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TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION THE FESTIVAL DIRECTOR BIOGRAPHY INTERVIEW MOVIES VENUE MAP ATTRACTIONS
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INTRODUCTION 4
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Luc Besson spent the first years of his life following his parents, scuba diving instructors, around the world. His early life was entirely aquatic. He already showed amazing creativity as a youth, writing early drafts of The Big Blue (1988) and The Fifth Element (1997), as an adolescent bored in school. He planned on becoming a marine biologist specializing in dolphins until a diving accident at age 17 which rendered him unable to dive any longer. He moved back to Paris, where he was born, and only at age 18 did he first have an urban life or television. He realized that film was a medium which he could combine all his interests in various arts together, so he began taking odd jobs on various films. He moved to America for three years, then returned to France and formed Les Films de Loups — his own production company, which later changed its name to Les Films de Dauphins. He is now able to dive again.
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FESTIVAL The Assignment, Risking life for freedom in the film of Luc Besson. Considered the French equivalent of Steven Spielberg, filmmaker Luc Besson has a reputation for creating fast-paced, ultra-stylish, and hugely budgeted films with mass appeal. Besson’s biggest hit came in 1990 with Nikita (or La Femme Nikita, as it was known in the U.S.), the lightning-paced tale of a troubled young woman who is turned into a sophisticated and deadly government assassin. Starring Besson’s then-wife Anne Parillaud, the film was a sexy, intelligent thriller. Besson’s next feature film, the 1994 Léon (or The Professional) boasted a strong performance by Besson regular Jean Réno as the title character, and a starmaking turn by Natalie Portman as his young protégée. In 1997, Besson returned to the sci-fi genre with the flamboyant The Fifth Element starring Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, and Milla Jovovich. Inspired by a daydream he had while studying in secondary school, the film was a breathtaking, visually mind-boggling experience; it was enormously popular in France, winning both a César and a Lumière de Paris d’Unifrance award for its director. Two years later, Besson exchanged future fantasy for medieval history with The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc.
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DIRECTOR LUC BESSON
The son of two scuba instructors, he was born in Paris on March 18, 1959, and spent most of his youth following his parents on the club Med circuit between Greece and Yugoslavia. Like his parents, Besson was an avid diver. At the age of ten, he swam with a wild dolphin while his parents were on a dive. Born: March 18, 1959 in Paris, France The experience so moved him that he decided to devote his life Occupation: Director, Producer, Screenwriter to observing and understanding the sea mammals by becoming Birth name: Luc Paul Maurice Besson a marine biologist. Living in such close harmony with the ocean had a profound effect on Besson; the idea for his film The Big Blue was born after an Italian filmmaker showed him footage of world champion free diver Jacques Mayol descending 92 meters on one breath of air. Before it became a screenplay, the film was a story Besson titled Le Petit Siren.
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BIOGRAPHY
Besson’s dreams of becoming a marine biologist were dashed at the age of 17 after an accident that rendered him unable to dive. Following his recovery, he moved to Paris to finish school. While readjusting to city life, Besson discovered television and the cinema. They soon replaced his passion for the sea, and he decided to pursue a filmmaking career; after dropping out of school, he began seeing nearly a dozen films per week. He also began toying with the possibilities of Super-8 film. At 19, Besson went to Hollywood and spent three years working on and learning about American films. The influence of the experience led one critic to claim that Besson’s films are really just American films made in France.
At 19, Besson went to Hollywood and spent three years working on and learning about American films. Later, Besson served in the military and subsequently spent three years as an assistant director. He also continued experimenting with different types of film and making an occasional music video. One of his short films, L’Avant-Dernier, was a precursor to his 1983 feature directorial debut, the grim, future-set, sci-fi drama Le Dernier Combat/The Last Battle (1983). Essentially a silent film boasting exceptional camerawork, it won two of the highest prizes awarded at the prestigious Avoriaz Science Fiction Film Festival and 18 more at various other international festivals. All in all, it marked an amazingly auspicious debut for its 24-yearold director. Around the time he was making the film, Besson also founded his own production company, Films of the Wolf.
