Exile or prison?

The Sound Kitchen

This week on The Sound Kitchen you’ll hear the answer to the question about the last-minute film added to the Cannes Film Festival line-up. There’s “The Listener’s Corner” with Paul Myers, the latest from the Roland Garros French Open, and plenty of good music. All that and the new quiz and bonus questions too, so click on the “Play” button above and enjoy!

Hello everyone! Welcome to The Sound Kitchen weekly podcast, published every Saturday – here on our website, or wherever you get your podcasts. You’ll hear the winner’s names announced and the week’s quiz question, along with all the other ingredients you’ve grown accustomed to: your letters and essays, “On This Day”, quirky facts and news, interviews, and great music … so be sure and listen every week.

Erwan and I are busy cooking up special shows with your music requests, so get them in! Send your music requests to [e-mail] Tell us why you like the piece of music, too – it makes it more interesting for us all!

The ePOP video competition is open!

The ePOP video competition is sponsored by the RFI department “Planète Radio”, whose mission is to give a voice to the voiceless. ePOP focuses on the environment, and how climate change has affected “ordinary” people. You are to create a three-minute video about climate change, the environment, pollution - told by the people it affects.

You do not need fancy video equipment to enter the competition. Your phone is fine. And you do not need to be a member of the RFI Clubs to enter – everyone is welcome. And by the way – the prizes are incredibly generous!

Go to the ePOP page to read about past competitions, watch past videos, and read the regulations for your entry. You can also write to us at [e-mail], and we’ll forward your mail to Planète Radio.

The competition closes on 12 September, but you know how "time flies”, so get to work now! We expect to be bombarded with entries from the English speakers!

Facebook: Be sure to send your photos for the RFI English Listeners Forum banner to [e-mail]

More tech news: Did you know we have a YouTube channel? Just go to YouTube and write RFI English in the search bar, and there we are! Be sure to subscribe to see all our videos.

Would you like to learn French? RFI is here to help you!

Our website “Le Français facile avec RFI” has news broadcasts in slow, simple French, as well as bi-lingual radio dramas (with real actors!) and exercises to practice what you have heard.

Go to our website and get started! At the top of the page, click on “Test level”. According to your score, you’ll be counselled to the best-suited activities for your level.

Do not give up! As Lidwien van Dixhoorn, the head of “Le Français facile” service told me: “Bathe your ears in the sound of the language, and eventually, you’ll get it." She should know – Lidwien is Dutch and came to France hardly able to say “bonjour” and now she heads this key RFI department – so stick with it!

Be sure you check out our wonderful podcasts!

In addition to the breaking news articles on our site with in-depth analysis of current affairs in France and across the globe, we have several podcasts that will leave you hungry for more.

There’s Paris Perspective, Spotlight on France, Spotlight on Africa, and of course, The Sound Kitchen. We have an award-winning bilingual series – an old-time radio show, with actors (!) to help you learn French, called Les voisins du 12 bis. And there is the excellent International Report, too.

As you see, sound is still quite present in the RFI English service. Keep checking our website for updates on the latest from our staff of journalists. You never know what we’ll surprise you with!

To listen to our podcasts from your PC, go to our website; you’ll see “Podcasts” at the top of the page. You can either listen directly or subscribe and receive them directly on your mobile phone.

To listen to our podcasts from your mobile phone, slide through the tabs just under the lead article (the first tab is “Headline News”) until you see “Podcasts”, and choose your show.

Teachers, take note! I save postcards and stamps from all over the world to send to you for your students. If you would like stamps and postcards for your students, just write and let me know. The address is [e-mail] If you would like to donate stamps and postcards, feel free! Our address is listed below.

Another idea for your students: Br. Gerald Muller, my beloved music teacher from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, has been writing books for young adults in his retirement – and they are free! There is a volume of biographies of painters and musicians called Gentle Giants, and an excellent biography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, too. They are also a good way to help you improve your English – that’s how I worked on my French, reading books that were meant for young readers – and I guarantee you, it’s a good method for improving your language skills. To get Br. Gerald’s free books, click here.

Independent RFI English Clubs: Be sure to always include Audrey Iattoni ([e-mail]) from our Listener Relations department in your RFI Club correspondence. Remember to copy me ([e-mail]) when you write to her so that I know what is going on, too. NB: You do not need to send her your quiz answers! Email overload!

This week’s quiz: On 4 May, I asked you a question about the Cannes Film Festival, as a film had just been added to the line-up. You were to refer to our article “French stars Omar Sy and Eva Green part of 2024 Cannes Film Festival jury”, and send in the answer to these questions: What is the name of that last-minute film, and what is the name and nationality of the director?

The answer is, to quote our article: “There have been late additions to the festival's line-up in recent days, including The Seed of the Sacred Fig by Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof, who has faced prison time for criticising the government. It is unclear if he will be able to attend the festival.”

He was able to attend the festival – as we reported a few days later, Rasoulof left Iran without official permission, after being sentenced to eight years in prison and flogging for national security crimes.

As he said at the time: “I had to choose between prison and leaving Iran. With a heavy heart, I chose exile.”

Rasoulof, 52, is already known for There is No Evil, which won the top prize at the Berlin Film Festival four years ago, and for A Man of Integrity, highly praised at Cannes in 2018 - but which resulted in a string of travel restrictions, prison sentences and film-making bans in Iran. In 2023 he was unable to take up an invitation to join the Cannes competition jury because he was under detention.

The Seed of the Sacred Fig not only won the longest-standing ovation at this year’s festival – 12 minutes! – but it won the Fipresci award from the jury of the International Federation of Film Critics, a special award given at international film festivals.

In addition to the quiz question, there was the bonus question: “What book made the greatest difference in your life, and how?”

Do you have a bonus question idea? Send it to us!

The winners are: RFI Listeners Club member Sahadot Hossain from Kishoreganj, Bangladesh. Sahadot is also the winner of this week’s bonus question. Congratulations, Sahadot!

Also on the list of lucky winners this week is Shivendu Paul, the president of the RFI Metali Listeners Club in Murshidibad, India; RFI Listeners Club member Sakawat Hossain from Sylhet, Bangladesh, and RFI English listeners Babo from the Friends Radio Club in Naogaon, as well as Suresh Agrawal from Odisha, India.

Here’s the music you heard on this week’s program: The overture to the opera Russlan and Ludmila by Mikhail Glinka, performed by the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra conducted by Valery Gergiev; “Watch What Happens” by Michel Legrand, played by Ted Greene; “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov; “The Cakewalk” from Children’s Corner by Claude Debussy, performed by the composer, and “Evening”: lyrics by Ann Malcolm, music by Debussy arranged by Tom Harrell, performed by Ann Malcolm and her ensemble.

Do you have a music request? Send it to [e-mail]

This week’s question ... you must listen to the show to participate. After you’ve listened to the show, re-read our article “Tiananmen Square at 35: top Chinese dissident looks back”, which will help you with the answer.

You have until 1 July to enter this week's quiz. The winners will be announced on the 6 July podcast. When you enter, be sure you send your postal address with your answer, and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

Send your answers to:

[e-mail]

or

Susan Owensby

RFI – The Sound Kitchen

80, rue Camille Desmoulins

92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux

France

or

By text … You can also send your quiz answers to The Sound Kitchen mobile phone. Dial your country’s international access code, or “ + ”, then 33 6 31 12 96 82. Don’t forget to include your mailing address in your text – and if you have one, your RFI Listeners Club membership number.

To find out how you can win a special Sound Kitchen prize, click here.

To find out how you can become a member of the RFI Listeners Club, or form your own official RFI Club, click here.