Events
News and events at the Centre de recherches francophones belges.
Edinburgh Festival Fringe - Wallonia-Brussels showcase
Since 2018, the Centre de Recherches Francophones Belges has been partnering with Wallonie-Bruxelles International (WBI) to bring Francophone Belgian culture to Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Each year, up to four artists and companies from French-speaking Belgium have been selected by Wallonie-Bruxelles Théâtre Danse (WBTD) to showcase their talents in venues including Dancebase and Summerhall.
In 2022, two of the physical theatre performances streamed online in 2020 finally make their way to Edinburgh: False Start (Ingrid Von Wantoch Rekowski / Lucilia Caesar); and Emilienne Flagothier's We Should be Dancing.
They are joined by new dance pieces from Serge Aimé Coulibaly (Fitry), and Alessandro Bernardeschi and Mauro Paccagnella (Closing Party (arrivederci e grazie)).
Find out more about the Wallonia-Brussels showcase 2022
Earlier events in the series
| Date(s) | Venue | Title | In brief |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27 August 2020 | Online | Golem | A staged dialogue between artists from different disciplines and generations born from an encounter between dancer / choreographer Julien Carlier and sculptor Mike Sprogis. Performed by Compagnie Abis. |
| 27 August 2020 | Online | Strach, A Fear Song |
An opera singer brought into a circus environment to see the world through a brand new lens. Preformed by Théâtre d'Un Jour; directed by Patrick Masset. |
| 27 August 2020 | Online | We Should be Dancing | A tragicomic documentary piece of physical theatre directed by Emilienne Flagothier with four actors reproducing the movements of young children filmed in parks and playgrounds. |
| 27 August 2020 | Online | False Start | A piece of physical theatre directed by Ingrid von Wantoch Rekowski exploring, dissecting and reconstructing the crucial moment of the sporting 'false start'. Performed by the Lucilia Caesar company. |
| 31 July to 25 August 2019 | Summerhall |
Before the End |
A one-woman show by Belgian actor and violinist Catherine Graindorge using words, image and music to tell the story of her lawyer father Michel's life and death. With Théâtre les Tanneurs. |
| 31 July to 26 August 2019 | Assembly Checkpoint |
Comète |
A live rock concert for young moshers by Compagnie Dérivation's Belgian indie supergroup. |
| 31 July to 25 August 2019 | Summerhall |
FrontX |
A groundbreaking mix of dance, hiphop, beatboxing and burlesque from Belgian choreographer Milan Emmanuel and No Way Back. |
| 2 to 18 August 2019 | Dancebase |
The Steve Reich Project |
A re-imagining of three of Reich’s most famous works in dance by Belgian choreographer Isabella Soupart in partnership with the MP4 Quartet, in which dancer Shantala Pèpe performs to live scores. |
| 21 to 26 August 2018 | Dancebase |
Atomic 3001 |
A futuristic dance ritual and artistic collaboration between choreographer Leslie Mannès, composer Thomas Turine AKA Sitoid and light designer Vincent Lemaître. |
| 3 to 14 August 2018 | Zoo Southside | Stoel (Chair) | A performance by Compagnie Nyash involving two dancers, 15 chairs, and the rhythm of cello and voice. |
| 19 to 27 August 2018 | Zoo Southside |
Autóctonos II |
A quintet between a pianist / composer and four dancers questioning what it is to belong to a group. A piece based on the physical tenacity and commitment of its performers. |
| 2 to 26 August 2018 | Summerhall |
Backup |
An award-winning piece of physical theatre by the Focus and Chaliwaté companies exploring social lethargy in the face of climate change. |
Conferences and symposia
Date: 27 April 2018
Venue: 50 George Square, University of Edinburgh
Keynote speakers: Jane McKie; Joanne Brooks; Susan Bainbrigge
In brief: A one-day symposium exploring the overlap between the therapeutic encounter and the writer’s relationship with the poem. Developing out of an earlier interdisciplinary conference (see below), the event comprised presentations and discussions on poetry, listening, and creativity, and a short writing workshop.