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Besson’s second film, Subway (1985), was a freewheeling and funny crime drama set entirely within the Paris Metro that examined the lives of the punks and fringe dwellers who lived there. In tone and style, the film has been compared to a rock video and has become a cult favorite in France. Besson then went all out for his third film, The Big Blue (1988), which was shot in English. Considered his most personal work, it reflected 12 years of development and was heavily influenced by his experience of seeing the Mayol film and a later meeting with the great diver. The ocean plays a primary role in the story about a free-diver who must choose between his love for a woman and his passion for the sea. An unprecedented success in Europe, the film bombed in the U.K. and the U.S. largely due to inept editing, a different ending, and a new soundtrack; even in its mutilated form, however, the movie could still be appreciated for Besson’s use of his trademark breathtaking wide-angle shots. The director later received some degree of justice when a three-hour director’s cut was released. Besson’s biggest hit came in 1990 with Nikita (or La Femme Nikita, as it was known in the U.S.), the lightning-paced tale of a troubled young woman who is turned into a sophisticated and deadly government assassin. Starring Besson’s then-wife Anne Parillaud, the film was a sexy, intelligent thriller. It was no surprise, therefore, that it inspired a U.S. remake, Point of No Return (1993), and a television series on the USA cable network. Besson’s next feature film, the 1994 Léon (or The Professional) boasted a strong performance by Besson regular Jean Réno as the title character, and a star-making turn by Natalie Portman as his young protégée. In 1997, Besson returned to the sci-fi genre with the flamboyant The Fifth Element starring Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, and Milla Jovovich. Inspired by a daydream he had while studying in secondary school, the film was a breathtaking, visually mind-boggling experience; it was enormously popular in France, winning both a César and a Lumière de Paris d’Unifrance award for its director. Two years later, Besson exchanged future fantasy for medieval history with The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc. An epic outing that starred then-wife Jovovich as the doomed saint, it sank at the box office and was savaged by the critics, despite lavish production values and a strong cast.
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“ Cinema never saved anyone’s life, it is not a medicine that will save anyone’s life. It is only an aspirin.” – LUC BESSON
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INTERVIEW LUC BESSON: The Hollywood Interview An in-depth interview with the director on Angel-A, Arthur and the Invisibles, and why Jean Reno better not use a cell phone on his set.
Besson is Back in the Director’s Chair with Angel-A although he doesn’t exactly believe in director’s chairs. By Terry Keefe, Venice Magazine.
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Fans of Luc Besson have had to wait since The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc in 1999 for him to step back into directing, although he’s had his hands on an almost innumerable amount of projects as both a producer and a writer since that Milla Jovovichstarring epic. In fact, he’s had so many credits in the intervening years that it might be easier to list the films Besson hasn’t been involved with. Through his company Europa Corp, he’s been a producer or executive producer on at least 20 different features during the last two years alone and has also received a writing credit on many others since The Messenger, including The Transporter and Bandidas. He’s also become the author of a successful series of children’s books, based around the character named “Arthur,” with the series selling over a million copies worldwide thus far. The first feature film based on the “Arthur” series, Arthur and the Invisibles, a combination of live-action and animation, was released theatrically on these shores late last year, and it was written, directed, and produced by Besson. And now his directorial feature Angel-A, which was actually distributed in France prior to Arthur, in 2005, is finally getting its domestic release in the United States. So, whether you want to mark the return of Besson the director with Angel-A or Arthur, one of the most colorful and original filmmakers (and best interviews) around is back at the helm.
