"Francophonie Week" on its anniversary electrifies with intercultural rhythms

The electro-dance performance by “Duo Demezure” and electronic music by DJ Oda Haliti, were the intro in Pristina of the “Francophonie Week”, which for this year’s edition has chosen Gjakova as the center. It is the 25th edition of “Francophonie Week”, which holds the title of the most traditional event in post-war Kosovo, and in each edition it proves to be a special chapter not only in the unfolding of Francophone culture, but also an example of intercultural communication. “Atmospheres” continues to be the theme and in early spring, it brings atmosphere from dance and music, to film and theater

Dance, music, theater and film are just some of the artistic fields with which this year's "Francophonie Week" is marked. One of the most traditional cultural events in post-war Kosovo began on Friday night with a rich program. It was inaugurated at the "Oda" theater, but this year the program will be extended mainly to Gjakova, a little bit will also be moved to Prizren and for the closing on the 28th it will return to Pristina to celebrate with the spirit of classical music. 

This year, for seven days, Gjakova is the capital of Francophonie in Kosovo. At the opening ceremony at the “Oda” theater, the Embassy of France in Kosovo and the French Institute said that they will travel there “to experience music, literature, theater, dance.” It was emphasized that the events, as usual, come in cooperation between the embassies of Belgium, Switzerland and France. 

"I am very happy to welcome you here. Every year, we change cities as the capital of Francophonie. We are here to inaugurate the 25th anniversary of the 'Francophonie Week'. We will have it for a whole week in Gjakova. We thank you for being here: the public, the embassies, our partners. Tonight we will have the 'Duo Demezure' who we are happy to have and then we have DJ Oda. So we expect you to dance to celebrate diversity, literature, music, dance and the whole program", said in the short opening speech, Edouard Mayoral, advisor to the French Ambassador to Kosovo, Olivier Guérot.

The dance group “Duo Demezure” and Oda Haliti with electronic music were the promoters of French culture on the first night. In the performance hall of the “Oda” theater, the audience platform was completely removed, while the stage was erected. The colorful lights in the dark environment made the view unique. 

The duo Mathilde Boagno and Sherwin Assadan have brought the dynamic performance. The former enters the stage alone, performing rapid movements that are highlighted by green lighting. The Frenchwoman Boagno said that the performance narrates the difficulties of their lives and the support they find in each other. 

"We're talking about a couple, a special couple actually. There's a very strong bond, but it can be complicated, there are difficulties, there are many compromises, many things. They can be angry and happy, they can feel many things. People see a happy couple while they're working to build something strong. He and I talk about all of this individually. When I'm alone on stage, I talk about the problems and difficulties of my life, about the struggles," Boagno said. 

Her dynamic performance is then joined by Assadan, who said that the performance shows what their lives were like before they met. 

"Mathilde has faced many difficulties like me, mainly childhood difficulties. When we met, it was a good time because I was the person who was ready to help Mathilde overcome those difficulties, and she also showed me that she agreed to help me through what I was going through. This is what I try to express in my solo part, namely the difficulties of my childhood and how life as a couple helped me cope with them and move forward," said Assadan. 
They are in communication and inextricably linked to the rhythms of the music. In their choreography, which premiered in Pristina, the relationships of a couple unfold, which, in addition to love, also have disagreements and tensions. 

Sherwin Assadan, a guitarist and dancer who lives and works in France, said that this performance is the result of a previous successful work. 

"We did a project in 2023, which was very successful, many people told us that it was very special and that we should continue this work. Then we did an open stage, since I am a guitarist, where I played the guitar and Mathilde danced. We thought that this was something good and we should do it again. We wanted to come on stage together as dancers, so we had the opportunity to come here. It was the first time that we were both on stage together. We had a lot of stress, a lot of emotions, but we did it and we are happy," he said. 

The duo revealed the same story in Gjakova, on Saturday night at the "Hadi Shehu" theater. 
Dancer and choreographer Mathilde Boagno said that their performance, which premiered in Pristina, is a mix of electro-dance, hip-hop and experimental. The music was composed by Sherwin Assadan. 

"We did this dance for a month, I did the choreography and he did the music. Only one is not his because we didn't have much time to work on it all alone. I did the dance so that he could dance with me on stage," said Boagno. 

Music with rhythms from nature seems to bring the image of the landscapes where the event takes place. Their embraces are sometimes unfinished and their touches forbidden. Their closeness, distant. With it, a piece of Francophone culture is also brought. 

"The idea was to bring culture through electro-dance. I only dance this genre. It was adapted with electro, but it worked very well and this was to showcase the dance culture in France," said Mathilde Boagno. 

After their performance, DJ Oda Haliti mixed songs in French and let the audience enjoy the rhythms of electronic music.

On Saturday at the "Hadi Shehu" theater, in addition to the performance of "Duo Demezure", poems by French authors were also read by theater actors. The second day of Francophonie and the first in Gjakova concluded with a musical performance by the Gjakova Women's Choir. 

The next day, the “Hyrije Hana” cinema will screen the film “Toni, en famille” by Frenchman Nathan Ambrosion. On March 24, there will be a school play prepared by the “Hajdar Dushi” gymnasium in Gjakova. The exhibition “Dis-moi dix mots sur la planete” will open in the city gallery, the musical comedy “Notre Dame de Paris” will be shown in the theater, while the films “Les Choristes” by Christophe Barrarier and the film “Feu feu feu” by Pauline Jeanbourquin will be shown in the “Lumbardhi” cinema in Prizren. 

On the evening of March 25, the film "Tambour Battani" by François-Christophe Marzal will be screened, while the next day will be marked by the theatrical play "Antigone" by author Jean-Jacques Annaud, directed by Erson Zymberi. 

On March 27, the film “Rien a foutre” by Emmanuel Marre and Julie Lecoustre will be screened. Francophonie Week will close on March 28 with a concert by the Kosovo Philharmonic Orchestra in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the death of composer Maurice Ravel. 

For the fifth year in a row, "Francophonie Week" is titled "Atmospheres", precisely because it comes as an atmosphere of its own. The last edition was held in Mitrovica and a new product of the French state in Kosovo was the French Institute in Pristina.