[LE FIL CULTUREL DE L’ONTARIO FRANÇAIS]
A week of celebration and tributes to the works and stories that have forever marked the cultural scene is at the forefront in French Ontario. Evenings of classical Music, an artistic exhibition and French-language films are part of the rich and diverse offering on the agenda.
Concerts
Belgian composer Bernard Foccroulle performs Hélène Berr’s diary
The moving portrait of a young Parisian Jew deported to Auschwitz comes to life at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto thanks to soprano Elena Howard-Scott and the Glenn Gould School Quartet.
Considered the French “Anne Frank”, this young student documented her life during the German occupation through her diary which she wrote between 1942 and 1944. A year later, a few days before her liberation from the Bergen concentration camp -Belsen, she died of typhus, leaving behind her diary which would inspire generations to come. Hélène Berr’s diary was not published until 63 years later.
Toronto, January 21. Details and tickets on the website Royal Conservatory of Music.
The virtuoso pianist Maxime Zecchini on stage in Ottawa
One of the most renowned French pianists, Maxime Zecchini, is visiting Ottawa through the Alliance française. Mr. Zecchini is known for his innovative programming that explores repertoire for the left hand only. He performs works that would normally require the use of both hands using only one. In concert at Mackay United Church, this virtuoso will amaze his audience by performing emblematic works by great French composers, notably Maurice Ravel, Gabriel Fauré and Camille Saint-Saëns.
Ottawa, January 18. Details and tickets on the website Alliance française Ottawa.
Arts
The exhibition Effervescence at the Galerie du Nouvel-Ontario
Artists from Northern Ontario come together through art to celebrate the richness and diversity of racialized communities. Ali Rodriguez-Beaudoin, Connor Lafortune, Isak Vaillancourt, Myths and Mirrors Community Arts and Ra’anaa Yaminah Ekundayo all from different artistic creation practices, merge their stories with the Effervescence exhibition to tell the solidarity and resilience present in each of their communities.
Sudbury, from January 16 to February 28. Details and programming on the Place des arts du Grand Sudbury website.
Movie theater
20 years of the Regroupement des artistes filmmakers de la francophonie canadienne
In collaboration with RACCORD, the Alliance française de Toronto is lending its premises to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the organization which carries the voice of French-speaking filmmakers in minority situations in Canada. On the occasion of its anniversary, RACCORD is launching a program rich in cinema with two special screenings in two parts: a series of short films and the screening of the feature film Rêver en Néon by the director, Marie-Claire Marcotte. Spectators will have the opportunity to chat with the director who will be present the evening of the screening.
Ottawa, January 18. Details and tickets on the website Alliance française Ottawa.
Rémi without family by Antoine Blossier at Sudbury Indie Cinema
Faithful to its mandate to screen French and English films, the Sudbury Indie Cinema will screen Antoine Blossier’s film, Rémi sans famille on its premises. A story of friendship and adventure, the young orphan Rémi accompanies a nomadic musician from whom he will learn a lot as he travels around France at his side.
Sudbury, January 26. Details and programming on the Sudbury Indie Cinema website.
