Nation honours Francophone Day

HA NOI — The French language will be once again honoured in Viet Nam through a wide range of cultural activities on the occasion of International Francophone Day. “It’s an opportunity for us to honour the values of solidarity and respect for culture differences,” said Anissa Barrak, Asia-Pacific director of the International Francophone Organisation (OIF). A Francophone Film Festival will kick off on Friday in Ha Noi and HCM City as part of a national celebration of this month-long event. The festival will present 12 films from nine countries: Viet Nam, France, Canada, Marocco, Switzerland, Belgium, Greece, Chad, and Ivory Coast. An educational festival will also be organised at Ha Noi University on Sunday, where students will attend presentations on the cultures of various Francophone countries. Francophone film festival The films presented during the festival include L’Illusionniste (The Illusionist) and A l’Origine (In the Beginning) (France), Un Homme Qui Crie ( A Screaming Man) (Chad), Le Mec Ideal (Ideal Guy) (Ivory Coast), A Pas de Loup ( On the Sly) (Belgium), La Grande Villa (The Big Villa) (Maroco), Au Dessous des Etoiles ( Under the Stars) (Greece), Mui Co Chay (Scent of Burned Grass) and Tam Hon Me (Mother’s Soul) (Viet Nam) The festival will also present the Swiss film Maman est Chez le Coiffeur which won several international important prizes and the Canadian movie Incendies which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2011. The film, which follows the journey of twin brother and… [Read full story]