bring the young girl out of France to safety. Meanwhile, in the village of St-Léger, Gabrielle Aubin’s husband is wrongfully executed for the murder of a German soldier. Hoping to track down the true killer, Gabrielle joins the Resistance. The two women’s lives become inalterably intertwined when they discover each other while hiding out in a nunnery in Beaune. When they flee to the hills to work with a Resistance group in the Morvan forest, they find they share a common link to the past, a secret that eventually leads to a shocking revelation.
With consummate skill, Rehner keeps the reader wholly engaged as she interweaves the stories of the two through harrowing plot twists. Born of Rehner’s intimate knowledge of the period and setting, On Pain of Death is redolent with rich historical detail. She vividly brings to life the harsh realities of life in France under the German Occupation, as well as the courageous achievements of those who fought in the lines of the Resistance.

Jan Rehner teaches academic and professional writing at York University. She has travelled to France many times, and visited many local French Resistance museums. Her previous publications include poetry and academic works as well as her first mystery, Just Murder, which won the 2004 Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Crime Novel.

Lecture in English. Free admission.

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 29
Nuit Blanche




The Euronight, from 7 PM
At the garden of the general Consulate of Italy, 136 Beverley Street


On the occasion of the Scotiabank Nuit Blanche 2007, the official cultural representatives of the seven member countries of the European Union are back with a second edition of Euronight 2007 at the Consulate General of Italy’s garden. For this year's edition visitors will enjoy more video installations.

Cinematheque de l'Ontario
At 317 Dundas Street West

Film screening :

Les Vampires, diredted by Louis Feuillade with Musidora, Edouard Mathe, Jean Ayme, Louis Leubas.
(7h – 1915)
The projection will be accompany with live piano provided by William O’Meara, Robert Hall, & Andrei Streliaev.

IMPORTANT

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 24
Launch of Children’s Writing Contest: Écris-moi une photo!

The Salon du livre de Toronto and the Alliance française of Toronto are pleased to announce the Écris-moi une photo! writing contest for children. The contest will get under way at noon on Monday, September 24 and will be part of the Salon du livre de Toronto that runs October 25-27, 2007.
Écris-moi une photo! is intended for children aged 8 to 12 who are enrolled in francophone or French immersion schools in the Greater Toronto Area.

To see the pictures you just have to click on the image on your right.

Children entering the contest will select a photo from a series of pictures and write a short piece inspired by what they see.
Contestants will write between 200 and 300 words in French. They may, for example, tell a story inspired by the photo they select or write a prose piece or short poem expressing a feeling or thought that the picture evokes in them.

Entries should be emailed or faxed no later than October 17, 2007. A large number of awards will be given for the best entries, and results will be announced at the Salon du livre on Saturday, October 27 from 10:30 am to 11:15 am (Manège militaire de Moss Park, 130, Queen Street East, Toronto, ON M5A 1R9, Main Stage) – a free event to which all contestants and their parents will be invited. Each child will receive a certificate of participation jointly issued by the Salon du livre and the Alliance française. A jury will select the texts, which will then be made accessible to thousands of people via the web sites of the Salon du livre de Toronto and the Alliance française as well as in the francophone media of Greater Toronto.
The objectives of the contest are to let children taste the magic of writing, to sensitize them to a positive learning experience and to help them discover the powerful ways in which photographs can inspire us.

If you would like additional information, please contact:
For the Salon du livre: Gai de Ropraz – gderopraz@sympatico.ca
For the Alliance française of Toronto: Abdelkader Habrih – habrih@alliance-francaise.ca

To see the regulations of the writing contest, please click here.

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 3, AT 6:30 PM
Lecture by Jean Baubérot
At the Alliance Française de Toronto

Multiculturalism and Secularism : What pitfalls ? What chances ?

Prior to the lecture, there will be a screening of the second part of Dominique Cardona’s "La charia au Canada," entitled "Les pièges du multiculturalisme" [Sharia in Canada: The Pitfalls of Multiculturalism], a 2005 Médiatique/NFB co-production (44 minutes). The talk will provide an analysis of the film’s qualities and shortcomings and serve as the starting point for a comparison of multiculturalism and secularism. It will examine the pros and cons of each “ism” in terms of building modern, democratic societies in a globalization context.

