By Elena Kosolapova
Staff Writer
Francophonie Weeks, featuring cultural diversity of francophone countries will take place in Baku on April 1- 14.
Within the framework of the weeks, the embassies of Belgium, France, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Morocco, Moldova, Mexico, Romania, Switzerland and the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan will organize about 30 cultural events, including film screenings, concerts, exhibitions, lectures, and etc. Entrance to all the events is free.
The program of the Francophonie Weeks is as following:
SUNDAY 1st APRIL:
11:00 International Youth Chess Championship Opening at Landmark Hotel Rotunda. The Chess Championship will continue at Genclik chess club and last till April 6.
MONDAY 2nd APRIL
20:00 Tintin evening at Landmark Hotel Cinema. Tintin is one of the most beloved comics characters. Within the event the Ambassador of Belgium and his team will take the audience on a guided tour of the young reporter’s colourful world.
TUESDAY 3rd APRIL
19:00 Screening of Romanian drama “The Beheaded Rooster” at YARAT Contemporary Art Center. The film will be in Romanian and German languages with English subtitles.
WEDNESDAY 4th APRIL
19:00 Screening of French animated film “Adama” at Azerbaijan CinemaPlus. The film is in French with English subtitles.
THURSDAY 5th APRIL
19:00 Screening of Mexican comedy-drama “The Amazing Catfish” at Landmark Hotel –Cinema. The film will be in Spanish with English subtitles.
FRIDAY 6th APRIL
19:00 Screening of Hungarian comedy “Mom and Other Loonies in the Family” at Azerbaijan CinemaPlus. The film is in Hungarian language with English subtitles.
SATURDAY 7th APRIL
10:00- 13:00 Romanian Morning for Kids at French Institute of Azerbaijan. The children will learn how to make Martisor (symbol of spring) and the techniques of Romanian Easter egg-painting.
16:00 Screening of Greek drama “Cloudy Sunday” at Landmark Hotel – Cinema. The film is in Greek with French subtitles.
18:00 Screening of Lithuanian documentary “Bug Trainer” at Landmark Hotel – Cinema. The film is in Lithuanian with French subtitles.
SUNDAY 8th APRIL
16:00 Screening of Moroccan documentary “Morocco from above” at Landmark Hotel – Cinema. The film is in French with English subtitles.
18:00 Screening of French-Chadian drama“Grigris” at Landmark Hotel – Cinema. The film in French with English subtitles is presented by the Delegation of the EU to Azerbaijan.
THURSDAY 12th APRIL
All day long – Academic Forum “Francophonie” at Azerbaijan University of Languages. Within the forum Azerbaijani students will find out more about Erasmus+ programs and opportunities for higher education in the member countries of the International Organization of the Francophonie.
18:30 Opening of the exhibition of paintings by Moldovan painter Cezar Secrieru at Art Tower Gallery
19:00 Screening of “The Spanish Apartment” drama at Landmark Hotel – Cinema. The film in French with English subtitles is presented by the Delegation of the EU to Azerbaijan.
19:00 “Mugham Soul” Concert by French jazz singer Pierre de Tregomain and Azerbaijani master of mugham Gochag Asgarov at YARAT Contemporary Art Center.
FRIDAY 13th APRIL
14:30 Lecture by director of Moldovan Institute of Philological and Intercultural Studies Elena Prus: “Horizon of the borders in Francophone dramaturgy from Eastern Europe” at French Institute of Azerbaijan. The lecture in French with translation in Azerbaijani will be followed by the screening of two short films: “Chisinau – European Capital” and “Malika”. The films are in Romanian with English subtitles.
19:00 Opening of the exhibition of vintage posters “Take a Holiday!” of Switzerland Tourism at the National Art Museum of Azerbaijan
SATURDAY 14th APRIL
14:30- 17:30 Closing Ceremony of the Francophonie Weeks, with food testing and music at Landmark Hotel. A concert of Morocan Maalem Housssam Gania band will be a part of the closing ceremony.
In addition, contests and shows on the Francophonie will take place in schools and universities in Azerbaijan from the 1st to the 17th April.
Moreover, the embassy of Switzerland organized a photo-exhibition by Cedric-Christopher Merkli at Mesheti Genjevi Center in the city of Ganja from March 16 to April 15 within the Francophonie weeks.
The International Organisation of La Francophonie was created in 1970 with the objective of promoting a dialogue to develop a political and economic solidarity between the French-speaking peoples. The organization has 84 member states and governments (58 full members and 26 observers), which together represent over one-third of the United Nations’ member states and account for a population of over 890 million people.
Shared by 274 million people worldwide, the fifth-most-spoken language on the planet, French is along with English the only language spoken on all five continents.
