Her Excellency
MINH-DI TANG
Ambassador of France to Singapore

20 years after my initial assignment here, it is an honour for me to be appointed as the French Ambassador to Singapore. Our two nations are like-minded, and Singapore is an essential partner for France in the Indo-Pacific. I hope to strengthen the bonds between our countries and our people, as well as to expand our partnership in various fields of cooperation.

vOilah! France Singapore Festival is a great illustration of what our two countries can achieve together. It showcases the best of France-Singapore partnerships in culture, science, education, and lifestyle. vOilah! has become an integrated part of Singapore’s cultural scene, celebrating a long-term cooperation and a strong friendship between our two countries.

wo years after the outbreak of the pandemic, vOilah! is finally back in full force. This years’ edition will be held from 26 October to 27 November 2022. It will present more than 250 events to a wide audience, giving everyone the possibility to learn more about French culture. To celebrate the return of large-scale cultural events in Singapore, the festival will open with a jazz concert featuring Jeremy Monteiro and Samy Thiébault in the Singapore Botanic Gardens. The Tour de France will stop in Singapore for a South-East Asia premiere. For the first time, France is the country of Focus for the Singapore Writers Festival. French classical music will be in the limelight with 4 concerts showing the best of France’s creation and performance. The highly-anticipated French Film Festival is back with a selection of 30 movies, which includes recently released movies across all genres, as well as celebrated classics. And to conclude this special edition, the French Food Market will bring to Singapore some of its finest food and wines.

vOilah! festival in 2022 will continue to achieve a net-zero goal by reducing CO2 emissions to the core. By growing from past editions and close partnerships to reduce carbon footprint cooperatively, vOilah! aims towards a sustainable and resilient tomorrow.

This Embassy is grateful to all the partners of the 2022 edition of vOilah! France Singapore Festival and I especially thank Mr Boo Junfeng who gives us the great pleasure of being the patron of this year’s edition.

I wish vOilah! France Singapore Festival every success.

MR EDWIN TONG
Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Second Minister for Law

The friendship between Singapore and France is a deep and abiding one. We have much in common, not least of which is our shared appreciation for the arts and culture. As the world grows increasingly interconnected, there is ample room for us to strengthen our partnerships and learn from each other.

The annual vOilah! France Singapore Festival is one of the key highlights of Singapore’s art and culture calendar. We always know that we can look forward to a slate of exciting and diverse programmes which will enliven our city and bring excitement, learning, and joy to many. Last year’s edition of vOilah! featured programmes including The Little Prince – A Musical Journey and Like Nothing Else, which involved both French and Singaporean artists working together to put up spectacular and memorable performances, showcasing the splendours possible through crosscultural cooperation.

I am glad to see that this year’s edition of vOilah! will carry on the practice of bringing Singaporean and French artists, designers, and practitioners together. I am certain that these fruitful collaborations will only increase in the future. Earlier this year, the Embassy of France and Singapore’s National Arts Council signed a Memorandum of Understanding to create a bilateral Artist-in-Residency Programme by arts and culture institutions over the next five years, in visual, literary, and performing arts. I hope we will see some of the results from this  programme in future editions of vOilah!

I wish vOilah! 2022 every success, and for all participants and audiences to have a memorable and enriching experience!

MR BOO JUNFENG
Filmmaker
Festival Patron

I am honoured to be the Patron for vOilah! France Singapore Festival 2022.  France has always been a place of inspiration in my journey as a filmmaker. From the films of François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard and Agnès Varda to the experiences of premiering my own films at the Cannes Film Festival, I am thankful for the many great things that France has given me.

The first time I travelled with my films to France was with my earlier shorts at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival. It was an affirming experience, for I was starting out as a filmmaker. I saw hundreds of people lining up in the cold of winter to enter the cinema to watch the selection of films that mine were a part of. The discussions I had with the audience after the screenings were so in-depth that I felt validated for my craft and encouraged to continue my exploration as a young filmmaker.

Years later, with the help of funding from the Centre National du Cinéma et de l’Image Animée (CNC), I had the opportunity of working with French talents on my second feature film, APPRENTICE. Our cinematographer and steadicam operator came from France to work with us in Singapore, and I travelled to Paris to finish the colour grading and post-production. It was an exciting and fulfilling artistic exchange.

I fondly remember going for morning runs through the Père Lachaise Cemetery while working in Paris. It wasn’t the typical Parisian running route, but for me, passing by the final resting places of Edith Piaf, Oscar Wilde, Frédéric Chopin and other great artists as part of my daily routine was a privilege. The cemetery is testament to France’s rich cultural heritage, and I was inspired and humbled at the same time to be immersed in it.

vOilah! has become a much anticipated event in Singapore. I am very pleased to be part of the festival that brings the richness of French culture to Singapore. There is so much to explore at vOilah! 2022!. I look forward to discovering not only new French films, but also music concerts, art exhibitions and food experiences. In short: immersing myself and feeling inspired once again.