Paris Muse

The 2011 edition of the Silhouette short film festival celebrates its tenth anniversary this year with filmmaking workshops, outdoor screenings in the lovely Parc des Buttes Chaumont and indoor screenings at the 104 artist collective. Concerts will also punctuate the summertime evenings in the park as you relax with your feet in the grass underneath the stars. The 104 (Centquatre) offers daytime screenings and workshops aimed at young people who want to learn about the craft of short filmmaking.

• When: August 27-September 4
• Where: Parc des Buttes Chaumont (map) and 104 (practical info & map)
• How much: Free screenings at night in the park. €5/€3 for daytime screenings in 104. €5 for workshops. (visit this page for festival pass information w/reductions)

See a full schedule of events and screenings here.

Visit the Festival Silhouette page.

West Side Story at Cinéma en plein air édition 2011 (Parc de la Villette)

Both the Cinéma en plein air édition 2011 and the Cinéma au clair de lune are ending this August 21. Why not take advantage of the clear Parisian nights and indulge in some open air cinema? All the screenings are free.

Remaining screenings at Cinéma en plein air édition 2011 (download program)

Friday August 19
Des morceaux de ma femme by Frédéric Pelle – 2000 / 10′
Collateral by Michael Mann – 2004 / 2h

Saturday August 20 (Soirée Tango)
Tango Overlord by François Choquet – 2004 / 13′
Je ne suis pas là pour être aimé by Stéphane Brizé – 2005 / 1h33

Sunday August 21
West Side Story by Robert Wise – 1961 / 2h25

• Where: All the films are shown in the Prairie du triangle of Parc de la Villette (map and practical info). Metro: Porte de Pantin, Porte de la Villette
• All films in Cinéma en plein air édition 2011  start at sunset (around 21:45)

Remaining screenings at Cinéma au clair de lune (download program)

Friday August 19
Le Furet by Jean-Pierre Mocky – 2003 / 1h28
Where: Place des Fetes. Metro: Place des Fetes

Saturday August 20
Tenue correcte exigee by Philippe Lioret – 1997 / 1h30
Where: Pelouse de Reuilly. Metro Porte de Charenton

Sunday August 21
Adieu Philippine by Jacques Rozier – 1962 / 1h50
Where: Place Rene-Cassin (in front of l’eglise Saint-Eustache). Metro Les Halles, RER: Chatelet-Les Halles

• All films in Cinéma au clair de lune start at 21:30

From the blog Paris vs New York

This August 29 to September 24, on the ground floor of the ultra chic concept store Colette, you can see some prints of the art in Vahram Muratyan’s forthcoming book, Paris vs New York, based on the successful blog of the same name. Muratyan’s work in this series is an offbeat, minimalist take on the cliches and characters that define these two cities. Elitist humor for elitist shoppers who wouldn’t be caught dead in the oh so passé Galleries Lafayette.

Where: Colette, 213 Rue Saint-Honoré. Metro: Tuileries (see map)
When: August 29-September 24. Monday-Saturday 10:00-19:00. Closed on Sundays.

Splitscreen: A Love Story is a short movie following the same concept:

Perhaps this August as many of us are traveling we’ll have a brief glimpse into the nomadic lifestyle, though the authentic nomad doesn’t stay in hotels, rather in caravans and campers, and sometimes resides in nothing other than a spartan tent. Millions of people around the world live the ephemeral lifestyle of nomads, and Leopold Banchini reflects on this with “Nomad”, his current installation at the Musée du quai Branly — “a place of relaxation, reflection, a place to take time.” Branchini is the co-recipient of the Lion d’or at the 2010 Biennale de Venise.

The installation lasts until September 4. There are free workshops everyday and on the weekends you can enjoy family entertainment and nomad cuisine. Download the program (in French)

Location, hours, exhibitions & more of Musée du Quai Branly

Previously: The Marvelous Musée du Quai Branly

Photo: 1/100, Thomas Mailaender

Check out the full-length version of À bout de souffle (Breathless) by Jean-Luc Godard. Watch it in original version without English subtitles (above), or watch it with subtitles on YouTube (click on the icon below the player that says “Interactive Transcript” when you roll over it).

As the uploader states, this is “the movie everybody already watched, but still”. It is one of those films you can revisit over and over. Godard, along with Truffaut ushered in the Nouvelle Vague, and À bout de souffle is his first full length feature. It stars the legendary Jean-Paul Belmondo as a small time crook and Jean Seberg plays his American girlfriend, whose introductory scene famously shows her selling the International Herald Tribune on the Champs-Élysées. This movie is one of Godard’s finest and introduced audiences of the time to a bold new form of filmmaking, utilizing hand-held cameras to emulate documentaries, jump cuts and constant references to other films — in other words the very language of much of modern cinema. It’s hard to believe this movie was shot over fifty years ago.

There’s a summer art-book sale going on today, Saturday August 13, at Le Bal:

Sales of some of damaged books at 10 euros each to make some place for the upcoming autumn titles. Also we have received new books by Walter Niedermayer, Jeffrey Silverthorne, Basil Hyman, Andy Sewell, Sebastien Girard, Grégoire Pujade-Lauraine, Erica Overmeer and Harvey Benge. Exclusively we have copies of Karianne Bueno’s edition print, Ricardo Cases “Paloma al Aire”, Andreas Gehrke “Topographie”, and copies No. 1&2 of our facsimile reprint of Keizo Kitajima’s “Photo Express : Tokyo”.

Le Bal is a hidden gem, tucked away in a small alley on 6 impasse de la Défense behind a park. It’s a nexus of contemporary art exhibitions (currently showing TOKYO-E: Les images de Tokyo) and cultural events, such as the recent collaboration with Magnum Foundation. Definitely worth a visit is also the restaurant/cafe which serves a nice cup of joe.

Practical info on Le Bal