Like the previous year, this year also a weeklong Francophone festival – 'Fête de la Francophonie' began in unison at multiple venues in Dhaka and Chittagong from 10 March onwards till 22 March to celebrate the French Language and the International Organisation of La Francophonie (Organisation internationale de la Francophonie).

The seven Francophone diplomatic missions in Bangladesh along with Alliance Française are stepping up with several events throughout the week.

The 2015 Francophone week in Bangladesh aims at celebrating the cultural diversity of the Francophone community worldwide while promoting the shared values of ‘La Francophonie.’

The weeklong programmes include screenings of a wide-range of films, concerts, book fair, porte ouverte, LabCitoyen 2015, cooking contest, exhibitions, pétanque (the French game of boules), dance performances by students etc. This year, the exhibition also presents words French has borrowed from other languages.

On 13 March, film ‘The Sparrow’ will be screened at Alliance Francaise de Dhaka at 10:30am.

‘The Sparrow’ is an ensemble drama of sorts, set during 1967′s Six-Day War between Israel and the United Arab Republic of Egypt. The film followed a young policeman trying to unearth government corruption while dealing with looking for his father, as well as his half-brother, an incendiary journalist and soldier trying to affect change on the home-front while dealing with corruption on his own. Describing it this way makes it seem like more of a simplistic propaganda piece, but the film is nuanced and complex, replete with subplots including a local sheik miffed at his overprotection, the search for a Keyser Soze-like local crime-lord, and the strong woman whose residence much of the film revolves around, and who progressively becomes the focus as the climax rises and Gamal Nasser Hussein's Egypt crumbles.

French is spoken by 274 million people worldwide, and it is the official language of 32 countries. Every year on 20 March, the French language and the values of solidarity and cultural dialogue promoted by Francophone countries are celebrated across the world and especially in the 77 member countries of Organisation internationale de la Francophonie.