Mr. Baubérot is honorary president of the Sorbonne’s École Pratique des Hautes Études; his published works include Les Laïcités dans le monde [World Secularisms] (PUF, Que sais-je?).

Press article: L'Express

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 10, AT 6:30 PM
Lecture by Jean John Van Burek
At the Alliance Française de Toronto

Oddly, no English version of the 17th-century comedy by Molière, known in French as Le malade imaginaire, has never been performed in Toronto.

This oversight will soon be remedied with the staging of the celebrated comedy in an original translation by John Van Burek and Adrienne Clarkson, debuting October 12. The first stroke of originality can be seen in the new English title, Dying to Be Sick, which replaces the more usual Imaginary Invalid. Mr. Van Burek manages the Pléiades Theatre and is also known as a translator and stage director. His lecture will show how Dying to Be Sick is a response that is specific to bilingualism in Canada. He will emphasize the modern characteristics and risk-taking elements of this translation as compared to earlier English versions. Finally, he will explain the extent to which a translator’s own biases can affect how Molière’s play is produced.

THURSDAY OCTOBER 11, AT 8 PM
Concert by Luce Dufault, Demi-Jour
Presented by the Centre Francophone.
At Al Green Theatre, 750 avenue Spadina

Luce Dufault’s new album is a treasure of emotion and tenderness in praise of those little details in our everyday lives that seem meaningless and yet mean everything! Don’t delay! You’ll fall under the spell of this intimate concert with it poignant texts and bright, touching melodies. Let yourself be transported by the immensity of this voice – as strong as it is fragile.

Tickets: $20 - $17 for ATF students and members
For tickets, please call: 416-203-1220, extension 229

SATURDAY OCTOBER 13, AT 8 PM
Preview of Dying to be sick
At Theatre Centre, au 1087 Queen Street West

A new Translation by Adrienne Clarkson and John Van Burek in co-production with Canada's National Arts Centre.
Directed by Brendan Healy.

Exceptional discount for the members et the students of AFT : $15 instead of $35 !

This is a new, Canadian version of Molière's great 17th century comedy, Le Malade imaginaire, usually translated as The Imaginary Invalid. Dying to be Sick is by two of Canada's pre-eminent writers, the Rt. Hon. Adrienne Clarkson, making her first foray into writing for the theatre, and director-translator, John Van Burek.
Surprisingly, this great play has never had a professional production in English in Toronto, and very few elsewhere in Canada. Usually perceived as a rip-roaring comedy about medicine, which it certainly is, Molière’s final play is actually a scathing satire on self-obsession. The central character, Argan, is hell-bent on being sick, despite his good health. Of course the quacks and charlatans take full advantage of him and his outrageous self-obsession, but it's not the doctors who are to blame; it is Argan himself who is so in need of an all-consuming attention that he is prepared to subvert everything and everyone around him, including the well-being of his family. This extends to his very own health, as he gleefully submits to the most extravagant medical care, largely focused on his colon, in his determination to be sick. In our age of face lifts, tummy-tucks, botox and penis enlargements, disastrous diets and endless creams, this ferocious comedy is astonishingly modern.

THURSDAY OCTOBER 18, AT 6:30 PM
An Evening of Literature and Theatre,
With Écritures vagabondes authors, followed by an opportunity to meet Enzo Cormann
At the Alliance Française

Écritures vagabondes is an association that brings together dramatic writers and directors face to face with the challenges posed by sensitive areas of the world and by minority or threatened cultures.
Each year it organizes writing trips and writing workplaces in Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and the Middle East – and now in Toronto (October 10-30). These workplaces enable authors from different horizons to work together around a common theme and to participate in dramatic writing workshops targeting young authors in the host countries. Mohamed Kacimi is the chair of Écritures vagabondes; the following members of this literary association will be at the Alliance Française: Elie Karam (Lebanon), Joséphine Serre (France), Marie Henry (Belgium) and Amr Sawah (Syria). These authors will read from their works.

