Popular French boy band ‘Bel Plaine’ will come alive in Colombo at the French Spring Festival to be held in Sri Lanka from 19 June to 15 July. The third French Spring Festival in Sri Lanka is organized by the Embassy of France, the Alliance Française de Kotte in Colombo and the General Delegation of the [...]

The Sundaytimes Sri Lanka

French Spring Time Festival

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Popular French boy band ‘Bel Plaine’ will come alive in Colombo at the French Spring Festival to be held in Sri Lanka from 19 June to 15 July. The third French Spring Festival in Sri Lanka is organized by the Embassy of France, the Alliance Française de Kotte in Colombo and the General Delegation of the Alliance Française in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, together with the Sri Lankan Ministry of Culture and the Arts.

This multi-disciplinary festival is for the most part free of charge and open to the public. It will be held from 19th June to 15th July in Colombo in various venues including: Park Street Mews, Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel, National Film Corporation, Sri Lanka Foundation… Some events will also take place in Kandy, Matara, Galle, Jaffna and Malé in the Maldives.

This festival proposes events in various artistic fields such as music, dance, cinema photography, visual arts as well as science and French cuisine. The French Spring Festival is organised by the Embassy of France in Sri Lanka and the Maldives and the Alliance Française network, in partnership with Emirates Airlines, the official airline for the Festival and the Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel, the official hotel, with the support of several other French and Sri Lankan companies.

The bands playing will include Ecole Francaise, Thriloka, Wagon Park, Julius, The Brahminy Kites, Sketch City Saturday, Naadro, Bel Plaine, Paranoid Earthling and Romulus.

The event starts at 3.30pm at The Park street Mews with the music of ‘Bel Plaine’ and entrance is free. The band ‘Bel Plaine’ will perform at Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel on 19thof June at 8.30pm and at Park Street Mews again on 20th of June at 9.00pm.  The boys will be in action at the Peddlar’s Inn Café in Galle on Sunday 22nd of June from 6.30pm. Awarded with the “Paris Young talent Prize” by the city of Paris in 2013, Bel Plaine is one of the most touching and promising bands in France.

Born in 2011, Bel Plaine is composed of 3 members: Morgan and Antoine, both singers and guitar players and Cedric at the drums. The novelty of the band comes from the mixing of the diversity of musical genres the group’s members come from: rock, folk, pop and even jazz. This creates catchy and accessible music, tinged with folk, sometimes rock music and overall vocal harmony. After playing at the biggest music festivals in France (les Francopholies, Solidays,…) and in many venues in Paris and around France, they will be playing abroad for the very first time in Sri Lanka.

Their first EP, included in the press kit, was auto-produced, mixed and mastered in New York by Joe LaPorta (Beach House, Foo Fighters, Youth Lagoon) and will soon be followed by an album. Romulus will raise the rhythm at La Voile Blanche with several other Sri Lankan DJs for an unforgettable Beach Party
CINEMA – the magic of the seventh art: the second part of the festival will showcase Sri Lankan and French co-operation in the field of cinema. Srinath Christopher Samarasinghe, a French filmmaker with Sri Lankan origins, comes to Colombo to present his movie, shot in Paris: A Cloud in the Glass of Water. The film was selected at Festivals in Rotterdam, Dubai and Montreal.

BOOKS – tribute to the Father of Sinhala Cinema: Launched during the French Spring Festival will also be the Sinhala translation of “Lester by Lester … as told to Kumar de Silva”. This book is a celebration of half a century of locally and internationally acclaimed excellence, chronicling the creativity of a lifetime of the Doyen of Sri Lankan Cinema, Dr. Lester James Peries.

The Sinhala translation of this unique story is a Samaranayake Publication and has been translated into Sinhala by Athula Samarakoon, Head of the Department of Fine Arts of the University of Peradeniya. The book’s twenty chapters are devoted to each of the maestro’s twenty films, from ‘Rekawa’ (The Line of Destiny – 1956) his first, to ‘Ammawarune’ (Elegy for a Mother – 2006) his last, showcasing and chronicling half a century of filmmaking. The English version of this book, launched seven years ago is a Vijitha Yapa publication.

CUISINE: This year again, following the success for French cuisine during the last two editions of the French Spring Festival, the French Embassy will once again partner with the Cinnamon Lakeside Hotel to invite a French Chef who will conjure the delicacy of French cuisine in Colombo. French gastronomy is renowned the world over for its quality and its diversity. Born out of a remarkable age-old heritage, French gastronomy is evolving all the time thanks to the creativity of our chefs whose aim is always to surprise and delight us.
The Amazing Science exhibition will then breathe fresh life into scientific innovation. This exhibition revives the “pulp” look through a blend of scientific research, creative writing and popular culture. From the infinitely small to the infinitely large, the most advanced areas of science are now the realm of unexpected encounters with the real and the imaginary worlds. Each of the exhibition’s panels feature scientific visuals based on a specific research area.

PHOTOGRAPHY – Notre Dame alive in Colombo: France’s celebrated Notre-Dame Cathedral comes alive at the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery, Colombo on the weekend of Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 July 2014 with ‘Nostalgie04 – Notre Dame de Paris’, an exhibition of black and white photographs by media personality Kumar de Silva. This annual exhibition brings to the forefront little noticed facets of the famous Parisian landmark, which is often taken for granted.  The exhibition will continue from Monday 14 to Sunday 20 July at the spacious air-conditioned hall of the Alliance Française de KOTTE’s new home at 11, Keppetipola Mawatha in Colombo 5.

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