Animation First, FIAF's annual flagship film festival, is the only festival in the US dedicated to the enduring legacy and trailblazing innovation of French animation.
Crossing the Line, FIAF's annual arts festival, presents innovative works by compelling French, Francophone, and American artists in venues across New York City.
TILT Kids Festival presents adventurous and sophisticated art and ideas for audiences of all ages. The program is co-presented by FIAF and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the US.
This year, the Festival will return for a special weekend presenting fun and interactive virtual events on Saturday, March 20 & Sunday, March 21.
Saturday, January 12, 2019 at 5pm Sunday, January 13, 2019 at 3pm Post-Show Talk on Saturday, January 12
Based on a true story, Stinney: An American Execution, a bold new opera by Frances Pollock, examines racial and social divides in a small town in South Carolina and the terrifying consequences it had on a fourteen year old black boy.
Don’t miss a special 300th performance of acclaimed French actor Emmanuel Noblet’s Molière Award-winning adaptation of Maylis de Kerangal’s international best-seller. A poetic medical masterpiece, The Heart is a stirring race against time that unfolds over a 24-hour deadline to transplant a human heart. In French with English supertitles.
Monday, June 17, 2019 at 7:30pm Wednesday, June 19, 2019 at 7:30pm
The hottest female comedian on the French comedy scene today, Blanche Gardin, makes her North American debut at FIAF with her Molière Award-winning new show BONNE NUIT BLANCHE. Don’t miss this hilarious show in French!
Guitarist Stephane Wrembel, acclaimed for his innovative musical interpretations of Gypsy legend Django Reinhardt, makes his FIAF debut with the North American premiere of Django L’Impressionniste.
Featuring acclaimed actor Gale Harold
Post-performance Q&A with Juliette Deschamps
Mixing captivating video projection, live jazz music, and powerful storytelling, The Tragedy of Dido created by French videographer Juliette Deschamps paints an extraordinary portrait of Queen Dido, the legendary founder of Carthage.
Wednesday, January 29, 2020 Thursday, January 30, 2020 7:30pm
Meet & Greet with Patrick Timsit after the Wednesday performance, and Q&A with Patrick Timsit and author Cécile David-Weill after the Thursday performance.
Acclaimed actor and humorist Patrick Timsit’s moving theatrical adaptation of Albert Cohen’s renowned memoir is a powerful tribute to “the mothers of the whole world.” Directed by Dominique Pitoiset.
Olivier Dubois, one of the 25 best dancers in the world according to Dance Europe magazine, presents the US premiere of My Body, a playful participatory celebration of contemporary dance.
Melding live music with Chantal Akerman’s words and one of her short films, cellist Sonia Wieder-Atherton creates a touching ode to her long-time collaborator and companion.
Wednesday, April 22, 2020 USA: 5pm ET Central Europe: 11pm
Two Belgian ex-teachers, Arnaud Hoedt and Jérôme Piron, investigate the linguistic roots of the French language as well as its absurdities. Acclaimed in Paris as both enlightening and humorous, La Convivialité gently mocks grammarian dogma and forgives our French misspellings.
FIAF partners with Molière in the Park to present the classic French comedy of manners The Misanthrope in English, featuring special appearances from Samira Wiley and Stew.
FIAF and Molière in the Park co-present two LIVE virtual performances of Molière’s most theatrical comedy Tartuffe starring Raúl E. Esparza and Samira Wiley.
FIAF’s first live theatrical stream from Tinker Auditorium features Ronald Guttman as exiled Parisian lawyer Jean-Baptiste Clamence in Albert Camus’s La Chute (copyright 1956, Editions Gallimard) set in Amsterdam’s red-light district, circa 1956. Directed by Didier Flamand. Adapted by Alexis Lloyd.
Tony Award–winner Tonya Pinkins stars in the classic comedy about gender dynamics from the acclaimed team behind virtual productions of Tartuffe and The Misanthrope.
