Norouz in Persian, Newroz in Kurdish, Nevruz in Turkish; in this part of the world the New Year celebrations take place in March with the coming of spring. The Paris « House of Central Asia » organizes a wide range of events this weekend for the occasion, some of which evolving around unrecognized or lesser widespread cultures and languages.

Saturday March 19 schedules a rich (and free!) film selection to begin at 1pm including « The Foster Son », a Kyrgyz language movie; a documentary about the great Usbek singer Monajat Yulchieva, viewed by her people as a diva, an enlightened poetress, a sage, and a daughter of the Uzbek people. Another documentary entitled « Qetiq – Road to Osnabrück » relates the story of a Uighur blues rock band in north-western China…

Also worth noting, and still with the Uighur: « Goodbye Kashgar » is a photo exhibition on the mythic city of the Silk Road currently witnessing destruction of its older districts. The exhibition is free and goes on until March 30.

Full programme

March 18 to 20, 2011

Centre culturel pour l’Europe de l’Est et l’Asie centrale

3, passage Hennel (access by 105, avenue Daumesnil or 140, rue de Charenton) – 75012 Paris

Metro: Gare de Lyon or Reuilly-Diderot

Tel + 33 1 40 24 00 55