L’Alliance New York announces their March and April cinema programming, to take place at L’Alliance’s Florence Gould Theater in Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
March starts off with a bang with The Fantastic Realism of Georges Franju, running from March 3rd – April 14th. Franju, one of the great creators of postwar French cinema, is largely known to US cinephiles for his iconic, body horror-pioneering classic Eyes Without A Face (1960) and this series is poised to expose audiences to a full breadth of his work. Oftentimes examining the juxtaposition between empathy and horror, between poetry and harsh reality, this series showcases his dualities. Highlights include many films completely unavailable in the US on disc or streaming, to be shown in prints imported from France with soft-titles, and a selection of Franju’s rare short films, including La Premiere nuit (The First Night, 1958) and Notre Dame, Cathédrale de Paris (1957).
This spring also brings the important cinematic event of the two-part special screenings (March 6th-7th, March 18th-19th) of Claude Lanzmann’s Shoah, presented by filmmaker Arnaud Desplechin. Shoah is a monumental documentary that confronts the Holocaust through the voices of survivors, witnesses, and perpetrators. Filmed over more than a decade, the film rejects archival footage in favor of present-day testimony, forcing viewers to grapple with memory, absence, and the enduring reality of genocide.
In addition, L’Alliance will present the event In Celebration of Ken and Flo Jacobs, in celebration of the life of the city’s beloved native son and daughter, artists and filmmakers Ken and Flo Jacobs, who both passed away in 2025. This program presents two works of French cinema: Ken Jacobs’ silent short Opening the Nineteenth Century: 1896, a repurposing of Lumière cameraman footage screened in 3D using ‘The Pulfrich Effect’ and Jean Vigo’s classic of childhood anarchy, Zéro de Conduite, a Jacobs favorite.
Full program information is below and listed on L’Alliance New York’s film page.
The Fantastic Realism of Georges Franju
L’Alliance New York Florence Gould Theater
In French with English subtitles
The anarchic visionary Georges Franju began his life in cinema working with Henri Langlois, co-directing the 1934 short Le Métro, and co-founding the Cinémathèque Française. It would be over a decade before Franju made a second film: the explosive, still-shocking, landmark documentary, The Blood of the Beasts (Le Sang des bêtes, 1948). For the next decade, Franju worked exclusively in documentary before directing his first feature in 1958. Though contemporaneous with the Nouvelle Vague’s debut films, his style, focus, and even his generation set him apart—operating in a realm unto himself and crafting works that capture dark beauty and the fantastical. Features to be preceded by short films.
Tuesday, March 3 at 4pm & 7pm
Head Against the Wall (La tête contre les murs)
Dir. Georges Franju, 1959, 96 min, DCP
Starring Jean-Pierre Mocky, Pierre Brasseur, Paul Meuriss, Anouk Aimée, Charles Aznavour
A hard-hitting look at mental health misdealings, Franju’s first fiction feature stars Jean-Pierre Mocky as a young man adrift from purpose, who is institutionalized by his dad, a miserable lawyer. Audiences feel François’s pain as he struggles to reclaim his freedom, especially now that he has fallen in love (Anouk Aimée).
Tuesday, March 10 at 4pm & 7pm
Eyes Without a Face (Les yeux sans visage)
Dir. Georges Franju, 1960, 90 min, 35mm
Starring Pierre Brasseur, Alida Valli, Juliette Mayniel, Édith Scob
An early body-horror marvel, Franju’s influential chiller sees a surgeon/mad scientist (Pierre Brasseur) take extreme measures to restore the face of his daughter (Édith Scob) after a disfiguring car accident. Misunderstood upon its release and now rightfully recognized as a masterpiece, Franju’s best-known work is memorably gruesome and gorgeous.
Tuesday, March 17 at 4pm & 7pm
Spotlight on a Murderer (Pleins feux sur l’assassin)
Dir. Georges Franju, 1961, 95 min, DCP
Starring Pierre Brasseur, Pascale Audret, Marianne Koch, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Dany Saval, Jean Babilée, Georges Bever
Part Agatha Christie whodunit, part William Castle gimmickry, with a dash of giallo, Franju’s mischievous follow-up to Eyes Without a Face watches a greedy family (including a baby-faced Jean-Louis Trintignant) scramble to inherit a fortune… all while the beneficiaries begin turning up dead.
Friday, March 20 at 4pm & 7pm
Franju Shorts Program
Dir. Georges Franju, 95 min, DCP
Before directing his debut narrative feature in 1958, Franju made a series of extraordinary documentary shorts, beginning with the silent Le Métro (1934), co-directed by Henri Langlois. After an extended break, Franju returned with one of the most legendary and revelatory films ever made about the relationship between humans and animals, Blood of the Beasts (Le Sang des Bêtes, 1948). Over the next decade, Franju would continue to create a singular look at French society in the 1950s: of nocturnal Paris in La Premiere nuit (The First Night, 1958), a portrait of Notre-Dame, Cathédrale de Paris (1957), and the tragic Mon Chien (My Dog, 1955).
Tuesday, March 24 at 4pm & 7pm
Thérèse Desqueyroux
Dir. Georges Franju, 1962, 107 min, DCP
Starring Emmanuelle Riva, Philippe Noiret, Edith Scob
An exquisite Emmanuelle Riva appears in the title role of a complex woman stifled by a confining provincial existence and loveless marriage. Her increasing resistance to playing the role of perfect wife and mother triggers an intense, murderous hatred for her boring, landowner husband (Philippe Noiret).
