Golden team, diamond lineup of events in celebration of 75 years Philippine-French diplomatic relations

French men's volleyball team 

After sweeping all of their matches at the recently concluded Quezon City leg of the Volleyball Nations League, the French men's volleyball team gave a golden touch to the festivities with their presence at the launch of the 75th Anniversary of the Philippine-French diplomatic relations held at the Pinto Art Museum.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic champions gave up just a set in the four matches the team had during the second round of competition. They won in straight sets against China (by default), Netherlands, and Japan, while their last match against Germany took 4 sets. With this convincing sweep, the team find themselves at the top of the standings above the World Champions Poland by virtue of set won/lost ratio. The team, captained by setter Benjamin Toniutti, will aim to cement a top 8 finish and a ticket to the quarterfinals with matches against the USA, Brazil, Argentina, and Australia at the Osaka, Japan leg happening on July 5-10, 2022.

Coach Andrea Giani

This year's VNL also sees Andrea Giani as the team's new coach. Giani is a 3 time World Champion (1990, 1994, 1998) and a 3 time Olympic medalist (silver 1996 & 2004, bronze 2000) with the Italian squad before retiring and switching to coaching. He is now tasked to lead the French team to take on the World Championship crown later this year in Poland and Slovenia and to defend their Olympic title in homesoil at the Paris 2024 summer games.

The launch event was not just about the French men's volleyball team since it also marked the opening of the Diamond in the Rough art exhibit featuring around 40 works by Filipino contemporary artists who have resided in France (Stella Rojas, Manuel Baldemor, Rock Drilon, Nena Sagil, Vitalis, Gaugin, etc.), as well as French artists based in the Philippines (Henri Etève, Olivia d’Aboville, Maia d’Aboville, Pierre de Vallombreuse).

Ambassador Michèle Boccoz

Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr., French Ambassador Michèle Boccoz, exhibit co-presentor Dr. Joven Cuanang and curator Sandra Palomar formally opened the exhibit which will be available for viewing at the Pinto Art Museum until August 7, 2022.

Lara and Franco Maigue

The program also included a performance by classical-crossover artist Lara Maigue and her brother, guitarist Franco Maigue that was beamed live from Paris, France.

Apart from the exhibit, the 75th Anniversary of the Philippine-French diplomatic relations boasts a lineup of events happening over the next several months.

Noteworthy is the return of French conductor Michaël Cousteau as he leads the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra in a concert featuring the music of César Franck, Camille Saint-Saëns, and Claude Debussy happening at the Cultural Center of the Philippines on July 10, 2022.

Another highlight is Bayan Bayanan: Letters from Home, a new musical based on the classic play by multi-awarded playwright Bienvenido Noriega. Directed by Anton Juan, this musical stars Carlo Mañalac, Banaue Miclat-Janssen, and Tamara Aguilos. The staging of Bayan Bayanan at the CCP on July 15-17, 2022 is presented in accordance with the agreement signed by Erehwon with the Embassy of France in the Philippines.

Still staying at the CCP, the upcoming Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival happening in August 5-14, 2022, the first face to face, on site edition since the online migration, welcomes French film director Frédéric Auburtin as part of this year's jury.

Part of the lineup too is the return of the hit musical Mula sa Buwan by Pat Valera and William Elvin Manzano, adapted from Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac. The latest run happening from August 26 to September 11, 2022 at the new Samsung Performing Arts Center sees Myke Salomon, Gab Pangilinan, and Markki Stroem leading the cast.

And wrapping things up by going full circle with sports but with basketball this time, the ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne basketball team will play a series of exhibition games in partnership with the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) this August and September 2022.