Events

News and events at the Centre de recherches francophones belges.

Coming up

WBI at the Fringe 2024 - Golem

13-25 August 2024

An artistic dialogue between a dancer and a sculptor brought to Edinburgh Festival Fringe by Wallonie-Bruxelles International (WBI).

The Little World of Stella Benson

25 September 2024 17.30 - 19.00

An in-person seminar by author and illustrator Nina Six on the life of writer Stella Benson, who is the subject of Nina's upcoming comic book.

Past events

Conferences and symposia

Narratives of the Therapeutic Encounter: Poetry

Date: 27 April 2018

Venue: 50 George Square, University of Edinburgh

Keynote speakers: Jane McKie; Joanne Brooks; Susan Bainbrigge

In brief: A one-day symposium exploring the overlap between the therapeutic encounter and the writer’s relationship with the poem. Developing out of an earlier interdisciplinary conference (see below), the event comprised presentations and discussions on poetry, listening, and creativity, and a short writing workshop.

Detail from a book cover of a sculpture of two hands touching

Dates: 7 and 8 December 2017

Venue: 50 George Square, University of Edinburgh

Keynote speakers: Liz Allison (UK); Marie Darrieussecq (France); Jean-Pierre Lebrun (Belgium); Nicole Malinconi (Belgium)

In brief: A two-day international conference exploring the ways in which talking therapies have been depicted in 20th century and contemporary creative outputs in French and other languages. Comprising plenary talks by authors and psychoanalysts, c. 30 academic papers in 12 panel sessions, and a screening of the 2008 film Un conte de Noël, the event led to the publication, in September 2020, of a book edited by Susan Bainbrigge and Maren Scheurer.

Detail from a book cover of a sculpture of two hands touching

Dates: 10 and 11 November 2015

Venues: Institut Français d’Ecosse (Day 1); Chrystal MacMillan Building, University of Edinburgh (Day 2); Filmhouse (Day 2)

Keynote speaker: Stéfan Liberski

Chair: Dr Susan Bainbrigge (University of Edinburgh)

In brief: A two-day event exploring adaptations of Amélie Nothomb’s writings on Japan. Beginning with a screening of Alain Corneau's 2004 film Stupeur et Tremblements, the event also comprised a conference on the making of Stéfan Liberski’s Tokyo Fiancée and an in-depth discussion with the director. It ended with a public screening of Tokyo Fiancée and Q&A with Liberski at Edinburgh's Filmhouse cinema.

Amelie Nothomb

Dates: 10 June 2015

Venues: Mitchell Library, Glasgow

Keynote speakers: Joe Brady (Scottish Refugee Council); Dr Jacqueline Jenkinson (University of Stirling); Dr Caroline Verdier (University of Strathclyde and Centre de Recherches Francophones Belges); Dr Irene O’Brien (Glasgow City Archives)

Chair: Dr Benjamin Thomas White (University of Glasgow)

In brief: Symposium and participatory learning event to mark the launch of Lest We Forget, a Scottish Refugee Council arts and heritage project bringing together refugees and local people to discover and document the heritage of the arrival, reception and experiences of Belgium refugees in Scotland during the First World War from 1914 to 1918.


Dates: 15 May 2015

Venues: Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, Edinburgh

Research strand: The Edge of Words

Speakers: Dr Pierre-Philippe Fraiture (University of Warwick); Sarah Arens (University of Edinburgh); Katie Tidmarsh (ULIP, Paris); Véronique Clette-Gakuba (ULB, Brussels); M. Marc Quaghebeur (Directeur, Archives et musée de la littérature, Bruxelles); Dr Sam Coombes (University of Edinburgh); Dr Nicki Frith (University of Edinburgh)

Chairs: Dr Susan Bainbrigge (University of Edinburgh); Dr Nouria Ouali (ULB, Brussels)

In brief: Study day exploring the colonial and postcolonial dimensions of francophone literary and artistic practice in Belgium and the Congo. Part of The Edge of Words research project, the event comprised talks by visiting speakers and related discussions, a presentation of PhD research, and a roundtable on intersections and idiosyncrasies.