The actor and character-driven Angel-A is on the other side of the filmmaking coin from the spectacle of Besson’s The Fifth Element and The Professional, but although the scale is smaller, Angel-A is a poetic little two-hander about a hustler named Andre (Jamel Debbouze), who meets the supermodel-beautiful Angela (Rie Rasmussen, in a starmaking lead performance), when they are both attempting to commit suicide off a bridge over the Seine in Paris. It turns out that the appropriately-named Angela is an angel who has been sent with the mission of teaching Andre a few lessons. The actor and character-driven Angel-A is on the other side of the filmmaking coin from the spectacle of Besson’s The Fifth Element and The Professional, but although the scale is smaller, Besson still crafts a visually dazzling film, with gorgeous black and white photography that makes Paris the third lead of the piece. The city is just waiting for Andre to embrace it, like a spurned lover, but although its beauty surrounds him always, he cannot see it.
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How long did it take you to feel comfortable directing again, once you started production on Angel-A? Luc Besson: Even if you don’t brush your teeth for a few days, you still know how to do it [laughs]. I mean, I started when I was 17, so I’ve sort of had the feeling that I’ve been doing this all my life. But, you know, after doing Joan of Arc, I started working on Arthur for about five years. So I didn’t get the feeling that I had stopped [directing] really. Because making the storyboards for Arthur took nine months, to do the references for the film took nine months, and then I did this film for the government to promote Paris for the games, and I worked on that for seven months. And I was doing Angel-A at the same time, so I’ve kept pretty busy.
You had the idea for Angel-A over ten years ago. You weren’t able to finish the script at that point though. I wrote 15 pages, but I couldn’t write the dialogue. I was too young. I knew what I wanted to say, but I couldn’t say it. And then you wait for 10 years, and life makes you older [laughs], and you get some smacks in the face. You get some pains in your joints, and some truth. And 10 years later, you write the script in 2 weeks.
You sat down and it just came out? I was surprised, but [whistles] boom. Like that, it came out. But let’s take an example for comparison: when you’re 17 and you want to tell a girl “I love you,” [laughs] it takes forever. You prepare; you send flowers; you don’t know her; finding the right time; it takes forever. Believe me, when you’re 40, you know things. You know there’s a moment when you feel you have to say it. You say, “Darling, I need to talk to you. You know, I love you.” You’re going to be more straight at 40. You know life. You know the words. You’re going to say things differently.
10 years prior, did you know the beats of the story at least? I knew the bones, the structure, yeah. It was just the dialogue I couldn’t do.
When you were shooting Angel-A, you took the unusual step of keeping the beats of the story from much of the cast and crew, until you were ready to do those scenes. I did that with some of the cast and crew. Some of them, I didn’t want them to know all the plot. When it was useful, I used this technique, but not to be mean or anything. So, for example, the guy who plays the villain [Gilbert Melki], he sees Jamel like a sheep at the beginning. And then the next time he sees Jamel, later in the movie - Jamel is so powerful. I didn’t want him to know what happened to Jamel in between those scenes. We were shooting in order, and so he was very confident in the first scene with Jamel. And then suddenly, in their next scene together, he sees Jamel coming in and Jamel is totally different. Jamel’s dialogue is very “in charge.” So he’s wondering, “What the fuck is going on?” Because he doesn’t have a clue as to what happened to Jamel.
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He was frustrated when he shot it, but when he saw the film, he said, “I think you were right.” Because he was totally confused as to what happened to this guy, just like his character would be. I did the same thing with the set designer, who I had worked with before. I knew that if I gave him the script, he would come back to me with ideas that I liked. But I said to him, “I’m not going to give you the script.” He said, “How do you expect me to design things if I don’t have the script?” I said, “Okay, I’m going to tell you. There are two bars, one toilet, one rest room, that’s it.” He said, “Guide me.” I said, “No, just do what you want.” And he came back with ideas that he would have never had if he read the script. Never.
The bathroom was incredible. Very Clockwork Orange Milk Bar-esque. He never would have come up with that bathroom if he had read the script. Because he went at it with no references. If you have no references, you just come up with something interesting. That’s what I wanted. Because if he had come up with something which wasn’t so good, I could have just given him the script anyway. So, why not.
