Special French Table

Monday January 18th at 12:00 noon.

Join us on the beautiful 19th Floor of the Bellevue (200 S. Broad Street). Lunch is an appetizer buffet, a main course and a dessert buffet.

Reservations at $33 per members or $35 for non-members must be received in the office by January 15th. Price does not include wine. If you would like a glass of wine with your lunch, you may purchase it at that time.

New Class at the Alliance : A Journey Around France !

Richesses des terroirs

The Alliance Francaise invites you to join the first of a series of explorations of French provinces as "terroir". The term "terroir" considers land as an organism whose characteristics and products are intimately linked to the nature of its soil and the crafts of its people. A "terroir" appeals to your senses. It is a harmony of taste, smells, and feelings that are unique, exclusive and singular.

Our first exploration will be of La Touraine and Le Val de Loire




We will open with a presentation on Friday January 15th, 2010 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. This will include a short movie on the region. Presentation by Roseline Cousin, in English.

This will follow the initial presentation with 5 Tuesday meetings from January19 to February 16, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Some reading is expected for each meeting in order to allow sharing of ideas and discussions. We will get acquainted with the lore, the poetry, some aspects of the daily life and present concerns of the region. These meetings will be in French for intermediate and advanced levels and will be led by Roseline Cousin.

A special wine and cheese tasting held on Friday February 12 at 6:00 p.m. will be presented, in English.


$170 for Alliance Francaise members or $200 for non-members for the 3 events

You can also pick and choose which events you would like to attend :
- Presentation : $10 for AF members; $20 for non-members
- 5 meetings : $140 for AF members; $150 for non-members
- Wine and cheese tasting : $30 for AF members; $40 for non-members.

Ciné Midi en Janvier

"Joyeux Noël" (Tuesday, January 5th) : It is a 2005 film about the World War I Christmas truce of December 1914, depicted through the eyes of French, Scottish and German soldiers. The film was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 78th Academy Awards. The film was one of Ian Richardson's last appearances before his death on February 9th, 2007.

"Le Père Noël est une Ordure" (Tuesday, January 12th) : It was a theatre piece, created in 1979 by the troupe Le Splendid. In 1982, Jean-Marie Poiré adapted it for the screen. A burlesque Christmas night where, at the duty office of a Parisian telephone station (SOS Friendship in distress), the volunteers are perturbed by the arrival of marginal characters and eccentrics who provoke a series of catastrophes.




"The Secrets" (2007) (Tuesday, January 19th) : Two brilliant young women discover their own voices in a repressive orthodox culture, where females are forbidden to sing, let alone speak out.





"Le Dîner de Cons" (1998) (Tuesday, January 26th) : The Dinner Game is a perfect example of well crafted French comedy with good timing. Directed by Francis Veber, known for La Cage aux Folles, the movie is an adaptation of a famous French play, "Le Dîner de Cons", featuring some of the actors of the original play. Each week, Pierre and his friends organize what is called as "un dîner de cons". Everyone bring the dumbest guy he could find as a guest. Pierre thinks his champ, François Pignon, will steal the show.

Fête de Noël !

Friday, December 18th, 6 to 8 PM, at the Alliance !

French Carols, great food, roasted pig, Bûches de Noël, and wine... lots of fun and cheers !


Please call to let us know if you will be coming : 215-735-5283.

Free for Alliance Française members; non-members, $20.00

Apéro Français

Join us every second Tuesday of the month !

The next Apéro Français will be held on Tuesday, December 8th, from 5:30 to 7:00pm, at the Bourse at the Sofitel Hotel.

Make new acquaintances and share the latest tips on travel, movies and events by joining our French conversation and cocktail hour. Each of our prior soirées has been a charming gathering of current and former students, as well as native speakers of French !

--- NEW AT THE ALLIANCE ! ---

New !



The Alliance Francaise invites you to join our group of young friends interested in practicing French and having a French Culture Experience in Philadelphia : Les FrancoPhilliens !

You can visit the group and the profile on Facebook : Les FrancoPhilliens

For some more information, you can email us @ : francophilliens@gmail.com, or call the Alliance : 215-735-5283.

THE AGE OF COMFORT: When Paris Discovered Casual - and the Modern Home Began

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 - 5:30 @ The Athenæum of Philadelphia (219 S 6th St, Philadelphia)

Joan DeJean will discuss a colorful cast of visionaries - legendary architects, the first interior designers, and the woman who shaped the tastes of two successive kings of France: Louis XIV's mistress Madame de Maintenon and Louis XV's mistress Madame de Pompadour. Their revolutionary ideas would have a direct influence on realms outside the home, from clothing to literature and gender relations, changing the way people lived and related to one antoher for the foreseeable future. She identifies the moment in modern history when informality and comfort first became priorities, setting off a transformation in the worlds of architecture and interior decoration.

