Together with all the member states of the International Organization of the Francophonie, Moldova and Romania celebrate the International Day of Francophonie on March 20, IPN reports.

The Embassy of Romania in Moldova said the traditional Francophone Film Festival will be held in Chisinau on March 22-30. It will be officially opened at Gaudeamus Movie Theater on March 22, at 6pm, in the presence of Xavier Palud and Laurent Couson, director and composer of the soundtrack of the film “A l’aveugle”, which will be shown on this occasion.

The festival’s program includes 14 recently made films designed for all the categories of public, such as “Les Adieux à la Reine”, “De rouille et d’os”, “Populaire”, “Ernest et Célestine”, which won the César Award for Best Animated Film in 2013, and “Amour”, which won Palme d’Or in Cannes in 2012 and the César Award for Best French Film in 2012.

For the first time in the 14 years of existence, the Francophone Film Festival will close with the screening of a Canadian movie - “Diego Star” – in the presence of director Frédérick Pelletier, who will answer the public’s questions.

The festival will also take place in Tiraspol, on March 24, and in Balti, on March 26.

Currently, the International Organization of the Francophonie includes 77 member states or states with the status of observer. The Embassy of Romania says that one of the most important initiatives of the Francophonie, launched by Romania, is the doctoral and post-doctoral scholarships program “Eugen Ionescu”. Within the six classes, starting with 2006, Romania offered scholarships to study in the French language at its universities to 468 persons from 27 countries, 81 of whom from Moldova.