Summer of Michel Legrand
with Melissa Errico
CinéSalon Series
Tuesdays, July 2–July 30, 2019
4pm & 7:30pm
FIAF Florence Gould Hall
FIAF honors the great French composer Michel Legrand, who died in January this year, with a special CinéSalon series devoted to his life and work. Curated by one of his longtime collaborators and greatest interpreters, singer and actress Melissa Errico, Summer of Michel Legrand brings together seven of his films from his best known triumphs such as The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and The Young Girls of Rochefort to lesser known gems such as the enchanting fairy-tale musical Donkey Skin.
Errico, who starred in Legrand’s 2002 musical Amour, spurring a prolific and fulfilling artistic collaboration over two decades, will take part in a Q&A following the screening of The Thomas Crown Affair on July 16.
On July 30, the closing night of the series, join us after the screening of The Young Girls of Rochefort for karaoke featuring a special Legrand song-list.
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
4pm & 7:30pm
Followed by a wine and beer reception
Told entirely through Michel Legrand’s lilting songs, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg launched the angelically beautiful Catherine Deneuve to stardom. Directed by Jacques Demy.
Cléo from 5 to 7
4pm & 7:30pm
Followed by a wine and beer reception
Agnès Varda, eloquently captures Paris in the sixties with this real-time portrait of a singer (Corinne Marchand) set adrift in the city as she awaits test results of a biopsy.
Bay of Angels
4pm
Followed by a wine and beer reception
Marking the second collaboration between Jacques Demy and Michel Legrand, this precisely wrought, emotionally penetrating romantic drama is a visually lovely but darkly realistic investigation into love and obsession.
The Thomas Crown Affair
7:30pm
Post-film Q&A with singer & actress Melissa Errico
Followed by a wine and beer reception
A bored millionaire (Steve McQueen) and an insurance investigator (Faye Dunaway) play a complicated cat-and-mouse game with romantic undertones as he schemes to rob a bank. Directed by Norman Jewison.
Vivre sa vie
4pm & 7:30pm
Followed by a wine and beer reception
Vivre sa vie was a turning point for Jean-Luc Godard and remains one of his most dynamic films, combining brilliant visual design with a tragic character study.
Donkey Skin
4pm
Introduced by film journalist Anne-Katrin Titze
Followed by a wine and beer reception
In this lovingly crafted, wildly eccentric adaptation of a classic French fairy tale, Jacques Demy joins Michel Legrand and Catherine Deneuve for a third time, following the successes of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and Les Demoiselles de Rochefort.
The Young Girls of Rochefort
7:30pm
Introduced by author Laurent Valière & actress Melissa Errico
Performance by Filmharmonic Brass
Post-screening karaoke & wine party
A tribute to Hollywood optimism from sixties French cinema’s preeminent dreamer Jacques Demy, The Young Girls of Rochefort features an Oscar-nominated score by Michel Legrand and a divine cast including Catherine Deneuve, Françoise Dorléac, George Chakiris, Grover Dale, Danielle Darrieux, Michel Piccoli, and Gene Kelly.
CinéSalon is supported by Air France and Delta Air Lines, BNP Paribas, Canal +, and Sofitel. CinéSalon is made possible by the NY State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the NY State Legislature. Le Val is the exclusive wine partner and Kronenbourg 1664 is the exclusive beer partner for CinéSalon.
Special thanks to the Cultural Services of the French Embassy and the Institut français.
The Summer of Michel Legrand series is curated by singer and actress Melissa Errico.