Joan DeJean is the author of nine books on French literature, history, and culture of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. She is Trustee Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, where she has taught for eighteen years.


The Alliance Française is not taking reservations for this event, please reserve directly with Susan Gallo (215-925-2688 or sgallo@philaathenaeum.org) at the Athenæum.

"Je vais revoir ma Normandie..."

November 13 - December 31, 2009

Gallery Opening Friday, November 13 at 6:00 pm

Join us for a glass of wine to meet William Kosman, and see his beautiful paintings.

“As a painter, I try to show the beauty in the world and in people. We are surrounded by such beauty – the wheat fields and trees of Normandy blowing in the wind under a threatening sky, an expanse of beach battered by waves, a woman’s delicate face and form, the beauty of people facing life with courage, the brightness and playfulness of children, the warmth between people, and all of the other gifts of nature and life. In my pursuit, my artistic experiences have brought me to focus on two inspirations”.

William Kosman is someone who has benefitted from every cultural advantage as a kid, especially art lessons. And over the years, he has painted and studied painting more and more, including courses at the Art Students’ League in New York, the Fleisher Art Memorial in Philadelphia, and courses with Jean-Marie Creuseau in Fresne, France. Now, on many mornings during his summers in Saint-Aubin, he grabs his easel, his oil paints, his palette knives and the rest of his gear and heads out for one of the villages he has grown to know comme sa poche. It was his paintings of the Normandy countryside that got him his first solo exhibit in Philadelphia, at the Show of Hands gallery, that got him included in a group show in Old City, and got him an exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s ArtWorks gallery. Now, he feels the satisfaction of knowing that his Normandy landscapes give pleasure to families on the East and West coasts, as well as in France.

@ the Alliance Française

1420 Walnut Street, Suite 700

Philadelphia

Ciné Midi en Novembre

Tuesday, November 3rd : "La Marche de l'Empereur" (2005), directed by Luc Jacquet

Tuesday, November 10th : "Dialogue avec mon Jardinier" (2007), directed by Jean Becker

Tuesday, November 17th : "Les Enfants Terribles" (1950), directed by Jean Cocteau

Tuesday, November 24th : "Hors de Prix" (2006), directed by Pierre Salvadori

Join us on Thursday, October 22 for

A Garlic Fest

@ Spring Mill Café (164 Barren Hill Road, Conshohocken)

The celebration will take place in two parts:

=> 6:30 p.m. How to Plant Garlic with Master Gardener Lois H Fischer

=> 7:00 p.m. Garlic themed Dinner prepared by Spring Mill Café (BYOB)

Menu

Creamy Squash Soup with Garlic Croutons
or
Ratatouille Paysanne
-
Leg of Lamb à l'Ail
or
Cotriade Bretonne (Velvety Seafood Stew)
-
Candied Garlic Gelato with Italian Cheese Pie
-
Coffee or Tea

$55 for Alliance Française members
$65 for Non-members

Reservations can be made on the Events page, or by calling the Alliance Française.

Spring Mill Cafe is a BYOB, don't forget to bring your favorite wine!

Enchanting Views of Rural Beauce France

Farmhouse in Trinay

Gouache on vintage English paper, 11 x 8"

The Alliance Française and the French American Chamber of Commerce invite you to

Enchanting Views of Rural Beauce France

Wednesday, September 30, 2009
at InLiquid
Crane Arts Building
1400 N American Street
in Northern Liberties
(North of Girard between 2nd and 3rd)

Artists reception, meet Andrea Krupp. After the reception, there will be an optional dinner at Vino Restaurant/Lounge
Located at the NEW Piazza at Schmidt's
in Northern Liberties

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM Reception at Inliquid - Crane Arts Building
8:00 PM - 9:30 PM Dinner at Vino Restaurant/Lounge at the NEW Piazza at Schmidt's
Attendees must be at least 21 years of age

Reception ONLY:
$35/person Non-members
$25/person AF Members & guests

Reception & Dinner at Vino:
$60/person Non-members
$50/person AF Members & guests

Immersion Class : Saturday, September 26th

Immersion Courses represent six hours of intense work focused on conversation with reviews of grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation.

*

Four levels of classes are offered on the same day: beginner, basic, intermediate and advanced :

=> If you have never had French before your level is beginner.

