Francophone African Literature with Alain Mabanckou & Gustave Akakpo

We are delighted to welcome internationally acclaimed novelist from Congo-Brazzaville Alain Mabanckou and Togolese author Gustave Akakpo at the Institut français for a conversation on African francophone literature and theatre.

Gustave Akakpo was born in Togo in 1974. He writes plays and novels and organises writing workshops in Africa, France and the Caribbean, especially in prisons. He is associated artist at the TARMAC La Villette theatre in Paris. He has received many awards for his plays and novels, including the junior prize Plumes Togolaises at the Festival de Theatre de la Fraternité in Lomé, Togo, and the SACD dramaturgy prize for his play La Mère trop tôt. Commissioned by the Conseil Général de Seine-Saint-Denis for a play for young audiences, he writes the play Même les chevaliers tombent dans l'oubli, directed by Matthieu Roy - Cie du Veilleur in 2013. The play is premiered at the Avignon IN Festival in July 2014. Translated in English under the title Skins and Hoods, the play is performed as part of our Vive le Fringe! programme with an all-Scottish cast.

Alain Mabanckou is francophone Africa’s best-loved writer. Born in 1966 in Congo, he is an award-winning novelist, poet and essayist published in 15 languages. His books include African Psycho, Broken Glass, Memoirs of a Porcupine, Black Bazaar, and Tomorrow I’ll Be Twenty. He currently spends his time between Paris, Congo and Los Angeles, where he teaches literature at UCLA. Winner of prestigious prizes such as the Grand Prix de la Literature Henri Gal for his body of work in 2012 and the Prix Renaudot in 2006 for Memoirs of a Porcupine, he was a finalist for the 2015 Man Booker International Prize. His latest book Lumières de Pointe-Noire was translated in English and published by Serpentine in 2015.

Alain Mabanckou will appear at the Edinburgh International Book Festival alongside Etgar Keret on Tuesday 18 August at 19:00.

The talk (held in English) will be chaired by Lucie Campos, head of the Book Department at the Institut francais du Royaume-Uni.

ADMISSION FREE
Reservation is compulsory
Please book your tickets here or at our box office : 0131 225 5366

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To make the most of your afternoon, why not book tickets to see the performance of Gustave Akakpo’s Skins and Hoods by Cie du Veilleur at 14:00?
Info & tickets available on www.vivelefringe.org

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Image Alain Mabanckou: © Caroline Blache 2012

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Les Écossais, Pieds sur Terre!

We are delighted to host the launch for Les Écossais, Pieds Sur Terre the new book by Etienne Duval, followed by a Q&A with the author.

Etienne Duval was brought up in Paris by a Scottish mother. He was always intrigued by Scotland, a country he often visited as a child, and reported on as a journalist.

After four decades as a London-based correspondent, Etienne has come back for a detailed look at his maternal homeland. Les Écossais, Pieds Sur Terre, written over two years, is a loving but unsentimental journey around Scotland and beyond. It follows a route shaped like a question mark.

Starting in Glasgow, Etienne’s book takes in Edinburgh, the North-East, Shetland, the Western Isles, the community buyout of Knoydart, and Newtonmore, the very heart of the Highlands. Along the way, the author meets Scots both famous and unknown: Alex Morrison, a grizzled Glaswegian boxing coach, Hugh Macleod of Macleod, master of Dunvegan, Liz Lochhead, the Makar, leading historian Tom Devine, a retired fisherman, London exiles who made a fortune (or nearly sank); descendants of the diaspora, and even the ghost of David Livingstone, whose memory is still revered in Malawi.

During his trip through Scotland, Etienne witnesses the extraordinary final days of the referendum campaign. In his book, he shares the despair of ‘Yes’ voters on that September dawn, senses the euphoria of the losing side in the following months, and watches Alex Salmond hand over to Nicola Sturgeon.

He also takes the opportunity to debunk some movie myths about kilts, tartan identity and history. As his account shows, the reality of Scotland is much more thrilling and subtle than any fantasy Hollywood could ever produce.

It’s a fascinating, funny and surprising romp around Scotland and its history, and gives quite a few clues about what makes it different.

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Etienne Duval, who was educated in France and Britain, is a Franco-Scottish journalist based in Edinburgh and London. He started at the BBC World Service, and has reported all over the world for major French, Belgian and Swiss radio and TV stations. He still works as a TV reporter, and trains TV journalists and private clients in several countries. He also works as a consultant manager for two London-based Scottish charities.

Les Écossais, Pieds sur Terre! is published by Ateliers Henry Dougier, in the “Lignes de vie d'un peuple” collection.

