C’est Chic! Fashion-themed “Films on the Green” Festival Brings Free French Films to NYC Parks and Nationwide Starting May 30
New York, April 30, 2025 – This summer, cinephiles visiting local parks will be captivated by the glamour of French fashion through Films on the Green, Villa Albertine’s free outdoor French film festival. Held at three iconic locations in Manhattan, this year’s selection of films is curated around the theme ‘Fashion in Film,’ and launches Friday, May 30, with a screening of Anne Fontaine’s Coco Before Chanel in Central Park.
Running through Friday, June 27 in NYC, Films on the Green will show three English-subtitled features in Manhattan parks, and will then expand to a total of five American cities through September. Screenings begin at sundown.
This year’s edition is special, as we celebrate 130 years since the invention of cinema, a shared legacy between France and the United States that continues to inspire audiences and filmmakers across the globe and has united our two countries by a love for storytelling and innovation.
“From Academy Award-winner Sean Baker’s admiration for Godard, to Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague premiering in Cannes this year, to Palme d’Or laureate and Villa Albertine resident Julia Ducournau’s creative kinship with David Cronenberg and David Lynch, there are probably no two countries that share a deeper, more enduring cinematic bond than France and the United States. This year’s Films on the Green will showcase the ways in which fashion has had an impact on the global stage, inviting film aficionados and fashionistas alike to enjoy cinema and the outdoors. We are thrilled to invite moviegoers to enjoy the pleasures of summer while experiencing a taste of French culture,” said Mohamed Bouabdallah, Cultural Counselor of France in the United States and Director of Villa Albertine.
Three films highlighting a variety of perspectives on fashion will be screened this year in New York. Romance and the role of women is central to each of the movies selected for the series. Representing biography, musical comedy, and drama, audiences will experience a dramatization of the life and career of Coco Chanel, starring Amelie’s Academy Award nominee Audrey Tautou, Jacques Demy’s iconic musical starring young sisters Catherine Deneuve and Françoise Dorléac searching for love in the 1960s, and Jacques Becker’s visionary drama Falbalas. Find the full schedule below, and read more about each film, including the cast and partners, here.
In another exciting first, this year’s screenings will open with a selection of AI Shorts curated by mk2, an emblem of French and international auteur cinema. These short films, created or enhanced using artificial intelligence and shown in Paris during the AI Action Summit in February this year, open up new creative horizons and resonate with Villa Albertine’s ongoing exploration of the intersection between art and technology, from our dedicated AI Residencies for artists to the latest issue of States magazine, “Arts in the Age of AI.”
Films on the Green started over 15 years ago as an intimate film series in local New York City community gardens. Since then, it has blossomed into a beloved summer tradition, hotly anticipated by film buffs and casual viewers alike. This summer the festival will take place in five American cities, a testament to the ongoing enthusiasm for diverse and accessible outdoor film experiences.
Villa Albertine and Albertine Foundation would like to thank Films on the Green’s 2025 official sponsors: the Louis Roederer Foundation, BNP Paribas, JCDecaux, and TV5MONDE for their continued support.
FILMS ON THE GREEN 2025 NYC LINEUP
May 30 – Central Park, Cedar Hill: Coco Before Chanel by Anne Fontaine
June 13 – Washington Square Park, Garibaldi Plaza: The Young Girls of Rochefort by Jacques Demy
June 27 – Riverside Park South, 70th Street Pier Plaza: Falbalas by Jacques Becker
FILMS & DESCRIPTIONS
All films are free and are open to the public, registration is recommended but not required.
Friday, May 30, Central Park, Cedar Hill (79th Street & Fifth Ave), 8:30PM
COCO BEFORE CHANEL (COCO AVANT CHANEL) directed by Anne Fontaine
2009 History-Drama, PG, 1h50m, France-Belgium With Audrey Tautou, Benoit Poelvoorde, Alessandro Nivola, Marie Gillain, Emmanuelle Devos
In French, English, with English subtitles
Audrey Tautou (The Da Vinci Code, Amélie) shines in this intriguing portrait of the early life of Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, the orphan who would build a fashion empire and be known universally by her nickname, Coco. She journeys from a mundane seamstress job to boisterous cabarets to the opulent French countryside, possessing little more than her unwavering determination, unique style and visionary talent. Also starring Benoît Poelvoorde (In His Hands) and Alessandro Nivola (Junebug). Featuring lush settings and stunning costume design, Coco Before Chanel is the gripping and dramatic story of an icon who defied convention and defined the modern woman.
Friday, June 13, Washington Square Park, Garibaldi Plaza, 8:30PM
(Rain date on Saturday, June 14)
THE YOUNG GIRLS OF ROCHEFORT (LES DEMOISELLES DE ROCHEFORT) directed by Jacques Demy (Janus Films)
1967, Romance-Comedy, 2h06m, France
With Catherine Deneuve, Francoise Dorléac, Michel Piccoli, Grover Dale, Gene Kelly, Georges Chakiris, Danielle Darrieux
In French with English subtitles
Jacques Demy followed up The Umbrellas of Cherbourg with another musical about missed connections and second chances, this one a more effervescent confection. Twins Delphine and Solange, a dance instructor and a music teacher (played by real-life sisters Catherine Deneuve and Françoise Dorléac), long for big-city life; when a fair comes through their quiet port town, so does the possibility of escape. With its jazzy Michel Legrand score, pastel paradise of costumes, and divine supporting cast (George Chakiris, Grover Dale, Danielle Darrieux, Michel Piccoli, and Gene Kelly), The Young Girls of Rochefort is a tribute to Hollywood optimism from sixties French cinema’s preeminent dreamer.
Friday, June 27, Riverside Park South, Pier I (at 70th St), 8:30PM
(Rain date on Saturday, June 28)
FALBALAS directed by Jacques Becker (Rialto Pictures)
1944, Romance-Drama, PG, 1h51m, France
With Micheline Presle, Raymond Rouleau, Jean Chevrier from La Comédie Française, Gabrielle Dorziat, Francoise Lugagne, Jeanne Fusier-Gir, Christiane Barry
In French with English subtitles
Womanizing dress designer Philippe Clarence (Raymond Rouleau) finally falls in love, only she’s his best friend’s fiancée. Micheline Lafaurie (Micheline Presle) finds herself in an impossible situation, a choice between a loveless marriage with her dependable fiancée and the dress designer with whom she is infatuated.
With special thanks to Rialto Pictures for their longstanding support and trusted partnership
NATIONWIDE SCREENINGS
Chicago
Friday, June 20, Coco Before Chanel at Osterman Beach Park
Thursday, June 26, The Young Girls of Rochefort at Belmont Harbor Park
Monday, July 7, Haute Couture at Lake Shore Park
Tuesday, July 15, How to Be a Good Wife at Montgomery Ward Park
Los Angeles
Saturday, July 19 (Venue TBD)
Washington, D.C.
Thursday, September 18, The Fifth Element (Venue TBD)
Houston
Friday, September 26, The Animal Kingdom at The Post
Saturday, October 4, Beauty and the Beast at The Menil Collection
Saturday, October 11, 8 Women at the Rienzi Museum of Fine Arts