March 18 to 26 is being celebrated internationally as French language and Francophonie week, and here in Jamaica one of the highlights is the staging of the Francophone Film Festival from March 20 to April 3.

This is one of the biggest foreign language festivals organised yearly in Jamaica, and will feature films from France, Canada, Belgium and Senegal. The venue for the festival will be the Multifunctional Room by the Main Library at The University of the West Indies (UWI). Movies will be shown on Mondays and Wednesdays starting at 7:00 pm. All movies will be subtitled in English and admission is free.

According to the organisers, lovers of French and the culturally curious will be invited to voyage to the French-speaking world through a series of cultural shows and activities spanning just over one week. This annual event is organised by the Alliance Française de la Jamaïque and its partners, the Embassy of Belgium, the Canadian High Commission, the Embassy of France, the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures (UWI), the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, Shortwood Teachers’ College and the Jamaica Association of French Teachers.

On March 24, Canada takes the spotlight with renowned Québécois storyteller Fred Pellerin performing his newest work at the Edna Manley College, starting at 7:00 pm. Pellerin also wrote the script for the Canadian film Babine which will be on show at the UWI on Wednesday, March 22 as part of the Francophone Film Festival.

Students of French islandwide also take to the stage during the week of activities. On March 24, students will showcase their talent in French through song, dance, drama and poetry at the Francophonie Festival for Schools, vying for top prizes from event sponsor, HaperCollins Publisher. This event starts at 10:00 am and will be held at the Shortwood Teachers’ College.