Release Date: April 5, 2007

National Gallery of Art Spring Film Series Celebrates Paris of the 1920s, Prague of the 1930s, Premieres of New Musical Scores, and New Documentaries on Winslow Homer and Paul Mellon

Film still from Lonesome; screening on April 22, at 5:00
Photo: Photofest

Washington, DC–During April, a tribute to Parisian director Alain Resnais and actress Fanny Ardant incorporates two of their most famous films--Mélo (1986, screening on April 21 at 3:00) and La Vie est un roman (1983, screening on April 29 at 4:30). The first is an adaptation of Henri Bernstein’s popular 1929 French melodrama of a doomed ménage à trois, and the latter is Renais’ charming musing on the utopian idea that human life somehow can be improved.

April in Paris
Also in April, the radiance of an earlier Paris fills the National Gallery of Art’s East Building Auditorium when Parisian Panorama 1920–1930 gets underway. A cinematic homage to the city of light, this series of evocative tableaux of parks, dance halls, theaters, cafés, and clubs portrays a bustling Paris in all seasons and all hours. Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Paris in Transition: Photographs from the National Gallery of Art (on view through May 6, in the West Building), the program, which screens April 14 through April 21, includes the following silent films of the 1920s: Etudes sur Paris, Paris Cinema, La Tour, Paris qui dort, and Paris Express, and the early sound feature films Sous les toits de Paris and Paris la nuit.

Belle Toujours, a new film by the eminent Portuguese director Manoel de Oliveira, will receive its Washington premiere on June 2. Finding his inspiration in Luis Buñuel’s legendary Belle de jour, De Oliveira creates a charming sequel, set in contemporary Paris and starring the incomparable Michel Piccoli and Bulle Ogier.

Two outstanding music and film events are scheduled this spring. The acclaimed three-member percussion and keyboard Alloy Orchestra returns to the National Gallery on April 22 to perform its new score for a restoration of the exquisite and rarely seen romantic Hollywood silent Lonesome (1928)—one of the most beautiful and sophisticated films of all time—by Hungarian-American director Pál Fejös. The second music and film event on May 5 will feature the world premiere of a new organ score for Frank Borzage’s enchanting Seventh Heaven (1927), performed by composer and renowned theater organist Dennis James.

Czech Modernism 1920-1960
Czech Modernism 1920–1940 provides a glimpse of the vibrant film culture that flourished in Prague following World War I. Twelve films, principally from the 1930s, examine the impact of avant-garde photography on cinematic narrative and mise-en-scène. Two works by the prominent director Gustav Machatý and a selection of social- problem films such as The Strike and The Distant Journey, are among the highlights. This series, organized by Irena Kovárová, is presented through the cooperation of the Czech Center, New York, and the National Film Archive, Prague, and will be screened from May 12 through June 17. This series overlaps with the exhibition Foto: Modernity in Central Europe, 1918–1945, which opens on June 10 in the East Building.

Winslow Homer and Paul Mellon Documentaries
The Washington premiere of the first full feature-length documentary on Winslow Homer’s life takes place on May 27. Filmmaker Steven John Ross will introduce Winslow Homer: Society and Solitude (2007) and stay for a discussion after the film. Paul Mellon: In His Own Words, a new hour-long biographical film, screening on June 9 and 10, celebrates the spirit, life, and philosophy of Gallery founding benefactor Paul Mellon. The film draws from archival footage, speeches, and a variety of writings in which Mellon describes his passions, pursuits, and interests including family, art, collecting, horses, and racing. The screening is part of the Gallery's celebration of the centennial of Mellon’s birth throughout 2007.

In Praise of Documentaries: The Flaherty
For the sixth year, the Gallery salutes the annual independent seminar and showcase known as The Flaherty, the prestigious American venue designed for the critical examination of experimental, documentary, and overlooked works of fiction that takes place annually at Vassar College. Named for pioneer American filmmaker Robert Flaherty, In Praise of Independents: The Flaherty this year includes the work of Austrian filmmaker Fridolin Schönwiese—who will be present at the event—and Czech filmmakers Vít Klusák and Filip Remunda. The screenings take place through April 8.