Live-Filmed Opera Wednesday, November 25–Wednesday, December 16, 2020
Hovering between life and death, a teenage girl wanders through a labyrinthine netherworld. Is this the end? Belgian composer Jean-Luc Fafchamps’s haunting new pop requiem opens with this provocative question.
Love: October 14, 2020 Desire: January 28, 2021 Mystery: May 6, 2021
Broadway star Melissa Errico and New Yorker essayist and lyricist Adam Gopnik, through songs and conversation, investigate and illuminate the cycle that France first offered the world—of how love becomes desire, how desire is cloaked in mystery, and how then the mystery of desire reveals the madness of love again.
Singer/songwriter Arthur H and former Paris Opera Ballet étoile Marie-Agnès Gillot stage a poetic boxing match, filled with emotion and ambiguity, inside Boulogne-Billancourt’s La Seine Musicale. The show features Olympic boxing champion Souleymane Cissokho and athletes Staiv Gentis and Tom Duquesnoy.
Virtual HD Screening Monday, March 8–Sunday, March 14, 2021
A joyful exploration of movement, Play turns the Paris Opera stage into a giant playground where dancers emulate loping deer, dive into a pool of 40,000 green balls, and push the boundaries of the form. Brimming with humor as well as depth, the ballet reacquaints us with our inner child in a profound examination of the human spirit. Presented by FIAF in collaboration with the American Friends of the Paris Opera & Ballet.
Award-winning French guitarist Stephane Wrembel and his world-class band—Thor Jensen on guitar, Ari Folman-Cohen on bass, and Nick Anderson on drums—live stream a night of original compositions from FIAF’s Florence Gould Hall stage.
Join FIAF and Molière in the Park, in person and safely distanced outside at Prospect Park’s LeFrak Center for our staged reading of Tartuffe. Free performances on Wed, May 26, Sat, May 29, and Sun, May 30. A benefit evening will be held on Thu, May 27.
Dir. Franck Gastambide, Charles Van Tieghem, Xavier Lacaille, 2020
In French with English subtitles
All the Way Up takes us into the world of French hip-hop through the journey of Clément (played by French musician Hatik), a talented young rapper with a difficult personal history.
See recent video art by three exciting women artists from France: Vergine Keaton, Françoise Pétrovitch, and Christine Rebet. Their works explore how nature and humans adapt to changing and sometimes hostile environments.
Momentum, French artist Guillaume Bresson’s first solo show in the US, features recent paintings that address current divisions in a globalized world—class struggles, migrations, and gender inequalities.
Award-winning French artist and designer Elodie Blanchard brings her signature vision and playfulness to the FIAF Gallery with a special exhibition featuring four unique projects created with a wide range of textiles and stitching techniques, in collaboration with WantedDesign, as part of NYCxDESIGN.
For her debut exhibition at FIAF, Brooklyn-based French artist Anne Mourier presents Be Rose, a survey combining her acclaimed work in collage, sculpture, and photography. The interactive installation involving live roses and famous poems weaves together a statement about the importance of the feminine archetype in order to bring back harmony in our lives.
Paris Photo, the acclaimed international art fair for photography, is making its New York debut this spring. As an extension of this inaugural edition, FIAF will present Rewriting History. Showcasing the striking and surreal vision of Haitian artist Fabiola Jean-Louis, the exhibition features works that recast narratives of key historical moments, with black women as their protagonists.
FIAF and Zürcher Gallery present a solo exhibition of works by French artist Alix Le Méléder. The compositions of Le Méléder’s works made between 1995 and 1998 become gradually emptier—and their oblique brush strokes more neo-expressionistic.
Ring in 2021 with your FIAF famille! Enjoy an interactive magic show with Johann Bayle LIVE from Paris, and make a delicious Champagne cocktail with Arnaud Dissais, former head bartender at DANIEL, and Rita Jammet, La Caravelle’s Chief Bubble Officer.
Get a taste of all FIAF has to offer! Enjoy free French classes for adults and kids, an animated film, an exhibition, library tours, a wine reception, a performance of Opening Night starring Isabelle Adjani, and more. Plus, get discounts on memberships, fall classes, and events.