Enzo Cormann writes for the theatre and has a large number of plays to his credit, including Cred, Diktat and Toujours l'orage, published in France primarily by Éditions de Minuit, Théâtrales and Actes Sud. His works have been translated into some ten languages. A witty vocalist, he records on a regular basis and performs on stage with various jazz groups.
Enzo Cormann is associated with a number of theatres and, since 2000, has headed the department of dramatic writing at École Nationale Supérieure des Arts et Technique du Spectacle (ENSATT).

Partners: Consulate General of France, Toronto French School, Écritures Vagabondes, Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, Salon du Livre de Toronto, International Festival of Authors/Harbourfront Centre, Tarragon Theatre, University of Toronto, Alliance Française of Toronto.

The literary evening will be followed by a reception organized and offered by the French Consulate, in presence of the Ambassador of France in Canada.

RSVP before October 16, 2007: 416-922-2014, extension 35.
Free admission. Lecture in French

FRIDAY OCTOBER 19, AT 8 PM
Coup de cœur francophone: Chanteurs du village de Petite-Vallée, Les vraies gens

At Music Gallery, 197 John Street

Show presented by the Centre Francophone.

Tickets: $15 - $13 for AFT students and member

The Chanteurs du village de Petite-Vallée bring the sounds of the Gaspé Peninsula right to your ears! The school principal, artistic director, innkeeper, grocer, nurse and teacher, backed up by four musicians, present their new show, Les vraies gens. But where exactly is the Village de Petite-Vallée? A 50-minute documentary will help you discover the impressive images of this little piece of land along the river; you’ll then be treated to a live performance of this unique group’s original songs.

TUESDAY OCTOBER 23, AT 6 PM
Book launch : The Red Seas by Liliane Atlan
At the Alliance Française

Translation by Léonard Rosmarin (published by Éditions du GREF in their Janus Series).

Several excerpts from Les Mers Rouges will be performed by the actresses Geneviève Trilling and Michèle Tredger in a staging by the director Kalli Paakspuu, who is presently working on a film version of the play.

The recipient of many honours, Liliane Atlan is the author of a varied and profoundly original body of works. All her plays have been broadcast by France Culture, the cultural network of Radio France.

Léonard Rosmarin is Professor Emeritus of French Literature at Brock University. He has devoted many works to the great contemporary francophone Jewish writers such as Albert Cohen, Emmanuel Lévinas and Élie Wiesel.

Lecture in French, free admission

FROM OCTOBER 24 TO NOVEMBER 10
Le Misanthrope, a play by Molière

A production of the Théâtre français de Toronto

Directed by : Jean-Stéphane ROY
With : Mélanie BEAUCHAMP - Éric CHARBONNEAU - Julian DOUCET - Marc OUIMET - Karine RICARD - Gisèle ROUSSEAU - Benoît SAINT-HILAIRE - Pierre SIMPSON - Manuel VERREYDT

ALCESTE IS AT ODDS WITH HUMANKIND for its lack of loyalty and the hypocrisies inherent in social conventions. Despite this, he is in love with Célimène, a flighty, shallow and heartless coquette, but he will not manage to ask for her hand in marriage because too many obstacles stand in his way. For instance, he is embroiled in a lawsuit with a courtier, the poetaster Oronte, who is trying to tarnish Alceste’s reputation while courting Célimène himself. Alceste refuses any kind of compromise, including appealing his cause at the court, even though he is clearly in the right. Ultimately, Alceste fails to understand why Célimène, should she agree to marry him, would refuse to follow him far from this mundane world, and live happily somewhere in isolation.

"In a society where social order continues to require compromise, Molière’s work remains relevant. While, since its creation, much has changed, human behaviour almost certainly has not."GUY MIGNAULT

A special evening will be organized on Friday, November 9.

The students and the members of the AFT will have a special discount.

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 24, AT 7:00 PM
Lecture by Yves Breton :
At the Alliance Française de Toronto

Métamines : The life at the time of Nicolas Perrot

Nicolas Perrot (France 1644 – Bécancour 1717) was an exceptional diplomat and explorer
He played a major role in the joint history of the United States of America and Canada, even though he is not fully recognized for it. He exerted his influence mainly over broad, far territories downstream of Montreal, that was commonly referred to as Pays d’en haut. The life at the time of Nicolas Perrot
was eventful in groundbreaking events as much in France as in metropolis. Without a doubt, the fate of new France was in jeopardy and a number of observers were worrying. Nicolas Perrot and his wise friends were attempting intuitively to secure a future of the colony? In short, Nicolas Perrot, gives us the opportunity to better understand a time where many streams and ideas collided and furthermore originated. A world took shape! Myth or reality?