Restored Print
Other film events at the Gallery this spring include a restored print of the stunning Mexican feature Days of Autumn (Días de Otoño) photographed by cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa and directed by Roberto Gavaldón (1962), premieres of new documentaries on Armenian directors Sergei Paradjanov and Rouben Mamoulian, and a discussion of the contemporary cinema of Iran by Hamid Dabashi, professor of Iranian studies and comparative literature at Columbia University.

Films are shown in original format in the East Building Auditorium, located at 4th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Seating is on a first-come basis. To ensure a seat, you must arrive at least ten minutes before showtime. For current film information, visit www.nga.gov/programs/film.htm or call (202) 842-6799. To learn more about Gallery events and activities, visit www.nga.gov.

APRIL
Czech Dreams; also The Angelmakers
April 1 at 4:30

The Gaze Back (Volver la Vista); also It Works
April 7 at 2:00

The Sky Turns (El Cielo gira)
April 8 at 4:30

Etudes sur Paris; also Paris Cinema
April 14 at 12:30

La Tour (the Tower); also Paris qui dort, and
Sous les toits de Paris (Under the Roofs of Paris)
April 15 at 4:30

Paris Express; also Paris la nuit
April 21 at 1:00

Mélo (Alain Resnais and Fanny Ardant)
April 21 at 3:00

Lonesome (Alloy Orchestra performs new score)
April 22 at 5:00

La Vie est un roman (Life Is a Bed of Roses) (Alain Resnais and Fanny Ardant)
April 29 at 4:30

MAY
Seventh Heaven
World premiere of new musical score; Dennis James in person
May 5 at 4:00

Días de Otoño (Days of Autumn)
Washington premiere of the restored print
May 6 at 4:30

Sergei Paradjanov, also The Rebel
and Rouben Mamoulian; (French director Patrick Cazals in person)
May 12 at 2:00

Czech Modernism: Faithless Marijka (Marijka nevěrnice)
May 12 at 4:30

Czech Modernism: From Saturday to Sunday (Ze soboty na neděli)
May 13 at 4:30

Event: Crimson Gold
(Columbia University professor Hamid Dabash in person)
May 20 at 4:30

Czech Modernism: On the Sunny Side (Na sluneční straně)
May 26 at 2:00

Winslow Homer: Society and Solitude
Washington premiere; (producer Steven John Ross in person)
May 27 at 2:00

Czech Modernism: The River
May 27 at 5:00

JUNE
Czech Modernism: Virginity (Panenstiv)
June 2 at 2:00

Belle Toujours
June 2 at 4:00

Lecture: Modernism in Central European Life, Art, and Cinema
Michal Bregant, noted authority on Central and Eastern European film and dean of FAMU, the prestigious film and media school of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.
June 3 at 2:00

Event: The Kreutzer Sonata (Kreutzerova sonáta)
also Such is Life (Takový je život)
(Donald Sosin on piano with violin accompaniment)
June 3 at 4:00

Event: Paul Mellon: In His Own Words
June 9 at 1:00

Czech Modernism: Tonka of the Gallows (Tonka Šibenice)
June 9 at 4:00

Event: Paul Mellon: In His Own Words
June 10 at 5:00

Event: Blockade; also Amateur Photographer
June 15 at 12:30

Event: Blockade; also Amateur Photographer
June 16 at 12:30

Czech Modernism: The Strike (Siréna); also Crisis
June 16 at 2:30

Czech Modernism: The Distant Journey (Daleká cesta)
June 17 at 4:00

General Information

The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden are at all times free to the public. They are located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, and are open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Gallery is closed on December 25 and January 1. For information call (202) 737-4215 or the Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) at (202) 842-6176, or visit the Gallery's Web site at www.nga.gov.

Visitors will be asked to present all carried items for inspection upon entering the East and West Buildings. Checkrooms are free of charge and located at each entrance. Luggage and other oversized bags must be presented at the 4th Street entrances to the East or West Building to permit x-ray screening and must be deposited in the checkrooms at those entrances. For the safety of visitors and the works of art, nothing may be carried into the Gallery on a visitor's back. Any bag or other items that cannot be carried reasonably and safely in some other manner must be left in the checkrooms. Items larger than 17 x 26 inches cannot be accepted by the Gallery or its checkrooms.

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