NEW YORK, May 19, 2017— On June 9, 2017, the free outdoor French film festival Films on the Green will screen the powerful 2013 French-Senegalese drama Tey (Today) directed by Alain Gomis. Tey was selected for the festival by guest curator and actor in the film, Saul Williams. The screening will take place at sunset in Washington Square Park.
Tey (Today) is a poetic journey which tracks the main character, Satché, the last day of his life. Accompanied by his friend Sélé, Satché walks through the bustling and changing city of Dakar for the last time, passing and bidding farewell to significant places and people in his life on the way.
Tey (Today), the third feature film by director Alain Gomis (As a Man, Andalucia, and Félicité in 2017), stars Saul Williams alongside Aïssa Maïga, Anisia Uzeyman and Djolof Mbengue. Itwon the Burkina Faso’s FESPACO award in 2013.
Saul Williams on his selected film Tey
“That evening I get a call from Alain Gomis” said Saul Williams while living in Paris. “He’s in Senegal prepping for a film that he says he wrote with my picture hanging over his desk. He asks can he send the producer with the script in the morning. The next morning two producers arrive at my house with a script and a story of how they had gotten the finances for the film green-lit partially by saying I was already attached. It takes me two weeks and two dictionaries (French/Wolof) to read it. TEY, for me, represents a turning point in my life, just as the story of the film is a turning point for the character, and so it is for all who see it.”
A poet, writer, actor and musician, Saul Williams has performed in over 30 countries in Africa, South America, Asia and Europe. Co-writer and star of Slam (1998), which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival and the Camera d’Or at Cannes, Williams is widely renowned for his writing talents. He has given lectures at over 300 universities and was guest of honor to Michelle Obama’s first poetry reading at The White House.
The screening of Tey (1h26) is free and open to the public and will take place in Washington Square Park (under the arch) in presence of Saul Williams on Friday June 9, 2017 at 8:30pm. DJs from New York University’s radio station, WNYU 89.1 FM will spin French music on-site before the screening. The film will be shown in French and Wolof with English subtitles.
Films on the Green
In its landmark 10th year, Films on the Green invited 10 guest curators—some of the most creative and compelling filmmakers, actors, and artists of our time–to select one film each for the summer’s program. The guest curators include: Wes Anderson, Jim Jarmusch, James Ivory, Saul Williams, Isabella Rossellini, Wanda Sykes, Laurie Anderson, Matthew Weiner, Matías Piñeiro, and Amy Hargreaves.
2017 FESTIVAL SCHEDULE
All films are in French with English subtitles, except for the film that will be screened on July 12th, which is in French and English with Spanish subtitles. Screenings begin at sunset.
June 2 – Central Park (79th St & Fifth Ave): Potiche (Trophy Wife), by Ozon, selected by Wanda Sykes
June 9- Washington Sq. Park: Tey (Today) by Gomis, selected by Saul Williams
June 16 – Washington Sq. Park: La Traversée de Paris by Autant-Lara, selected by Amy Hargreaves
June 23 – Transmitter Park (Brooklyn): Mauvais Sang by Carax, selected by Wes Anderson
June 30 – Transmitter Park (Brooklyn): Contempt by Godard, selected by Jim Jarmusch
July 7 – Tompkins Sq. Park: La Cérémonie by Chabrol, selected by Matthew Weiner
July 12 – J. Hood Wright Park (West 173th St): The Science of Sleep by Gondry (2006), presented in partnership with the Mexican Cultural Institute of New York (screening in French and English with Spanish subtitles).
July 14 – Tompkins Sq. Park: Port of Shadows by Carné, selected by Laurie Anderson
July 21 – Riverside Park, Pier I (at 70th St): Lumière d’été by Grémillon, selected by Matías Piñeiro
July 28 – Riverside Park, Pier I (at 70th St): A Trip to the Moon by Méliès followed by Elena and Her Men by Renoir, selected by Isabella Rossellini
Sept. 7 – Columbia University (at 116th St): The Wild Child by Truffaut, selected by James Ivory, presented in partnership with the Columbia Maison Française
The Cultural Services of the French Embassy, FACE Foundation and NYC Parks would like to thank Films on the Green’s 2017 lead sponsor, Le Petit Marseillais™, and the festival’s 2017 official sponsors, Air France, Atout France-France Tourism Development Agency, BNP Paribas, JC Decaux, and TV5 Monde
More information: http://frenchculture.org/film-tv-and-new-media/festivals/films-green-2017
ABOUT
The Cultural Services of the French Embassy promotes the best of French arts, literature, cinema, digital innovation, language, and higher education across the US. Based in New York City, Washington D.C., and eight other cities across the country, the Cultural Services brings artists, authors, intellectuals and innovators to cities nationwide. It also builds partnerships between French and American artists, institutions and universities on both sides of the Atlantic. In New York, through its bookshop Albertine, it fosters French-American exchange around literature and the arts. www.frenchculture.org
FACE Foundation is an American nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting French-American relations through innovative cultural and educational projects. In partnership with the Cultural Services of the French Embassy, FACE promotes artistic, literary and educational exchange and collaboration between creative professionals from both countries. With additional corporate, foundation, and individual support, FACE administers grant programs in the performing and visual arts, cinema, translation, and secondary and higher education, while providing financial sponsorship to French-American festivals and other cultural initiatives. FACE focuses on new and recent work of living artists and the promotion of bilingualism and the French language. FACE Foundation (French-American Cultural Exchange) is a 501(c)(3) organization chartered by the state of New York. www.face-foundation.org
NYC Parks is the steward of approximately 29,000 acres of land — 14 percent of New York City — including more than 5,000 individual properties ranging from Coney Island Beach and Central Park to community gardens and Greenstreets. We operate more than 800 athletic fields and nearly 1,000 playgrounds, 550 tennis courts, 66 public pools, 48 recreational facilities, 17 nature centers, 13 golf courses, and 14 miles of beaches. We care for 1,200 monuments and 23 historic house museums. We look after 650,000 street trees, and two million more in parks. We are New York City’s principal providers of recreational and athletic facilities and programs. We are home to free concerts, world-class sports events, and cultural festivals. www.nycgovparks.org
Media Contact
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