Yves Breton’s new historic novel is called “METAMINES LA VIE ET L’ÉPOQUE VALEUREUSES DE NICOLAS PERROT ” will be published just few days before the conference.
There will be copies available at the conference.

Thursday, October 25
As part of the opening evening :
The Hammam and Delicate Flowers, accompanied by Hassan El Hadi (oudist)
At Pantages Hotel, Martini Bar, 200 Victoria Street

Myriame El Yamani, a Montreal storyteller, will introduce the world of erotic tales at the Salon du livre. She will first present the stories of The Thousand and One Nights and the erotic tales told by Scheherazade, including her story about the woman from the enchanted Island of Wak-Wak; this will be followed by a show based on Ali al-Baghdadi’s tales in The Book of the Delicate Flowers Regarding the Kiss and the Embrace (such as the stories about a dirham’s worth of rice and the branch of thyme).

These are naughty tales in which women find all sorts of tricks by which to deceive their husbands or to find a lover – a veritable word feast in which love becomes banter, passion or folly.

--------------

Myriame El Yamani will also present a show for children with stories of The Thousand and One Nights and a show « Fairy tales around the world » on Thursday, October 25 from 11 :30 am to 12 :30 pm and on Friday, October 26 from 11 :30 am to 12 :30 pm.

Place : Manège militaire de Moss Park, 130, rue Queen Est, Toronto, ON M5A 1R9.

Wednesday, October 31 at 6:00 pm
Lecture by Valérie Angenot
At the Alliance Française de Toronto

Banquet in ancient Egypt

Every year at the end of April, the Egyptians would cross the Nile river to reach the west bank and honor their dead.  The “Beautiful Feast of the Valley” was the occasion for sumptuous banquets during which the living would mingle with the dead to regale around tables loaded with various foodstuff, in the courtyard of the tombs dug in the Theban mountain.  There, in a Hathoric ambiance, dressed in their finest gear impregnated with perfumed oils, people would eat, drink to their heart's content, dance, play music and remind each other to enjoy life as no one ever came back from the netherworld to tell what went after. On this day of Halloween celebrations, as the Western world commemorates its dead people, we will try and understand the way the Egyptians would connect with theirs at the occasion of that religious feast.
This lecture will be illustrated with —often unpublished— photographs that the author took in tombs of the Theban necropolis, declared part of the worldwide cultural patrimony by the UNESCO in 1979 and often considered as the biggest museum of ancient painting in the world.

Dr. Valerie Angenot holds a Ph.D in Egyptology which she received from the University of Brussels.  After two years of teaching at the Department of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations of the University of Toronto, she is now leading research on the Egyptian image at the Oriental Institute of the University of Oxford, UK.

Monday, November 5 at 8:00 pm
Theatre
At the Berkeley Theatre
26, Berkeley Street

Potpourri Evening

As part of its “Les lundis au TfT” series, the Théâtre français de Toronto is partnering with the Alliance Française to create a unique and original evening featuring excerpts from French plays that have entered the TfT repertory over the past 40 years. Come and hear familiar works again or discover something new.
Various excerpts will be read in succession by a troupe of actors, opening with these words:
For its 40th anniversary, the entire TfT company must find an amusing play with broad audience appeal that is representative of contemporary French theatre…. As you can see, the troupe is now searching for the ideal play…

Organized by the Théâtre français de Toronto and the Alliance Française

Tickets : $10 - Free for the students and the members of the AFT

Press article: l'Express 

Thursday, November 8 at 6:30 pm
Lecture in english by Jean Harzic
At the Alliance Française de Toronto

