The 2011 edition of Voilah showcases more than 20 events, featuring musical performances, visual art exhibitions, fashion shows, literary arts, gourmet tastings, sports and film screenings – each aiming to reflect French cultural diversity, both traditional and contemporary. An impressive line-up of Impressionist masters from the Musée d’Orsay brought to Singapore by the National Museum of Singapore kicks off Voilah!, and the festival will end in the most glamorous manner with the inaugural Société Générale Private Banking 1st Rendez-vous with French Cinema. A natural extension of the French Film Festival that was first started in 1985 by Alliance Française, The Rendez-vous develops the festival into a larger regional event that will feature the latest releases and bring renowned French actors and directors to meet their Singapore-based fans. Among this wide array of events, fashion is back, with panache: Women’s Fashion Week 2011 will present “Haute Couture Week – Singapore”, a series of exclusive shows that will reveal haute couture in all its exceptional refinery and handcrafted splendour, featuring the best French grand couturiers. Additionally, the first Singapore Fashion Film Festival will bring to the Singapore screen the world of haute couture and the creative processes behind the fashion ateliers of top international designers. Voilah! also aims to be a meeting point between French and Singaporean communities: “Off the Wall” will exhibit works painted together by French and Singaporean street artists; French choreographer Olé Khamchanla and Singapore hip hop dance school O School join forces to present an original fusion piece “Listen”; local artists Andrée Weschler and Lynn Lu invite us to revisit the “La Carte de Tendre”; and electro-pop act Saycet will share the bill with Singapore students’ favourite B-Quartet and Indonesia’s White Shoes and the Couples Company. Voilah! celebrates the strong relationship built over the years between French and Singaporean arts and audio-visual operators, to name a few: Alliance Française, the National Museum, Writers Festival, Yong Siew Toh Conservatory, Asian Television Forum, The Substation, Zouk, MDA, Cathay, Golden Village, Shaw, MVP, and many more. This event is supported by the French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore and Encore! The European Season in Singapore. Source: Voilah Image: George Melies