Le French Festival 2023 (LeFF 2023) has kicked off in Malaysia on 25 May 2023, being the 21st edition to discover the diverse of French culture. LeFF 2023 will focus on three facets of French culture:
- Bringing the contemporary by highlighting on present-day artists and creations without overlooking its much-appreciated foundations such as traditional French gastronomy and classical music.
- With multicultural nature of the event – bringing a part of France to Malaysia – but also invites other cultures to join the dance.
- Multidisciplinarity is made central, by putting more and more artistic practices at the forefront.
The event is made possible by two Alliances Françaises in Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, together with the Embassy of France in Malaysia and presented by L’Oréal Paris. LeFF 2023 will last one month from 25 May to 25 June 2023, which will be travelling to four different cities starting from Kuala Lumpur (25 May – 11 June) before visiting Penang (8 June – 18 June), Johor Bahru (15 June – 18 June), and for the first time, Sarawak’s beautiful city of Kuching (22 June – 25 June).
LeFF 2023 offers a myriad of performances in visual arts, dance, theatre and music besides its dense movie program, has gathered a large number of participating French eateries for the pleasure of the festival’s gourmets, and keeps on offering new activities for young audiences. Some of the fun-filled activities in the line-up include:
- 18 recent French films such as the Asian Premiere of the celebrated cloak-and-dagger movie The Three Musketeers: d’Artagnan, The Innocent, an awarded comedy with a unique plot twist, or Father & Soldier, a historical movie starring the talented Omar Sy, as well as The Nannies, which looks at the daily lives of Parisian babysitters with a unique touch of humour and societal critique.
- Cercle, a solo dance show by French-Laotian choreographer Olé Khamchanla displaying various cultural influences from the West and the East.
- Anti-spectacular: the colours of time passing by – a duo photography exhibition by Lorraine Thiria (France) and Nadirah Zakariya (Malaysia) at Alliance Francaise of Kuala Lumpur.
- Unique dining experiences at Nathalie Gourmet Studio for instance, coupling French fine cuisine and cinema with the cine-dinner Délicieux. Baking and pastry workshops by PAUL make French delicacies so easy!
- La Fête de la musique – a two-fold musical journey or the joyful at heart starting at The Godown and ending in a lively array of venues in Chinatown to discover a diversity of genres and artists.
- “Riquet à la houppe” – a family-friendly performance told by KL Shakespeare Players with mesmerizing projected drawings by the Malaysian illustrator, Michelle Lee.
- Around the World brought by Euroasia – a classical ensemble of musicians accompanied by acclaimed soprano Cecilia Yap and a mystery guest musician.
Le French Festival 2023 is also supported by its sponsors and long-standing partners:
Festival Presenter
L’Oréal Paris
Sponsors
AGS, Airbus, Bluestar AMG, Cartier, Decathlon, Escatec, PAUL, Safran
Official Partners
Astro Shaw, CCIFM, Champignons, Cinema Online, Delia Wines, Entier, Euroasia, Golden Screen Cinemas, KL Shakespeare Players, Le Gourmandin, Martell, Monin, Nathalie Gourmet Studio, Penang Arts Council, Penang Library, Penang Philharmonic Orchestra, Penang Tourist Guides Association, Perrier, Sarawak Media Group, Sofitel Kuala Lumpur Damansara, Sutra Foundation, The Godown, TVS, UCSI and Unimas.
For more information on other activities, please visit https://www.alliancefrancaise.org.my/alliance-francaise-de-kuala-lumpur/
Tickets for the entire festival’s program are available on the website www.alliancefrancaise.org.my/le-french-festival/
Tickets for the French films at LeFF23 are already on sale via the GSC app, website www.gsc.com.my or through the e-kiosks in participating GSC cinemas.