My Beautiful Women
Films by Brigitte Cornand
Saturdays, March 23, April 13 & April 20, 2013
FIAF
Tinker Auditorium
55 East 59th Street, NYC
In March and April, the French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF), New York’s premiere French cultural center, will present My Beautiful Women, a series of eleven films on leading female artists by Brigitte Cornand.
Throughout her prolific career, French filmmaker Brigitte Cornand has produced intimate portraits of her friends, seminal contemporary figures in the arts including Annette Messager, Joan Jonas, Jean Nouvel, Jonas Mekas, and Louise Bourgeois.
My Beautiful Women follows the U.S. Premiere of Cornand’s latest film, Grabigouji: Life of Disappearance, a portrait of Louise Bourgeois, presented at FIAF on the occasion of International Women’s Day. The short and feature-length films in the series document the creative process of artists including Nancy Holt, Kiki Smith, Carolee Schneemann, and Louise Bourgeois, among others. Creating a dynamic bridge between New York and Paris, two beloved cities for Cornand, the films offer witty and insightful reflections on life, art, and womanhood.
On Saturday, April 13 at 5:45pm, Brigitte Cornand and artists Joan Jonas, Carolee Scheemann, Gwenn Thomas, and Martha Rosler will participate in a Q&A following the screening of Joan Jonas, Portrait of the Artist with Dog. And on Saturday, April 20 at 3:45pm, Cornand will sign copies of her book Grabigouji, to My Friend Louise Bourgeois.
The screenings of Cornand’s films The Sweet River, The Whisper of the Whistling Water, and Grabigouji: Life of Disappearance will be presented on Saturday, April 20 as a tribute to Louise Bourgeois.
Films are in French with English subtitles unless otherwise noted. For film descriptions, visit fiaf.org.
About Brigitte Cornand
A former producer of art programs for the French television channel Canal+, Brigitte Cornand creates unusual avant-garde work that blends two enduring passions: film and art. Based in New York and Paris, Cornand crafts documentary profiles of renowned artists and sculptors, offering a more intimate portrait of her subject. Each project represents an idiosyncratic form of collaboration between the filmmaker and the subject. A close friend of Louise Bourgeois’s from 1994 until her death in 2009, Cornand has directed several films on the legendary artist.
Saturday March 23, 2–6pm
A Net for Annette at 2pm
Dans les filets d’Annette Messager
Directed by Brigitte Cornand, 2000. Color. 52 minutes.
The Sweet River & Saint Louise and the Hawk at 3pm
La rivière gentille
Directed by Brigitte Cornand, 2007. Color. 4 minutes.
Saint Louise and the Hawk
Directed by Brigitte Cornand, 2010. Color. 4 minutes.
Followed by a 15-minute coffee intermission at 3:15pm.
Annette Messager, The Messengers at 3:30pm
Annette Messager, Les messagers
Directed by Brigitte Cornand, 2007. Color. 65 minutes.
Andrée Putman, Portrait d’intérieur at 4:40pm
Directed by Brigitte Cornand, 2002. Color. 55 minutes.
Saturday April 13, 2–6pm
Dear Louise at 2pm
Chère Louise
Directed by Brigitte Cornand, 1995. Color. 50 minutes.
The Red Birds at 3pm
Les oiseaux rouges
Directed by Brigitte Cornand, 2009. Color. 75 minutes.
Joan Jonas: Portrait of The Artist with Dog at 4:30pm
Dir. Brigitte Cornand, 2006. Color. 70 minutes.
In English
Meet the Director
Q&A with Brigitte Cornand, Joan Jonas, Carolee Schneemann, Gwenn Thomas, and Martha Rosler at 5:45pm.
Saturday April 20, 2–7pm
The Sweet River at 2pm
La rivière gentille
Directed by Brigitte Cornand, 2007. Color. 100 minutes.
Meet the Director
30-minute intermission with coffee and book signing with Brigitte Cornand at 3:45pm.
The Whisper of the Whistling Water at 4:15pm
C’est le murmure de l’eau qui chante
Directed by Brigitte Cornand, 2002. Color. 92 minutes.
Grabigouji: Life of Disappearance at 6pm
Grabigouji: La vie de la disparition
Directed by Brigitte Cornand, 2012. Color. 47 minutes.
Media Contact: Natascha Bodemann | T 646 388 6677 | nbodemann [at] fiaf.org
