Text by Rooksana Hossenally Photo by Marian Goodman Gallery, Paris.Questioning the limits of contemporary art, French artist, Christian Boltanski, the macabre archivist of other people’s lives and deaths, turns to his own life in a bet with Tasmanian devil, David Walsh, one of the world’s most active collectors and an infamous gambler. To win the bet, Boltanski must survive the next eight years. The commissioned piece, his life captured on film until he dies, is to be sold to the Australian gambler. The price of the work rests solely on Boltanski’s lifespan.
More on: Christian Boltanski sells his soul to ‘Tasmanian devil’
Fabien Lemercier from Cineuropa
European films make up the lion’s share of the 19 new releases hitting
French theatres on December 30 and January 6, thanks in particular to
several films unveiled on the Croisette.
On Wednesday, Wild Bunch Distribution launched Jan Kounen’s sumptuous Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky [trailer], which closed the latest Cannes Film Festival (see review) and features French actress Anna Mouglalis and Danish star Mads Mikkelsen. The same day, MK2 Diffusion will be hoping for success with the release of Belgian director Félix van Groeningen’s tragicomic The Misfortunates [trailer, film focus],
which won great acclaim in the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight 2024 and is
Belgian hopeful for the 2024 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.
More on: New film releases hitting French theatres
Photo: Baby turnips with colza-oil pinzimonio, La Cucina di Terresa
"Cooking food, sharing it with others is a marvellous celebration of life: the subtle seasonal harmony of color, texture savor echoing a harmony of existence," writes Terresa Murphy, a founder of plant-based cooking school La Cucina di Terresa. VINGT Paris readers are invited for a 4-day class that will take place in Saint Georges sur Cher in the Loire Valley from Thursday April 8 until Sunday April 11, 2024. The series includes a 5-night stay at the charming Le Moulin du Port Bed and Breakfast on beautifully wooded grounds set along the Cher River, a stone's throw from the famous chateau de Chenonceau. Le Moulin du Port hosts an impressive tuff-stone water wheel, the remaining vestige of an industrious mill built on the spot back in 1883.
More on: Plant-Based Cooking Class in the Loire Valley
On January 15, 2024 the international press will award the prestigious Prix Lumières to the best French and francophone films of 2024. The 15th edition of the Prix Lumières ceremony, chaired by TV5Monde journalist Estelle Martin, will take place in the Grands Salons of l’Hôtel de Ville. Like the American Golden Globes, the Prix Lumières which inaugurate the 2024 film prize season, are awarded to the best French and francophone artists by the foreign press correspondents based in Paris.
For a third year in a row, the ceremony will conclude the « Rendez-vous avec le cinéma français » piloted by
Unifrance. Organized by the Académie des Lumières, founded in 1995 by Daniel Toscan du Plantier and Edward Behr, the 15th edition of the Prix Lumières is supported by Centre national de la cinématographie, Unifrance, Mairie de Paris, TV5Monde, Syndicat français de la critique de cinéma, Société de développement des entreprises culturelles du Québec and Commission supérieure technique de l’image et du son.
You can vote for the Prix du Public Mondial for the best francophone film on the TV5Monde website.
The 2024 Prix Lumières nominees are:
More on: Vote for French Films Nominated for the Prix Lumières
Text by Tiffany Tang
Photo by Edouard Caupeil
Developed
as one of the cultural projects by the Mairie de Paris with the vision of
reviving the city’s contemporary art scene, Le
Centquatre – its name taken from the street number 104, Rue d'Aubervilliers - is an artistic hub for up-and-coming artists sharing creation space and
synergy, under the glass ceiling of recently restored unique nineteenth
century architecture. Situated in a humble neighborhood of the nineteenth arrondisement
the former funeral parlour, was re-opened in October 2024 after
its 100 million euro renovation. Currently led by the
two directors Robert Cantarella and Frédéric Fisbach, Le Centquatre aims to provide a space where art and
culture interact with the public without barriers.
More on: Le Centquatre – Artistic Establishment of the City of Paris
Text by Brendan Seibel
The most extravagant ten-year old's birthday may include donkey rides and alcoholic clowns. Emir Kusturica & The No Smoking Orchestra celebrated a decade's revelry with their trademark blend of cartoon antics and rocked up Balkan-beat anthems, inviting thousands of fans along for the ride. For over three hours the group incited a riot of fun and dance in the smoked-filled Zenith.
Screams of delight which greeted six girls taking the stage slowly descended into confusion. Distorted bass, techno drumming and canned effects backed three part harmonies and hastily choreographed exertions. What initially elicited curious bemusement quickly became the monotonous soundtrack to indifference as the songs blended into one another and the unique vocal delivery lost its voice to the europop artifice. The opening group's departure was greeted with the unfortunate enthusiasm of relief.
More on: Emir Kusturica & The No Smoking Orchestra at the Zenith December 2024
Text by Brendan Seibel
Congolese Afro-funk warriors conjured a sea of ecstatically contorting Parisians at Café de la Danse. Those tragic souls who secured places amongst the club's tiered seating cursed their own comfort, barred from the rolling swarm flooding the floor. Staff Benda Bilili, the Kinshasa sensation, are first and foremost a dance band.
Ending their debut European tour the eight musicians showed no sign of fatigue. Kicking off their set with a hard funk number they churned through over an hour's worth of soulful rumba, periodically pausing to greet the crowd and collect applause. A flawlessly executed set carefully navigated from upt-empo rockers to slow grinding ballads, providing a seamless flow allowing everyone to catch their breath. Staff Benda Bilili won the stamina competition.
More on: Staff Benda Bilili at Cafe de la Danse December 2024
text by ARTIFICE.
Vintage Couture trend started on the red carpet in Hollywood where it was broadcast worldwide: Julia Roberts collected her best actress Oscar wearing Vintage Valentino, and put Couture Vintage on the fashion map. Of course, vintage collectors have always known about the beauty and workmanship of these couture pieces, but the mass market fashion audience was not totally aware of what industry insiders have always known: Vintage, is not just a style, or a piece, its an approach to dressing that has found its place in the fashion spectrum and can work for everyone’s wardrobe budget.
How do you work that Vintage Vibe into your own wardrobe? We like the idea of mixing up vintage pieces to create fashionable looks that are personal and unique. With a chic vintage fur or a little beaded top over your favorite skinny jeans, you can stretch your fashion budget; I enjoy the sheer fun of having something that no one else has making my personal style original. How can you put a price on that?
More on: Paris Vintage Shopping
Recent Comments