NEW YORK, June 2, 2016— On Friday, June 17th, Films on the Green will present a rare screening of Air of Paris, a 1954 drama by director and “master of cinematographic realism” Marcel Carné (Libération, 1954).
The film tracks a retired boxer, Victor Le Garrec (Jean Gabin), who attempts to avenge his blighted career through his young protégée, André Ménard (Roland Lesaffre). With opposition from Victor’s wife (Arletty) and a love affair sapping André’s attention (in which Marie Daëms plays the lover), what began as a story about boxing evolves into a complex web of tensions and passion.
Actor Jean Gabin won the Volpi Cup at the 1954 Venice International Film Festival for Air of Paris, which unites a legendary pair—Jean Gabin and Arletty—15 years after their famous debut as a duo in Le Jour se lève (1939).
Glimpses of the Eiffel Tower and the Grenelle neighborhood in Paris, plus a look inside the then-Mecca of boxing—Central Sporting Club on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis— offer viewers a rare and singular picture of the City of Lights that goes far beyond traditional Parisian clichés. The film also features dresses by Balenciaga and music by Yves Montand.
The screening will take place on Friday, June 17th at 8:30pm at Washington Square Park. The film is in French with English subtitles and is free and open to all.
DJs from WNYU, New York University’s radio station, will play French tunes prior to the screening.
The screening is presented in partnership with Washington Square Park Conservancy.
Friday, June 17 - 8:30pm - Washington Square Park
AIR OF PARIS (L’AIR DE PARIS)
Directed by Marcel Carné with Jean Gabin, Arletty, Roland Lesaffre, Marie Daëms
1954 | Drama | UR | 1h50 | France-Italy
Presented in partnership with Washington Square Park Conservancy
Paris, 1954. Victor Le Garrec (Jean Gabin, Grand Illusion, Touchez pas au Grisbi), a former professional boxer, runs a gym and works hard to train young recruits to achieve the goals he wasn’t able to reach during his professional career. He feels this is finally possible when he recognizes the potential in André Ménard (Roland Lesaffre, Thérèse Raquin, Casque d’Or), a young railway worker. Victor offers to train him and André accepts willingly, although he soon realizes that Victor’s wife Blanche (Arletty, Hôtel du Nord, Children of Paradise) is not happy with the arrangement. André’s attention is soon drawn away from his training when he starts to have an affair with a wealthy young woman, Corinne (Marie Daëms). In the end, he may have to choose between the woman he loves and his career as a world-class boxer…
2016 Films on the Green Festival Schedule
The festival offers this year a striking portrait of the City of Lights, its urban landscape, and cultural diversity. A selection of classic, New Wave, and contemporary films will showcase the city’s aesthetic, cultural, and cinematic history from a dramatically unconventional angle through stories of love, romance, adolescence, female identity, and urban life in Paris and its surrounding suburbs.
All films are shown with English subtitles. Screenings begin at 8:30pm, except the Columbia screening, which begins at 7:30pm.
June 7 – Central Park (79th street and Fifth Avenue): Breathless by Jean-Luc Godard, preceded with The Red Balloon by Albert Lamorisse
June 10 – Washington Square Park: The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe by Yves Robert
June 17 – Washington Square Park: Air of Paris by Marcel Carné
June 24 – Transmitter Park (Greenpoint, Brooklyn): Subway by Luc Besson
July 1 – Transmitter Park (Greenpoint, Brooklyn): The 400 Blows by François Truffaut
July 8 – Riverside Park, Pier I (at 70th Street): April and the Extraordinary World by Christian Desmares & Franck Ekinci
July 15 – Riverside Park, Pier I (at 70th Street): Un Flic by Jean-Pierre Melville
July 22 – Tompkins Square Park: Cleo from 5 to 7 by Agnès Varda
July 29 – Tompkins Square Park: Boyfriends and Girlfriends by Eric Rohmer
Sept. 8 – Columbia University (at 116th St): Girlhood by Céline Sciamma
The Cultural Services of the French Embassy, FACE Foundation and the City of New York Parks & Recreation would like to thank Films on the Green’s 2016 official sponsors: Air France, BNP Paribas and TV5 Monde.
Tandem Paris-New York 2016 is a large-scale transatlantic cultural exchange between Paris and New York. From June through October 2016, cultural institutions in New York and Paris will present an extraordinary selection of events in a variety of cultural disciplines including music, dance, cinema, literature, theatre, the visual arts, language, gastronomy, and digital innovation from the partner city. Tandem Paris – New York 2016 is organized by the City of Paris and the French Institute, in partnership with the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States and the Embassy of the United States of America in France, with the support of the City of New York.
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.
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.
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.