French Language and Cultural Diversity

Babel is not a curse, but, rather, a blessing. Learning a dozen languages, or even five or six, is beyond the reach of most of us, especially because of time constraints. But if English and information technology are two tools that have become indispensable, learning a major language of communication and of culture—whether it’s French, (language of the Francophony in sixty-two countries), Spanish, Portuguese, German or something else, helps to avoid a dangerous standardization: one language, one way of thinking.
Each language has its own « Weltanschauung, » or world vision, which is unique to that language. This point will be discussed in detail by using specific examples and concrete comparisons between several languages.
We will emphasize the Francophony, without claiming that it’s our one and only hope, by underlining three of its aspects: its presence in numerous countries throughout the world, its seductive appeal, and its utilitarian aspects.  We will also discuss the many personalities in the limelight (both male and female politicians, artists, CEOs . . .) who speak English fluently, which is not uncommon, but who also speak French, often very well. Numerous examples will be provided in support of this point. We’ll pay special attention to the UNESCO vote, virtually unanimous, in October 2005, opposing linguistic uniformity and mercantile systems that are sometimes tied to a culture and a language.
Numerous anecdotes, often ones experienced by yours truly, will be offered as a way of holding the audience’s attention and also as a way to humorously convey the gist of the talk.

Free admission

Friday, November 9 at 8:00 pm
Theatre
At the Berkeley Theatre,
26 Berkeley Street

Le misanthrope, by Molière

Exceptional discount of $25, for the members and the students of AFT

Alceste is at odds with humankind for its lack of loyalty and the hypocrisies inherent in social conventions. Despite this, he is in love with Célimène, a flighty, shallow and heartless coquette, but he will not manage to ask for her hand in marriage because too many obstacles stand in his way. For instance, he is embroiled in a lawsuit with a courtier, the poetaster Oronte, who is trying to tarnish Alceste’s reputation while courting Célimène himself. Alceste refuses any kind of compromise, including appealing his cause at the court, even though he is clearly in the right. Ultimately, Alceste fails to understand why Célimène, should she agree to marry him, would refuse to follow him far from this mundane world, and live happily somewhere in isolation.

"In a society where social order continues to require compromise, Molière’s work remains relevant. While, since its creation, much has changed, human behaviour almost certainly has not." Guy Mignault, Manager of the Thêatre français de Toronto.

Wednesday, November 21 at 7:00 pm
Lecture in french by Catherine Frelin
At the Alliance Française de Toronto

Organized by the Société d'Histoire de Toronto :

Toronto, the city of discoveries

Did you know where was discovered the insulin, where the bone marrow stem cells were isolated and who invented the cancer stem cells concept?
The University of Toronto is still recent , but, was already the home of technological advances with spin-offs that have substantially improved the public health.
Come to discover the scientists who made these discoveries, how they accomplished them and what were the impacts on our society.

Catherine Frelin holds a doctorate in biochemistry and is a graduate of France’s University of Nice Sophia Antipolis; she is currently a researcher with the University Health Network in Toronto.

Free admission

Thursday, November 22 at 6:30 pm
Roundtable in french
At the Alliance Française de Toronto

“Les jeudis littéraires”:
Short Stories – Classic and New

Roundtable: Practices and Theories with Marguerite Andersen, Christine Klein and Aurélie Resch 

Les jeudis littéraires premiers with a roundtable presented by the Alliance Française and the Association des Auteures et Auteurs de l’Ontario-Français (AAOF) and featuring Marguerite Andersen, Christine Klein and Aurélie Resch. These Thursday evening encounters with francophone writers living in Toronto will be held once a month at the Alliance Française. 
 
Marguerite Andersen
A novelist, essayist and poet, Marguerite Andersen received her doctorate in French literature from the University of Montreal in 1965. She has been a professor of French in various European, North African and North American countries, and a professor of literature at Concordia University and the University of Guelph. She now lives in Toronto and is the author of a number of award-winning novels (De mémoire de femme, La soupe).

Christine Klein-Lataud
Christine Klein-Lataud is a translator, literary critic and professor of French stylistics and translation at Glendon College (York University, Toronto). She has written numerous articles on the subjects of stylistics, translation and 19th-century French women writers and has published Précis des figures de style (Toronto: GREF, 1991; winner of the 1992 APFUCC award [Association des professeur-e-s de français des universités et collèges canadiens]). In addition, she co-directed a collective work on feminists entitled Paroles rebelles (Montreal: Éditions du remue-ménage, 1992).