What was your rehearsal process like with Jamel and Rie? With Rie, it was very different than with Jamel. Because Rie didn’t speak French. The biggest concern with her was being able to learn French and say the lines right in French. Jamel is a stand-up comedy guy, so he’s used to playing with words, usually his own words, and reacting to things. But he’s not used to doing a play, basically, and the idea that “this is the line.” That you can’t change the line. Because it’s like ping-pong with Rie. If you change your line, she has to change her line. But she won’t change her line, because she’s from Norway. And you’ll look stupid [laughs]. So he had to stick to the lines and learn them, and that was difficult for him. I really pissed him off, both of them actually, by making them learn all the lines by heart. I told them that I wouldn’t be happy until I could say a line from anywhere in the script, at any moment of the day, and that they could cut right into the scene from there. Which I did. Sometimes we were out at dinner, and Jamel was laughing, and I would say a line, and he’d have to answer it, and start the scene right away from there. And that memorization helped because you were shooting all over Paris with a small crew, and thus, if you found a great location on the fly, you could quickly shoot a scene.
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You’ve talked about shooting Angel-A guerilla-style. Did you know where most of your locations were going to be prior to shooting? Yeah, except a few times. You know, for example, where he’s by himself at night? We had no authorization at all to shoot then. We just got in a single truck, got the Steadicam, got out and all looked around, and said, “Okay, here!” Jamel is quite popular in France, and I am too, so if you started to put lights around on things, you’d have a crowd.
You achieved the affect of having virtually no pedestrians in the backgrounds of your exterior shots. Largely from having shot pretty early, I assume? Yeah, from 7-10 AM in the summer. Everyone in Paris is on vacation. The tourists arrive around 11.
Was any lighting done when you shot outside at some of the famous Parisian monuments, or did you go guerilla at those places as well? All natural light. It’s just like shooting a sunset. You have to wait for the perfect time. Most of those scenes, we knew what time we had to be there to get it right.
The film feels like a visual love letter to Paris. Was that the intention right from the beginning? [long pause, thinks] It’s a little different when you’re French, and it’s your city. I’m living there, and I do care for Paris. And I always care that my locations are cool and nice. And I can understand the perspective of someone from America, or China, or…when people say, “Oh my god, Paris is…!” It’s a little different for me though. Of course, I love Paris, but for me, it’s more about the guy and the girl. I wanted to show this beautiful city, because I wanted to show that Jamel can’t see beauty.
Although I haven’t seen Paris look this lovely and enticing since Bande a Parte. Paris is such a pleasure to film. In contrast, New York is a nightmare. Everything there is vertical. In CinemaScope, it’s a nightmare. You just can’t put the thing in a bottle. Paris is like 3 or 4-level buildings. It’s very flat. The monuments aren’t very big, because they’re a few centuries old. And everything goes into frame. It’s perfect for shooting. In CinemaScope. And even the scenes by the river, all the bridges go into frame.
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Had you always intended to shoot in black and white, or were there financial considerations that could have caused you to scrap that plan and go color? Of course I heard some complaints from TV around the world. [does “obnoxious businessman voice”] “Are you sure you want to do it in black and white?” [his own voice] “Yep.” [obnoxious businessman voice] “We might not be able to take it then.” [his own voice] “Don’t take it then.” [obnoxious businessman voice] “Okay, we’ll take it!” [laughs]
Did you and your cinematographer Thierry Arbogast do a lot of tests in preparation for the black and white shooting? Oh yes. The blue, the yellow, and the red…they don’t react the same in black and white. You have to look at the construction and setting and the clothes, everything. The funny thing is, this film didn’t look good in color. On the set, it wasn’t looking good at all. Especially the costumes.
Looks great in black and white. How did you discover Rie? She came to me with a short film that she wanted to have produced. I said “No” a few times. But she kept coming with more scripts and more scripts. And so I said, “Okay, she’s a serious girl.” Then I produced her first film and she was lucky enough to get nominated for Cannes. And then a year after that, I said, “Oh, by the way, I’m going to do this new film. Do you want to be in it?” It was kind of unexpected for her.
Were you reading a lot of other girls other than Rie, or had you planned on using her from the beginning? No, it was just her. But I pretended that we were talking to other girls [laughs].
