Other events in Baltic States

An extensive French cultural program is planned in Latvia all year long in 2012, from outdoor ballet performances to, possibly, a festival of French films on Latvian State Television, informs LETA.

The program will be at its peak in May, but various cultural events will be taking place up until the end of the year, as the French Institute in Latvia Director Denis Duclos, Cooperation and Culture Attache at the French Embassy in Riga, told a press conference yesterday.

In May, French journalist Jean-Paul Kauffmann will visit Latvia to read lectures on his book about Kurzeme, the French Institute will participate in the European Night of Museums, the dance company Beau Geste will perform during the Baltic Ballet Festival, an exhibition about the French singer George Brassens will be opened, the institute will participate in an international festival of short films, there will be a Marguerite Duras week, a seminar on decentralized cooperation in Madona, and talks will be held on a proposed French film festival on Latvian State Television.

On February 3, a concert by guitarist Marc Ducret will be held at "Artelis" Club as part of the "Rigas ritmi" festival. Ducret is a guitarist who has greatly influenced the new generation of French musicians.

Francophonie Days in Latvia will run from March 19 to March 31, an exhibition of works by cartoonist Tomi Ungerer will be on display in Riga and Valmiera in April, and a series of lectures on museology in April and May, featuring lectures by an expert from the Louvre. "Compagnie des Quidams" will perform in Kuldiga during the city festival there in July, exhibition of Martine Lafon's works in Daugavpils is scheduled for September, and Vanessa Wagner will perform concerts in Riga and Daugavpils in November.

During the entire year, French films will be screened at the French Institute in Latvia, and families with children are invited to attend fairy-tale evenings at the institute.

The French Institute in Latvia marks its fifteenth anniversary this year, and the "French Spring" festival its fifth.