CINEM'ART 2019 - FILM SCREENINGS AT LOUVRE ABU DHABI
Last summer, I first started curating film screenings for Louvre Abu Dhabi and we began with a program titled “Cinem’Art” which is a film series inspired by artists or artworks in the museum. I happy that my film programming for the museum has been going on ever since, and we now have a second of Cinem’Art underway. I was not able to write about it here earlier because I was travelling for a few weeks, but here’s the list for the sake of documentation and you still have a chance to attend the last two screenings on July 24th and 31st if you live in or near Abu Dhabi.
Here’s the description of the program and information about each film. The screenings are free to attend and have now been moved from the usual slot of Saturdays to Wednesdays and they start at 6.00pm. You can register for the screenings here, or collect a free ticket at the museum’s ticket desk.
Cinem’Art 2019
Cinem’Art is a 5-week programme of international film screenings creating a dialogue between cinema and specific artworks from Louvre Abu Dhabi’s permanent exhibitions.
The programme offers a wide range of genres for all ages, including classic, contemporary, documentary and experimental films.
Wednesday, July 3 at 6.00pm
AT ETERNITY’S GATE
Dir: Julian Schnabel
2018 | 110 min | Drama | PG-15 | English
During a self-imposed exile in Arles and Auvers-sur-Oise, France, Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh (Willem Dafoe) develops his unique, colourful style of painting.
We find a complex, troubled soul who is seeking a new visual language, while also struggling to make sense of himself and his connection to those around him, including Paul Gaugain (Oscar Isaac) and a confiding priest (Mads Mikkelsen).
This screening is inspired by Van Gogh’s ‘The Dance Hall in Arles’ (1887) found in Gallery 19, on loan from Musée d’Orsay.
Wednesday, July 10 at 6.00pm
HUGO
Dir: Martin Scorsese
2011 | 121 min | Adventure | PG-13 | English
Asa Butterfield stars as Hugo, an orphan who lives in the hidden nooks of a train station in 1920s Paris.
With the help of his friend, Isabelle (Chloë Moretz), he sets out to solve a mystery left behind by his late father (Jude Law): a curious puzzle involving a heart-shaped key, a cranky toy shop owner (Ben Kingsley) and a broken automaton.
Along the way, the tangled lives of the staff and passengers at the station provide numerous colourful detours, and Scorsese pays homage to early pioneers of cinema including the Lumiere brothers and Georges Méliès.
This screening is inspired by George Méliès’ ‘A Trip to the Moon' (1902) found in Wing 4, Passage 15. It is considered to be the world’s first science-fiction film and pays tribute to Méliès’, one of the most influential film makers in the cinematic history and founder of common film techniques still used today.
Wednesday, July 17th at 6.00pm
APOLLO 13
Director: Ron Howard
1995 | 140 min | Historical Drama | PG-15 | English
A film about how NASA devised a strategy to return Apollo 13 to Earth safely after the spacecraft suffered from massive internal damage, putting the lives of the three astronauts on board in jeopardy.
The immortalised phrase, "Houston, we have a problem" is re-enacted by Tom Hanks as Astronaut Jim Lovell who leads command module pilot Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon) and lunar module driver Fred Haise (Bill Paxton) on what is meant to be NASA's third lunar landing mission. Halfway through its mission, an exploding oxygen tank threatens the crew's oxygen and power supplies.
As the astronauts face the dilemma of either suffocating or freezing to death, Mattingly and Mission Control leader Gene Kranz (Ed Harris) struggles to find a way to bring the crew back home, all the while knowing that the spacemen face probable death once the battered ship reenters the Earth's atmosphere.
This screening is inspired by Muhamad ibn Ahmad Al-Buttuti’s ‘Astrolabe’ found in Gallery 12. The Astrolabe is a navigational tool that represents the celestial sphere in a flat projection. Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 through a documentary that highlights the importance of such tools that have led humans to outer space.
Wednesday, July 24 at 6.00pm
AL ARD / THE LAND
Director: Youssef Chahine
1969 | 130 min | Drama | PG-15 | Arabic with English subtitles
The Land by the iconic Egyptian filmmaker Youssef Chahine (1926 – 2008) details the struggle of a group of peasant farmers in the 1930s to protect their fields and their livelihood from feudal control.
This newly restored version of the film courtesy of Misr International Films is part of many screenings worldwide marking the 10th anniversary of Chahine’s death.
The Land is considered to be a masterpiece and was voted 4th in Dubai International Film Festival’s 2013 poll of the greatest Arab movies.
This screening is inspired by ‘Tablet inscribed with pictograms’ found in Gallery 2. The first Mesopotamian tablets were tools used for bookkeeping that served to record the movements of goods such as cereals, fabrics and livestock. This film screening highlights the evolution and establishment of the hierarchy system at work similar to what such tablets led to.
Wednesday, July 31st at 6.00pm
KUNDUN
Director: Martin Scorsese
1997 | 134 min | Drama | *PG-15 | English
In 1937, a two-and-a-half year old boy from a simple family in Tibet was recognised as the 14th reincarnation of the Buddha of Compassion, and destined to become the spiritual and political leader of his people.
Director Martin Scorsese brings to the screen the true story of the Dalai Lama. Told through the eyes of His Holiness, ‘Kundun’ details his early life, from childhood through the Chinese invasion of Tibet and his journey into exile.
This screening is inspired by ‘Head of Buddha’ found in Gallery 8.
Previous film screenings curated by me for Louvre Abu Dhabi:
Cinem’Art 2018
Japanese Connections
Roads of Arabia
Rembrandt, Vermeer and the Dutch Golden Age
Photographs: An Early Album of the World