News Release

MONCTON (GNB) – The premiere of the documentary De Moncton à Kinshasa by director Paul Arseneau will be held at the Capitol Theatre in Moncton in the context of International Francophonie Day, Wednesday, March 20.

The film follows New Brunswick's participation in La Francophonie over 35 years.

"This production is an excellent way to highlight the efforts made during the past 35 years to enable New Brunswick to play its full role in La Francophonie," said Deputy Premier Paul Robichaud, who is also the minister responsible for La  Francophonie.

De Moncton à Kinshasa is the result of a collaboration between Phare-Est Média in Moncton  and the broadcaster TV5 Québec-Canada. This television production records the journey of this, the only officially bilingual province in Canada, within La Francophonie.

It was filmed in Moncton, Dieppe, Fredericton, Quebec, Paris and Kinshasa between March and October 2012, involving about 20 people. The production team used several archives, including those of the Government of New Brunswick, Société Radio-Canada, the Centre d'études acadiennes and the National Film Board of Canada.

"Our participation in La Francophonie has given New Brunswick unprecedented visibility," Robichaud said. "It has enabled us to develop special contacts in Paris, Dakar, Hanoi and elsewhere in the world. There are still exceptional collaboration opportunities in the international French-speaking community, especially with respect to culture, education and business, and we intend to explore those further in the future."

La Francophonie is the only international governmental organization in which New Brunswick has a place at the decision-making table and where the premier, ministers and senior public servants have direct and preferred access to the highest-level officials of 77 states and governments, including their heads of state and sectoral ministers.

"New Brunswick was admitted as a participating government at the request of then-premier Richard Hatfield in December 1977," Robichaud said. "New Brunswick saw it as a natural extension of its status as an officially bilingual province."

The premiere De Moncton à Kinshasa will be held at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 20, at the Capitol Theatre in Moncton. Admission is free. Tickets are available at the box office.