Rio’s Caixa Cultural Screens Films of French Director Jacques Demy

By Beatriz Miranda, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Next Tuesday, October 10th, the film exhibit “Jacques Demy: entre o realismo e a fantasia” (“Jacques Demy: between realism and fantasy”) opens at Caixa Cultural, in Centro. Paying homage to the renowned French director from the twentieth century, the event will screen fifteen diverse productions and promote debates on Demy’s cinema until October 22nd.

Concerned at presenting a wide panorama of Demy’s filmography, the exhibit will display works from diverse phases of the director’s career.

Besides Demy’s classics, like “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” (1964), the event includes three unreleased titles in Brazil and four movies produced by other directors that were inspired by Demy’s cinema.

Winner of a Cannes’ Golden Palm for Catherine Deneuve’s acting, “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg” will be opening the exhibit on October 10th, at 7PM. The French actress also stars in the fantastic fable “Donkey Skin” (1970) and the lively musical “The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967), which will be displayed on October 12th at 3PM and October 15th at 5PM, respectively.

The Carioca spectators can also check some of Demy’s very first productions, like “Lola” (1961) and “Bay of Angels” (1963), both part of the Nouvelle Vague movement. Due to the decline of the distribution of European movies in Brazil in the 1980s, the titles “A Room In Town” (1982), “Parking” (1985) and “Three Tickets for the 26th” (1988) will be exhibited for the first time in Brazilian movie theaters at the Caixa Cultural‘s event.

Some acclaimed documentaries directed by Agnes Varda, Demy’s former wife, can also be found at the exhibit, like “The Young Girls Turn 25” (1993) and “The Universe of Jacques Demy” (1995), inspired in the director’s life. What’s more, the Hollywoodian musical “La La Land” (2016) will take part of the exhibit for its strong references to Demy’s cinematographic aesthetics.

Those who want to learn more about Demy’s trajectory in the French cinema will have the opportunity to participate in debates like “The Music in Demy’s Cinema”, led by musical director Ricardo Leão, on October 17th at 6PM; and a talk on October 16th at 6PM, after the exhibition of “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg”, with curator Sylvio Gonçalves and cinema critic Leonardo Luiz Ferreira.

Celebrating the Children’s Day, a playful storytelling session will happen on October 12th, after the exhibition of “Donkey Skin”, at 3PM.

The combination of realism and fantasy is the greatest benchmark of Jacques Demy, one of the most important references of the twentieth century’s French cinema. First identified as a member of the Nouvelle Vague, Demy’s work is supposed to have influenced some renowned contemporary directors like François Ozon and Damien Chazelle.

What: “Jacques Demy: entre o realismo e a fantasia” (“Jacques Demy: between realism and fantasy”)
When: October 10th to October 22nd – see venue for time details
Where: Caixa Cultural – Avenida Almirante Barroso, 25 – Centro – Tel: (21) 3980-3815
Entrance: R$2 – R$4