Dates: 7 and 8 December 2017
Venue: 50 George Square, University of Edinburgh
Keynote speakers: Liz Allison (UK); Marie Darrieussecq (France); Jean-Pierre Lebrun (Belgium); Nicole Malinconi (Belgium)
In brief: A two-day international conference exploring the ways in which talking therapies have been depicted in 20th century and contemporary creative outputs in French and other languages. Comprising plenary talks by authors and psychoanalysts, c. 30 academic papers in 12 panel sessions, and a screening of the 2008 film Un conte de Noël, the event led to the publication, in September 2020, of a book edited by Susan Bainbrigge and Maren Scheurer.
Find out more about the book on the Cambridge Scholars website
Dates: 10 and 11 November 2015
Venues: Institut Français d’Ecosse (Day 1); Chrystal MacMillan Building, University of Edinburgh (Day 2); Filmhouse (Day 2)
Keynote speaker: Stéfan Liberski
Chair: Dr Susan Bainbrigge (University of Edinburgh)
In brief: A two-day event exploring adaptations of Amélie Nothomb’s writings on Japan. Beginning with a screening of Alain Corneau's 2004 film Stupeur et Tremblements, the event also comprised a conference on the making of Stéfan Liberski’s Tokyo Fiancée and an in-depth discussion with the director. It ended with a public screening of Tokyo Fiancée and Q&A with Liberski at Edinburgh's Filmhouse cinema.
Lectures, talks, discussions and readings
Date: 19 March 2021
Venue: Online (Zoom)
Organisers: Centre de recherches francophones belges; Institut français d’Ecosse; Institut français du Royaume-Uni
In brief: An online talk - in French - with celebrated Congolese author In Koli Jean Bofane. Hosted by Edouard Notte, the event was introduced by Laurence Païs, Director of the Institut français d’Écosse, and by the University of Edinburgh's Rector, Debora Kayembe.
Date: 3 February 2020
Venue: Institut français d’Ecosse
Events series: DELC Research Seminar Series
In brief: A free public talk by Benoît Peeters - novelist, graphic novelist, intellectual biographer, cultural historian and screen-writer. Held after an Icons in the Making masterclass as part of the DELC Research Seminar Series, the talk centred on Les Cités Obscures, the series of graphic novels Peeters co-authored with François Schuiten between 1983 and 2008. Peeters has also previously delivered lectures on graphic novels to first year students in LLC via video link from Lancaster University where he is Professor of Graphic Fiction and Comic Art.
Film screenings and festivals
Date: 4 November 2021
Venue: Online (Zoom)
Organisers: The Centre de recherches francophones belges; SCILT (Scotland’s National Centre for Languages); the Universities of Strathclyde and Leicester; Wallonia-Brussels International
In brief: A screening of the climate activism documentary Sangterra, and Q&A with its Belgian producer Christophe Smets.
Date: 10 November 2019
Venue: Filmhouse
In brief: A screening of the 2018 film 'Keep Going' adapted from the novel 'Continuer' by Laurent Mauvignier. Screened as part of the French Film Festival UK, the film was followed by a conversation with its director (and screenplay writer) Joachim Lafosse.
Date: 20 November 2018
Venue: Filmhouse
In brief: A screening of the debut feature film by Belgian actor, turned director, François Damiens. Supported by Wallonie Bruxelles International (WBI), the screening was bookended by Meet the Director sessions with Damiens at Filmhouse cinema.
Fête de la francophonie
Cartoons in WW1 conference
Museums, memorials and exhibitions. The renewal of the offer in the context of the Centenary
Le questionnement de plumes féminines dans le fantastique belge francophone, entre cryptozoologie et métamorphoses
Le corps problématique du personnage de théâtre. Marivaux, Beckett, Guillaume Galienne
Introduction à la littérature francophone de Belgique
Cinéma: Les Villes Tentaculaires
Our City
L’Homme qui répare les femmes
