«Un jour, j étais âgée déjà, dans le hall all d un lieu public, un homme est venu vers moi. Il s est fait connaître et il m a dit : «Je vous connais depuis toujours. Tout le monde dit que vous étiez belle lorsque vous étiez jeune, je suis venu vous dire que pour moi je vous trouve plus belle Cultural Agenda maintenant ntenant que lorsque vous2014 étiez jeune, j aime moins April votre visage Alliance de jeune Française femme que de celui que vous avez Delhi maintenant, dévasté». Je pense souvent à cette image que je suis seule à voir encore et dont je n ai jamais parlé. Elle est toujours là dans le même silence, silence, émerveillante. C est entre toutes celle qui me plaît moi-même, moi même, celle où je me reconnais, où je m enchante.» L'Amant,, Marguerite Duras, 1914 1914-1996
AFD Events / Evénements AFD April 2014 Date Name Event Venue Time Thursday 3 rd April 2014 Before Leaving Indian Snapshots Opening Galerie Romain Rolland 7 pm Friday 4 th April 2014 Memory Lane CinéClub M.L. Bhartia Auditorium, Alliance Française de Delhi 6.30 pm Wednesday 9 th April 2014 Writers, etc. Session 29 Talk M.L. Bhartia Auditorium, Alliance Française de Delhi 6.30 pm Friday 11 th April 2014 J aime regarder les filles CinéClub M.L. Bhartia Auditorium, Alliance Française de Delhi 6.30 pm 11 th to 29 th April 2014 danse dialogues Dance Festival Various Venues Friday 28 th April 2014 La fleur du mal CinéClub M.L. Bhartia Auditorium, Alliance Française de Delhi 6.30 pm 2
Friday 4 th April 2014 Alliance Française de Delhi Presents Before Leaving Indian Snapshots An Exhibition By Marie-Caroline Schuh-Senlis Galerie Romain Rolland, Alliance Française de Delhi Opening: 3 rd April 2014, 7pm Exhibition on view: 4 th April to 11 th April 2014, 9am to 8pm 3
Artist s words about the work: In the exhibition I m showing black and white photographs, that I colored the ancient way, just like the Indian photographers did for a long time. It s joining the Indian tradition of portrait photography. India is not a country that leaves people indifferent, either you like it or you hate it, either you feel at home here or not, either you blossom here or you don't. To live in India for a few months or a few years can transform a person. The series "Before Leaving India" tells some stories, some slices of Indian life... people telling their story, talking about themselves. When you live abroad, expatriated as we say today, you are here and there, a bit rootless, you get to know some nice people, unfortunately it is very often ephemeral. At the end of my first year in India, I have seen some people who I liked leave for new horizons, some people who had inside them something I would have liked to keep, to relate, an energy, a way of living, a way of seeing things and human beings. A single photo portrait cannot represent this totally. The idea of this project sprouted, and if I had to do a photo portrait which gives an idea of the life of the subjects, I had also to tell and pass on their story, the story of their Indian slice of life. To make the testimonies more authentic and as spontaneous as possible, I did the interview and the portrait in a single session, choosing as far as possible a date which was close to their departure. My subjects did not read the questionnaire before the interview. Yet they had to try to find for the photo some objects or clothes which would be representative of their stay in India, and they knew that the questionnaire would turn around their stay in India, their interests and so on. I proposed the project to people whom I knew and who were about to leave India, trying to gather a varied panel of subjects, some men and some women of diverse nationalities and of various ages. I received a lot of positive and enthusiastic responses. Some friends also sent me some people who I did not know but who were interested in the project. Those who took part in the project were satisfied or amused to find themselves at the center of attention, and to tell a more or less important part of their experience, to confess quite freely for most of them. I think that just when they were changing their life, the fact of confessing, of laying bare their experience of India, was a gentle way to put it behind them, to mourn over it. After these moments of intimacy, I often said to myself that it was a pity to see those persons leaving, these people about whom I just discovered more during these intense moments, a kind of concentration of several months or years. You can learn a lot about people, sometimes in just a little time you can learn more about them than if you rub shoulders with them without really get interested in their life, in what they do, in the way they look at things. These slices of life interested me, touched me, made me reflect. I tried to keep as much as possible the expressions used by my subjects during the interviews, to reflect their mood. For each of my subjects I took several portraits. Here I am showing black and white photographs, that I colored the ancient way, just like the Indian photographers did for a long time. It is joining the Indian tradition of portrait photography. 4
