Croisements Festival returns to China

On April 10, the 8th annual Croisements Festival will commence at the French embassy in Beijing with a press conference to launch the event. Since its inception, the three-month long festival has grown into the largest French cultural festival abroad and the biggest foreign festival in China.

Running through July 3, programs will be offered throughout China on artistic disciplines such as film, theater, dance, music, painting, photography, literature, street art and new media. The programs are designed to present the dynamism and creativity of French artistic and intellectual contributions.

The French festival will also serve as a showcase for the country’s creative industries, and of Franco-Chinese cultural co-productions. Additionally, it will offer training programs, workshops, and seminars for students and professionals in various culture-related fields.

This year, the festival will offer 77 events, with some 160 performances in 23 cities throughout China such as Changsha, Wuhan, Dalian, Shanghai, Qingdao, Foshan, Xi’an and Harbin.

Some of the programs will include The New Circus, which revisits traditional circus routines along with newly added artistic approaches. On the dance side, Yo Gee Ti, a collaboration between Asian and French dancers, will be performed in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen.

French film will also have a strong presence this time around. The 10th Panorama of French cinema will take place as part of the Beijing Film Festival and will host a special screening of Amour, the 2013 Academy Award winner for best Foreign Language film directed by Michael Haneke. The Panorama series will also be held in Wuhan, Shenzhen, Chengdu and Nanjing as part of the Shanghai International film festival.

And in the realm of literature, readings from well-known authors in select places throughout Beijing and Shanghai will take place under the theme of The Illuminated and Unlimited Nights of Reading.

On the music side, Phillippe Jordon, the musical director of the Paris National Opera will conduct the China National Symphony Orchestra in Beijing for the festival’s closing ceremony. The Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse will perform in Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Wuhan. And French jazz impresario Eric Legnini will give performances in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

This year’s festival is expected to be bigger than last year, as more programs and events will be available to the public. Further information on the festival can be found at www.faguowenhua.com/croisements.