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CULTURE

Cinema: English-subtitled French films to screen in Charente and Normandy

The Paris-based cinema club Lost in Frenchlation has announced plans to expand to other French towns starting in December, offering more English speakers in France the opportunity to experience France's cinema culture. .

Published: 14 November 2022 17:02 CET
Cinema: English-subtitled French films to screen in Charente and Normandy
Photo by Alex Litvin on Unsplash

For the past seven years, Lost in Frenchlation, a company that regularly screens of recent French film releases with English subtitles, has given anglophones living in Paris the opportunity to access to French culture – and to meet others in the same situation.

After recently expanding to Biarritz, Lost in Frenchlation also announced plans to offer screenings in Caen, Normandy and Marthon, a small town on the Charente – Dordogne border so that English speakers in those towns can also enjoy French cinematic culture.

Screenings in Caen and Marthon will start in December, and they will be conducted in a similar manner to those in Paris – events are typically preceded with drinks before the start of the film.

READ MORE: Six French films with English subtitles in Paris in November

Here are the upcoming events outside of Paris:

Biarritz

In partnership with Royal Biarritz, Lost in Frenchlation will put on the movie “Un Beau Matin.”

The film tells the story of a young single mother raising her 8-year-old daughter and simultaneously caring for her father who was diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease. While trying to find her father a care home, she runs into a married friend and they begin an affair.

The screening will take place on Monday, November 14th at 8pm at Cinéma Le Royal, located at 8 Av. du Maréchal Foch, 64200 Biarritz.

Tickets range from €4.50 – €7, and they can be found on this website.

The other upcoming screening in Biarritz will be the film “Simone, Le Voyage du Siècle.”

The film is a biopic about Holocaust survivor Simone Veil, one France’s most prominent women during the 20th century. Covering Veil’s life story, the film will dive into her childhood and her major political battles, such as the fight for abortion rights in France.

Vogue has called it “one of the most anticipated films of the year.”

The film will be screened on Monday, November 28th at 8pm, with drinks starting at 7:30pm. The film will also be shown at Cinéma Le Royal, 

Tickets will also range from €4.50 – €7 and can be found on this website. 

Caen

Lost in Frenchlation will begin screening films in Caen this December, with its first film being “Saint Omer” by French female director Alice Diop.

The film tells the story of a novelist named Rama, as she attends the trial of a young woman accused of killing her 15-month-old daughter by abandoning her to the rising tide on a beach in northern France. Over the course of the trial, as she listens to the woman’s testimony and the stories of other witnesses, Rama finds herself questioning her own previously-held convictions.

In collaboration with Café des images, the film will be shown on Wednesday, December 14th at the Café Polyglotte, which is dedicated to exploring cultural diversity and facilitating the discovery of foreign languages.

The address is 4 square du théâtre, 14200 Hérouville-Saint-Clair, and participants are invited to join in pre-drinks at 7pm, and the screening will begin at 9pm.

Lost in Frenchlation will announce other screenings for the month of December, specifically those for Marthon, in the coming weeks. 

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LIVING IN FRANCE

5 tips to have the best possible night at France’s Fête de la musique

It can be the most fun day of the year - when France goes music crazy and bands suddenly appear on every street corner - but there are some tips to make your Fête de la musique experience as good as it can possibly be.

Published: 24 June 2024 11:26 CEST
5 tips to have the best possible night at France's Fête de la musique

First, a caveat – this is an entirely personal manifesto based on the things that I have enjoyed over my Fête de la Musique outings over the years. It’s not intended as any kind of hard-and-fast rule and plenty of people will have different experiences.

Feel free to disagree and/or share your festival tips in the comments section below!

1 Ignore the big-name artists

There are always a few big-name artists or concerts in major venues on the Fête de la musique (which happens every year on June 21st).

Ignore them. Sure, stadiums gigs can be great and huge venues can have a wonderful atmosphere – but you can do that any night of the year. It’s not what Fête de la musique is about.

The true spirit of the Fête is the smaller acts who play on street corners, in bars and community venues. They’re free, you can wander between them and stay as long as you like – and there is always something else around the corner.

2 Ignore the big towns

You might think that the big cities have the best music, but if you have the choice, go for a small town or a suburb.

I’ve enjoyed some good Fêtes in Paris, but the best experiences had have been smaller towns or the Paris’ suburbs (Montreuil is good – a commune that carefully cultivates a small-town / village vibe, albeit a very diverse small town where everyone is a hippy, a leftist, or both).

It’s partly a practicality thing – in big cities the acts are spread out and you have to make plans to see something and meet up with friends. In small towns, you just wander along to the main square, then when you’ve seen the acts there, you can saunter up the side streets, each of which will have dozens of bands playing, pausing only to grab a beer and snacks.

But it’s also the vibe; in big cities you can hear good live music all the time and the population is consequently complacent – small towns truly appreciate the Fête de la musique and properly go wild.

Once, in Paris, I was watching a blues band play in the street when a woman tipped water on their heads from her apartment window because she was tired and wanted to go to sleep. Small towns appreciate it when bands play for them.

3 Experiment

There’s a lot of variety on the night, so take advantage – this is your opportunity to hear all kinds of live music from rock to swing, jazz to classical, choirs to DJs.

Didn’t think that a five-piece oud band is your thing? Fête de la musique may change your mind. It’s the night of the year when anything goes, musically, so it’s also the night to try something new.

If you hate it – well it’s free and there’s another band down the street that might be more your thing. But you might discover a lifetime passion for oud music – in fact, by this time next year you might be playing in the oud band. Thanks to the Fête de la musique.

4 Don’t insist on quality

You’ll hear some great bands, but you’ll also hear some that are more about enthusiasm – and that’s all part of the fun.

You’re going to be hearing everything from classic rock to reggae to blues to the above-mentioned five-piece oud band, and as well as the styles the quality may be variable to.

For me, the true spirit of Fête de la musique is the 50-year-old accountant rocking out on his guitar and enjoying the one night of the year when he can dream that if only he hadn’t given up on his high school band, he could now be rich, famous and selling out stadiums, as opposed to filing tax declarations in an office above the florist.

5 Dress comfortably

Some people like to dress up for the Fête and that’s great – it’s a party after all – but the key thing is to wear something that is comfortable and allows you to shake your stuff.

Yes, you will be dancing – you’ll be dancing on street corners, in parks, cafés and perhaps on street furniture if things really get going, and you’ll be dancing with kids, dapper 70-year-old gents and everyone in between.

You need comfortable shoes and clothes that you can really move in.

Dance like no-one is watching. They may be watching, but they won’t be judging. Much. It’s Fête de la musique.

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