3. Ciné-Club de l'Alliance: Coco avant Chanel

Members

Free

Non-members

$8

About the Film

Director: Anne Fontaine
Actors: Audrey Tautou, Benoît Poelvoorde, Alessandro Nivola

Several years after leaving the orphanage to which her father never returned for her, Gabrielle Chanel finds herself working in a provincial bar. She's both a seamstress for the performers and a singer, earning the nickname Coco from the song she sings nightly with her sister. A liaison with Baron Balsan gives her an entrée into French society and a chance to develop her gift for designing increasingly popular hats. When she falls in love with English businessman Arthur Capel further opportunities open up, though life becomes ever more complicated.

Praise

The film was nominated 20 times and won 5 awards, including a César for Best Costume Design.

This refreshing alternative to the usual potted biopic provides an absorbing look at a singular, steely determination as it was forged and annealed, long before it made itself known to the world.
– Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
Tautou not only resembles Chanel, she inhabits the role completely, using flashing eyes and a relentless intelligence to convey the unbending strength of a woman determined to make something of her life in a time and place when that was far from the norm.
– Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

About the Director

Anne Fontaine was born on July 15, 1959 in Luxembourg as Anne Sibertin-Blanc. She is an actress and writer, known for Adore (2013), Coco Before Chanel (2009) and Chloe (2009).


Above: ©Haut et Court

Watch the trailer

Sponsors

This program is made possible thanks in part to TV5MONDE, the Mosaïque Cultural Fund and Steven Galante, Chairman of the French Cultural Center.
TV5_Website MosaiqueCharter1Web_Logo Rose-Noir ss Fund
Refreshments for this event have been provided by Vinadeis.

Upcoming Events

Screening

Ciné-Club de l'Alliance: Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché

Directed Pamela B. Green

Thursday, June 20, 2019 6:30 PM To 8:30 PM

Join us in June for a special edition of Ciné-Club de l'Alliance. Pamela B. Green’s "Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché," narrated by Jodie Foster, is a feature documentary that rewrites film history, revealing for the first time the full scope of the life and work of cinema’s first female director, screenwriter, producer, and studio owner Alice Guy-Blaché.

Read More
Workshop

Un Mois, Un Livre: Le fils naturel

de Denis Diderot

Wednesday, May 29, 2019 2:00 PM To 3:30 PM

Join Benjamin this month for an in-depth discussion of Le fils naturel by Denis Diderot.

Read More
Lecture

From Versailles to the Stars

French 'Firsts' Will Transform Air Travel

Thursday, June 6, 2019 6:30 PM To 8:30 PM

An air travel lifestyle that Jules Verne could only imagine now is on the cusp of becoming reality! Join us for the final program of our French Innovation series and learn what's next in aviation and space innovation from three innovators linked to the French tradition.

Read More
See All