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FILMS AT THE WHITNEY: FILMS CROSSING BORDERS
FRIDAY, JANUARY 30 • 7:00–9:00 PM
HUMANITIES QUADRANGLE, ALICE CINEMA
FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES
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Mani Kongo, King of the Bakongo, embarks on a journey to find his daughter, Mwana, in Belgium. A comedic take on a fairy tale, PIÈCES D’IDENTITÉS depicts the nuances of Black diaspora in a European society that discriminates against and devalues immigrants. Following director Mwezé Ngangura’s aim to make films about Africans in Europe for African audiences, the film won the Audience Award at the 8th Festival of African Cinema of Milan in 1998 as well as the Grand Prix at the Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou in 1999. Click HERE for more information.
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Join our Meetup conversation group every other Sunday morning from 10:30 to noon for fun and French discussion. To register for this event, send an email to: alliancefrancaisenh@gmail.com. Beginning in November we will meet at Panera Bread (1060 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT 06511). January 25, February 8, 22, March 8, 22, 2026.
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Celebrate La Chandeleur
February 1, 2026 from 5 to 7PM and
Presentation by Toto Kisaku
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Every year on February 2, France observes La Chandeleur, a.k.a. Candlemas, a.k.a. a day dedicated to eating crêpes. The Catholic religious holiday is exactly 40 days after Christmas, but it also has origins in an older pre-Christian holiday celebrating the harvest and marking the midway point of winter. Join the Alliance Française at Bethesda Lutheran Church,305 St Ronan St, New Haven, on February 1, 2026, as we celebrate this holiday. To read about this holiday and traditions, click HERE. While we enjoy our crêpes, provided by the Alliance, Toto will speak to us about his career in the US.
Toto Kisaku Mbenaga was born in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, in 1978. He is an internationally renowned Congolese playwright, actor, and director. After completing his training in pedagogy and qualifying as a teacher, followed by studies in Dramatic Arts at the National Institute of Arts in Kinshasa, he co-founded K-Mu Théâtre in 2003. Through this platform, he traveled the world producing and performing in various plays. His works and co-creations include “Rencontre au Pluriel,” “Basal’ya Bazoba,” “Surface,” “Requiem for an Electric Chair,” “7 Dialogue,” and “Six Feet Under the Losers.”
Kisaku’s art often confronted political oppression and the exploitation of children in the DRC. His activism placed him in danger. He was arrested, imprisoned, and nearly executed for creating work that criticized government abuses.
He escaped execution only because a guard showed him unexpected mercy. This harrowing experience later became the basis of his acclaimed one‑man play Requiem for an Electric Chair, which recounts the seven days he spent in a dark cell awaiting death.
Kisaku arrived in the United States in late 2015, seeking political asylum. His asylum was granted in March 2018.
Since then, he has lived and worked in Connecticut, redefining his artistic expression in response to the tensions between his homeland and his new country. His work continues to explore how people living under oppressive regimes or in poverty can reclaim their humanity through creativity and imagination.
To register for this event, send an email to alliancefrancaisenh@gmail.com
Free for members, $5.00 for non-members.
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Café Littéraire sur Zoom
Wednesday, February 11, 2026 @ 6:30 PM
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Voici un club pour les membres qui voudraient lire et discuter d'un livre en français (reservé aux gens qui ont un niveau avancé). Nous nous rencontrons par Zoom à 18h30 chaque mois. On discute des thèmes et des idées dans les romans avec le groupe. Si vous voulez les liens ou si vous avez des questions, envoyez un email: alliancefrancaisenh@gmail.com. Pour février on lit "La Petite Bonne par Bérénice Pichat " . La Petite Bonne is a French literary novel by Bérénice Pichat, published in 2024, about a young maid in 1930s Paris who is left alone with her employer, a bitter, disfigured man, leading to an unusual proposition.
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Ciné Club sur Zoom
Thursday, February 18, 2026 @ 6 PM
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Fan of French movies? If so, this club is for you. Join the Alliance Française for a discussion of a French movie on Zoom. If you have a favorite movie or any suggestions for future viewings, send us an email. Clay Howe will lead the conversation. Upcoming films to be announced. We meet on the third Thursday of the month. The film for February is "Le Dîner de Cons" (The Dinner Game.) Wealthy Frenchmen hold a cruel contest to see who can invite the strangest guest to their weekly dinner parties. It is available on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Kanopy, Google Play. For further information and to receive the Zoom link, send an email to alliancefrancaisenh@gmail.com .
| | Love, Paris, and Puccini Yale Opera’s La bohème premieres 2/14 | | |
Moonstruck in Paris
Yale Opera presents a new production of Puccini’s beloved La bohème. Met Opera conductor J. David Jackson returns to lead the Yale Philharmonia and talented cast in this timeless story of young artists in love.
