NEW YORK, August 9, 2016— On Thursday, September 8, Films on the Green will present a screening of Céline Sciamma’s “honest, empowering, and electrifying” (The Guardian) third feature film, Girlhood (Bande de filles) presented in partnership with the Columbia Maison Française. The delicate, emotional drama, which opened the Director’s Fortnight section at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, traces a young French-African teenage girl (Karidja Touré) who escapes her abusive family and takes refuge in the company of a gang of three free-spirited peers. Her new autonomy leads to a relationship with an older man promising money and independence, but she ultimately rejects the false freedom he offers and finds a deeper independence on her own.
In Girlhood, the acclaimed director of Water Lilies and Tomboy continues to ponder questions of female adolescence as she crafts a powerful and entertaining picture of the experience of being a girl. Inspired by teens who she observed hanging out in the vicinity of Paris area shopping centers and train stations, Sciamma researched the film by consulting blogs written by said Paris teens and scouted actresses on the streets. In making Girlhood, Sciamma sought to offer a contemporary vision of French youth.
Filled with sensitivity and empathy—and “an absence of moralizing” (as The Guardian’s Mark Kermode notes)—the observant film was named One of the Best Coming of Age Movies in Years by Indiewire. It makes prominent use of the song “Diamonds” by Rihanna, which was added to the film in post-production.
The screening will take place on Thursday, September 8th at 7:30pm on the steps of Columbia University’s Low Memorial Library. The film is in French with English subtitles and is free and open to all.
Thursday, Sept. 8 | 7:30 pm – Columbia University, Low Library steps
GIRLHOOD (BANDE DE FILLES)
Directed by Céline Sciamma
with Karidja Touré, Assa Sylla, Lindsay Karamoh
2014 | Drama | UR | 1h52 | France
Presented in partnership with the Columbia Maison Française
Faced with problematic family life, trouble in school, and life in the Parisian banlieue, Marieme joins a gang of three free-spirited girls. She changes her name, her style, drops out of school, and tries to live by her own rules.
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.
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. 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
The Columbia Maison Française, founded in 1913, organizes a variety of events and activities at Columbia for the university community and members of the general public interested in learning more about France, Europe, and the French-speaking world. More information at www.maisonfrancaise.org.
Media Contact
Camille Desprez – camille.desprez@diplomatie.gouv.fr, 212.439.1417
Frenchculture.org – @franceinnyc – facebook.com/frenchculture
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Photos and screener available upon request.