A French cultural wave will sweep across Sofia in the coming weeks

published on 10/14/24 3:05 PM

Photo: institutfrancais.bg

Until the end of the year, the Bulgarian public will meet French culture in the form of a series of film screenings, literary readings, conferences, exhibitions, etc. The occasion is 145 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between France and Bulgaria. In this regard, the Embassy of the Republic of France and the French Institute in Bulgaria are organizing a series of cultural events. ‎

A special place is given to the personality of the famous French writer and diplomat Romain Gary sent in the period between 1946-48 on a diplomatic mission to Bulgaria. From October 21 to 24, three lecturers will be invited to the French Institute in Sofia, who will acquaint the audience with various aspects of Bulgaria's influence on the views and work of the great French humanist, we learn from Luc Lévy - director of the French Institute in Bulgaria in an interview with Radio Bulgaria:‎

Luc Lévy, director of the French Institute in Bulgaria

‎"For this project related to Romain Gary and to mark the 145th anniversary, we have a very good partnership with the Cinelibri film festival. We will show 3 films inspired by his work. The first is Shine of a Woman on Costa-Gavras, the second film is The Wizard, focused on the juxtaposition between Romain Gary and Émile Ajar, as Gary juggled his writerly identities very skillfully, thanks to which he became twice winner of the Goncourt award. The third film we will present is The Bookseller - a documentary tale about Romain Gary in Sofia."‎

The Bulgarian audience will see two more French film productions, which are entirely biographical, but also musical, we learn from Luc Levy. One is dedicated to the singer Charles Aznavour on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his birth, and the other to the French composer Maurice Ravel.‎

"We will also have other literary meetings, including with the young French-speaking writer of Bulgarian origin Elitsa Georgieva, who recently published her funny work Odyssey for the Girls from the East in French. It is written from the point of view point of view of a young woman who arrives in France and faces all the local prejudices. Things are presented by her in an ironic and very funny way. There will also be meetings with the favorite French authors Miguel Bonnefoy and Agnès Desarthe, says Luc Levy.‎

Among the highlights of the program related to the celebration of the 145th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations between Bulgaria and France is the meeting dedicated to the scientific challenges in Antarctica. It will take place on October 30 and it will discuss the experience of the Bulgarian polar expeditions with the participation of the directors of the Bulgarian and the French National Center for Polar Research - Hristo Pimpirev and Yan Ropert-Coudert.

The Bulgarian Antarctic ship Photo: Oleg Vasilev

Before that, on October 25 and 26, "Meetings dedicated to the French language ‎‎2024" will take place. The forum will discuss how the language of Voltaire is now taught and the diversity of Francophonie.

Bulgaria has been part of the International Organization of Francophonie since 1993 as there are 32 bilingual high school profiles with French across the country. ‎

Learn more about the rich cultural program on the occasion of the 145th anniversary of Bulgarian-French diplomatic relations HERE.

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Photos: institutfrancais.bg, BTA

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