To complement the major exhibition at Tate Britain ‘Picasso and Modern British Art’, Sin Fin Cinema presents, in collaboration with Tate Britain, Instituto Cervantes, Ciné Lumière and the Barbican: ‘Going Back to Reality: Portraying Pablo Picasso On the Canvas in Motion’, a carefully selected body of films, which reveals the lesser known aspects of the Spanish artist’s life and highlights all the essential elements that have been distilled from his works influencing later generations of visual artists, such as the British artists David Hockney and Henry Moore
-Le Mystère Picasso
France | 1956 | b&w | 78 mins | dir. Henri-Georges Clouzot, with Pablo Picasso, Claude Renoir, Henri-Georges Clouzot | doc | in French with English subtitles
With this film, Clouzot gives viewers the chance to see the techniques of the most influential painter of the 20th century, Pablo Picasso. Filmed in the painter’s studio, this unmissable documentary shows us, stroke by stroke, the birth of a masterpiece: we see Picasso in the act of creating paintings for the camera which he subsequently destroyed, so that they only exist on film. In this unique film, the whole process of creating a work of art is shown, from the beginnings with Picasso’s simple marker drawings in black and white, until he gradually progresses to full scale collages and oil paintings.
Special Jury Prize, 1956 Cannes Film Festival
Preceded by Visiting Dora Maar (dir. Ellen Wetmore, 2010, USA, 2 mins)
Screening
Thu 5 Apr 7.00pm
-Paris the Beautiful
Paris la belle
France | 1959 | b&w and col | 20 mins | dir. Pierre Prévert, with Arletty, Jacques Prévert, Gazelle Bessières, Marcel Duhamel and Max Morise | doc | in French with English subtitles
Combining black and white excerpts from the 1928 film Paris Express with colour sequences shot in the same locations in 1959, Pierre Prévert’s experimental documentary retraces two versions of Paris through the photographs of Man Ray and French cinematographer Sacha Vierny.
Followed by a panel discussion on Picasso & Paris with Eric Robertson, professor at Royal Holloway
Screening
Sat 14 Apr 4.00pm (shown with Paris 1900)
-Paris 1900
France | 1948 | col | 80 mins | dir. Nicole Védrès, with Claude Dauphin, Mistinguett, Monty Woolley | doc | in English
One of the most important documentary films made in France soon after WWII, Paris 1900 vividly conveys the mood of a world in transition, from the exuberance of the ‘Belle Epoque’ to the shattering impact of a world war.
Followed by a panel discussion on Picasso & Paris with Eric Robertson, professor at Royal Holloway
Screening
Sat 14 Apr 4.00pm (shown with Paris the Beautiful)