VINGT Paris News

Max Linder Panorama

2010-02-04T17:00:13+01:00

Text: Chris Holt

Max Linder Panorama is one of several classic art deco cinemas concentrated in 9th and 18th arrondissements . Unlike its landmark neighbor, the 3000 seater Rex, Max Linder has an unassuming exterior.

Built in 1912, the theatre was re-named after the French silent film pioneer Max Linder who purchased it in 1914. The theatre was renovated in 1987, preserving a beautiful art deco interior. While the decor is retro, the theatre itself has a state of the art sound system and a huge curved screen (thus the name Panorama). The result is an immersmovie-going experience and is an ideal venue seeing one of the many 3D movies to recently hit the box office.

A surprising 600 person capacity is made possible by seating on three levels. Those interested are advised to arrive early and grab seats in the middle level - those on the top level risk an obstructed view, while those on the bottom risk a strained neck from looking up at the screen. A refreshing experience for those seeking more than sterile megaplexes. For more information and showtimes, visit the Max Linder Panorama website.

Max Linder Panorama
24, bd Poissonniere
75009 Paris
Metro Grands-Boulevards

BalkafoniK at Cabaret Sauvage

2010-02-04T16:58:59+01:00

Text: Brendan Seibel
Image: Ziveli Orkestar

The always festive Cabaret Sauvage will be hosting this year's incarnation of BalkafoniK, an evening celebrating the cultural melange of Serbia, Croatia and Montenegro. High spirits and an effervescent sense of humor will carry through the night.

Initiating the proceedings is a screening of Slobodan Sijan's 1980 black comedy Who Sings Over There? Part road-movie, part socio-political allegory, Sijan's film follows the antics and rivalries of bus passengers winding their way to Belgrade on the eve of Germany's invasion. Scripted by Dusan Kovacevic, the genius who wrote Emir Kusturica's breakthrough Underground, Sijan's wry salvo was voted best Serbian film made between 1947 and 1995 by the Yugoslavian Board of the Academy of Film Art and Science.

When the lights come on the music begins. Four hours of propulsive brass will resonate and reverberate through bodies, commanding young and old to commandeer the dance floor. Traditionalists Ziveli Orkestar lay the framework of two-step tuba rhythms and a shuffling military cadence while powerhouse vocalist Suzana Djordjevic leads exuberant sing-a-longs. Melting-pot Haïdouti Orkestar collective ups the ante infusing their frenetic sound with a sonorous Turkish twist. Covering the cracks, ensuring everyone leaves joyously exhausted, Raki Balkans Sound System will be spinning and mixing your favorite beats throughout the night.

BalkanofoniK 2010
February 5th, Film: 7pm; Music:9pm
4 € en prévente / 17 € sur place
Le Cabaret Sauvage
Parc de la Villette
Pedestraian Access at 59 bd Mac Donald
Mº Porte de la Villette

Deolinda & Lura at l'Alhambra

2010-02-02T17:56:22+01:00

Text: Brendan Seibel

Understanding Portuguese would enhance your appreciation of Deolinda, but the Lisbon quartet's musical fluency transcends tongues. The same cleverness which wrote and recorded Canção Ao Lado, their 2008 platinum debut, imbues each song with mirth and wry wit. From the playful interplay of acoustic guitars through the striking timbre of singer Ana Bacalhau's soaring vocals, Deolinda weave complex operettas instantly grasped and enjoyed.

Following folk tradition Deolinda are storytellers. Their first album tells the tale of a reclusive girl, from whom the band took their name, living through the imagined lives of people passing her window. The quiet charm and tragedy of this heroine is as perfectly portrayed, equally dramatic and whimsical, as in a film. Inspired by both musicals and the Portuguese sound of fado, Deolinda is best experienced by walking into their colorful faerie-tale.

Originally paired with Sara Tavares, who has canceled her appearance, Deolinda will be performing with Lura. A descendant of Cape Verde, Lura paints with a broad international palette heavily informed by African pop and world fusion. Typically backed by full bands favoring dance rhythms, her last-minute addition will either overwhelm her compatriots or provide an opportunity to see how she handles a stripped down set.

Deolinda & Lura
Friday 5 February
Tickets 29€
Part of Festival au Fil des Voix
L'Alhambra
21 rue Yves Toudic
75010 Paris
Mº République/Jacques Bonsergent

VINGT PARIS Event with Laurent Le Bon at The Arts Arena

2010-02-02T14:03:10+01:00

On Tuesday, 9 February at 7pm The Arts Arena presents A Museum is Born: Centre Pompidou-Metz with director Laurent Le Bon. Dedicated to 20th and 21st century art, The Centre Pompidou-Metz will open its doors on May 11, 2010. Former heritage curator Le Bon is one of the most prominent figures in contemporary art. Specializing in 17th and 18th century gardens, he is renowned today for his bold contemporary exhibitions and as curator of the widely-acclaimed 2005 Dada exhibition at the Centre Pompidou. Laurent Le Bon also teaches art history at the École du Louvre and cultural management at Sciences Po in Paris. A talk with visuals will be followed by a reception. Vingt has reserved seating, please contact us at news[@]vingtparis.com to reserve a place.