This summer you’re shooting the next two Arthur films back-to-back. How long do you anticipate production to take on those sequels? The actual live-action shooting only takes 12-13 weeks. The rest of it takes four years.
Do you know what you’re directing after the Arthur films? No. Probably nothing. Those are going to take me 3-4 years anyway. We’ll see where we are in three years [laughs].
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With all the projects you’re producing through your company, how hands-on are you in terms of script notes, during production, and into post when dealing with other director’s projects? I think I’m very present before the shooting and after the shooting. But not during the shooting. During the shooting, there is one boat and one captain. I don’t have any ego about that. When I write a script, and give it to a director, it’s his film. It’s like, “It’s your baby. Do what you want.” I will judge it as a moviegoer, not as a writer. We’re shooting Taken with Liam Neeson. I went to see the director on the set last night. You know, I went to say hi, have coffee, and then I left. That’s what I do. Because, not here, but when I’m in France, if I go on the set, all the technicians get so nervous [laughs]. They’re like, “What is he doing here? Oh my god, what is going to happen?” On the set, I’m unpredictable. I love to have people on their toes, from the moment they come on the set, to the moment they leave the set. Otherwise, stay home! You’re not going to have the time to sit. I don’t have a seat with my name on it. Ever. I’m always standing. And I’m always looking for everything I can steal, bring, or change. You know, my senses are, like, extra-developed when I’m on the set. So you’d better not sleep when you’re working with me. [laughs] I started to laugh because I just remembered this: my first assistant once came to me on the set and said, “Tell me when is a good time for me to pee.” I said, “James, it’s okay. Go pee.” [laughs] I definitely put the pressure on people, because I’m under pressure too. And I want some help. I don’t want to be by myself under pressure. I don’t want people to be like, [does a pretentious voice, mimics actor talking on a cell phone] “Yeah, I’m on the set with Luc Besson.” Don’t come around me on the set with a cellular phone. I smash phones.
Good! Jean Reno? I took the phone out of his hand in the middle of a conversation and I slammed it down. I said, “Are you kidding? We’re prepping this film for months, and that’s all you have to do – giggle around? You have nothing to prepare? You’re sure you’re the best? Get back to work. Otherwise, I’m going to phone my girlfriend during the take when you’re speaking. I’m going to go, ‘Yeah, I’m shooting with Jean Reno here, and…’” I hate that. Because shooting is so tough. You have to concentrate. I never go overtime. If we’re shooting until 5, I’m done by 4:50 and say that’s the end of the day. That’s how I respect my cast and crew. I’m not here to have them exhausted and dead. But if we’re working for six hours, I want you for six hours. Fully 100%. That’s all. Give me your best.
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MOVIES NIKITA THE PROFESSIONAL THE FIFTH ELEMENT THE MESSENGER ANGEL-A
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THE FIFTH ELEMENT Good and evil battle for the future of 23rd century Earth in this visually striking big-budget science fiction epic. In the movie’s prologue, which is set in 1914, scientists gather in Egypt at the site of an event that transDirector, Screen Story, pired centuries earlier. Aliens, it seemed, arrived to collect four stones Screenwriter representing the four basic elements (earth, air, fire and water) - warning their human contacts that the objects were no longer safe on Earth. Actors : A few hundred years later (in the 23rd century), a huge ball of molten Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, lava and flame is hurtling toward Earth, and scientist-holy man Victor Ian Holm, Gary Oldman, Cornelius (Ian Holm) declares that in order to prevent it from destroying Chris Tucker, Luke Perry the planet, the same four elemental stones must be combined with the fifth element, as embodied by a visitor from another world named Leeloo (Milla Jovovich). However, if the force of evil presents itself to the stones instead, the Earth will be destroyed, and an evil being named Zorg (Gary Oldman) will trigger the disaster. Despite her remarkable powers, Leeloo needs help with her mission, and she chooses her accomplice, military leader-turned-cab driver Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis), when she literally falls through the roof of his taxi. Writer and director Luc Besson began writing the script for The Fifth Element when he was only 16 years old, though he was 38 before he was able to bring it to the screen. Opened May 9, 1997 Runtime : 2 hr. 7 min.
