Frederic Laplanche (File pic). Photo courtesy of Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR, April 7 (NNN- BERNAMA) — The 18th edition of Le French Festival (LFF) this year, dubbed as Malaysia’s grandest French cultural festival, is envisaged to entice more Malaysians to enjoy the big lineup of French acts and programmes.
French Ambassador to Malaysia, Frédéric Laplanche, said the programmes – such as film screenings, gastronomy and immersive workshops – will promote cultural understanding and people-to-people relations between the two countries.
“In response to the high positive feedback we received last year, this year, for the first time, we are spurring the collaboration with Malaysia’s theatre company, KL Shakespeare Players (KLSP), to produce a local production of the most famous play in French theatre called Cyrano de Bergerac, (to be)performed by talented Malaysian and French artists.
“From this collaboration, I think there is a need to bring the play to the young public here as well. Also, this is another area where we can engage the people in France and Malaysia to be more exposed to each other’s culture,” Laplanche told Bernama on the sidelines of the festival’s launching ceremony, here, recently.
Also present at the ceremony were Selangor Princess Tengku Zatashah Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah who is the President of Alliance Française Kuala Lumpur (AFKL), and Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC) Chief Executive Officer Koh Mei Lee.
“Of course, I want to see more collaborations between French and Malaysian cinemas on film screenings, outside of the French festival. But at the same time, I would personally love to see more Malaysian culture, be it film or dancing (traditional or contemporary) – in France.
“This is something that we are currently working on. If we can build bridges between producers in France and Malaysia, it will help a lot. In July, a big visit by French producers in film and cinema is coming to town,” he said.
Organised by the AFKL and the French embassy here, the LFF will include the screenings of 15 award-winning French films during the festival’s run from April 4 to May 12.
Among them are Sink or Swim (comedy), Funan (animation drama), In Safe Hands (drama), The Emperor of Paris (Crime Thriller), Remi, Nobody’s Boy (Family Adventure), Just A Breath Away (Action, Science Fiction) and Memoir of War (History, Drama).
All the films will screen at GSC cinemas in Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, 1Utama and Mid Valley (April 4-21), Penang’s Gurney Plaza (April 25 – May 5), Johor Bahru’s Paradigm JB Mall (May 2-5) and Kota Kinabalu’s Suria Sabah Mall (May 9-12).
NNN-BERNAMA
