FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: March 30, 1999
Contact: Margot Gerber
Tel.: 323/466-FILM ext. 115
THE AMERICAN CINEMATHEQUE PRESENTS
THE LA THEATRICAL PREMIERE ENGAGEMENT OF AGNS VARDA'S LATEST FILM,
ONE HUNDRED AND ONE NIGHTS
starring Michel PICCOLI, Marcello MASTROIANNI and many other guest STARS
Agns Varda will appear in-person following the opening night screening
April 23 - 29, 1999
HOLLYWOOD – The American Cinematheque at the Egyptian will present the seven day (April 23-29, 1999) LA Theatrical Premiere Engagement of Agns Varda's latest film, the magical comedy, ONE HUNDRED AND ONE NIGHTS (LES CENTS ET UNE NUITS) (1995, Cine Tamaris, 125 min.) starring Michel Piccoli and Marcello Mastroianni, plus a long list of guest stars. Agns Varda will appear in-person at the Friday, April 23rd opening night screening to discuss her film. ONE HUNDRED AND ONE NIGHTS is the most recent film from the legendary French New Wave pioneer Agns Varda. The film is a magical cinematic tour through this century's greatest art form. This poetic fantasy is Varda’s own tribute to the 100th anniversary of the motion picture.
The action centers around 100-year old Monsieur Cinema (Michel Piccoli) who is holed up in his chateau-museum with his movie memories and a charming young film student (Julie Gayet) who has her eyes on his vast fortune. Each day she tells her boyfriend Mica (Mathieu Demy) about the famous guests Monsieur Cinema entertains. As his jealousy grows, so does a scheme to get enough money forstruggling filmmaker Mica, to make his own film. When Camille learns that the old man’s heir vanished years ago, she brings in an imposter (Emmanuel Salinger) posing as his long-lost great-grandson who has just returned from India! Meanwhile, as "Old Man Cinema" is starting to have problems remembering, he brightens his days (and memory), with a non-stop parade of friends who drop by to chat with him. His guests include some of the biggest names in cinema: Anouk Aime, Fanny Ardant, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Alain Delon, Catherine Deneuve, Robert De Niro, Gerard Depardieu, Harrison Ford, Gina Lollobrigida, Marcello Mastroianni, Jeanne Moreau and many others. LA TIMES critic Kevin Thomas refers to the film as "…a film buff’s delight…" According to VOGUE Magazine, ONE HUNDRED AND ONE NIGHTS is "Dream, poetry, fantasy … an exceptional casting for a personal and marvelous vision of cinema." In the GAZETTE, a critic commented, "Les Cents et Une Nuits is a dazzling joyous meditation on mortality and memory…" LE FIGARO Magazine calls it, "Free as a bird…".
Born in 1928, French director Agns Varda was one of the pioneers of the French New Wave movement in cinema and can be considered the prototype of today’s independent filmmaker. A gifted and outspoken feminist, she is one of the most acclaimed female directors anywhere in the world. She has said, "I have fought so much since I started … for something that comes from emotion, from visual emotion, sound emotion, feeling, and finding a shape for that."
Varda directed her first feature, LA POINTE COURTE (1954), with no formal training in film – the movie has often been tagged as the start of the French New Wave. Richard Roud assigned the name "Left Bank Group" to Varda, Alain Resnais and Chris Marker in the early 1960’s to distinguish them from other New Wave directors because of their interest in both documentary and fiction and their passion for both political and social filmmaking. Varda’s best-known films include the landmark CLEO FROM 5 TO 7 (1961), LE BONHEUR (1964), ONE SINGS, THE OTHER DOESN'T (1976) and perhaps most well known in the US is VAGABOND (1985) starring Sandrine Bonnaire. The Cinematheque mounted a Varda retrospective in June 1997. Her marriage to the late director Jacques Demy (1931-1990) (THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG) made her one-half of the most beloved filmmaking couple of their day. All screenings will be held at the Lloyd E. Rigler Theatre at the Egyptian in Hollywood (6712 Hollywood Boulevard between McCadden and Las Palmas).
SCREENING SCHEDULE:
Friday, April 23rd at 8:00 PM *Agns Varda will appear for discussion
following the screening.
Saturday, April 24th at 4:00 PM/ 6:30 PM/ 9:15 PM
Sunday, April 25th at 4:00 PM/ 6:30 PM
Monday, April 26th at 8:00 PM
Tuesday, April 27th at 8:00 PM
Wednesday, April 28th at 8:00 PM
Thursday, April 29th at 9:30 PM
A complete calendar/flyer listing of this film has been mailed to you.
BLACK & WHITE/COLOR PHOTOS, 35MM COLOR TRANSPARENCIES, PRESS KITS ARE
AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST
AGNS VARDA is available for interview. She will arrive in Los Angeles on
April 19th. This film is available for press preview. For press screening
information, please call (323) 466-3456, ext. 115 or 116.
Advance tickets can be purchased in person at the Egyptian Theatre Box
Office (6712 Hollywood Blvd. Between McCadden Place and Las Palmas Avenue).
The Box Office opens 1 hour prior to the first show of the evening and
closes 30 minutes after the second show begins. Mail or fax orders are
reserved for American Cinematheque Members only. Fax to (323) 461-9737
(faxed orders must be received 2 business days in advance of the first show
you are purchasing). Mail to: American Cinematheque, Ticket Orders, 1800 N.
Highland Ave., Suite 717, LA, CA 90028 (mailed order forms must be received
5 business days in advance of the first show you are purchasing). For
24-hour recorded program information, please call 323.466.3456, ext. 2.
Tickets are $7 General Admission and $5 for members. Ticket prices may vary
for certain performances.
Please list (323) 466-FILM (3456) ext. 2 and/or our website
www.egyptiantheatre.com or www.americancinematheque.com for program
information! Both web addresses go to the same homepage. Our offices have
not moved to the theatre.
The Egyptian is handicap accessible. There is parking in lots on McCadden
and Las Palmas north and south of Hollywood Boulevard. On Cherokee, (1 block
east of the theatre and 1 block North of Hollywood Boulevard) there is a
Municipal lot that is FREE for TWO HOURS and $1 for each additional hour.
Established in 1984, the American Cinematheque, is a non-profit,
viewer-supported film exhibition and cultural organization dedicated to the
celebration of the Moving Picture in all its forms. The Cinematheque
presents film and video programming which ranges from the classics and world
cinemas to the outer frontiers of the art form at the Egyptian Theatre.
Exhibition of rare works, special prints within our series, etc., combined
with fascinating post-screening discussions with the filmmakers who created
the work, are a Cinematheque tradition that keep audiences coming back for
once-in-a-lifetime cinema experiences. The American Cinematheque renovated
and re-opened the historic 1922 Egyptian Theater on Hollywood Boulevard as a
permanent home. The theatre, which re-opened December 4, 1998, is a
state-of-the-art, 618-seat theatre housed within Sid Grauman’s first grand
movie palace on Hollywood Boulevard. The exotic courtyard is fully restored
to its 1922 grandeur. The Egyptian was the home of the very first Hollywood
movie premiere in 1922. Please call for photos or press kits. To learn how
you can help preserve this historic landmark by contributing to the capital
campaign, please call 323.466.3456, ext. 111.
THE PROGRAM IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE.
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