EC-CHAP Film Series: "Faces Places" (PG) 2017 with showing of The Making of a Willington Mural: “A Canvas of History and Social Change” (2019) and artist talk
SUGGESTED DONATION $5.00
SPECIAL NOTE: Award winning documentary, “Faces Places” will be shown as a part of EC-CHAP’s monthly film series. The film is preceded by a showing of The Making of a Willington Mural: “A Canvas of History and Social Change” with a brief talk by the artist. The theme of public art is carried through the evening.
‘Faces Places’ Review: A Living Legend Delivers ‘The Year’s Best, Most Beguiling Doc’ (https://www.therollingstone.com)
Faces Places (PG) is a unique French documentary (English subtitiles) written and directed by photographer/muralist JR and filmaker, Agnès Varda.
Agnes Varda and JR journey through rural France in JR’s specially adapted van, which is like a mobile photo booth. and form an unlikely friendship. Their artistic work and direct involvement with communities demonstrate the power of public art and social connection.
They arrive in villages and towns and get locals to have their portrait pictures taken in the back of his vehicle, which he can then print out at gigantic size, sometimes doing a whole body shot printed out piecemeal, and which he then plasters on to the sides of buildings, matching the sections up with a wallpaperer’s skill, though we never see this tricky manoeuvre. “The results are utterly spectacular, and often unbearably moving” (.Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian)
Agnès Varda and JR have things in common: a passion for and the exploration of images in general, and more precisely, for places and for ways of showing, sharing, and exhibiting them. Agnès chose cinema. JR chose to create open air photography galleries. When Agnès and JR met in 2015, they immediately wanted to work together, to shoot a film in France, far from cities, during a trip in JR's photographic (and magical) truck. Through chance encounters and prepared projects, they reached out to others, listening to them, photographing them, and sometimes putting them on posters. This film also tells the story of Agnès and JR's friendship, which grew stronger throughout the film shoot, between surprises and teasing, and while laughing about their differences. - Rotten Tomatoes
Agnes Varda is almost 90 years old and she is still making fantastic films. Searching, compassionate, provocative, funny, sad ones. This is one of them. You should see it, and then go dancing in the streets.
Varda has been making films since 1955, and throughout her career, which saw her as one of the key figures in the French New Wave, she’s been a generous and ingenious collaborator. For this movie, which is part character drama (with real-life characters), part road documentary, and part essay-film,
Varda co-signs with the French artist who calls himself JR. A bit over one-third Varda’s age, he always sports a hat and dark glasses. His work is in photography and public art. He travels through Europe in a van that’s a photo booth, creating large-format portraits of people he meets. He goes even larger with some of his other works, creating giant pictures that he then affixes to the sides of buildings, or train cars, or ships. After which he documents that work, and lets nature take its course—the images are generally washed away by time. In this film, one is very dramatically swept off by the tide. JR’s is a humanist artistic mission; he gets ordinary people to partake in his work, which inevitably delights them. - Roger Ebert
Preceding the screening of the feature documentary, “Faces Places”, The Making of a Willington Mural: A Canvas of History and Social Change” will be shown along with a brief talk and Q&A by the muralist, Christopher Gunderson.
This film is a part of the EC-CHAP Film Series hosted by the Eastern Connecticut Center for History, Art, and Performance (EC-CHAP), a 501.3.c non-profit membership-based cultural organization. To learn more and how you can become a member, visit www.ec-chap.org.
Cabaret and group seating. Doors 6:30pm / Show 7:00pm. Soft drinks and snacks available. We are pleased to offer our exclusive "BYOB&F" model - Bring Your Own Beverage & Food (Wine & Beer Only - I.D. Required).
Call 518-791-9474 for information and table reservations.