Monday Morning, Lebanon
Feb 18 2008
Interview with the Swiss ambassador Francois Barras: `Culture is the
best reply to war’
Other activities for subsequent years will be more developed, for the
benefit of both Swiss art and Lebanese art.
To the question: `Where did this idea come from?’, Ambassador Barras
replied, `Switzerland has always had very good relations with
Lebanon. There have always been Swiss projects and programs… Hardly
had I arrived in Lebanon when the July war broke out. I was struck by
the wide scale of this aggression against Lebanon. I returned to
Switzerland and spoke with those responsible for the cultural section
at the Foreign Ministry, in particular with those in charge of
Pro-Helvetia, a foundation for the promotion of culture, explaining
to them that the best response to war was by means of culture because
it is essential to support the artists and creators, who are
completely lost in that situation.
`We began by looking for the necessary resources. Naturally this took
time and it’s only now that the project has taken concrete form. The
program extends over the whole of 2008 and is financed by
Pro-Helvetia, the Swiss cultural foundation’, the ambassador
explained.
Pro-Helvetia is a foundation of public law tasked with encouraging
cultural outreach of a general interest to Switzerland. Set up in
1939, it is wholly financed by the Swiss Confederation. Its budget
for 2005 was 33 million Swiss francs.
Inter-cultural dialogue
The foundation works to ensure that Swiss cultural actors enjoy the
best possible conditions to create and to make their creations known.
It helps them present their work in a convincing way, both in
Switzerland and abroad, and gives them the possibility of meeting
cultural figures of other countries.
Pro-Helvetia also sets up programs in fields in which it seeks to
enhance an understanding of popular culture and dance. The law
enacted concerning Pro-Helvetia in 1965 regulates the organization
and the assets of the foundation. Roula Kobeissi is the administrator
of the program.
`In elaborating this program, we were particularly interested in
reaching out to young people as part of our program of exchanges.
Once here, a Swiss musician or artist must have the opportunity to
meet Lebanese counterparts. A youthful public and a dimension of
exchange constitute a double gain, making Switzerland’s cultural
diversity better known and, above all, developing exchanges between
Swiss and Lebanese creators’.
To this end, a brochure entitled `Le Culturel’ will be published each
month to give an overview of the activities. Swiss films will be
presented each month at the `Ziko House’ and at the German Cultural
Center in Jounieh.
Other independent events will be included in the program. Among them
will be a concert by the ambassador’s daughter, at which she will
perform together with a Lebanese tenor, Mark Raïdy, at the Thétre
Abou-Khater.
Projection of Grounding
In the cultural framework scheduled for this month, it is hoped that
Michael Steiner’s film Grounding will be shown. This film relates the
last days of the Swissair company, the famous `grounding’ of October
2, 2001, as well as everything that led to this disaster. It records
the repercussions of these events on the fate of Mario A. Corti, the
unlucky last CEO of the once-prestigious airline, but also on that of
all the others unfortunate enough to be caught up in the event,
losing not only their jobs and homes but also faith in their
homeland.
This will be followed on February 27 by a concert at the Emile
Bustani Auditorium in the Al Bustan Hotel given by the Amar Quartett.
On this occasion this innovative group will be acquainting a new
public with its remarkable interpretations from the royal genre of
chamber music. The quartet works on interdisciplinary projects of
high quality involving ballet, multi-media theater and jazz. The Amar
Quartett first made its name in Switzerland by presenting
extraordinary performances such as Homage to Hindemith.
On February 28, at the Art Lounge on the Corniche du Fleuve, there
will be a presentation of Armenographie, by Stephen Kristensen and
Anna Barseghian. Armenographie is the result of encounters in
Armenia, Syria, Turkey and Lebanon. Each context bears witness to a
different way of being Armenian, even of becoming Armenian.
Armenographie bears witness to a precarity of existence, but also to
a vibrancy of life, in Armenian communities in various parts of the
diaspora.
The events, which are free of charge, are subject to change.
Switzerland’s encounter with Lebanon, a rich cultural season for
2008, placed under the patronage of the Culture Ministry, is the best
expression of the solidarity of a country and a people with Lebanon.
Swiss films
Here is a list of Swiss films to be shown in 2008. The name of the
director is shown in parentheses.
– February: Grounding. (Michael Steiner, T. Fueter).
– February (in the framework of lectures on the Swiss political
system): Mais im Bundeshaus/the Helvetic political genius
(Jean-Stephane Bron).
– March: Jeune homme (Christophe Schaub).
– April: Sieben Mulden und eine Leich (Thomas Hammerli).
– May: Sternenberg (Christophe Schaub).
– June: Straehl (Manuel Flurin Hendry).
– October: Voltaire et l’affaire Calas (Francil Reusser).
– November (in the framework of the European Film Festival):
Herbszeitlosen (35mm – Bettina Oberli).
– December: Nachbeben (Stina Werenfels).