Wednesday, 9 th April 2014 Alliance Française de Delhi, Institut Français en Inde and The French Embassy in India present Writers, Etc. Session 29 Vaiju Naravane in conversation with Pavan K. Varma Wednesday, 9 th April 2014, 6.30pm M. L. Bhartia Auditorium, Alliance française de Delhi Writers, Etc is our literary platform: a space where the written word gets primacy, where written ideas and their practitioners can interact with each other and the general public, coming together to ask pertinent questions and seek their answers: what role does literature play in contemporary societies? How do writers see their responsibilities vis-àvis the public and, turning that over, how do we see writers? How has the written word adapted to its place among the growing pantheon of varied and addictive forms of cultural transmission? The aim is to encourage a discovery, unencumbered by genre, of all the written oeuvres, ranging from living legends to new and emerging talent. For our twenty ninth session, we are very delighted to invite Vaiju Naravane in conversation with Pavan K. Varma. 5
Vaiju Naravane is the The Hindu's Europe correspo correspondent. ndent. She is also a lecturer and broadcaster and is Foreign Fiction Editor with the French publishing house Albin Michel where she has published authors like Vikram Seth, Manil Suri, Alan Hollinghurst, Esther Freud, Daniel Alarcon, Anita Nair and Anita Brookner among others. Writer-diplomat Pavan K. Varma joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1976. He has been Press Secretary to the President of India, the Spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs, etc., and has now joined as Advisor (Culture) to Shri Nitish Kumar, Chief Minister of Bihar, with the rank of Cabinet Minister. A writer of depth and insight, he has written over a dozen books including Becoming Indian: The Unfinished Revolution of Culture and Identity (Penguin-Allen Lane, 2010) and When Loss is Gain (Rupa Books, 2012), currently on the Best Sellers list in India. Mr. Varma has also translated the poetry of Kaifi Azmi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and Gulzar, all published by Penguin. 6
11 th to 29 th April 2014 Alliance Française de Delhi, Institut Français en Inde and The French Embassy in India present danse dialogues India and France have in common a great tradition of dance. With about 80 companies touring regularly around the world, the French contemporary dance scene is known for its diversity and quality. In India, while the traditional dance forms are highly developed and very well established, a contemporary dance scene calls into question the traditional codes, giving birth to a new choreographic vocabulary. The first attempts of confrontation between classical Indian dance and Western contemporary dance date back to the days of Tagore. Since then, the evolution of this form of expression followed the personal trajectories of choreographers and artists, especially those who have traveled abroad and found, in the observation of other practices, a new creative inspiration. These new expressions have captivated audiences all around the world. Wishing to highlight the artistic trends from these two countries, "DanSe DialogueS" was created to initiate meetings and open new fields for the development of this art form in India. Purpose of DanSe DialogueS in 2014 The aim is to strengthen cooperation between our two countries in the field of dance and thus: - To encourage exchanges and meetings between French and Indian professionals and Franco- Indian projects by participating in the structuring of the dance scene in India. - To promote both the French and Indian contemporary dance in India by expanding the space and the public of this art form in India. - To invest the public space in order to go toward the spectator. Transmission During this second edition, the dialogue will take the form of transmission. Two of the main projects of the program offer to invite two French choreographers, Mourad Merzouki and David Roland, to transmit one of their works to Indian dancers. These new productions will then tour in the partner cities. Thus, the choreographic dialogue between France and India takes this year the form of artistic collaboration following up the work started during the second edition of the festival Bonjour India which took place from January to March 2013. Trends from the French dance scene The second part of the festival aims to showcase the actuality of the French dance scene by programming several French companies: 7
