Bonjour, Comment allez-vous? Ça roule? Anyway, The 16th edition of Le French Festival (LFF) is back, an eagerly anticipated event on the annual Malaysian cultural agenda. This year looks to be the most packed as they will be celebrating the LFF in 3 states, Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Kota Kinabalu! I still remember the first time I attended the event and it was held in a small space at HELP college (which is now a big pile of rubble next to the Pusat Damansara MRT station). How they have grown over the years and getting stronger is amazing.

From the 4th of May to 18th of June, audiences in Malaysia can look forward to a selection of the latest French films, live shows with a number of visiting French artists, exhibitions, gastronomy events and a series of Live concerts (the list goes on but these are the ones I'm interested in)! You can check out the complete listing of events and activities at their website (click here).



A quick rundown for those of you that's unfamiliar with the French Festival, it's organized by Alliance Française and the France Embassy supported by the Institut  Français. With the roots and cornerstone of the festival being the Film Festival, they partnered with GSC to feature some amazing line up of movies across their cinemas in the Klang Valley, Penang and Kota Kinabalu.

I've got a head start and caught the movie Monsieur Chocolat and I have to say it's one of the movies you should catch. It tells the story of Rafael Padilla, a former slave that became a star clown in PAris. Changing the way clown works and perform with his friend George Footit. Of course, when there's a high, there's also the low point in the movie, watch it and you'd know. Don't want to spoil movie for those that has yet to watch it. T’sais?



The other movies they'll feature is Cigarettes et chocolat chaud, La Vache, Rosalie Blum, Nos Futurs and L'Odyssée. Gustave Kervern (Actor/Filmmaker) that is acting in Cigarettes et chocolat chaud will be in town for meet & greet on the 5th of May at GSC Pavilion. Want to meet him? Head there at 9pm to see him.

There's also Live Events and Shows, from concerts to dance and Performance Arts, again, visit their website for the complete list. For those that's into architecture, Jacques Ferrier will be in town with his exhibition from the 18th of May to 1st June. There'll also be a conference with Jacques but it's by Invite-Only.


Lastly, there's the gastronomy & lifestyle events, with mixology workshops to champagne & cognag tastings. For those that wants to learn how to cook french dishes, there's also some cooking classes you can attend. I'm most attracted to the Wine Tasting with Chateau de Lafont at AFKL. After all, it's wine! And there's the Flea Market at AFKL on the 20th May which is dangerous for me as my hands tend to go for eccentric stuff. It's looking to be quite an interesting May and June with all these activities in store. Can't wait!

Visit http://lefrenchfestival.com.my/ to find out more. Until then, time for me to plan out my timing so I can visit at least one or two of the activities that I have my eyes on. Ça te dit?