Monthly Archives: April 2026

🎬 The Alliance Française de Colombo, in collaboration with the Martin Wickramasinghe Trust, presents a special literary evening, screening, and discussion: “Along the River Seine: Martin Wickramasinghe and the Sri Lankan Mind.”

📚 This event explores and reflects on the life and work of Martin Wickramasinghe (1890–1976), one of Sri Lanka’s most influential literary figures. A self-taught intellectual, Wickramasinghe engaged deeply with global thought, drawing inspiration from French literary giants such as Victor Hugo, Honoré de Balzac, Guy de Maupassant, André Gide, and Jean-Paul Sartre.

🗼 The session will also reflect on his intellectual and cultural connections with France, including his visit in 1968, highlighting the influence of French literature on shaping the modern Sri Lankan mind.

🎥 The evening will feature a screening of Rendez-Vous Special with Yasmin and Kumar, centred on the legacy of Martin Wickramasinghe, offering insights into his enduring contribution to literature and thought.

💬 The screening will be followed by a discussion led by Uditha Devapriya, providing a deeper understanding of Wickramasinghe’s work and relevance today.

📅 Date: 29 April 2026
⏰ Time: 06:30 PM
📍 Venue: Alliance Française de Colombo, No. 11, Barnes Place, Colombo 7

📧 Free registration: events@alliancefrancaise.lk 

🎥 “L’une chante, l’autre pas” (Restored Classic)- directed by Agnès Varda

⚡ The film is a feminist musical. Two young women live in Paris in 1962. Pauline (17), a student, dreams of leaving her family to become a singer. Suzanne (22) takes care of her two children and faces the tragedy of their father’s suicide. Life separates them, and each lives her own struggle as a woman. Pauline becomes a singer in a traveling activist group after experiencing a difficult relationship in Iran. Suzanne overcomes her hardships and works at the Family Planning center. Ten years later, they reunite during a feminist demonstration. By the end of this chronicle, they are together again, with their grown-up children.

📅 Date : Thursday 23 April 
⏰ Time : 7:00 PM
📍 Venue: Alliance Française de Colombo, 11, Barnes Place, Colombo 07

🎟️ Free entrance
💬 English subtitles available
🔞 For audiences aged 18+

🎥 “L’Argent de poche” (Restored Classic), directed by François Truffaut

⚡ À Thiers, dans le Puy-de-Dôme, a handful of children experience the final weeks of the school year, eagerly awaiting the holidays: Bruno, Patrick, Laurent, Mathieu, and Franck, not to mention Martine… Each lives at their own pace, bringing life and spirit to this village, where the two teachers, Miss Petit and Mr. Richet, struggle to capture their attention as the summer camp approaches.

📅 Date : Saturday, 11 April 
⏰ Time : 3:00 PM
📍 Venue: Alliance Française de Colombo, 11, Barnes Place, Colombo 07

🎟️ Free entrance
💬 English subtitles available
🔞 For audiences aged 10+

🎥 “La Haine” (Restored Classic), directed by Mathieu Kassovitz

⚡ All night long, clashes erupted between the youths of the “Muguets” housing project and the police because Abdel, a sixteen-year-old boy, was beaten during an interrogation and is near death. Among these kids, blinded by hate, are three ordinary boys: Hubert, Saïd, and Vinz. Together, they are about to experience the most important day of their lives—the day when the fourth “hero” of the story makes its appearance: a gleaming, chrome-plated 9mm Beretta that a plainclothes police officer reportedly lost during the riots.

📅 Date : Thursday, 09 April
⏰ Time : 7:00 PM
📍 Venue: Alliance Française de Colombo, 11, Barnes Place, Colombo 07

🎟️ Free entrance
💬 English subtitles available
🔞 For audiences aged 13+

🌸 Celebrate the joy of Easter with a fun-filled creative session at Alliance Française de Colombo! Children will get the chance to explore their imagination and craft their very own colorful pop-up Easter cards to take home or gift to loved ones.

📅 Date: Saturday, 04th April

⏰ Time: 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM

👧🧒 Open to children aged 8 and above

🎟️ Free entry – registration required (limited spots available)

📧 Register now: stagiaire.culture@alliancefrancaise.lk