From Page to Screen

In 2022, we were thrilled to bring back Films on the Green with an exciting lineup of international cinema and a new and vibrant visual identity inspired by movie theaters and electrifying city nightlife.

From June 3 to September 9, 2022, Films on the Green brought French and Francophone cinema to the New York City area with 12 free screenings in nine different Manhattan and Brooklyn parks.

The festival’s 14^th edition was centered on the theme From Page to Screen. Highlighting movies based on literature, this year’s lineup included 12 features that you can enjoy even if you haven’t read the book!

Check our 2022 Festival catalog:

FESTIVAL LINE-UP

Free and open to the public (no ticket needed). All films are shown with English subtitles. Screenings at sunset.
*In-person screenings will abide by all state and local regulations on large-scale outdoor events in regards to COVID-19 restrictions.

Friday June 3 | Central Park
LES CHOSES DE LA VIE (The Things of Life) by Claude Sautet (Courtesy of Rialto Pictures)
With Romy Schneider, Michel Piccoli, Léa Massari 
Based on the acclaimed novel by Paul Guimard, Les Choses de la vie begins in the aftermath of a violent car crash along a rural motorway. As the man, Pierre, lies in a semi-conscious stupor, his life flashes before his eyes—specifically, his complex entanglement with two quite different women: his dutiful, long-suffering wife and his adoring, free-spirited lover. 

Friday June 10 | Washington Square Park
THE SUMMIT OF THE GODS (Le Sommet des dieux) by Patrick Imbert (Courtesy of Netflix) 
Were George Mallory and his companion Andrew Irvine the first men to scale Everest on June 8th, 1924? Only the little Kodak VPK camera they took with them might reveal the truth. In Kathmandu, 70 years later, a young Japanese reporter named Fukamachi recognizes the camera in the hands of the mysterious Habu Jôji, an outcast climber believed missing for years. Fukamachi enters a world of obsessive mountaineers hungry for impossible conquests on a journey that leads him, step by step, towards the summit of the gods. 

Friday June 17 | Washington Square Park
BAND OF OUTSIDERS (Bande à part) by Jean-Luc Godard (Courtesy of Rialto Pictures)
With Anna Karina, Sami Frey, Claude Brasseur
Franz and Arthur don’t have money, jobs, or prospects, but they do have a black convertible and a shared romantic interest in Odile. When Odile lets slip that a stash of cash is ineptly hidden in the isolated villa where she lives, the men hatch a plan to take it for themselves. 

Friday June 24 | Transmitter Park, Brooklyn
LE CAPITAN (Captain Blood) by André Hunebelle
With Jean Marais, Bourvil, Elsa Martinelli 
France, 1616. King Louis XIII is 15 and his mother, Marie of Medicis, regent of the kingdom since the death of Henri IV, entrusts power to Concino Concini, a deceitful and ambitious man. After the assassination of his friend by Concini, noble swordsman Francois de Capestan, known as “Le Capitan,” goes to the young sovereign to warn him of the multiple betrayals that threaten the King’s Court.  

Friday July 1 | Tompkins Square Park
TOUCHEZ PAS AU GRISBI by Jacques Becker (Courtesy of Rialto Pictures)
With Jean Gabin, Jeanne Moreau, Lino Ventura 
After pulling off their “retirement job,” 50 million in gold bars, aging criminals Max and Henri think they can give up the game. But when Henri’s girlfriend tells the drug dealer Angelo about the loot, violence erupts. Angelo kidnaps the old crook and asks Max for the “grisbi” as ransom… 

Friday July 8 | Seward Park
BALZAC AND THE LITTLE CHINESE SEAMSTRESS (Balzac et la petite tailleuse chinoise) by Dai Sijie
With Zhou Xun, Liu Ye, Chen Kun
In 1971 China, in the lingering grip of the cultural revolution, two university students are sent to a remote mountain village for re-education to purge them of their classical western-oriented education. Amid the backbreaking work and stifling ignorance of the community, the two boys find that music, and the local tailor’s seamstress granddaughter are the only pleasant things in their miserable life. After discovering a secret cache of forbidden books, they set about teaching her things she had never imagined. 

