Dear friends,
I hope your summer is off to a great start!
It is a pleasure to offer you some of the highlights from our summer program as this season is particularly abundant with activities, many of them free and out-of-doors.
Earlier this month we kicked off Paris-New York Tandem 2016, a major collaboration between Paris, New York, in partnership with the Institut français, the Cultural Services of the French Embassy, and the American Embassy in Paris. The program offers more than fifty cultural events in both cities and encompasses a range of disciplines, including music, dance, film, literature and theater.
Within this framework, France Rocks Summerfest, New York's largest French music festival, is presenting nearly thirty concerts at venues around the City through July 23rd. For cinephiles, the annual Films on the Green festival has curated a selection of weekly film screenings around the theme "A Summer in Paris" in celebration of the Paris-New York Tandem. From timeless classics, such as Francois Truffaut's The 400 Blows, to remarkable new films like Girlhood by Céline Sciamma, there's a piece of Paris for everyone's taste. All screenings are free in New York City parks.
A major festival in its own right, Films on the Green has met with such success since it began nine years ago that it has extended to other American cities with Films on the Beach, which ended its third season in May in Miami and the new Films on the Lake in Chicago which kicked off on June 21.
This summer, we are also delighted to announce the call for proposals for the 2nd edition of the French-American Digital Lab, a 10-day program designed to help culture focused tech startups enter the US market.
Finally, for all the Francophiles and bibliophiles who flock to our French bookstore Albertine, we are very pleased to announce the new Albertine membership program. The membership allows our loyal customers to support Franco-American cultural dialogue while enjoying benefits such as 10% off all in-store purchases and a limited edition Albertine tote bag! Come by, join the Albertine community and complete you summer reading list, in French or English translation. We'll meet up again in the fall for the annual Rentrée littéraire in the fall!
Bénédicte de Montlaur
Conseillère culturelle de l’ambassade de France aux Etats-Unis
