The weeks of Francophonie and a flavor of the French Cinema at EUICC

The EU Information and Cultural Centre in Pristina joined the weeks of Francophonie in Kosovo organized by the French Embassy during the month of March. The major event was ‘Meet the Ambassador’ with the representatives of EU member states in Kosovo as guest speakers and the second event was the French Film Marathon with director Mathieu Jouffre as our moderator. The purpose of these events was to present the diverse European culture and to bring the EU countries closer to the Kosovo citizens.

His Excellency Mr Didier Chabert, the French ambassador to Kosovo, was the first guest speaker in the series of ‘Meet the Ambassador’ events organized by the EUICC.  The ambassador of the country of ‘Liberté, égalité, fraternité’ spoke of the Francophonie in the world and the Kosovo-France cooperation during 2017 through the French Embassy to Kosovo, in the area of justice, environment, economy, agriculture, tourism (providing trainings for the guides, facilitating the participation of Kosovo in Tourism Fairs in France), civil society (support to NGOs working with communities), culture and education.

Mr Chabert highly praised the partnership in the area of education especially academic exchange between Kosovo and France during the recent years. During his exclusive appearance at the EUICC in Pristina, Ambassador Chabert, told that there are 274 million Francophones around 5 world continents who celebrate the dynamic diversity of the Francophonie through language contests, shows, film festivals, literary discussions, gastronomic meetings, art exhibitions, etc. “Kosovar youth fascinate me,” especially their interest for culture and arts and this should be nourished in the future, emphasized the Ambassador among others.  

The French Film Marathon and Director’s Talk was another activity where the EUICC hosted a screening of shorts produced by La Fémis. La Fémis (Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Métiers de l’Image et du Son) is one of the most prestigious state film school in France under the responsibility of the Ministry of Culture and Communication. The shorts included students’ work produced during the 30 years of existence of La Fémis, covering the time period from 1990 till 2010. The French director Mathieu Jouffre who lives and works in Pristina moderated the movie screening and discussion about the French cinema, whereas he presented the most distinctive short films, produced by the school, to film enthusiasts who attended the French Film marathon. The selection of shorts featured particularly French woman directors through decades (in front and behind the camera) and how they talk about love in different social contexts and through different ages. The Kosovar cinephiles had the opportunity to also watch a feature film “Hope” by Boris Lojkine, on the topic of actual and sensitive topic of illegal migration and extreme gender violence faced by women in this process. All films were enabled by the French Institute of Cinematography IFcinema, a comprehensive online platform of the greatest French cinematography.