Trinity Celebrates French Language, Beckett letters and cinematographer, Vittorio Storaro

Posted on: 21 April 2015

The Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences recently hosted an event ‘Journée de la Francophonie’  to highlight the importance of the French language. The event was organised by Professors Sarah Alyn Stacey and Paule Salerno-O’Shea, of Trinity’s Department of French in conjunction with the French Embassy in Dublin, and the event was attended by the Ambassador of Canada, H.E.  Mr Kevin Vickers, Ambassador of Cyprus, H.E. Dr Michalis Stavrinos, Ambassador of Estonia,  H. E. Mrs Kristi Karelsohn,  Ambassador of Belgium, H.E. Mr Philippe Roland, and the Ambassador of France, H.E. Mr Jean-Pierre Thébault.  

Other participants from the Department of French were Florence Signorini, Barbara Wright and David Parris. Invited speakers included Marie-Luce Paris, Law School, UCD, Odette Gabaudan,School of Languages, Law and Social Sciences DIT, Timothy Hayes, Deputy Head of Representation at the European Commission, Laurentiu Ciobanica, Head of Mission of the International Organisation for Migration, Dublin, and Ross McMahon, Notary Public and Solicitor. A student debate in French on the topic ‘Le français, langue d’avenir’ (French the language of the future) which was chaired by Eamon Maher (French, DIT)  with four teams of students from Trinity, UCD, DIT and Galway,  judged by Noël Canti of TV5 Monde,  Audrey Lalli of Le Petit Journal and Christopher Pingeon from the French Embassy. The Trinity Team won the debate and was awarded its prize by the Ambassador of Belgium and the Ambassador of France.

A visit to Trinity by Professors Dan Gunn and George Craig, two of the editors of Samuel Beckett’s letters published by Cambridge University Press was hosted by the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences in March. The two editors gave a seminar discussing the challenges posed by the letters, not least because of the handwriting, and Beckett’s inimitable language. On the evening of the event, the third volume of Beckett’s letters was launched with speakers including, event organiser, Professor Sarah Alyn Stacey, Department of French, Professor Sam Slote, School of English and Mr Frédéric Rauser of the French Embassy. This was followed by readings from the letters by Professors Gunn and Craig and a question and answer session. The event was made possible through the generous support of the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, the School of English, the Samuel Beckett Summer School, the French Embassy, and the United Arts Club.

Also held last month was a visit to the Faculty by world-renowned cinematographer, Vittorio Storaro, whose films including Last Tango in Paris, Apocalypse Now, The Last Emperor and Reds are world renowned. Mr Storaro met with members of the Faculty including the Dean, Professor Darryl Jones, Professor Kevin Rockett, Film Studies, Professor Sarah Alyn Stacey, French and Professor Giuliana Adamo, Italian. Also present were the organisers of the Silk Road Film Festival, Carla Mooney, Delwyn Mooney and Steinar Oli Jonsson and Lebanese directors and academics, Sam Lahoud and Dr.Nicolas Khabbaz, Notre Dame University, Lebanon. During the visit, Mr Storaro held a masterclass on the art of cinematography, discussing films by some of the directors with whom he has worked including Bernardo Bertolucci, Francis Ford Coppola, Warren Beatty and Carlos Saura and on the following day, Trinity hosted the ‘Cinergy’ section of the film festival showing films by students from all over the world.