Aurélie Resch
Aurélie Resch lives in Toronto where she is pursuing a career in literature, journalism and television. She works on documentaries and writes short stories, tales, screenplays and reviews for various Ontario and Quebec arts magazines; in addition, she is a regular contributor to L’Express de Toronto. She is also a two-time nominee for Radio-Canada’s Prix des lecteurs (Les yeux de l’exil, 2003, and Obsessions, 2006) and for the Salon du livre de Toronto (2002).

Free admission

Friday, November 23, at 8:00 pm
Concert
At the Glenn Gould School
90, Croatia Street (subway Dufferin)

The Alliance Française de Toronto and the Glenn Gould School are pleased to present a concert by the French violinistFrédéric Pelassy, featuring the pianist Ben Cruchley. Frédéric Pelassy will play a program with majors musical works by Beethoven (1st sonata opus 12th), Bartok (Six Rumanian dances), Frank (sonata in A Major), Ravel ("Tzigane", Rhapsody for a concert).

Born in 1972, Frederic Pelassy began his musical studies in France. Having heard him play Paganini, Yehudi Menuhin helped develop his early career, even though he was still too young to compete for any award.
He received formal prizes from the most outstanding foundations in France.
He was 16 when he recorded his first CD. In the meantime he kept pursuing his studies, both academic and musical. In 1987 Sándor Végh accepted him among his students at the Salzburg Mozarteum, trusting him with a bow that had belonged to Joachim. One year later, he was selected by Yehudi Menuhin and Alberto Lysy to enter the Gstaad International Yehudi Menuhin Music Academy. On several occasions, he was given the privilege of playing as a soloist alongside or under the direction of Yehudi Menuhin. 

Within the space of a few years, Frederic Pelassy has been invited to perform in some forty countries around the world. His discography comprises nineteen CDs, covering composers ranging from Bach to Debussy through Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Paganini, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Bruch, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky or Franck. He also teaches violin in Paris at the Hector Berlioz Conservatoire and gives master-classes in several countries in Asia, Latin America, Northern Africa, Eastern and Western Europe. He plays a violin made by Stefan-Peter Greiner.

Free admission 

Friday, November 30, from 6:30 pm
Cabaret evening
At the Alliance Française de Toronto

“Méli-mélodies: quand la chanson joue avec les mots” [fun with words through melody and song]

The Alliance française proposes a new series of themed cabaret concerts, with the first scheduled for November 30 at 6:30 p.m. in the ATF’s Galerie (Spadina). The inaugural concert, entitled “Méli-mélodies: quand la chanson joue avec les mots” [fun with words through melody and song], will be a playful exploration of language featuring Toronto performers Philippe Flahaut and Geneviève Cholette as they revisit some of the classics made famous by Brel, Nino Ferrer, Dutronc, Vigneault, Gainsbourg or Renaud.

Free admission

Wednesday, December 12 at 7:00 pm
Film screenind - discussion - tasting
At the Alliance Française de Toronto

Film screening : Vivre la lenteur
A film by Sophie Arthaud
Production: Médiatique Inc

“For some time now, we have been hearing a great deal about the need to slow down. It must be admitted that just about everywhere on our planet, people are ruled by speed and obsess about saving time, about always doing more – and always doing it faster. Some of us gloat over our constant acceleration, over always being in the middle of doing something. However, an increasing number of people are beginning to run out of steam in this race against time, feeling fragmented, distracted, disconnected and, when all is said and done, feeling that they are not performing very satisfactorily. And so we dream of reorganizing time. We ingeniously discover ways to slow the pace for a short while in this hectic world of ours – so that we can do things better and, at the same time, enjoy life more. This is indeed what the Slow Life movement is all about. Rooted in Slow Food, it finds expression in a variety of forms: Slow Cities, Slow School, Slow Travel, Slow Islands… Slow is Beautiful.”
Text by Mediatique Inc.

The screening will be followed by a debate and by a tasting of "slow food": ontarian cheese and wine.

Free admission

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