SINGAPORE – Lounge and picnic on the lawn at the Shaw Foundation Symphony Stage to the jazzy strains of French saxophonist Samy Thiebault’s Quartet.
Or head to Ion Orchard for an authentic French marche (market) experience which will highlight French produce as well as tempting treats from the French territory of New Caledonia.
These two events will bookend Voilah!, the French festival which spans everything from arts and culture to food and education.
Festivities will kick off at the Singapore Botanic Gardens on Oct 29 with the free Jazz Au Jardin concert, which will also feature the Jazz Association Singapore Orchestra and home-grown jazz legends Jeremy Monteiro and Louis Soliano.
Mr Johan Choucavy, the French embassy’s cultural attache, said at the Voilah! media launch on Tuesday: “After two years of safe management measures and social distancing, it was very important for us to have an event that’s very inclusive.”
Besides arts and culture events, the festival will include an extensive food programme.
As Ms Berenice Delaporte, the embassy’s communications and partnership manager, said: “The French and Singaporeans have a love of food in common.”
Tiong Bahru Bakery has created a salted egg croissant for the festival, and there are mixology and baking workshops as well as dinners featuring French regional cuisines.
Voilah! is organised by the French embassy and has become a fixture on Singapore’s annual calendar. It has long partnered with home-grown festivals and institutions to programme and curate events.
Ms Pooja Nansi, director of the Singapore Writers Festival for which France is the country focus this year, said at the media launch that the festival had delayed the collaboration till they were sure in-person appearances could happen again.
This year’s festival will feature nine French authors who work across a wide range of genres, from comic books to novels to the big screen.
Ms Nansi said: “It is nice to have these writers in person. We tried very hard to curate across genres and challenge the narrative that French literature is very classical. Almost 50 per cent are women authors.”
The women writers include Bounthavy Suvilay, who writes about manga, anime and video games; award-winning novelist Emma Becker; and poet and children’s author Julia Billet. A star attraction whose name will resonate beyond literary circles is footballer-turned-social activist Lilian Thuram, who was part of the French national team that won the 1998 World Cup. He will speak at two sessions about the concept of home and, of course, the beautiful game.
Classical music fans will have four events to look forward to.
The Tana Quartet will be playing Philip Glass’ King Lear while French maestro Ludovic Morlot will conduct the Singapore Symphony Orchestra in a programme highlighting Darius Milhaud’s rollicking Le Boeuf sur le toit.
Chamber Music and Arts Singapore will present The Salon Of Princesse De Polignac: In Search Of Lost Time, marking the centennial death anniversary of novelist Marcel Proust, and home-grown troupe The Opera People will stage Femme X: Baroque Heroines, featuring baroque cantatas about three mythological women – Ariane, Lucretia and Circe.
Film fans will also have plenty to look forward to.
The 38th edition of the French Film Festival, the longest-running foreign film festival here, will offer everything from thrillers to romance to animation. There will also be free screenings at various public libraries.
One highlight which Voilah! patron Boo Junfeng is looking forward to is the tribute to Jean-Luc Godard, who died in September aged 91. There will be a retrospective of the legendary French-Swiss director’s oeuvre at The Projector.
Local film-maker Boo, whose works Sandcastle (2010) and Apprentice (2016) have been showcased at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, told a charming story about visiting Paris for the first time as a 19-year-old student at the tail end of an exchange stint in Barcelona, Spain.
“I had only €50 and my debit card wasn’t working properly. The first thing I wanted to see was the Eiffel Tower. I called my mother and the lights at the Eiffel Tower lit up. It felt really cinematic and it was a highlight of my first trip to France.”
As a film-maker, he added, the support from French audiences and the French film industry has been “incredibly precious”.
His next film project will also draw on it.
“I can’t reveal details, but the relationship with my French producers remains very strong.”
For more information on Voilah!, go to https://str.sg/wHjb
5 lifestyle, design and sports highlights at Voilah! festival
Tour De France Prudential Singapore Criterium
Watch out for 2022 champion Jonas Vingegaard and British cyclist Mark Cavendish at this weekend race, the latest addition to the Tour de France schedule. There will be 32 cyclists from eight of the world’s best professional cycling teams. Cycling enthusiasts can also sign up for amateur races.
There will also be a one-night show, Synthony, with DJs, singers and a live orchestra.
Where: The Float @ Marina Bay, 20 Raffles Avenue
When: Oct 29 and 30, 7am to 9.30pm
Admission: From $118 for a weekend pass
Tour De Singapore
No physical exertion needed in this restaurant hop, which will take diners through various restaurants in the Central Business District. Start with aperitifs and snacks at Poisson, located in a restored shophouse in Bukit Pasoh. Then it is on to Boeuf, situated across from the Thian Hock Keng Temple, for red wine and mains. End the evening at Noir with desserts.
Where: Various locations
When: Nov 1, 8, 15 and 22, 6 to 9pm
Admission: $188 nett, pre-payment required
Iconic!
This exhibition highlights inventions by French designers and creatives which are now embedded in modern life. These items range from the Smiley icon to the hot air balloon to the pasteurisation process.
Where: Alliance Francaise, 1 Sarkies Road
When: Nov 9 to Dec 17, Tuesdays to Fridays 1 to 7.30pm, Saturdays 9am to 5.30pm
Admission: Free
Cheesy workshop
There are quite a few baking workshops in the programme, but this five-hour session dedicated to cheese-making is one for the serious home cook. Learn to make a small fresh cheese and customise it with flavour ingredients. There will also be a cheese tasting of freshly made cheeses, accompanied by wines.
Where: Incubaker Cafe, 01-01, Infinite Studios, 21 Media Circle
When: Nov 11, 2 to 7pm
Admission: $150++
French food market
The grand finale to Voilah! is this recreation of a typical French marche (market) at Ion Orchard. There will be food tastings from the variety of stalls offering French viands, from wine and cheese to charcuterie and seasonal produce. A particular highlight will be a stall showcasing seafood, vanilla and rum from the French territory of New Caledonia.
Where: Level B4, Ion Orchard, 2 Orchard Turn
When: Nov 26 and 27, 10am to 10pm
Admission: Free
For more information, go to https://str.sg/wHjb