Tuesday, March 31 at 4pm & 7pm
Judex
Dir. Georges Franju, 1963, 97 min, DCP
Starring Channing Pollock, Édith Scob, Francine Bergé, Théo Sarapo
This playful, hyper-stylish homage to Louis Feuillade’s silent serials follows the titular black hat and cloak–wearing vigilante, whose latest target is a thieving banker, entangling his virtuous daughter, her child’s scheming governess, and a detective on Judex’s trail. “If the visual intensity of the silent film had never existed, Franju would have invented it.” – Raymond Durgnat
Tuesday, April 7 at 4pm & 7pm
Thomas the Impostor (Thomas l’imposteur)
Dir. Georges Franju, 1965, 94 min, DCP
Starring Fabrice Rouleau, Emmanuelle Riva, Jean Servais
In this adaptation of Jean Cocteau’s novel, delusions of reality are conveyed through two very different yet equally idealistic protagonists in WWI France: a Polish widow (Emmanuelle Riva) who aids wounded soldiers on the front lines and a starry-eyed teenager (Fabrice Rouleau) who creates a new identity in order to enlist.
Tuesday, April 14 at 4pm & 7pm
Nuits Rouges
Dir. Georges Franju, 1974, 105 min, DCP
Starring Gayle Hunnicutt, Jacques Champreux, Josephine Chaplin, Ugo Pagliai, Gert Froebe
Franju’s wild final feature, and second foray into Feuillade territory, is a pulpy fantasy/crime thriller featuring a search for treasure hidden by the Templars, a red-masked villain known as “The Man Without a Face” (plus his army of zombielike killers), and Gayle Hunnicutt equipped with a catsuit and deadly darts.
Arnaud Desplechin Presents Shoah
Dir. Claude Lanzmann, 1985, DCP
L’Alliance New York Florence Gould Theater
Part 1: First Era
273 min
Fri, March 6 at 6pm
Wed, March 18 at 5:30pm
Part 2: Second Era
292 min
Sat, March 7 at 4pm
Thurs, March 19 at 5:30pm
November 2025 marked Claude Lanzmann’s centenary, director of one of the most significant works of cinema ever made, the epic Shoah. On this occasion, we welcome Arnaud Desplechin to introduce a two-day presentation of the film, which he eloquently and insightfully examines in his recent autobiographical work Spectateurs!
“The first time I saw Shoah in Paris, I was 24. It changed my life – radically. How many weeks did I stay stunned after this first screening? How many times have I seen this film all along these years? Sure, Shoah is a masterpiece, this is common knowledge! But it’s also an absolute wonder as a piece of art. This film is a thriller. This film is a meditation. From beginning to its end, it’s just heartbreaking. Forty years after its release, I can realize how a film changed all my perspectives about the terrifying history of our 20th century. I was born from that film.” –Arnaud Desplechin
Screenings on March 6 and 7 will be introduced by Desplechin.
Family Saturday Screenings
Our monthly series of films, perfect for all ages and families.
Sat, Mar 7 at 11:30am
Donkey Skin (Peau d’Âne)
Dir. Jacques Demy, 1970, 90min, DCP, Ages 8+
L’Alliance New York Florence Gould Theater
In French with English subtitles
In this delightfully offbeat adaptation of Charles Perrault’s fairy tale, Catherine Deneuve stars as a princess who escapes an unwanted royal marriage by disguising herself in a donkey’s hide and fleeing to a faraway kingdom. Guided by her glamorous fairy godmother, she begins a new life until a young prince uncovers her true identity. With whimsical costumes and enchanting songs by Michel Legrand, Donkey Skin remains a beloved family classic.
Sat, April 11 at 11:30am
Microcosmos (Microcosmos: Le peuple de l’herbe)
Dirs. Claude Nuridsany & Marie Pérennou, 1996, 75 min, Ages 7+
L’Alliance New York Florence Gould Theater
In English
April’s family screening celebrates Earth Month with a documentary that captures insects in extraordinary detail, revealing a world usually invisible to the human eye. Filmed over three years with custom-built macro cameras, Microcosmos follows ants, beetles, snails, butterflies, and other tiny creatures as they go about their daily lives in a meadow. Through music and amplified natural sounds, the film brings the miniature world of insects to life, balancing scientific insight with whimsy.
In Celebration of Ken and Flo Jacobs
Thurs, April 16 at 7pm
L’Alliance New York Florence Gould Theater
L’Alliance joins venues throughout New York City in celebration of the life of the city’s beloved native son and daughter, artists and filmmakers Ken and Flo Jacobs, who both passed away in 2025. Over sixty years of marriage and collaboration, Ken and Flo created a legacy of work, exhibition and film study that has deeply influenced generations of audiences and students of cinema.
This program presents two works of French cinema: Ken Jacobs’ silent short Opening the Nineteenth Century: 1896, a repurposing of Lumière cameraman footage screened in 3D using The Pulfrich Effect (filters to be provided), “wherein a delay of light via a dark filter before one eye enables two frames with two perspectives from a moving camera-shot to reach the mind simultaneously”(Ken Jacobs), and Jean Vigo’s classic of childhood anarchy, Zéro de Conduite, a favorite of Jacobs’ of which he wrote, “I wasn’t much older than the kids in the film… Astonished by the dismissal of all censorship… Years later I’d be thwarted in my effort to name Binghamton’s new cinema department The Jean Vigo School of Film-making.” With very special thanks to Andrew Lampert.
Opening of the Nineteenth Century: 1896
Dir. Ken Jacobs, 1991, 11min, DCP, courtesy of Azazel Jacobs and Nisi Ariana.
Zéro de conduite
Dir. Jean Vigo, 1933, 48min, 35mm, courtesy Janus Films
Cinema at L’Alliance New York is made possible by the generous support of Air France, BNP Paribas, and Sofitel New York.
