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    'France is more than Louis Vuitton'

2005-05-31 06:21

If one were conducting a survey of Hongkongers' experiences with the French or French culture, it is likely that most would say the closest they have come to the subject is a baguette and coffee at their nearest Delifrance.

But for just over a month each year, their opportunity to sample more than such a minuscule taste of "France" increases a hundred fold. The curtain rises on a country that is synonymous with high fashion, beauty and lifestyle. All this wonderful culture takes centre stage in the city's events calendar.

Le French May, now celebrating since 1993 in Hong Kong, is a showcase of some of the best and brightest that France has to offer, with a diverse range of cultural experiences, including traditional and contemporary dance, the performing arts, music, painting and photography exhibitions and even fine dining.

"The purpose is to open a kind of window on France," says Michel Guyot, consul of culture and science of the Consulate General of France in Hong Kong.

"Our aim is to promote French culture and participate in a cultural exchange. France and China have a long history of sharing of ideas, so it is a rich partnership which is good for both sides."

This year's Le French May is a bigger and more elaborate affair than past years, says Guyot. The reason is the mainland's hosting of the Year of France in China, a celebration of everything French. It is an effort of the French Government to increase awareness of France in China through a year-long series of events and promotions.

"Everything is bigger this year," the culture supremo says. "We have a much larger programme and have introduced a number of performances and themes which we have never shown before."

Chief among these, he adds, is Ola Kala, a troupe of flying trapeze artists that combines technical and acrobatic prowess with poetic movement. Also never staged before is a dance party hosted by Jack de Marseille, one of France's leading djs; and Soul Dragon, a contemporary dance performance that represents a fusion of classical Chinese dance and French hip hop.

But rather than a deliberate attempt to capture the audiences of tomorrow, such youth-oriented treats are merely a reflection of French culture as it is today, says Guyot.

"Our goal has always been to take what we have in France, and bring it to China for everyone to see. When people think of France, they always think Louis Vuitton or other names... But we want to show them that there is much more to France than these."

Given the exclusivity of French food and wine, it is surprising to find that the inclusion of a showcase on French dining is only a recent addition to the festival. As well as a range of special meals made available in French restaurants throughout the territory, one of France's leading communications and marketing companies for the food and wine industries, Sopexa, has organized a number of extended promotions that begin and end in the months straddling May. The aim is to further raise awareness of French products in Hong Kong.

"There is no doubt that the Year of France in China has been a boost to our own festival in Hong Kong," says Guyot. "Not only a bigger budget, but also more artists and bigger events. For example, the Patricia Kaas concert. At first we didn't think about her, but I was told she was going to be in South Korea and on the mainland, so it was not hard to convince her to add another step to her tour."

While understandably enthused with this year's proceedings, Guyot is nonetheless the realist, busy making phone calls to build up relationships with potential sponsors of future festivals.

"Our biggest challenge, as with all arts events, is getting enough finance," he says. "If you organize a pop music concert, for example, the costs are very very high. We have (booking) costs, production costs, advertising costs - and we need to find them accommodation."

The festival's costs are offset somewhat by the support it receives from the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, which is a partner in organizing the event.

The government body, which supports other major arts activities in the city, most notably the Hong Kong Arts Festival, makes available the all-important venues for events, which would add an additional financial burden otherwise.

"While final figures are not available for this year, I can say that last year, we achieved around 75-to-80 per cent attendance, which is better than the programme in former years. And this year will be better," he says. At the moment, "we find that 30-to-40 per cent of our expenditure is covered by ticket sales. But while we also receive funding from the French Government, we still need sponsorship to cover the rest of our costs."

This constant search for funding "has a lot to do with the culture," says Guyot. "Hong Kong is a business city, it is a finance city and so things like arts are in the background. In Hong Kong, there is minimal government financing for the arts, so we need the private sector."

Also, "there is less public support for the arts, in that arts events are generally not as well attended as in France," he says.

However, there are signs that this attitude is changing.

"Recently, we have been receiving good response from companies, who want to support us," says Guyot. "We are fortunate in that people know it is a quality event, so they want to be associated with us. Companies gain from this because they get exposure and it adds to their image. So in this respect it is just as good as advertising.

"Arts and culture is part of the French tradition. So for the French people, culture must be provided by the government. The second thing is that the artists refuse to be sponsored by a company because they want to keep their freedom." This right to be able to enjoy the arts everywhere, therefore, translates to artists demanding public funding also, he says.

It is because of these beliefs that there is very little support for the arts from the business community, which leaves it to the public sector to provide, says Guyot, except for the occasional one-off event staged at large venues like the Pompidou Centre.

This belief, in the public and artists' right to government support, has its roots in the country's socialist traditions, says Guyot.

"France has a strong social welfare culture where even our education is mainly paid for by the government. There is an expectation that certain things, like arts, should be freely available to everyone."

This strong support that the French Government provides is one of the main reasons why France runs arguably the largest and most successful non-local cultural festivals in Hong Kong.

"We have a team of twelve full-time staff, just for culture and science," he says. "And we receive funding to advance French (interests) in four main areas - co-operation with Hong Kong universities, the second is artistic matters like Le French May, third is movies and fourth is language. I believe no other consulates have such a large team. But for France this co-operation is very important."

Despite the challenges, the future of the event is looking secure, says Guyot. With this year's festival well supported, with over 50 per cent of sponsors being local concerns - a number that is "only likely to increase" - there were, in fact, more sponsors available than were used.

And what will future events hold in store? "We have no specific strategy from year to year," Guyot says, "so the selection of performances and events that we stage are taken from everywhere."

However, "France has a lot more than just clothes, accessories and shoes. France is a country of science and technology. And not many people know that. So in the future, I want to open a new scientific theme."

(HK Edition 05/31/2005 page4)

 
                 

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