Behind the scenes of the film Papali – We Dare You
Mohalenyane Phakela
ALLIANCE Française has lined up music, poetry and film activities beginning on Saturday till 29 September this year.
Alliance Française has been promoting cultural activities and exchange in Lesotho since 1981, forming partnerships with local organisations and artistes.
The opening event for this month will be the creative writing workshop by Bangladesh-born poet Hassan Masum who is on a mission to foster links between local and Bangladeshi poetry.
The poetry class will be followed by a writing competition which is open to 30 poets who are expected to register before the event by emailing Masum on hassanmasumpoetry@gmail.com.
A monthly discussion forum “Speak Up 4 Lesotho” will be held at the AF Hall on 15 September. The forum is aimed at stimulating debate on topical issues.
The discussion topic will be ‘Arts and Culture Policies – a blessing or a curse?’ and it will be held ahead of the Arts and Innovation Week organised by the Ministry of Tourism, Environment and Culture which has been set for the first week of October.
The regular wine and music event, In Alliance Veritas, will be held on 21 September. The event offers patrons the opportunity to sample French wines while enjoying good music.
This time AF has partnered with Conservation Music to raise funds for the latter’s upcoming project which is aimed at creating meaningful songs with a traditional feel.
On 25 September, The Alchemy of Words will be staged for students at Machabeng College. This is a multi-media performance about the life and work of the late French poet Arthur Rimbaud which combines animation, music and puppetry.
It premiered at the South African National Arts Festival in Grahamstown from 29 June to 9 July, 2017 and it is a French-South African collaboration which features the likes of Naomi van Niekerk, Arnaud van Vliet and Yoann Pencolé.
The screening of the short film, Papali– We Dare You, will bring down the curtains on 29 September at the AF Hall.
The film, by Sesotho Media & Development, is about love and relationships among young people in the era of HIV/AIDS.