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LA FEMME NIKITA Opened April 1, 1991 The serpentine plotline of Luc Besson’s La Femme Nikita begins its Runtime : 1 hr. 57 min. 117-minute slither when punkish, psychotic, and drug-ridden Nikita (Anne Parillaud) fires her gun into a cop’s face following the stick-up Director, Screenwriter of a drug store, and is promptly imprisoned. She is thrown into a dank cell, then injected with a substance and told it is a lethal toxin. Instead Actors: of dying, however, the comes to in an all-white interrogation room, Anne Parillaud, where French intelligence officer Bob (Tchéky Karyo), informs her that Jean-Hugues Anglade, an alternate to execution exists: she can receive covert government Tchéky Karyo, training as an assassin. She accepts the bid, is rigorously trained, and Jeanne Moreau, Jean Reno later returns to society as a seemingly normal and gentle civilian, but falls in love with a drugstore employee while she’s waiting for that first government assignment.
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THE MESSENGER In the 15th century, France is mired in the 100 Years War when a humble voice appears, claiming to have been instructed by the Lord to lead the French army into battle and defend their land against the Director, Screenwriter British. The voice belongs to Jeanne d’Aragon, a teenage girl from a tiny village, and, to the surprise of many, her story does not fall on Actors : deaf ears. Wearing the armor of a soldier, the girl known as Joan Timothy West, Milla Jovovich, of Arc leads the French troops in what she believes is a holy battle. John Malkovich, Faye Dunaway, Joan would soon be tried for heresy for her actions, but history would Dustin Hoffman, Pascal Greggory, vindicate her with sainthood. The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Richard Ridings, Desmond Harrington Arc stars Milla Jovovich as Joan of Arc, Faye Dunaway as Yolande d’Aragon, and Dustin Hoffman as The Grand Inquisitor. Directed by Luc Besson, The Messenger was originally titled Joan of Arc but added the prefix to avoid confusion with the 1999 TV movie of the same name, which starred Leelee Sobieski. Opened October 18, 1999 Runtime : 2 hr. 28 min.
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THE PROFESSIONAL Opened September 14, 1994 As visually stylish as it is graphically violent, this thriller directed Runtime : 1 hr. 46 min. by Luc Besson concerns Mathilda (Natalie Portman), a 12-year-old Director, Producer, Screenwriter girl living in New York City who has been exposed to the sordid side of life from an early age: her family lives in a slum and her abusive Actors : father works for drug dealers, cutting and storing dope. Mathilda Jean Reno, Natalie Portman, doesn’t much care for her parents, but she has a close bond with her Gary Oldman, Danny Aiello, four-year-old brother. One day, she returns from running an errand Peter Appel, Michael Badalucco to discover that most of her family, including her brother, have been killed in a raid by corrupt DEA agents, led by the psychotic Stansfield (Gary Oldman). Mathilda takes refuge in the apartment of her secretive neighbor, Leon (Jean Reno), who takes her in with a certain reluctance. She discovers that Leon is a professional assassin, working for Tony (Danny Aiello), a mob kingpin based in Little Italy. Wanting to avenge the death of her brother, Mathilda makes a deal with Leon to become his protégée in exchange for work as a domestic servant, hoping to learn the hitman’s trade and take out the men who took her brother’s life. However, an affection develops between Leon and Mathilda that changes his outlook on his life and career. Besson’s first American film boasted a strong performance from Jean Reno, a striking debut by Natalie Portman, and a love-it-or-hate-it, over-the-top turn by Gary Oldman.
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ANGEL-A Opened May 25, 2007 Runtime : 1 hr. 28 min.