Fall in love again with this cherished opera, just in time for Valentine’s Day. Click HERE for tickets
| | Our Partnership with Frantastique | | |
Try Fantastique for a whole month for free! The interactive, daily lessons only last 10 minutes and allow you to immerse yourself playfully and tailored to you in the French language.
After an assessment test, the lessons adapt to your level and interests, for optimal learning progress.
Discover Aimigo at the end of your lessons, your new AI-powered virtual friend with whom you can practice speaking. Aimigo helps you feel more confident when speaking and can discuss a variety of topics with you!
Click HERE TO TEST FOR FREE.
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Dear Colleagues,
Memberships are from Sept.-August. If you have not already renewed your membership,
renew now.
Your benefits include:
-Participation in the events of the Alliance Française (See programs on our website https://www.alliancefrancaisenewhaven.org/
-Close communication with the Alliance (emails, newsletter, Bulletin)
-Exclusive and free participation in Le Café Littéraire
-Access to the French classes at the Alliance Française of New Haven
-Participation in Le Ciné-Club
-Access to Culturethèque Your French multimedia e-library!
-Links to other Francophones and Francophiles .
Cost: Student: $30, Senior: $35, Individual: $45, Couple: $55, Family: $60
You may pay online at https://www.alliancefrancaisenewhaven.org/online-payment or you may pay with a check. If full membership is difficult for some due to financial constraints, please let us know. Send us an email at alliancefrancaisenh@gmail.com Please make checks payable to the Alliance Française of New Haven. Send payment to Alliance Française of New Haven, P.O. Box 207333, New Haven, CT 06520.
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Co-sponsored by the Federation of Alliances Françaises USA
| | Apéro National French Conversation Group (en français) – Every Wednesday | | |
The group is for high-intermediate to advanced (or fluent) speakers who are current members of an Alliance Française chapter in the U.S. (if you are not a current member of an Alliance chapter, visit the Chapter’s page and sign up for membership at one of your closest AF chapters) or AATF members. Native speakers are welcome. This group conversation is for adult participants, ages 17 and up.
Note that conversation groups are not substitutes for taking an official French class. Conversation groups are for informal practice and for sharing the joy of conversing in French with other like-minded Francophiles or Francophones.
The national group meets by Zoom for an hour every Wednesday, and meets to accommodate our after-work Apéro theme:
Every Wednesday @ 5:00 PT / 7:00 pm CT / 8:00 pm ET
The group is hosted by a member of the Federation of Alliances Françaises board – Linda Witt. Attendees will be assigned to breakout rooms of 4-5 people, with each breakout session lasting 14 minutes. The rooms are then are re-created (for a different mix each time). In this way, participants get to meet and chat with a variety of participants from different backgrounds, regions, and fluency levels.
Participants will need to use Zoom (a free videoconferencing service). To get on the invitation list for the “Apéro-National” sessions, click here.
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Taking Measure of America - How French Cartographers Shaped “The New World” with Roger Mummert
Feb 12 2026 4:00pm - 5:00pm
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Among the first Europeans to reach North America were French explorers and cartographers. The French established a unique relationship with Native Americans, who led them deep into this vast continent and revealed its riches. The maps created from their explorations fundamentally impacted how colonizers would lay claim to enormous portions of North America—and how emerging nations would later redefine those claims.
About Roger Mummert
Roger Mummert is a writer whose work on culture has appeared in the New York Times and elsewhere. He is the creator of www.theparisproject.net and the newsletter “Paris: A City of Ideas.”
Click HERE to register.
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French Cinémathèque: Petite Maman
Feb 23 2026
7:00pm - 8:00pm
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February 23, 2026: Petite Maman (2021)
Director Céline Sciamma
Starring Joséphine Sanz, Gabrielle Sanz, Nina Meurisse, Stéphane Varupenne
Genre Drama, Family, Fantasy
After losing her grandmother, a young girl named Nelly helps her mother clean out her grandmother's house. When Nelly ventures into the woods around the house, she meets a girl her own age, and they begin to build a treehouse and start a remarkable friendship.
Discussions will usually take place on the fourth Monday of each month. Participants are encouraged to watch the film via streaming before attending the discussion. The Zoom link will be sent out via email after registration.
Click HERE to register.
| | INFORMATION FOR SHARING AND FUN | | Members and attendees at events/cultural programs should be aware that their picture might be taken and used for our website, advertising, etc. If you’d prefer not to be photographed, just wave the photographer away. | | | | |