Lectures, talks, discussions and readings

In conversation - In Koli Jean Bofane

Date: 19 March 2021

Venue: Online (Zoom)

Organisers: Centre de recherches francophones belges; Institut français d’Ecosse; Institut français du Royaume-Uni

In brief: An online talk - in French - with celebrated Congolese author In Koli Jean Bofane. Hosted by Edouard Notte, the event was introduced by Laurence Païs, Director of the Institut français d’Écosse, and by the University of Edinburgh's Rector, Debora Kayembe.

Date: 3 February 2020

Venue: Institut français d’Ecosse

Events series: DELC Research Seminar Series

In brief: A free public talk by Benoît Peeters - novelist, graphic novelist, intellectual biographer, cultural historian and screen-writer. Held after an Icons in the Making masterclass as part of the DELC Research Seminar Series, the talk centred on Les Cités Obscures, the series of graphic novels Peeters co-authored with François Schuiten between 1983 and 2008. Peeters has also previously delivered lectures on graphic novels to first year students in LLC via video link from Lancaster University where he is Professor of Graphic Fiction and Comic Art.

Detail from a graphic novel showing the Eiffel Tower in an imagined futuristic cityscape

Date: 22 March 2017

Venue: Appleton Tower, Edinburgh

In brief: Bilingual (French and English) quiz night hosted by the Centre de recherches francophones belges to mark La Fête de la Francophonie- the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie's annual global celebration of French-speaking cultures.​​​​


Film screenings and festivals

Earth Defenders under threat

Date: 4 November 2021

Venue: Online (Zoom)

Organisers: The Centre de recherches francophones belges; SCILT (Scotland’s National Centre for Languages); the Universities of Strathclyde and Leicester; Wallonia-Brussels International

In brief: A screening of the climate activism documentary Sangterra, and Q&A with its Belgian producer Christophe Smets.

Date: 10 November 2019

Venue: Filmhouse, Edinburgh

In brief: A screening of the 2018 film 'Keep Going' adapted from the novel 'Continuer' by Laurent Mauvignier. Screened as part of the French Film Festival UK, the film was followed by a conversation with its director (and screenplay writer) Joachim Lafosse.

Photo of Joachim Lafosse

Date: 20 November 2018

Venue: Filmhouse, Edinburgh

In brief: A screening of the debut feature film by Belgian actor, turned director, François Damiens. Supported by Wallonie Bruxelles International (WBI), the screening was bookended by Meet the Director sessions with Damiens at Filmhouse cinema.

Still from a film showing a man driving an open top car

Date: 17 November 2016

Venue: Filmhouse, Edinburgh

In brief: A screening of the penultimate long feature by Bouli Lanners, critically acclaimed film director and actor. A collaboration between the Centre de Recherches Francophones Belges and the French Film Festival, the event was presented by Lanners, who starred in the film as bounty hunter Gilou.

Poster for Les premiers, les derniers

Date: 21 March 2016

Venue: Filmhouse, Edinburgh

In brief: The avant premiere of Thierry Michel and Colette Braeckman's 2015 documentary on Sakharov Prize-winning Dr Denis Mukwege, Congolese gynecologist and human rights activist. A collaboration between the Centre de Recherches Francophones Belges, L'Institut Français Écosse and Wallonie Bruxelles International (WBI).

The Man Who Mends Women

Date: 16 October 2015

Venue: 50 George Square, University of Edinburgh

In brief: Screening of 'Hotel Monterey' in remembrance of pioneering Belgian film-maker and video artist Chantal Akerman who died in 2015. Akerman had visited Edinburgh three years previously to take part in a two-week retrospective of her work as part of the French Film Festival UK.

Chantal Akerman

Dates: 16 November to 2 December 2012

Venue: Various including Filmhouse, Edinburgh

In brief: Two-week retrospective of the work of pioneering Belgian film-maker and video artist Chantal Akerman marking the release of her final feature Almayer's Folly. Curated by Marion Schmid, Professor of French Literature and Film at the University of Edinburgh, the season included the screening of 10 works by Akerman, Q&As with the artist and a review competition. A collaboration between the Centre de Recherches Francophones Belges and Wallonie Bruxelles International (WBI) as part of the 20th edition of the French Film Festival UK.