=> If you are enrolled in a class at the Alliance Française, you can find your level easily:
101 = beginner
102-106 = basic
201-206 = intermediate
301+ = advanced

=> If you have never taken an immersion or regular class with us, and you are not a beginner, you will need to take a placement test to find your level. The placement test can be taken online (you can find the link on the courses page of our website : http://www.afphila.com/), or you can call our office (215-735-5283) or stop by our office in person and take the placement test that way.

$140 includes materials and lunch.

Ciné Midi en Septembre

Tuesday, September 1st : "Belle de Jour"


Tuesday, September 8th : "Chocolat"



Tuesday, September 15th : "Le Pianiste"



Tuesday, September 22nd : "Cliente"

Tuesday, September 29th : "Les Poupées Russes"

French Tables

Special French Table at Le Bec Fin (http://www.lebecfin.com/) - Tuesday, September 22nd, 12 PM

Join us for a 3-course lunch and a glass of wine !

$50 per member or $55 per non-member. Reservations must be received by by September 17.



French Table at Cafette - Friday, September 25th, 12:30 PM

Reservations at $30 per member ($33 if you would like a glass of wine) or $35 and $38 for non-members.
Reservations must be received in office by September 23.

Bastille Day on the Left Bank !

The Alliance Française de Philadelphie invites you to celebrate Bastille Day

on the Left Bank!

Tuesday, July 14, 2009 at 6:30 p.m.

The Water Works Restaurant

640 Water Works Drive

Buffet Dinner with Open Bar

Dancing under the stars with the Fred Hall Orchestra

Silent Auction and Raffle of two round-trip tickets to Paris on Air France

To make reservations online, please go to our Events page.

Directions to The Waterworks Restaurant.

Free Parking before the Circle or $12 Valet Parking (beyond the Circle)

Air France - With its worldwide network of 340 destinations in 91 countries, served by its own aircraft or those of its SkyTeam Alliance partners, Air France is a natural choice when booking travel to France. Thanks to its hub at Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Air France can fly you from one end of the earth to the other through a single airport.

Soirée Remise des prix et Fête de la musique

Ciné Midi en JUILLET

Tuesday, July 7: La vie en rose

From the streets of the cutthroat Belleville district of Paris to the dazzling limelight of New York's most glamorous concert halls, Edith Piaf's life was a constant battle to sing and survive, to live and love. Raised in abject poverty, surrounded by hookers and pimps, Edith's magical voice made her a star on both sides of the Atlantic.








Wednesday, July 15: The diving bell and the butterfly

Jean-Dominique Bauby was one of the most respected journalists in France, quickly rising to the position of editor at Elle Magazine. He divides his time between his hectic work and social lives, but still manages to spend time with his ageing father. Suddenly, this happy life is brought to an end by a massive stroke, at the age of just 43. Bauby, unable to move anything other than his left eyelid, is informed by doctors that he has 'locked-in syndrome,' and while mentally healthy, cannot move his body at all. At first he feels anger, made all the worse by the fact that he cannot show it. This anger soon sinks into suicidal depression, before he decides to make something happen. Eventually, he works out a way to communicate through blinking, and begins to write his memoir.





Tuesday, July 21: He loves me, he loves me not

From two very different perspectives, a romance is revealed which charts the relationship between Angelique, a young French student, and Loic, the married doctor with whom she is in love. Though Angelique attempts to get Loic to leave his wife and run away with her to Florence, Loic sees Angelique's "love" in quite a different light.











Tuesday, July 28: The child

Two young lovers have few prospects. Unemployed, high school drop outs, all they want to do is live for the moment. Their free spirited attitude is soon cut short when the girl falls pregnant. The only way they can support their new baby is through benefit and through the boy's earnings as a petty criminal. However, the immature and irresponsible teenagers soon come up with a solution to their problems: selling their new born on the black market...

Every Tuesday, at noon.

Ciné Midi en Juin

Tuesday, June 2: La tourneuse de pages

Tuesday, June 9: Vipère au poing

Tuesday, June 16: Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran

Tuesday, June 23: Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis







Tuesday, June 30: Il y a longtemps que je t'aime

Every Tuesday, at noon, at the Alliance française.

You can bring your lunch.

Lecture and Book signing at The Naked Chocolate Cafe

Jeudi 21 mai, l'Alliance française organisait
au Naked Chocolate Cafe
une présentation du roman Vidalia in Paris,
l'histoire (en partie biographique)
d'une jeune Américaine qui débarque à Paris.

Sasha Watson, l'auteur de Vidalia in Paris.

Nous avons aussi pu savourer chocolats, cupcakes et autres douceurs...

Benjamin Franklin nous a fait l'honneur de sa présence.