A Museum is Born: Centre Pompidou-Metz
February 9 at 7pm
Grand Salon
31 avenue Bosquet
75007 Paris

Imperial Tiger Orchestra

2010-02-02T13:55:54+01:00

Text: Brendan Seibel

Afrobeat junkies and audio tourists alike can immerse themselves in Ethiopia's musical world. Swiss connoisseurs Imperial Tiger Orchestra bring their stylish homage to Paris, accompanied by Ethiopiques mastermind Francis Falceto and a screening of the short documentary Abyssinie Swing.

The Imperial Tiger Orchestra's approach to Ethiopian music is that of Pépé le Moko's towards Algeria, rather than the neo-realistic The Battle of Algiers. Driven by a sincere reverence for the haunting melodies which echoed through the streets of 1960's Addis Abeba, they accentuate mystique and mood.

Their brass heavy interpretations of songs from Ethiopia's heavy-weights-- Muluqén Mélléssé, Mahmoud Ahmed, Rahel Yohannes-- are certainly not authentic, but transcend rote mimicry by imbuing each song with a cinematic atmosphere. By capturing the foreignness of another time and another place, exploiting the eastern and Arab exoticism, and visualizing discoveries as gritty noir flicks the group succeeds in creating their own music.

Ideally the Imperial Tiger Orchestra would be found in the corner of a tightly packed café, surrounded by brightly garbed girls and grim-faced hustlers. Cigarette smoke would hang in the air, pools of cheap liquor would collect in scarred table-tops, the danger of a knife-fight or police patrol would be palpable. The Centre Culturel Suisse may lack the proper ambiance, but the band should provide plenty of their own for your evening's journey.

3/4 February 8pm
Centre Culturel Suisse
38, rue des Francs-Bourgeois 75003 Paris
(au fond du passage)
Mº Saint Paul, Rambuteau
Tickets: 7 et 10 €

Shakespeare and Co. Literary Festival in June

2010-02-02T13:38:01+01:00

Paris' favourite bookstore, Shakespeare and Co. has announced the names of a few of the incredible authors who will be coming to this year's literary festival which will take place from 18th to 20th June, 2010. This year's theme will be Storytelling, Politics and the Imagination. The list of authors participating in this year's edition of the festival include Nam Le, Ian McEwan, David Hare, John Berger, Petina Gappah and many others. The full list of participants will be announced next on Shakespeare and Co website and newsletter.

This year’s theme Storytelling, Politics and the Imagination, will explore the way writers depict, transform and influence their environment. What role does the imagination play in today’s society? Who are today’s storytellers and what are the most influential narratives? Can a work of fiction reflect society without being political? Do writers have a particular responsibility? Should literature engage with the world, or offer respite from it? Authors will discuss these issues amongst others and look at the importance of literature in our present cultural climate.

Over the course of three days the bookstore will host readings, panel discussions, book signings and film screenings. Held in the park next to Shakespeare and Company opposite Notre Dame, the festival will attract authors, actors and spectators from around the world. There will also be special events in select venues across Paris such as Théâtre de l’Odéon, the École des Beaux-Arts and the Hôtel de Ville.

Berlin - Paris 2010

2010-02-01T12:36:34+01:00

Text: Brendan Seibel

This year's edition of Berlin-Paris kicked off throughout the city Friday night. Building on the successes of last winter's inauguration fourteen German galleries are being represented by their French counterparts, mirroring the previous week's activities in Berlin. Gallery concentrations in particular neighborhoods encourage visits as complimentary to strolls. Five venues stretch across the high-rent district between Musée d'Orsay and Place Saint-Michel; three cluster on the narrow side streets surrounding Centre Pompidou; three run the length from Filles du Calvaire to Chemin Vert; three sit atop Belleville's peak; one solo exhibition lies within reach of Bibliothéque François Mitterrand.

One unifying theme amongst the collections is modernity. Pieces tend towards small installation or sculptures over the traditional paintings or photographs; the work is overwhelmingly esoteric if not highly pretentious. However the involvement of over forty artists guarantees that there is going to be something for everyone, assuming that visitors are willing to be challenged. As a rule of thumb the galleries in Belleville house the more student or underground aesthetics with an increasingly refined and glossy tone growing as you work towards Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

VINGT PARIS was able to stop by several galleries on opening night, revealing these impressions:

Nelson-Freeman (Sofia Hultén & Wolfgang Plöger)
59 rue Quincampoix
Mº Rambuteau

Upon entry there is either a quickly done installation of construction pieces or the result of poorly timed renovation. Two walls are adorned with photo-realistic manipulations of found art materials, providing the most contemplative assortment in the gallery. There is a fun piece of florescent lighting and film against the back wall and an upstairs installation making good use of the space by means of three projectors and reels of film.