Talk in French by Etienne Duval
Followed by Q&A in French and English
ADMISSION FREE
PLEASE BOOK IN ADVANCE: 0131 225 5366 or info ifecosse.org.uk

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Café Littéraire: Jean-Christophe Rufin

In partnership with the Book Department of the Institut français du Royaume-Uni, we are delighted to welcome Jean-Christophe Rufin, guest of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, for a ‘café littéraire’ at the Institut

Jean-Christophe Rufin has several hats. He is a French diplomat, historian, novelist and co-founder of Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders). He was the former president of Action Against Hunger and became the second youngest member of the Académie française in 2008. He was Ambassador of France in Senegal from 2007 to June 2010. Jean-Christophe Rufin is also a globetrotter and his exploration of the world is transmitted to the public through his books, which include The Abyssinian, Brazil Red, The Red Collar, and many more.

At the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Jean-Christophe Rufin will discuss with journalist Bee Rowlatt his latest book published in English, The Santiago Pilgrimage, translated by Malcolm Imrie & Martina Dervis and published by Quercus.

His following visit at the Institut français will be the occasion to talk about his many different lives, his experiences, and everything in between.

You can read the full portrait of Jean-Christophe Rufin on the French Book UK blog on Culturetheque.

Talk in English
Admission free
Booking is essential : 0131 225 5366 or by email

Image: © François Bouchon

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Café Littéraire: Tahar Ben Jelloun

In partnership with the Book Department of the Institut français du Royaume-Uni, we are delighted to welcome Tahar Ben Jelloun, guest of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, for an informal and open discussion at the Institut.

Tahar Ben Jelloun was born in Fez, Morocco in 1944, and emigrated to France in 1971. He is an award-winning and internationally bestselling novelist, essayist, critic and poet. He won the Prix Maghreb, the Prix Goncourt (the first North African to win France’s top literary prize), and the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. He is regularly shortlisted for the Nobel Prize in Literature, and his work has been shortlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize. He received the rank of Officier de la Légion d'honneur in 2008. He lives between Paris and Tangier.

Tahar Ben Jelloun will present his book About my Mother, translated by Ros Schwartz and recently published in the UK by Telegram, at the Edinburgh International Book Festival on August 28th at 12:30.

We are delighted and honoured to welcome him around the corner just after that for a ‘café littéraire’ !

To read the full portrait of Tahar Ben Jelloun, please visit the French Books UK blog on Culturethèque.

Talk in English
Admission free
Booking is essential: 0131 225 53 66 or by email.

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Café Littéraire: Faïza Guène & Sarah Ardizzone

Please note that the café littéraire will start at 14:00.


In partnership with the Book Department of the Institut français du Royaume-Uni, we are delighted to welcome Faïza Guène, guest of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, for an informal ‘café littéraire’ at the Institut.

Born in 1985, Faïza Guène is the child of Algerian immigrants and lived during her childhood in a council house in Pantin, near Paris. She started writing when she was 19 to talk about the lives of young people in the French suburbs. In 2011, she was selected by UNESCO as one of fifteen artists under 35 years to be awarded the title of “Young Artists for Intercultural Dialogue between Arab and Western Worlds”. In 2004 she directed and wrote the script of her short film named Nothing But Words. She continued writing and published books such as Just like tomorrow and Some dream for fools.

Guène will be at Edinburgh International Book Festival on Sunday 14 August, in conversation with her translator Sarah Ardizzone to discuss her new novel Men Don’t Cry.

At the institut français, they will continue the discussion and talk about Guène’s other books and their long-standing writer-translator relationship.

Learn more about Faiza Guène on theFrench Books UK blog on culturetheque.

Talk in English
Admission free.
Booking is essential: 0131 225 5366 or by email

Image ©Murdo Macleod

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Café Littéraire: Adrien Bosc

In partnership with the Book Department of the Institut français du Royaume-Uni, we are delighted to welcome Adrien Bosc, guest of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, for a ‘café littéraire’ at the Institut.

Adrien Bosc was born in Avignon in 1986. He is the founder of Éditions du Sous-Sol and the magazines Desports and Feuilleton. Last January, he was appointed deputy director of the Editions du Seuil - a major French publishing house. His success as a publisher echoes his success as a writer: Constellation, his first novel, was a literary sensation in France. The book is now available in the United Kingdom thanks to translator Willard Wood and publisher Serpent’s Tail.

Originally published by Stock in France in 2014, it was awarded the Grand prix du roman de l'Académie française 2014, the Prix littéraire de la Vocation 2014, the Prix Gironde Nouvelles Écritures 2014, and the Prix Paris Diderot-Esprits libres 2015… And it received an English Pen Award here in the UK.