Join guest of honor Richard Frerejean Taittinger and fellow Young Patrons in FIAF’s Skyroom for the annual Young Patrons Fall Fête featuring cocktails, hors d’œuvres, and a DJ. Young Patrons receive complimentary tickets!
FIAF will honor Charlotte Gainsbourg, actress and musician, and Dominique Senequier, President of Ardian, at its 2019 Trophée des Arts Gala. This annual benefit raises funds to support FIAF’s mission to teach French, promote Francophone culture, and strengthen the relationship between French and American peoples.
Friday, December 6, 2019 Shopping & Book Signings 4–7:30pm Wine & Kemia Reception 6–7:30pm
Saturday, December 7, 2019 Shopping & Book Signings 10am–7pm
Shop and discover leading and emerging Tunisian brands, designers, and artisans, showcased in a one-of-a-kind pop-up at FIAF. Just in time for the holidays!
Celebrate the holidays with your FIAF famille at a festive soirée at the French Consulate’s beautiful mansion on Fifth Avenue. Enjoy Bûche de Noël, hors d’oeuvres, cocktails, live music, and more!
Start the New Year the French way with the delicious tradition of galette des rois! Featuring delicious galettes by Dominique Ansel Kitchen and cider from Romilly Cidre.
Fête de la Musique, the annual music-for-all celebration, will be held online this year. Twenty Francophone artists from all genres—jazz, soul, pop, house, and hip hop—will each live-stream half-hour sets on Bandsintown’s digital channel.
This exceptional Soirée Outside the Box featured three exhilarating commissions live-streamed from our theater, a festive dinner, an auction of splendid items, and a prize drawing to win a luxurious European cruise. The gala raises critical and much needed funds in support of our ambitious cultural, artistic, and educational programs.
Three decades after his death, French singer-songwriter Serge Gainsbourg remains a complex and vivid figure within music and culture. Join us for a virtual screening of La Comédie-Française chante Gainsbourg and a special conversation with the incomparable Jane Birkin, Gainsbourg’s former partner; accomplished actor/musician Charlotte Gainsbourg, Birkin and Gainsbourg’s daughter; and Comédie-Française’s Rebecca Marder.
FIAF is thrilled to partner with discothèque Le Bain for a dance party to welcome back our community and celebrate the re-opening of New York City! Dance the night away to French music by the exciting DJ duo Each Other and DJ Camille BWR at a sunset event on one of New York’s most iconic rooftops.
C’est l’automne — let’s celebrate! Join us as we toast to the turning of the leaves and enjoy a picturesque New York City sunset at our 2021 Young Patrons Fall Fête!
Monday, November 15 7pm Cocktails and Silent Auction 8pm Dinner and Live Auction
Support FIAF and celebrate the very best of French culture in New York at FIAF’s annual black-tie benefit at The Plaza.
Novelist Marc Levy and Pierre-André de Chalendar, Chairman of Saint-Gobain, will be honored at the gala this year, and a special award will be presented to Marie-Monique Steckel, President of FIAF.
Thursday, October 21, 2021 at 7:30pm Friday, October 22, 2021 at 7:30pm Saturday, October 23, 2021 at 7:30pm
Igbo-Nigerian American artist Okwui Okpokwasili and director Peter Born have designed an in-situ work that blends genres and media. Performers manifest a polyphonic chorus wearing sculptural headdresses that recall traditional West African hairstyles, exploring a sonic entanglement that summons the past to envision the future.
Friday, October 29, 2021 at 7:30pm Saturday, October 30, 2021 at 7:30pm
A world premiere staged in Manhattan’s Chinatown, Fire in the Head salutes the tortured genius of the pathbreaking dancer and choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky, who, like many artists today, grappled with the confluence between global and personal crises.
