The cinema club Le 7e Genre and the Fondation des Etats-Unis invite you to the screening of Salome, a silent film accompanied by live music. Although officially directed by Charles Bryant, Salome was orchestrated by its lead actress, the great Nazimova, a Broadway star who moved to Hollywood to participate in the budding film industry. Nazimova’s fate is not dissimilar to that of Salome, the heroine of Oscar Wilde’s sulphurous play written in French in 1892 and first performed in Paris in 1896 while he was incarcerated. The biblical story of Herod’s daughter-in-law, who offers a dance in exchange for the head of John the Baptist, is re-imagined in an avant-garde Art Deco setting where desires intersect to justify inevitably tragic destinies. The openly bisexual Nazimova, who is reputed to have requested only gay and bisexual actors on the set as a tribute to Oscar Wilde, went to great artistic length to remain faithful to the playwright’s queer vision. The session will be followed by a discussion with Marion Polirsztok, Associate Professor in Film Studies at Université Rennes 2, specialized in American silent cinema and author of Action, spectacle, idée. Formes du cinéma muet américain (Mimésis, 2017). The film will be accompanied by resident musicians in the FEU’s majestic Art Deco “Grand Salon,” inaugurated only a few years after the film’s release.
Free admission on reservation:
About the 7e Genre
The 7e Genre celebrates movies that question gender and sexuality. All screenings are followed by debates in the presence of guests from various backgrounds (directors, screenwriters, actors, critics, professors, etc.). More info on their website and their Facebook page.