Chantal Akerman
Document
Document

Exhibitions, workshops and performances

Wallonia-Brussels showcase 2022

Dates: 3 to 14 August 2022

Venues: Summerhall (False Start) and Dance Base (all other performances)

In brief:  Two works of physical theatre (False Start and We Should be Dancing) and two dance pieces (Fitry and Closing Party: arriverderci and grazie) from French-speaking Belgium selected by Wallonie-Bruxelles Théâtre Danse to perform in Edinburgh. Part of the Centre de Recherches Francophones Belges and Wallonie-Bruxelles International's long-standing collaboration to bring Francophone Belgian culture to Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Date: 27 August 2020

Venue: Edinburgh Festival Fringe Online

In brief:  Four artistic works from French-speaking Belgium selected by Wallonie-Bruxelles Théâtre Danse for online performance: Golem (Compagnie Abis); Strach, A Fear Song (Théâtre d'Un Jour); We Should be Dancing (dir. Emilienne Flagothier); False Start (Lucilia Caesar company). Part of the Centre de Recherches Francophones Belges and Wallonie-Bruxelles International's long-standing collaboration to bring Francophone Belgian culture to Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Belgian showcase 2020 logo

Dates: 31 July to 26 August 2019

Venues: Summerhall, Assembly Checkpoint and Dance Base​​

In brief:  Four artistic works from French-speaking Belgium selected by Wallonie-Bruxelles Théâtre Danse to perform in Edinburgh: Before the End (Catherine Graindorge with Théâtre les Tanneurs); Comète (Compagnie Dérivation); FrontX (Milan Emmanuel and No Way Back); The Steve Reich Project (Isabella Soupart in partnership with the MP4 Quartet). Part of the Centre de Recherches Francophones Belges and Wallonie-Bruxelles International's long-standing collaboration to bring Francophone Belgian culture to Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Photo of lanterns with text saying Edinburgh Festival Fringe superimposed

Dates: 2 to 27 August 2018

Venues: Dance Base​​, Zoo Southside and Summerhall

In brief:  Four artistic works from French-speaking Belgium selected by Wallonie-Bruxelles Théâtre Danse to perform in Edinburgh: Atomic 3001 (Leslie Mannès, Thomas Turine AKA Sitoid and Vincent Lemaître); Stoel (Chair) (Compagnie Nyash); Autóctonos II; Backup (Focus and Chaliwaté). Part of the Centre de Recherches Francophones Belges and Wallonie-Bruxelles International's long-standing collaboration to bring Francophone Belgian culture to Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Atomic 3001

Dates: 7 to 29 August 2015

Venue: Underbelly Circus Hub, Edinburgh

In brief:  T1J’s unique storytelling circus combining acrobatics, puppetry and live music to create a whimsical journey through the imagination of a sick child. Part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2015.

Performers in the Fringe play \"L'Enfant qui...\"

Date: 18 March 2015

Venue: 50 George Square, Edinburgh

In brief:  Free student masterclass by Jeannine Paque (Université de Liège) on journalism, literary criticism, and writing reviews.


Dates: 13 to 18 August 2013

Venue: Institut Français d’Écosse, Edinburgh

In brief: A one-woman show by Brussels-based, Swiss actor Florence Minder challenging herself and the audience to approach the subject of mourning without any sadness or psychology. Part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2013.

Woman with gun

Dates: 21 and 22 June 2013

Venue: Various public spaces in Edinburgh (21 June) and Glasgow (22 June)

In brief: Scottish edition of the French Ministry for Culture's annual street music event, celebrated in over 110 countries around the world. Included performances by Rosie Nimmo, The Beat Poets, Jack and The’, and La Clinik du Dr. Poembak - a Brussels-based group of 20 brass musicians playing an eclectic repertoire mixing world music, tango, jazz and techno. A collaboration between Wallonie-Bruxelles International, the Centre de Recherches Francophones Belges, the Institut Français d’Écosse, and the Alliance Française de Glasgow.