- Xin company: Black Pulp - Retouramont company: Cette immense intimité (This huge intimacy) - Julie Nioche Company: Nos Solitudes (Our Loneliness) Third part of DanSe DialogueS "Carte Blanche" Each city/alliance Française co-organizer of the festival will give the opportunity to a local Indian choreographer to present one of its dance pieces. Proposals sent to the local Alliance Française will be examined by a jury composed of members of Institut Français in India, of Alliance Française directors and of Indian dance critics. One show per city will be selected among the proposals received. The choosen shows will be performed in public in their city during DanSe DialogueS 2014. In total, DanSe DialogueS could thus present two Franco-Indian productions, one to two French companies and one to two Indian companies by city, which makes between four and six dance companies by city over the whole festival period. Round tables The organization of a professional day will give the opportunity to gather together different professionals both from France and India to give an overview of the structure of the Indian dance scene and of its development prospects. On the French side, the approached speakers are Rosita Boisseau, Anita Mathieu and Dominique Hervieu. On the Indian side, we will invite several critics of the Indian dance scene. Discussions after the shows Moments of sharing after each show, hosted and led by a professional dance critic. Workshops Given by choreographers. 8
Ciné-Club Friday 4 April 2014, 6.30pm MEMORY LANE Director: Mikhaël Hers Released in 2010 Duration : 1h38min Comedy Sept amis, la vingtaine passée et des vies qui prennent des chemins différents, se retrouvent le temps d un été dans la ville où ils ont grandi ensemble. Il y a ceux qui y vivent toujours, ceux qui viennent voir la famille et ceux qui cherchent à renouer avec une adolescence pas si lointaine. Leurs retrouvailles aux apparences inattendues et délicieuses se dissipent pourtant sur fond de mélancolie. Ces jeunes adultes qui ont le sentiment de retrouver l adolescence dont ils peinent à se défaire sont vite rattrapés par leur présent et une réalité qui leur rappelle que cette époque juvénile et insouciante est désormais bien révolue. Seven friends, in their twenties and their lives took different paths; meet up again for a summer in the city where they grew up together. There are those who still live there, those coming to see the family and those who seek to reconnect with the teenage of not so old past. Their reunion with their unexpected and delicious appearances disperses yet on the bottom of melancholy. These young adults, who have the wish to find their adolescences for whichh they are struggling to dispose, are quickly overtaken by the present and a reality that reminds them that that youthful and carefree era is well over. 9
Friday 11 April 2014, 6.30pm J AIME REGARDER LES FILLES Director: Frédéric Louf Released in 2012 Duration: 1h32min Comedy-drama Nous sommes dans le Paris des années 80. Mitterrand vient d être élu et Primo, 18 ans, rejoint la capitale pour repasser le bac. Le jeune garçon est issu issu d un milieu familial populaire et provincial. A Paris, il loge dans une chambre de bonne et vit de petits boulots. Il y rencontre aussi Gabrielle (dont il tombe amoureux) et son colocataire Malik. Bientôt Primo fréquente les quartiers bourgeois de la ville et ressent le besoin de mentir sur ses origines, s inventant une nouvelle identité : celle d un fils de grand photographe. C est à partir de ce moment là que commencent les ennuis et les tribulations du jeune Primo. We are in Paris of the 80 s. Mitterrand has just been elected and Primo, 18 years old, rejoins the capital to redo the baccalaureate. The young boy was born in a family environment provincial and popular. In Paris, he lives in a maid's room and does odd jobs. He also met Gabrielle (with whom he falls in love) and his roommate Malik. Soon Primo attends the bourgeois neighbourhoods of the city and feels the need to lie about his origins, inventing a new identity: that he is a son of a great photographer. It is from this time when the troubles and tribulations of the young boy begin. 10
Friday 25 April 2014, 6.30pm LA FLEUR DU MAL Director: Claude Chabrol Released in 2003 Duration: 1h44min Drama La famille Cherpin-Vasseurr est installée dans le bordelais depuis trois générations. Au sortir de la seconde guerre mondiale, la tante Line était accusée d un meurtre dont elle a été acquittée. Alors que sa nièce Anne Cherpin-Vasseur est en pleine campagne électorale des années plus tard, un tract anonyme circule et réveille les secrets et les mensonges de cette famille bourgeoise. The Cherpin-Vasseur is a family settled in the Bordeaux region for three generations. At the end of the World War II, Aunt Line was accused of a murder from which she has been acquitted. Many years after, while her niecee Anne Cherpin-Vasseur is into an election campaign, an anonym leaflet begins to circulate and wakes up all the secrets and lies of this bourgeois family. 11
NOTE: Cine club screenings are open to all. Free admission. Now you can watch the same films at the same timings at our Gurgaon Annexe, S-24/8, DLF Phase 3, Gurgaon, Haryana. For more details on programmes, please contact the cultural section at 43500218/222 E mail: communication@afdelhi.org Join us also on: Alliance Française de Delhi page Alliance Française de Delhi group AllianceFDelhi Afdelhi on instagram 12