F i l m   P r o g r a m s
                     a t   t h e   N. G. A.

From January to April, the National Gallery of Arts highlights French cinéma through many different programs from the 1930s with French-American director Maurice Tourneur (1876–1961), to Gaumont's luminous restoration of Jean Renoir's classic tale of the origins of the Moulin Rouge "French Cancan", through a retrospective of Robert Bresson’s works, and even some wonderful photofilms like La jetée by Chris Marker and Ulysse by Agnès Varda, among many others.

at The National Gallery of Art
East Building Concourse, auditorium
4th St. at Pennsylvania Ave., NW - Washington, DC
Admission: Free
More information: www.nga.gov

Photofilm!

   "Photofilms" are moving pictures composed of still photographs. PhotoFilm! broadly explores the uses of still photography within the cinematic context, attempting to expand a dialogue between the two art forms that has existed since the beginnings of the motion picture. The works run the gamut from classics such as Chris Marker's La jetée to new experimental films such as Shelly Silver's What I'm Looking For. The series is presented jointly with the Goethe-Institut Washington (several additional programs take place there), supported by German Films, Ag Kurzfilm, Swedish Filminstitut and organized by the Concrete Narrative Society E.V. Berlin. Curators Gusztáv Hámos, Katja Pratschke and Thomas Tode are present for discussion.

February 25 at 2:30 p.m.
How Much Movement Does the Image Need?
(95 minutes)
   The appearance of a still photograph in a cinematographic context often arouses an element of surprise for the viewer. This program presents films that question the nature of the image as well as its relationship to other forms with works by Chris Marker (La jetée, 1962), Sergei Eisenstein (Beshin Meadow, 1935 / 1967), Leonore Mau and Hubert Fichte (The Fishmarket and the Fish, 1968), and Katja Pratschke and Gusztáv Hámos (Transposed Bodies, 2002).

February 26 at 4:30 p.m.
Recall and Memory
(93 minutes)
   "That-has-been", wrote Roland Barthes; photography stands for something that has happened. Film, in contrast, always unfolds in the here and now and can be seen as a container for memory. Featuring films by Thierry Knauff (Le sphinx, 1985), Agnès Varda (Ulysse, 1982), Jerzy Ziarnik (Gestapoman Schmidt, 1964), Franz Winzentsen (The Fitting 1938, 1985), Helke Misselwitz (Pictures from a Family Album, 1985) and Janet Riedel, Katja Pratschke and Gusztáv Hámos (Fiasko, 2010), this program investigates these functions in the context of personal and historical memory.

March 4 at 4:30 p.m.
The Filmic Photograph
(90 minutes)
   This program focuses on the image, the process of finding and conceiving it, the act of shooting and then describing it. Film requires the linear sequencing of photographs, which these filmmakers use to develop an analytical discourse. Including films by Hollis Frampton ([nostalgia], 1971), Silke Grossmann (The Feelings of the Eyes, 1987), Shelly Silver (What I'm Looking For, 2004), Esaias Baitel (The Zone, 2003) and Sean Snyder (Casio, Seiko . . . , 2005).

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Robert Bresson

   Robert Bresson (1901–1999), one of the most refined and rigorous of filmmakers, was also one of the most spiritual — indeed his Jansenist perspective is fundamental to the coherence of his work. Pared-down narratives and understated moral observations are realized through an economy of means hardly matched in cinéma. From early on, the use of nonprofessional actors, restrained though elegant camera style, orchestrated dialogue, embedded sound effects and music, and elliptical storytelling became his hallmarks. Mr. Bresson managed, with self-imposed rules, to execute works of passion and suspense while still observing the mysterious movements of fate. This retrospective of all extant works has been organized by James Quandt and the Cinémathèque Ontario.

March 3 at 2 p.m.: Les Anges du Péché
March 3 at 4:15 p.m.: Pickpocket
March 10 at 4:30 p.m.: Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne preceded by
                                Les affaires publiques
March 11 at 4:30 p.m.: Diary of a Country Priest
March 17 at 4:30 p.m.: Four Nights of a Dreamer
March 18 at 4:30 p.m.: Au hasard, Balthazar followed by Mouchette
March 24 at 2 p.m.: The Devil, Probably
March 25 at 4:30 p.m.: A Man Escaped
March 31 at 2:30 p.m.: The Trial of Joan of Arc
March 31 at 4 p.m.: Lancelot du Lac
April 1 at 4 p.m.: Une Femme Douce followed by L'Argent

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Chris Marker's La jetée













































Robert Bresson