Wednesday, July 13 | J. Hood Wright Park
FEVER MOUNTS AT EL PAO (La Fièvre monte à El Pao) by Luis Buñuel (Courtesy of Oscar Arce and the Luis Buñuel Film Institute)
With Maria Félix, Gérard Philippe, Jean Servais 
When the governor of a prison on the remote Caribbean Island Ojeda is assassinated, his secretary, Ramón Vasquez, assumes the role of acting governor until a replacement can be appointed. Vasquez, an idealist, exploits this opportunity to improve the lot of the prisoners, and to start an affair with the former governor’s widow… 

Friday July 15 | Seward Park
THE CLASS (Entre les murs) by Laurent Cantet
With François Bégaudeau, Louise Grinberg, Esmeralda Ouertani, Boubacar Touré 
François and his fellow teachers prepare for a new year at a high school in Paris. Armed with the best intentions, they brace themselves to not let discouragement and difficulties in the classroom stop them from trying to give the best education to their students. Neither stuffy nor severe, François’ extravagant frankness often takes the students by surprise. But his classroom ethics and his resolve are put to the test when his students begin to challenge his methods… 

Friday July 22 | Riverside Park, Pier I
MANDABI (The Money Order) by Ousmane Sembène
With Makhouredia Gueye, Isseu Niang, Ynousse N’Diaye 
After jobless Ibrahima Dieng receives a money order for 25,000 francs from a nephew who works in Paris, news of his windfall quickly spreads among his neighbors, who flock to him for loans while he finds his attempts to cash the order stymied in a maze of bureaucracy, and new troubles rain down on his head.

*RESCHEDULED* Saturday July 30 | Riverside Park Pier I
DELICACY (La Délicatesse) by David and Stéphane Foenkinos 
With Audrey Tautou, François Damiens 
Nathalie is a beautiful, happy, and successful Parisian business executive who finds herself suddenly widowed after a three-year marriage to her soul mate. To cope with her loss, she buries herself and her emotions in her work to the dismay of her friends and family. One day, inexplicably, her zest for life and love is rekindled by a most unlikely source, her unexceptional, gauche, and average looking office subordinate, Markus.  

Thursday, September 8 | Columbia University
THE VELVET QUEEN (La Panthère des neiges) by Marie Amiguet and Vincent Munier
In the heart of the Tibetan highlands, multi-award-winning nature photographer Vincent Munier guides writer Sylvain Tesson on his quest to document the infamously elusive snow leopard. Munier introduces Tesson to the subtle art of waiting from a blind spot, tracking animals, and finding the patience to catch sight of the beasts. Through their journey, the two men ponder humankind’s place amongst the magnificent creatures and glorious landscapes they encounter along the way. 

Friday September 9 | McGolrick Park, Brooklyn
ELEANOR’S SECRET (Kérity, la maison des contes) by Dominique Monféry (recommended for ages 4+)
Nat has fond memories of his eccentric Aunt Eleanor reading to him from her enormous collection of storybooks. But he is frustrated by his inability to read the books himself. He is less than thrilled when he learns that his aunt has left him the keys to her attic library as a gift. Yet, just as Nat’s parents are selling the collection to an antique dealer, he discovers that the library is magical, and all the famous characters come to life! 

SPONSORS AND PARTNERS

FILMS ON THE GREEN is a free French film festival in New York City parks produced by Villa Albertine, the French Embassy, NYC Parks and FACE Foundation.

OFFICIAL SPONSORS : BNP Paribas, JCDecaux, and TV5 Monde

FESTIVAL FRIENDS: agnès b., Maman NYC, The Mexican Cultural Institute in New York, The Columbia Maison Francaise, North Brooklyn Parks Alliance, The Washington Square Park Conservancy, Nora Coblence, and Frederic C. Weiss.

PARTNERS: Cinema Tropical, the African Film Festival,  PS110 The Monitor School, The Seward Park Conservancy, and Summer on the Hudson.