Paris Noir covers the period from the end of World War I to the Fall of France in 1940.
As lively as the jazz beats of the day, the documentary follows the footsteps of the influencers: Lt. James Reese Europe and his rollicking 396th Harlem Hellfighters marching band, Josephine Baker, Bricktop and Sidney Bechet. Writers Langston Hughes and Claude McKay are key figures in the film both for what they wrote about France and the connections they made with top writers from France’s Black African and Caribbean colonies. And completing the picture, are the achievements and challenges of artists in Montparnasse, the Art capital world. While the 20s and 30s proved a wonderfully exuberant period for African Americans the film also examines the exploitation and new awareness of people of color from and in France’s vast overseas empire. The film will be shown in English. The presentation and Q&A will be bilingual.
Blue Lion Films, Inc.
Blue Lion Films is the New York-based production company of producer/director/editor Joanne Burke and producer/writer/cameraman David Burke. Joanne Burke was a top documentary film editor for CBS, NBC, and PBS in New York for twenty years, editor also of three feature films for Sidney Lumet, and co-editor Gimme Shelter, the Maysles Brothers’ classic documentary about the Rolling Stones. David Burke was a longtime writer/producer for CBS News 60 Minutes and other CBS and NBC programs. He is the author of several travel books. His Writers In Paris evolved into the highly praised David Burke’s Writers in Paris Walking Tours, listed as one of Lonely Planet’s Top Ten literary walks worldwide. Since moving to Paris in 1986, the Burkes have produced, written and edited independent films together. Their African Americans in Paris series, a groundbreaking 2-DVD set of mini documentaries, chronicles the experiences of pioneering Black Americans. The series received the award of Best Director from the prestigious Berlin Black International Cinema Film Festival in 2015.
Walking The Spirit Tours – Consultant, Developer, Distributor.
Julia Browne created the first ever tours of Black Paris in 1994 while studying under Sorbonne Emeritus Professor Michel Fabre, founder of the Centre For African American Studies at the Sorbonne Nouvelle. Through her indepth and fascinating Walking The Spirit Tours, customized itineraries and multimedia presentations, her expertise on Black Paris and French culture is highly sought after by educators, travelers of all ages, locals and travel professionals. A France Specialist and an award-winning broadcaster, Julia partnered with Blue Lion Films to further a long held mission for both companies to make African American history in Paris common knowledge for people of all ages and backgrounds.