To celebrate the 2005 centenary of the French filmmaker Jean Vigo, each month the Department of Film and Media presents a selection of both rare and celebrated French films by directors who have received the prestigious Prix Jean Vigo, established in 1951 and awarded annually to filmmakers whose work indicates an innovative spirit and promise of future achievement. Past recipients include Olivier Assayas, Claude Chabrol, Arnaud Desplechin, Jean-Luc Godard, Maurice Pialat, and Ousmane Sembène. Rarely screened works by these revered directors are shown, along with films by underappreciated filmmakers. Rounding out the program are undisputed masterpieces of the French canon too enticing to be ignored. All films are in French, with English subtitles.
Organized by Véronique Godard, Prix Jean Vigo Committee; and Jytte Jensen, Curator, and Leigh Goldstein, Executive Assistant, Department of Film.
Grateful thanks for the advice of the current Prix Jean Vigo Committee and its President, Luce Vigo, and for the generous collaboration of the Consulate General of France, New York; the Cultural Services of the French Embassy, New York; and Jean Pierre Stora; and for their invaluable support of our subtitling efforts, Titra-Film and Alex Kuczynski.