First Light: The International Silent Cinema, 1894-1934

Following last summer’s series on French and American film noir, the Paris Center presents highlights from cinema’s earliest years.

June 19, 2017

Following last summer’s series on French and American film noir, the Paris Center presents highlights from cinema’s earliest years.

Organized and presented by Richard Peña, Professor of Film Studies at Columbia and former Director of the New York Film Festival, the series will explore the origins of the cinema as it emerged from the influences of theater, literature and the visual arts. Topics to be discovered include German Expressionist Cinema; African-American silent film production, and the appearance of cinema in Japan and China. Each program begins with a brief introduction by Professor Peña, followed by screenings of selected films, many of which will feature live musical accompaniment offered by students of Jean-François Zygel's piano improvisation class at the Conservatoire National Supérieure de la Musique et de la Danse de Paris. The screenings are followed by a discussion with Prof. Peña, often together with a noted film critic or scholar.

Schedule

June 19, 7:30pm
The Cinema Appears :   Muybridge, Marey, Edison, Lumière, Méliès

June 20, 7:30pm
The Cinema Discovers Form:   Alice Guy Blanché, The Brighton School, Films d'Art, Griffith Shorts

June 21, 7:30pm
The Serial Film:  FANTOMAS, 1913, Louis Feuillade, France*

June 22, 7:30pm
The Feature Film : THE MOTHER AND THE LAW, (La mère et la loi), 1914-1919, D.W. Griffith, USA*

June 26, 7:30pm
German Expressionism : THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (Le cabinet du Dr. Caligari), 1920, Robert Wiene, Germany*

June 27, 7:30pm
Scandinavian Cinema : THE OUTLAW AND HIS WIFE (Les proscrits), 1918, Victor Sjöström, Sweden*

June 28, 7:30pm
African-American Cinema:  BODY AND SOUL (Corps et âme), 1925, Oscar Micheaux, USA*

June 29, 7:30pm
Soviet Cinema:  EARTH (Terre), 1930, Aleksandr Dovzhenko, USSR

July 3, 7:30pm
The Silent Comedy :  Linder, Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd*

July 5, 7:30pm
Japanese Cinema : I WAS BORN, BUT… (Gosses de Tokyo), 1932, Yasujiro Ozu, Japan*

July 6, 7:30pm
Chinese Cinema : THE GODDESS (La déesse), 1934, Wu Yonggang, China*