Sat 13 Aug 12:00pm - 13:00pm he will be at the Institut francais for a free and informal discussion about narrative non-fiction before heading to the Edinburgh International Book Festival, in discussion with Miriam Moss

Read more about Adrien Bosc on the French Books UK blog on Culturethèque.

Talk in English
Admission free
Booking is essential : 0131 225 5366 or by email

Image © Jean-Christophe Marmara

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Vive le Fringe! 2019 at the Institut français d'Ecosse

Vive le Fringe!, now in its 9th year, is the Institut français d'Ecosse’s celebration of Edinburgh’s August festivals. Those who attended in 2018 will note that we have invested heavily in our main performance space. Now equipped with retractable raked seating for 80, a suspended truss, and improved light and sound equipment, the Salle Emilienne Moreau-Evrard is set to become one of Edinburgh’s finest and most flexible venues for music, cinema, dance, and theatre. Our 2019 programme reflects this with a varied lineup of live performance, digital media, and classical music.

And while Vive le Fringe! evokes the name of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, it also celebrates and promotes France’s official participation in the capital’s other major festivals: the Edinburgh International Festival, the Edinburgh Art Festival, the Edinburgh International Book Festival, and the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. So dive into this guide and discover what France and the Institut français d'Ecosse are bringing to Edinburgh.

Long live the Fringe!

“Worldwidewestern”
Raphaël Gouisset / Les Particules

No horse, no band of Apache warriors waiting with knives between their teeth, no pretty French cancan dancer for the hero to shag, no grit, dust or duty for historical accuracy. This cowboy doesn’t care. The Wild West is just a click away on the World Wide Web. Fascinated by cowboys’ squinty-eyed looks, and armed only with the savoir-faire of a modern geek, Raphael Gouisset, Associate Artist at La Manufacture Centre Dramatique National Nancy-Lorraine, stars in this digital western lauded for showing ‘theatre and digital technologies can join forces for the best of live performance’ (L'Est Républicain).

Times and dates
Length: 55 minutes
12, 13, 16-18, 20-25 August at 7pm
14 August at 3.30pm
Institut français d'Écosse | salle Emilienne Moreau-Evrard (1st floor)
£10, £8 (concession), £6 (family)

Book here

Right in the Eye - Live Movie-Concert of Georges Méliès’ Films
Alcoléa & Cie

A live trio of French musicians intertwine playful modern compositions and the fantasy of the legendary filmmaker Georges Méliès, father of cinema and the inventor of special effects. French composer Jean-François Alcoléa and his fellow musicians use sound and image to create a universe as inventive as the filmmaker’s creations were. 'It is at once inventive, elegant and moving’ (Chronique, Festival OFF d'Avignon). 'Creatively intelligent. All the sounds and music brought Georges Méliès’ films to life’ (Houstonian).

Times and dates
Length: 1 hour
2-4, 6-10, 12-14, 16-25 August at 1.30pm
11 August at 8pm
Institut français d'Écosse | salle Emilienne Moreau-Evrard (1st floor)
£10, £8 (concession), £6 (family)

Book here

Wagner and Brahms - Classical Music Concert
Alec Frank-Gemmill

Alec Frank-Gemmill directs Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll and the Serenade No 1 by Brahms in its original version for nonet. Ensemble 1880 comprises the best classical musicians Scotland has to offer, performing on instruments of the time.

Times and dates
Length: 1 hour 15 minutes
13 August at 9pm
Institut français d'Écosse | salle Emilienne Moreau-Evrard (1st floor)
£10, £8 (concession), £6 (family)

Book here

Debussy and Beethoven - Chamber Music Concert
Quatuor Mona

This young string quartet, founded in 2018, is born out of the friendship of four former students at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris. In addition to their participation to the Edinburgh International Festival, they will offer a rendition of the Debussy Quartet and of the Beethoven op. 59 no. 2 at the Institut.

Verena Chen, violin
Roxana Rastegar, violin
Arianna Smith, viola
Caroline Sypniewski, cello

Times and dates
Length: 1 hour
18 August at 8.30pm
Free

Book here

Institut français d'Ecosse
Venue 168
Salle Emilienne Moreau-Evrard (first floor)
West Parliament Square
Edinburgh EH1 1RF

Access Details
The Institut français d'Ecosse and the Salle Emilienne Moreau-Evrard are fully accessible with step-free access available at West Parliament Square and George IV Bridge.

IFE Membership and Discount Rates
The Institut programmes many members-only events and offers discounted member rates at other events. Find out more about becoming a member of the Institut français d'Ecosse.

Photo Credits
Raphaël Gouisset / Les Particules; Alcoléa & Cie; Alec-Frank Gemmill; ProQuartet centre européen de musique de chambre.

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