NEW YORK, June 22, 2016— On Friday, July 8, Films on the Green will present the 2015 Annecy International Film Festival Best Feature film winner April and the Extraordinary World, created by the producers of Persepolis and inspired by the eponymous graphic novel by Jacques Tardi.
The steam punk adventure is set in 1941 Paris where a family of scientists is on the brink of discovering a longevity serum. A mysterious force abducts the parents, and daughter April (voiced by Academy Award nominee Marion Cotillard) is left to reckon with a dark and confusing world complete with cyborg rat spies. But the brave protagonist takes it all on in stride and emerges as the heroine of the film, which Variety has called “a thrilling tale that respects the intelligence of its audience […] and […] leaves kids inspired not to buy toys, but to make the world a better place.”
“A visually fascinating, even captivating film, alternating between incredible, painter-like detail and refreshingly simple hand-drawn lines (like a scribble for an eyebrow or an ear),” according to Roger Ebert, April and the Extraordinary World offers a picture of early 20th century Paris and situates viewers in an alternate version of the world in which the technology that we use on a daily basis—television, phones—was never invented.
The film’s compelling and imaginative plot prompts viewers to wonder how history happens, how governments make decisions, and how little it takes to change the word. With plenty of fodder for thought for children and adults alike, April and the Extraordinary World “makes flawless emotional sense [and] is an adventure for the heart as well as the mind” (The Verge).
The screening will take place on Friday, July 8th at 8:30pm at Riverside Park, Pier I. The film is in French with English subtitles and is free and open to all. It is presented in partnership with the New York International Children’s Film Festival.DJs from WHCS, Hunter College’s radio station, will play French tunes prior to the screening.
Friday, July 8 | 8:30 pm - Riverside Park, Pier I at 70th street
APRIL AND THE EXTRAORDINARY WORLD (AVRIL ET LE MONDE TRUQUE)
Directed by Christian Desmares & Franck Ekinci
2015 | Animation | Ages 8 & up | 1h43 | France-Belgium-Canada
Paris, 1941: a family of scientists on the brink of discovering a longevity serum is mysteriously abducted, leaving their daughter April behind. As she secretly carries on the research, April finds herself at the center of a shadowy and far-reaching conspiracy…
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 LamorisseJune 10 – Washington Square Park: The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe by Yves RobertJune 17 – Washington Square Park: Air of Paris by Marcel CarnéJune 24 – Transmitter Park (Greenpoint, Brooklyn): Subway by Luc BessonJuly 1 – Transmitter Park (Greenpoint, Brooklyn): The 400 Blows by François TruffautJuly 8 – Riverside Park, Pier I (at 70th Street): April and the Extraordinary World by Christian Desmares & Franck EkinciJuly 15 – Riverside Park, Pier I (at 70th Street): Un Flic by Jean-Pierre MelvilleJuly 22 – Tompkins Square Park: Cleo from 5 to 7 by Agnès VardaJuly 29 – Tompkins Square Park: Boyfriends and Girlfriends by Eric RohmerSept. 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.