A desperate man in serious debt attempts to wipe his account clean in the most permanent way imaginable, only to find himself saved from a grim, self-inflicted demise by his selfless attempt to rescue another Director, Producer, Screenwriter would-be suicide in director Luc Besson’s tenth outing as a director. André (Jamel Debbouze) is a debt-ridden 28-year-old who has until Actors : midnight to pay back 40,000 euros to one of Paris’ most ruthless Rie Rasmussen, Jamel Debbouze, gangsters. When the menacing Franck (Gilbert Melki) has his thugs Gilbert Melki, Serge Riaboukine, dangle André over the edge of the Eiffel Tower soon thereafter, the Akim Chir, Eric ‘Parigo’ Balliet debtor who views himself as an American on a technicality seeks the help of the U.S. Embassy to no avail. After failing to convince the local police to lock him up for his own protection, André, sensing death is eminent, determines to end his life on his own terms. As André steps over the edge of the city’s most awe-inspiring bridges and prepares to take that fateful plunge, he suddenly notices a statuesque blonde in a little black dress preparing to meet her maker in a similar fashion. As the woman leaps into the Seine, André instinctively jumps in to rescue her. Resting safely on the shore after looking death straight in the eye, the sorrowful pair soon finds their fates inexorably tied. Though André initially scolds the ravishing Angela (Rie Rasmussen) for attempting to deprive the world of such stunning beauty, she bitterly assures her one-armed savior that her physical perfection is without question only skin deep. Nevertheless the aggressive blonde betrays her own negative self-image by pledging to stick by André through thick and thin, and the unlikely duo soon sets out on a mission to solve André’s formidable list of problems and get his life back in order again.
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“ People often say I’m a child at heart. In fact, I think I just have access to my childhood, I have a very clear memory of it. We were all children once. We just need to show a bit of respect for it.” – LUC BESSON
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VENUE QUAD CINEMA 34 West 13th Street, The QUAD is a venerable theater owned and beautifully maintained by the same family New York, NY 10011 since 1972. Located in the heart of Greenwich Village, New York, it’s an area inhabited P: 212–255–2243 by passionate moviegoers eager to see the best in independent, foreign and documenF: 212–255–2247 tary films. We employ a first-rate staff including unionized projectionists and managers, quadcinema@aol.com each with over 25 years experience working at the QUAD. It has a reputation for being a well-run and successful venue, and books films from such major distributors as Miramax, Sony Pictures Classics, Fox Searchlight, Focus, Paramount, IFC, Weinstein, MGM, Warner Bros., Universal and Lionsgate.
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RISKING LIFE FOR FREEDOM IN THE FILMS OF LUC BESSON
PARKING FOR QUAD CINEMA Parking on 13th Street and other side streets near The Quad open up after 6:00pm, when parking is permitted. On Fifth and Sixth Ave. one-hour meters are in effect between 11:00am and 7:00pm Monday to Saturday (25 cents per 1/4 hour). Garages in the area are plentiful and should cost around $12 for 3 hours.
THE
ATTRACTIONS One of the joys of coming to the Quad Cinema (in addition to seeing wonderful films) is to hang out in the area. The Quad is located right in the heart of Greenwich Village, perhaps the most charming and interesting neighborhood in the city. Here are some attractions we recommend, all within a comfortable walk from the Quad:
Washington Square Where Fifth Avenue ends. A vibrant park with benches, street-life, musicians, and students from New York University. Come on a Sunday when it’s most lively and festive. Buy an ice-cream cone, sit on a bench, and enjoy!
New York University Surrounds Washington Square. See the imposing Bobst Library and visit the fabulous bookstore. NYU is now considered one of the elite universities in the world.
Judson Memorial Church Washington Square South. Designed by renowned architect Stanford White, of McKim, Mead and White, this beautiful Romanesque church was completed in 1892. See the stained glass windows by John la Farge. The Judson is most famous for its vocal participation in social events.
Washington Mews
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Off Fifth near Washington Square North. A hidden, private street that will transport you to Europe. Formerly stables which were converted to lovely, quaint, carriage houses.
RISKING LIFE FOR FREEDOM IN THE FILMS OF LUC BESSON
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