Newsletter n°351 / French life in London

Dear franceinlondoner

"Cinema, it's modern writing with its ink being the light"
- Jean Cocteau (poet, script writer and playwright)

Cinema

Is French cinema in decline?

With Steven Spielberg, one of the greatest American directors in the world, at the helm of the Cannes Film Festival, one might think that the French would not be honoured as they should be in their own country. Quite the contrary. Six out of twenty films in the competition are French, even more surprising given the profound crisis the French industry is going through. National icon, Gérard Depardieu has fled the country, actors are being paid stratospheric sums and the system of subsidies is floundering as a result of low profitability. All these criticisms have tarnished French cinema's image worldwide. So what should we believe: the amazing Cannes selection as a sign of underlying strength or the complaints and moans of the industry?

A Frenchman sworn in at Holyrood

Twenty years ago, Christian Allard came to Aberdeen without speaking a word of English, now, with two children and three grand children, all of them Scottish, he has become the first Frenchman to be elected to the Scottish Parliament.

French Comedy Theatre - Venise sous la neige (In French)

From 22 to 29 June

'Tamise en Scene' introduces its new hilarious French comedy by Gilles Dyrek: Venise sous la neige (Venise under the snow). Gilles Dyrek, a famous French comedian and playwright portraits a typical French middle class couple, highlighting their flaws and imperfections.

One pair of tickets to be won

A Family Affair

From 25 June to 13 July 2013

The director Emilie Perraudeau presents A Family Affair, a very funny comedy written by famous playwriters, scriptwriters and directors in France, Agnès Jaoui and Jean-Pierre Bacri (Le Goût des autres, Comme une image) from 25 June to 13 July 2013.

A pair of tickets to be won