Thursday, November 4, 2021 at 7:30pm Friday, November 5, 2021 at 7:30pm Saturday, November 6, 2021 at 5 & 7:30pm
Kaneza Schaal exorcises the ghost of King Leopold II through a mytho-biographical performance. She addresses the residue of colonialism in our everyday lives in this showcase of her multimedia work in progress KLII.
In-Person Listening Marathon Saturday, October 30, 2021, from 11am–4:30pm Followed by Artist Talk at 5pm
Created during the pandemic, Nehanda is based on a legend of a spirit venerated by the Shona people, native of Zimbabwe and central Mozambique. nora chipaumire brings together instruments and musicians from around the world to evoke the story of atrocities against indigenous communities in British-occupied Southern Rhodesia.
Grammy-nominated singer Somi uses her songwriting to give voices to issues of social justice, transnationalism, womanhood, and global constructions of Blackness. For her debut at FIAF, she will perform some of her most iconic songs and give us a sneak preview of her upcoming album.
On View Wednesday, October 20–Saturday, November 6, 2021
Working across media and disciplines, Igbo-Nigerian American artist Okwui Okpokwasili in collaboration with director Peter Born has conceived a room-sized video installation that investigates themes of remembrance, community mourning, and history.
Kids are invited to use recycled materials and threads to create their own colorful masks in this interactive workshop led by award-winning French artist and designer Elodie Blanchard.
Bring the kids to FIAF for fun holiday cooking workshops where they will learn to make the famous Tunisian sweet Kaber Ellouz. Workshops are for ages 5–10 and will be led in English. Kids will take home the treats they make.
Bring your budding intellectual to explore some of life’s biggest questions! This year, parents are also invited to engage in conversation about encouraging their children’s development.
Saturday, March 21, 2020 11:45am–12:15pm • 1–1:30pm
Learn the basics of French pantomime, master the art of communicating through body language, and engage your imagination with NYC’s favorite silent storytellers!
An international hit with audiences of all ages poses four musicians and dancers against an immense cube. Be amazed as they collide and bounce in a playful exploration of resilience.
An exuberant dance party celebrating the songs and steps of West Africa, accompanied by live drumming. Dance traditional, ethnic, and urban moves! Kids are invited to dress up in their favorite party clothes.
Explore renowned French illustrator Serge Bloch’s whimsical world and create your own playful illustrations! Embark on his adventure in an augmented reality treasure hunt!
Conceived by celebrated French director Johanny Bert, this intimate and poignant piece sheds light on the gender stereotypes young boys and girls must confront as they come of age. This newly revised online version of the play invites viewers to interact with the actors during the performance and Q&A.
Join us for an exuberant virtual dance party celebrating the songs and steps of West Africa. Break out your best traditional and urban moves! Kids are invited to dress up in their favorite party clothes.
Johanny Bert and Magali Mougel, the team behind the acclaimed play She No Princess, He No Hero, reunite to bring Shivers—a new digital adaptation of their widely praised play Frissons—to U.S. audiences. A Q&A with artist Charlotte Melly, who created the work’s live-captured illustrations, and New York Times theater critic Laura Cappelle follows the play.
Join us for a family-style French story hour featuring stories from Storyplay*r, the digital library for kids available on culturetheque.com. as well as books in the FIAF library collection.
Zut alors! Important artifacts have gone missing from the FIAF building. Join the Broken Box Kids Detective Agency to search for the criminal mastermind and return the stolen treasure to its home.
Drag Queen Story Hour returns to FIAF to create a virtual space where kids—and adults—can present themselves in their own fabulous ways and how they wish. Harmonica Sunbeam reads a selection of French and American favorites in English.
Live from her studio in Paris, children’s book illustrator Kris Di Giacomo brings her colorful universe to TILT for the first time. Join the artist during a 30-minute workshop to learn to speak to French pigeons and discover their secrets!
On May 7, we’re celebrating Member Night at FIAF First Tuesday! Join us for conversation en français, wine, and the CinéSalon screening of Love Blooms featuring a Q&A with director Michaël Dacheux. Members AND their guests can attend for free!
