Films on the Green, the free summer outdoor French film festival produced annually in New York City parks by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy has unveiled its 2019 program, to focus this season on “Women behind the Camera” in honor of Agnès Varda, feminist filmmaker and pioneer of the French New Wave, who passed away earlier this year. Alongside Agnès Varda, films by a variety of other female film directors will be featured, from acclaimed French directors such as Claire Denis (Chocolat), Diane Kurys (Peppermint Soda), and Anne Fontaine (Coco Before Chanel), to international filmmakers such as Lebanese actress, screenwriter, and director Nadine Labaki (Where Do We Go Now?), and French Turkish director Deniz Gamze Ergüven (Mustang).
“Only 4% of the top 100 films of 2018 were directed by female filmmakers, and in France particularly, the film industry remains a field with a huge gender gap with only 29.7% of 2017’s releases directed or co-directed by women,” says Bénédicte de Montlaur, Cultural Counselor of the French Embassy. “Building on the success of previous years, reaching more than 6,300 viewers in 2018, this year’s Films on the Green will aim to highlight female filmmakers.”
For the first time, the festival will partner with PS110 The Monitor School and the North Brooklyn Parks Alliance to screen Minuscule, Valley of the Lost Ants in McGolrick Park.
Most of the screenings will be accompanied by DJs from New York University’s radio station, WNYU 89.1 FM and Hunter College’s WHCS, who will spin French and Francophone music on-site before the screenings.
Films on the Green 2019 Schedule
May 31 – Central Park (79th St & Fifth Ave): Coco Before Chanel by Anne Fontaine
June 7 – Washington Sq. Park: Where Do We Go Now? by Nadine Labaki
June 10 – McGolrick Park (Brooklyn): Minuscule, Valley of the Lost Ants by Hélène Giraud & Thomas Szabo
June 14 – Washington Sq. Park: In Safe Hands by Jeanne Herry
June 21 – Transmitter Park (Brooklyn): Peppermint Soda by Diane Kurys
June 28 – Transmitter Park (Brooklyn): Mustang by Deniz Gamze Ergüven
July 5 – Tompkins Sq. Park: Tomboy by Céline Sciamma
July 10 – J. Hood Wright Park (West 173th St): The Amazing Catfish by Claudia Sainte-Luce
July 12 – Tompkins Sq. Park: Aya Of Yop City by Marguerite Abouet & Clément Oubrerie
July 19 – Riverside Park, Pier I (at 70th St): Sequins by Éléonore Faucher
July 26 – Riverside Park, Pier I (at 70th St): Chocolat by Claire Denis
Aug. 31 – Fort Lee Community Center (New Jersey): Jacquot De Nantes by Agnès Varda
Preceded by Matrimony’s Speed Limit by Alice Guy-Blaché
Sept. 3 – Columbia University (at 116th St): Olivia by Jacqueline Audry
The festival is free and open to the public. More information here:
http://frenchculture.org/about-us/press-room/9828-2019-films-green-program-unveiled