THE PICK OF THE WEEK BY... ANDRE S. LABARTHE   A historical film critic at Cahiers du cinéma since the 50s, a producer, a filmmaker and sometimes an actor, essential figure of the life and thought of French cinema, Andre S. Labarthe speaks about Bunuel’s Viridiana.

TEASER   Do not miss on May 6 the DVD release of 4 films by French director Jean-Claude Brisseau in a 4-disc set: Life The Way It Is (1978) -very little- known film by Brisseau and probably his most impressive (it inspired him later Sound And Fury), Céline (1992), The Black Angel (1994) and Workers For The Good Lord (2000). The 4-disc set includes many special features: each film is prefaced by a filmmaker (Luc Moullet, Philippe Le Guay, Marie-Christine Questerbert and André S. Labarthe). An additional 52-minute documentary about Brisseau's cinematography, called "The Angel and The Woman" is also available with optional English subtitles. Click here to view a teaser.

APRIL 22-27   Origin by Sidi Larbi Charkaoui at Théâtre de la Ville in Paris at Abbesses. "For his second production this season, choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui has composed a quartet for dancers, accompanied by the Sarband Ensemble and singer Fadia Tomb El-Hage. In Origin, he takes female energy as a starting point, inventing an original choreographic motif for each character on the stage. There are powerful solos, a woman standing on one foot with her arms multiplied, as it were, a man juggling with a ball that could well figure our planet. There is a succession of divertimenti wherein the performer turns into an animal or even an electrical appliance! Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s rather unbridled and sparkling imagination is at work again, served by the four dancers’ outstanding talent. They come from the U.S., Japan, South Africa and Iceland and incarnate the cardinal points of Origin. They immerse themselves in Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s exquisite dance and as a group take the piece to the highest peak of creativity." (Philippe Noisette)

APRIL 23 - MAY 8   The Department of Film of NY MoMA presents the first complete U.S. retrospective of writer-director Kim Ki-Duk, a self-taught maverick Korean filmmaker whose work has enriched international cinema with its luminous intensity (The Isle, The Bow, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring etc.). This 14-film exhibition includes several features never before seen in the U.S., giving audiences a rare chance to chart the development of the director's sensuous, sensational imagery and wild and haunting narratives.