Jean Gremillon
dal 20/11/2014 al 20/12/2014
Segnalato da
20/11/2014
Jean Gremillon
Museum of the Moving Image, Astoria
The exhibition is dedicated to the French director Jean Gremillon. Almost all of the films (except two) will be presented in imported, archival prints several from the Institut Francais, as well as other French archives.
Astoria, New York, November 4, 2014—The iconoclastic French director Jean Gremillon (1901–1959) may be little remembered outside of his native country, yet has slowly emerged to be recognized as one of the titans of pre-New Wave French cinema. His lyrical films, including Le petite Lise (1930), Dainah le métisse (1932), and Gueule d’amour (Lady Killer) (1937, starring Jean Gabin), simultaneously predicted and transcended 1930s French “poetic realism.” His films produced during the German occupation, Remorques (1941, written by Jacques Prevert, starring Jean Gabin), Lumière d’été (Light of Summer) (1943), and Le Ciel est à vous (1944), are widely considered his masterpieces. From November 21 through December 21, 2014, Museum of the Moving Image will present a major retrospective of Grémillon with 12 features and 8 short films, including the titles noted above as well as very rarely shown works from the silent-into-sound period and Gremillon’s post-war features and documentary shorts.
Almost all of the films (except two) will be presented in imported, archival prints—several from the Institut Français, as well as other French archives. The series is presented with support from the Cultural Services of the French Embassy.
“For American audiences, Jean Grémillon is certainly one of the least-known great French directors,” said David Schwartz, the Museum’s Chief Curator. “Not only are his films largely unavailable in this country, he was always a difficult director to pin down, with films that are at once dreamlike and avant-garde, yet rooted in documentary realism.”
Jean Grémillon left his native Normandy with the ambition to be a composer, but while working in the orchestra pit as a silent film accompanist, he fell in love with movies. A documentarian first and last, he combined a dedication to real-life detail with a passion for flamboyant artifice—only one of the many contradictions that defined his personality. He was also a lover of liberty who made his greatest works during the German occupation, and a populist who chafed at working in industrial filmmaking, ending his career making shorts about the fine arts.
Highlights among the documentary shorts Grémillon made after the war include June 6th at Dawn (1945) (November 30, December 7), a retelling of the story of D-Day through the words of eyewitnesses and experts, for which Grémillon returned to his native Normandy, and André Masson et les quatre éléments (1958) (December 14), Grémillon’s last completed work before his death in 1959, a reflection on the paintings of Masson which is among the director’s greatest achievements.
About Institut Français:
As an agent of French cultural diplomacy, operated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development, the Institut Français today is a unique brand in France and 96 other countries. Outside France, it promotes artists, ideas, works and industries, while facilitating artistic exchanges and cultural dialogues. The Institute Français is notably active in the promotion and cultural distribution of French films abroad, through a network of the instituts français and Alliances françaises and over 300 main partners worldwide. Its programs contribute to the non-commercial distribution of recently produced French films and the presentation of its main figures and younger generation as well as to the promotion of film classics and to the wider dissemination of knowledge about film. The Institut Français also participates in the promotion of world cinema with Fabrique des cinémas du monde during the Cannes Film Festival, the Cinémathèque Afrique, and the aid scheme Aide aux cinémas du monde managed jointly with the Centre national du cinema et de l’image animée (CNC).
About Museum of the Moving Image:
Museum of the Moving Image(movingimage.us) advances the understanding, enjoyment, and appreciation of the art, history, technique, and technology of film, television, and digital media. In its stunning facilities—acclaimed for both its accessibility and bold design—the Museum presents exhibitions; screenings of significant works; discussion programs featuring actors, directors, craftspeople, and business leaders; and education programs which serve more than 50,000 students each year. The Museum also houses a significant collection of moving-image artifacts.
Image: Remorques by Jean Gremillon
Press contact:
Tomoko Kawamoto, tkawamoto@movingimage.us / 718 777 6830
Opening: Friday 21 November 2014
Museum of the Moving Image
36-01 35 Ave, Astoria, NY 11106
Wed-Thu: 10:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Fri: 10:30 a.m.-8:00 p.m.
Sat-Sun: 11:30 a.m.-7:00 p.m.