Carlos Cardenas (Carla Scott Fullerton, Petrit Halilaj, Heike Kabisch)
43 rue Quincampoix
Mº Rambuteau

An incredibly small space contains an intriguing molded sculpture of a man clinging to a lamp. One wall displays a couple geometric designs best left to indie-rock enthusiasts but the second wall hosts two exceptionally intricate pencil-works of fantastical birds.

Natalie Seroussi (Rosa Barba)
34 rue de Seine
Mº Saint-Germain

This collection reveals two commanding video pieces. One, displayed on a hanging flatscreen with headphones playing über-German automaton noise, frantically edits together assorted shots of foreign lands, all crowds and streets and claustrophobia. The second, looped on a small device embedded in a lightbox, is of a hand lazily tracing dots with a marker. There is a small, richly textured geometric piece on a wall and another free-standing sculpture but both are quickly forgotten in lieu of the audio/video stimulation.

Jousse Enterprise (Jeppe Hein, Annette Kelm, Alicja Kwade, Kris Martin, Michaela Meise, Tatiana Trouvé)
18 rue de Seine
Mº Saint-Germain

Fiercely design oriented these pieces helplessly blend into the gallery's oppressive aesthetic. Refusing to be overwhelmed, an amazing polished metal sphere floods the front window with soft florescent lighting, which unfortunately renders the nearby architectural photographs lifeless. One other polished metal piece hangs on a random post, but the other fragments toil in pop-art cliche such as the bottle filled with shards of broken glass or the poster art piece of an inverted eclipse.

Galerie 1900-2000 (Gerold Miller)
7 rue Bonaparte
Mº Saint-Germain

Easily the most yuppie-oriented show, Miller's finely polished lacquer shapes hang on the walls as though you've walked into a living catalogue. The technique of design and fabrication is admirable but the end result lacks any sort of impact. One solitary photograph, expertly rendered, furthers the geometry theme but is unable to compensate for what are essentially things to cover your boredom at a corporate party.

Berlin-Paris 2010 continues until February 6th. See individual galleries for hours of operation

"Izis, Paris des Rêves" at Hôtel de Ville

2010-01-30T12:21:31+01:00

Text: Joanna Bronowicka

A sunny afternoon by the Seine: a worker is taking a nap on the banks, a couple is kissing under the bridge, and an old man is fishing as his wife is knitting next to him. For a few moments they take refuge from the difficult reality of Paris ravaged by war and poverty after World War II without realizing that Izis catches them in the act of daydreaming. Asked why he chose Paris after having fled the persecution of Jews in Lithuania in 1930, Izis replied, “Because it excited my imagination. It was the City of Lights. For me everything was happening in Paris. Liberty, Equality of man and Culture, that’s what made us dream.” The retrospective of his photography at Hotel de Ville "Izis, Paris des Rêves" invites us to discover this dreamlike poetry in the everyday life of Paris.

The exposition opens with a series of portraits of maquisards, the French resistance fighters. Izis who joined the French Resistance army during the war, decided to portray of his companions soon after liberation of Limousin in 1944 using only a white background and no retouching. It is precisely this raw quality of the portraits of men with bright eyes and timid smiles that makes their heroism more credible and palpable. The portraits of famous French people Izis took during twenty years of collaboration with Paris Match also capture their unrehearsed dignity: Colette on a wheelchair looking out the window, Camus leaning out of a balcony or Chagall looking at his sketches of the Garnier Opera ceiling at a coffee table in Vence.

Together with other photographers such as Robert Doisneau, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Sabine Weiss and Willy Ronis, Izis represents the French Humanist photography in the second half of the 20th century. Every one of Izis' photographs of children, workers, flower and bird vendors, vagabonds or cripples emanates with the beauty and grace of the human being. His Parisians seem to live in harmony with nature and eagerly share their city with pigeons, cats, dogs and horses. They enjoy the feeling of community and solidarity during popular celebrations: a carnival in the streets, an amusement park at the Place de la République, the circus. “I was often told that my photographs are not realist,” Izis admits “Maybe they are not realist, but this is my reality.”

Hôtel de Ville
Salon d'accueil
5, rue Lobau
75004 Paris
Metro: Hôtel de Ville
Until 29th May 2010
Open every day from 10am – 6:45pm except Sundays and public holidays.
Last admission at 6:15. Admission free.