Fete de la musique poster

Date: 20 March 2013

Venue: Institut Français d’Écosse, Edinburgh

In brief: An adaptation of Alessandro Baricco's Novecento: pianiste by Collectif Blauw. Part of  the Semaine de la Francophonie, a week of events celebrating the French language.

Film still of boy at piano and man standing

Date: 3 to 24 August 2012

Venue: Institut Français d’Écosse, Edinburgh

In brief:  A show by Compagnie Oh my God! (Wallonia) combining a conference, performance, and video screening taking the audience on a guided tour through a portrait gallery featuring two symbols of 16th century femininity and power, Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, and Elizabeth I, Queen of England. Part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2012.


Date: 20 and 21 March 2012

Venue: Institut Français d’Écosse, Edinburgh (20 March) and Alliance Française de Glasgow (21 March)

In brief: The first UK performances of Congolese storyteller Pie Tshibanda's popular show ‘Un Fou noir au pays des Blancs', an auto-biographical tale of political asylum adapted from Tshibanda’s 1999 book of the same name. A collaboration between Wallonie-Bruxelles International, the Centre de Recherches Francophones Belges, and the Institut Français d’Écosse as part of La Fête de la Francophonie- the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie's annual global celebration of French-speaking cultures.​​​​


Date: July 2011

Venue: Institut Français d’Écosse

In brief: An exhibition devoted to jazz and the comic strip (‘la bande dessinée’), for which Belgium is world renowned, created in collaboration with Wallonie-Bruxelles International, the Centre de Recherches Francophones Belges, and the Institut Français d’Écosse.


Francophone Comics at the Lakes international Comic Art Festival

18 October 2015 14.00 - 15.00

Comics creator, curator, critic and Hergé biographer Benoit Peeters will be guest speaker at the third Lakes International Comic Art Festival. 

Cartoons in WW1 conference

10 November 2018 16.00 - 18.00

Jean-Claude Servais (Belgium) explains the creative process behind his comics, with an emphasis on stories set during WW1.

Museums, memorials and exhibitions. The renewal of the offer in the context of the Centenary

8 November 2018 10.30 - 12.00

Dr Chantal Kesteloot, Doctor in Contemporary History, Centre for Historical Research and Documentation on War and Contemporary Society in Anderlecht (Belgium) takes part in an international conference on 'World War One and its legacy: How museums depict and interpret conflict and genocide?'.

Le questionnement de plumes féminines dans le fantastique belge francophone, entre cryptozoologie et métamorphoses

22 March 2018 17.15 - 17.15

Dr Isabelle Moreels (University of Extremadura), on women writers and the Belgian Fantastic.

Le français en Belgique : variations linguistiques d’une personnalité métissée

21 March 2018 18.30 - 18.30

Dr Isabelle Moreels (University of Extremadura), on linguistic variations of French in Belgium.

Perceptions of "Poor little Belgians" in the West of Scotland during the First World War

6 November 2015 14.00 - 16.00

Dr Caroline Verdier (French, University of Strathclyde) will give a paper on ‘Perceptions of “Poor little Belgians” in the West of Scotland during the First World War’, as part of a conference 'Perceptions of the Other'.

Le corps problématique du personnage de théâtre. Marivaux, Beckett, Guillaume Galienne

7 Oct 2015 17.15 - 17.15

Professor Pierre Piret (Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium)

Introduction à la littérature francophone de Belgique

6 Oct 2015 11.00 - 12.30

Professor Pierre Piret (Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium)

Cinéma: Les Villes Tentaculaires

15 March 2017 19.00 - 21.00

In celebration of La fête de la Langue Française and La Fête de la Francophonie, l’Institut Français, in collaboration with Wallonie Bruxelles International is delighted to present the UK premiere screening of Les Villes Tentaculaires.

Our City

29 September 2016 18.00 - 18.00

The CFRB presents a portrait of the city of Brussels and its inhabitants (in French, with subtitles in English). This free screening will be followed by a discussion with film director Maria Tarantino.