Join FIAF members, students, and friends in Tinker Auditorium for an opportunity to converse in French over a glass of wine. All levels of French welcome.
Bestselling French author Marc Levy joins us for Rendez-Vous LIVE, a virtual reimagining of FIAF’s popular meet-up event. He discusses how personal freedoms are challenged during a global pandemic, and how to harness inspiration and creativity during times of stress.
James Beard Award-winning pastry chef Dominique Ansel is joined by New York Times food columnist Melissa Clark to discuss the renowned chef’s just released book Everyone Can Bake.
Join us for a very special virtual Rendez-Vous Trivia Night this July. Test your knowledge of French culture over three fun rounds and win an exciting prize!
Join us for virtual Trivia Night on August 4—it’s free and open to all. Test your knowledge of French Food & Wine, French Animation, and French History, and win a complimentary year of FIAF Membership perks!
Oliver Gee (journalist, and host of the podcast The Earful Tower), accompanied by the ghost of Ernest Hemingway (portrayed by Samuél Lopez-Barrantes), takes us on virtual walk through Paris as he shares his favorite sites and stories about the City of Lights.
FIAF Members are invited to a special virtual literary evening with award-winning author Maurice Samuels. In a conversation with acclaimed author Caroline Weber, Samuels will discuss his recently released book, The Betrayal of the Duchess.
Join FIAF Young Patrons for an evening of French cuisine—three delicious courses—paired with Pommery Brut Royal Champagne and Chapelle Gordonne 2019 wine. A panel of experts will share their tips on how to entertain in style and transform a dinner at home or a virtual gathering into an elevated memorable experience.
Join Louise Vongerichten Ulukaya and Cédric Vongerichten in a conversation with their father, Michelin-starred chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, about the future of the food industry and the family’s philanthropic work through their Food Dreams Foundation.
Join us for a family-style French story hour featuring stories from Storyplay*r, the digital library for kids available on culturetheque.com. as well as books in the FIAF library collection.
Embark on an animated journey through some of France’s most iconic sites and monuments including the Arc de Triomphe, Musée du quai Branly, and more. France eMotion features 35 original pieces that come alive through augmented reality and inspire viewers to (re)discover France’s rich heritage.
FIAF is proud to host the US debut of Micro-Folie, a digital museum that brings France’s finest artworks, spectacular performances, and dazzling cultural heritage to audiences around the world.
Festinema Junior, a French film festival and educational program geared toward children and teens will present screenings from March 11 to 17 for families and school groups at Montclair Film, Montclair Public Library, and Montclair Art Museum (MAM).
FIAF Montclair invites you to a special Francophonie edition of Rendez-Vous! Preview artist Serge Hamad’s new exhibition, dance to live performances by Dan Zanes & Claudia Eliaza and Violette, and enjoy wine and delicious Haïtian snacks while you mingle en français.
FIAF Montclair presents Temporal Perception, a new exhibition by French-Algerian artist Serge Hamad. Meet the artist at the opening reception on Friday, March 15, from 6-7pm.
FIAF Montclair presents Crime Against Nature, a new exhibition by artist Gwenn Seemel. Meet the artist at the opening reception on Friday, April 12, from 6-7pm.
Kick off your weekend with an evening of art and mingling en français at FIAF Montclair. Join us for the opening reception from 6-7pm for Crime Against Nature, a new exhibition by artist Gwenn Seemel, and then stay to practice your French (all levels) at Rendez-Vous from 7-9pm.
Featuring three New Jersey-based artists—Debrah Block Krol, Jennifer Markovitz, and Michelle Tomasso—Works On Paper I showcases unique works in a variety of media.
Kick off your weekend with an evening of art and mingling en français at FIAF Montclair. Join us for the opening reception from 6-7pm for Works On Paper, a new exhibition by artists Debrah Block Krol, Jennifer Markovitz, and Michelle Tomasso, and then stay to practice your French (all levels) at Rendez-Vous from 7-9pm.
