In his latest project, on display at SFMOMA through 2020, the French artist JR dedicates a 100-foot digital mural to the city of San Francisco and its many residents. JR, 36, has come a long way since his teenage years as a graffiti artist in Paris. After finding a lost camera in the Métro, he began taking pictures of other taggers and...
The United States, the land of football, may well be hosting the Rugby World Cup in 2031. This ambition is a reflection of the boom in Major League Rugby, a U.S. rugby union competition, which has largely been made possible by French players, coaches, and managers. Between late April and early May, two French players announced they were being transferred...
John von Sothen is an American columnist who lives in Paris, where he covers entertainment and society issues for French Vanity Fair. He moved there after meeting his wife, Anaïs, in a café in Brooklyn. They now have two kids who, with Anaïs, are featured throughout his first book, Monsieur Mediocre, which is ultimately a love letter to France — to...
After Merry Christmas and Farewell, director Christian Carion has once again teamed up with Guillaume Canet, who plays a father in search of his missing son. This unapologetic thriller filmed in a single week with a half-improvised screenplay will be released in the United States on Friday. Julien (Guillaume Canet) has been absent as both a husband and a father,...
An eight-minute interview with a headline-making personality is the successful concept of L’Invité, show broadcast every day from Monday through Friday at 1:45 pm EST on TV5MONDE. As part of the 72nd Cannes Film Festival from May 14 through 25, special editions of L'Invité will be broadcast from the iconic town. The line-up will include interviews with leading directors, actors, and other...
The latest film by Olivier Assayas, in U.S. theaters on May 3, offers a peek into the lives of the Parisian bourgeoisie. A satirical comedy carried brilliantly by Juliette Binoche, Guillaume Canet, and Vincent Macaigne. Presented in competition at the last Mostra de Venise, Non-Fiction tells the story of Alain (Guillaume Canet), a renowned, fortysomething publisher in Paris married to...
[Partner article] The Strasbourg-based CroisiEurope boat company is a pioneer in river cruises and has been sailing along the waterways of France for more than 40 years. Its diverse offering includes exclusive destinations and unique experiences and is designed to delight both newcomers and connoisseurs. The M.S. Renoir is anchored just a stone’s throw from the Eiffel Tower on the...
A sculpture by Jeff Koons — an enormous bouquet of flashy-colored steel tulips — is set to be installed in the gardens of the Petit Palais in the 8th arrondissement of Paris this fall. The decision was made in the wake of controversy surrounding the sculpture, which is inspired by the Statue of Liberty and was designed by the artist...
At 19 years old, French director Nathan Ambrosioni already has heads turning. His feature-length film, Paper Flags (Les drapeaux de papier), paints an emotional picture of a man released from prison who reconnects with his sister after a 12-year absence. The movie has been praised by critics and audiences alike. The young director has already been compared to Ken Loach...
It should have been a celebration of French language and literature; instead it kindled a controversy. Last month’s national book fair, Livre Paris, was rocked by the organizers’ decision to highlight la littérature “Young Adult” (rather than jeune adulte) through a series of equally ill-named events. Say hello to la Bookroom, le Photobooth, le Bookquizz, and even un Brainsto (presumably...
May Allah Bless France! is an autobiographical film by Abd Al Malik, a French rapper of Congolese origin, and will be screened on April 12 at NYU as part of the Black Experience in French Cinema festival. In 2015, we met with the artist and spokesperson for underprivileged populations. France-Amérique: May Allah Bless France! is the adaptation of your autobiographical...
At the age of 83, Christo is about to make a life-long dream come true. As far back as 1962, the Bulgarian-American artist and his wife, Jeanne-Claude, already wanted to use a huge canvas to cover the Arc de Triomphe, a leading symbol of France. Entitled Projet pour Paris, Place de l’Etoile-Charles de Gaulle, this work will be on show from...
The latest movie by Camille Vidal-Naquet, in U.S. theaters on April 10, follows a young man who sells his body on the streets of Paris for a bit of cash. Léo (Félix Maritaud), 22, works as a prostitute to earn a little money in the Bois de Boulogne park in Paris or outside an airport. The romantic but "wild" young man...
For her first English-language movie, in U.S. theaters on Friday, French director Claire Denis has made a successful foray into the science-fiction genre. The result is a space odyssey carried by Juliette Binoche and Robert Pattinson. We last heard from Claire Denis with Let the Sunshine In, a romantic comedy that arrived in U.S. cinemas last spring. This year, we...
A major exhibition at the Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts will explore Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s depiction of the stars and entertainments of 19th-century Montmartre, the bohemian center of Parisian nightlife. The exhibition examines how Toulouse-Lautrec pushed his art in new directions to portray the celebrities of his time — cabaret stars Yvette Guilbert and Aristide Bruant, dancers Jane Avril and...
Agnès Varda, the leading light of the French New Wave who passed away on March 29 at the age of 90, was as much at home in Paris as in California, where she directed six films between 1967 and 1981 and where she received an Honorary Oscar in November 2017. We met up with the French artist in 2013 when she was...
French novelist and playwright Laurent Gaudé was born in 1972 and has written several plays, novels, short stories, and opera libretti. He was awarded the Prix Goncourt des Lycéens in 2002 for Death of an Ancient King, an epic novel about a fictional African monarch, followed by the Prix Goncourt in 2004 for his novel The Scortas’ Sun, which paints...
What if "Franco-responsibility" was the key to guaranteeing the future of the French language in Louisiana? This new term was coined in Quebec to describe a simple goal — increasing the use of French in daily life. On Wednesday evenings in Lafayette, Louisiana, almost every customer in the Blue Moon Saloon speaks French. Everyone meets at 7 pm for the...
Broadcast twice a week on TV5MONDE, #VersionFrançaise is a television show focused on all things chic, design, fashion, and food à la française. Each episode lasts 26 minutes and offers a showcase for the latest talents and trends from the French capital. Interview with Katherina Marx, the producer and host of the show. You designed #VersionFrançaise to be a "news show...
Just a few miles from Lafayette, Louisiana, six musicians are putting their all into passing down the heritage of the French language and Cajun music. Their band, the Lost Bayou Ramblers, was formed in 1990 by brothers Louis and Andre Michot, and received a 2018 Grammy Award for Best Regional Roots Music Album. Director Bruno Doria has made a "rockumentary"...
Florian Zeller, 39, is the French writer with the most works adapted for the stage in the United States. The Mother is the first instalment of a familial trilogy and is currently playing at the Linda Gross Theater in Manhattan, starring Isabelle Huppert. Written in 2010, the play portrays the life of a woman gripped by loneliness after her children...