Kick off your weekend with an evening of art and mingling en français at FIAF Montclair. Join us for the opening reception from 6-7pm for Works On Paper, a new exhibition by artists Benedetta Balsimelli, Nanci Iovino, and Martha Kelshaw, and then stay to practice your French (all levels) at Rendez-Vous from 7-9pm.
Featuring three New Jersey-based artists—Benedetta Balsimelli, Nanci Iovino, and Martha Kelshaw—Works On Paper II showcases unique works in a variety of media.
Sunday, July 14, 2019 5–6pm: Cocktail Hour 6–9pm: Garden Party
Featuring a Cocktail Hour, a New Orleans-inspired buffet campagnard prepared by Michelin-rated chef Nicolas Houlbert and local owner/chef boulanger Arben Gasi, French wines, desserts, a concert by the renowned New Orleans Jazz band Gumbo Royale, and a chance to win fabulous prizes.
Join us at our fall open house in Montclair, New Jersey. Sample our French classes for free and enjoy fun activities for all ages. Save on memberships and upcoming fall classes.
Kick off your weekend with an evening of art and mingling en français at FIAF Montclair. Preview the exhibition Ruminations & Reflections by artist Anjum Saeed, play French trivia, and practice your French over a glass of wine.
Was Isabelle Adjani truly possessed while shooting this allegorical fantasy about a couple separating in the shadow of the Berlin Wall? You might think so when you witness her César-winning performance as an alienated housewife and her doppelgänger in this paranoid masterpiece by Andrzej Zulawski.
This gripping Merchant Ivory adaptation of Jean Rhys’s acclaimed autobiographical novel features Isabelle Adjani as a penniless young woman who is toyed with by a wealthy British couple in 1920s Paris. Directed by James Ivory.
With this emotionally bare biopic, Isabelle Adjani won her third César, was nominated for an Oscar, and righted a historical wrong by turning the spotlight on Camille Claudel, scorned mistress of Rodin (played by Gérard Depardieu) and an artistic genius in her own right. Directed by Bruno Nuytten.
Meet Elaine Sciolino, best-selling author and former Paris bureau chief of The New York Times, at a special talk and book signing event celebrating the launch of her new book The Seine: The River That Made Paris.
Charlotte Gainsbourg joins maverick director Michel Gondry to explore the tenuous line between dream and reality in this charming tale of a Mexican inventor who moves to Paris, falls in love with his neighbor and invites her into his dreams.
Charlotte Gainsbourg’s second of three landmark collaborations with Danish auteur Lars von Trier starts with an epically botched wedding party and culminates in the earth’s collision with a rogue planet, delivering an aesthetically sublime vision of human frailty along the way.
Franco Zeffirelli’s triumphant adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s masterpiece beguiles with its visual elegance without sacrificing the novel’s emotional rawness. In the role of Jane Eyre, Charlotte Gainsbourg refined her trademark mix of deceptive fragility and fierce intelligence, delivering one of her finest performances.
For ages 5-10. Based on the award-winning book of the same name, this winner of the Special Jury Award at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival is a beautifully moving tale about childhood loss and the need even for adults to hide from the truth at times.
Celebrate the Holidays with a festive party at FIAF Montclair! This special edition of Rendez-Vous, our monthly conversation evening, will feature an exclusive tasting of Champagne Laurenti, foie gras mousse, and a selection of cheese.
Join us for a festive Galette des rois celebration and exhibition opening at FIAF Montclair! Practice your French over a glass of wine and a slice of galette, and preview the exhibition Altar featuring intriguing photograms by artist Kelly Reilly.
FIAF Montclair presents Altar, an exhibition of intriguing photograms by New Jersey-born artist Kelly Reilly. The photograms are elegiac observations of erosion, history, emptiness, and the ebb and flow of time.
FIAF Montclair presents Light through we, an exhibition of works on paper by New Jersey-based, Moldova-born artist Inna Bruter. The works evoke and celebrate what is often private, reflecting emotions, dreams, and growth of personal wisdom.
