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LOUIS XIII COGNAC, THE FILM FOUNDATION & THE BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE HOST THE UK PREMIERE SCREENING OF “THE BROKEN BUTTERFLY”

Howard

11/6/2019 12:00:00 AM

Last night, LOUIS XIII Cognac, The Film Foundation and the British Film Institute hosted the UK premiere screening of silent film THE BROKEN BUTTERFLY at BFI Southbank in London. Guests were treated to a live musical accompaniment from esteemed British-based pianist John Sweeny who has accompanied silent films at venues including BFI Southbank and the Barbican Centre. The screening was followed by an exclusive Q&A session and private dinner with filmmaker Joanna Hogg, recently nominated for 3 BIFA awards for her film THE SOUVENIR. 

Jamie Redknapp and Professor Green attend attends an after party for the screening of “The Broken Butterfly” hosted by Louis XIII Cognac and The Film Foundation at The Arts Club in London, England. (Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images)

The guest list consisted of a hand-picked selection of the industry’s most sought-after names in film, fashion, culture, sports and journalism including: Terry Gilliam, Joanna Hogg, Ludovic du Plessis.  The collaboration between LOUIS XIII, TFF and the BFI was further celebrated at a private dinner and after party held at The Arts Club nightclub Leo’s, animated by music from Manny Norté and attended by Tinie Tempah, Professor Green, Ella Eyre, Laurence Okolie, Daps, Gwilym Lee, Michael Dappah, Harris Dickinson, Hope Ikpohu, Kedar Williams-Stirling, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Kola Bokkini, Lethal Bizzle, Chip, Nell Hudson, Young T & Bugsey, Ms Banks.

Global Executive Director LOUIS XIII Cognac Ludovic du Plessis, Joanna Hogg and Terry Gilliam attend the screening of “The Broken Butterfly” hosted by Louis XIII Cognac and The Film Foundation in London, England. (Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images)

In continuance of “100 Years,” a series of artistic projects curated by LOUIS XIII, THE BROKEN BUTTERFLY was originally completed in 1919 to be rediscovered 100 years later, thanks to a meticulous restoration by Scorsese’s The Film Foundation, supported by LOUIS XIII. A hauntingly beautiful film by director Maurice Tourneur, THE BROKEN BUTTERFLY tells the eternal story of love lost and found; of emotions and memories that shape a lifetime. The London screening is the second in a series of events by LOUIS XIII and TFF to showcase the artistic project.

LOUIS XIII Cognac,The Film Foundation and the British Film Institute unite for the silent film THE BROKEN BUTTERFLY

Professor Green, Tinie Tempah and Ella Eyre attend an after party for the screening of “The Broken Butterfly” hosted by Louis XIII Cognac and The Film Foundation at The Arts Club in London, England. (Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images)

“I’m grateful for The Film Foundation’s partnership with LOUIS XIII. For many years, they have provided generous support for the foundation’s preservation, exhibition, and education programs. LOUIS XIII is passionate about its own legacy, and it’s gratifying to know they are equally committed to protecting the world’s cinematic heritage and sharing these great works of art with audiences for decades to come,” said Martin Scorsese, Founder & Chair of The Film Foundation.

Daps aka Oladapo Fagbenle, Gwilym Lee and Tom York attend an after party for the screening of “The Broken Butterfly” hosted by Louis XIII Cognac and The Film Foundation at The Arts Club in London, England. (Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images)

“Thanks to The Film Foundation and Martin Scorsese, THE BROKEN BUTTERFLY can be experienced once again one century later*. Restoring this piece of memory is for us, at LOUIS XIII, a real pleasure and honour. Time is our raw material,” said Ludovic du Plessis, Global Executive Director of LOUIS XIII.

LOUIS XIII is an exquisite blend of up to 1,200 eaux-de-vie sourced from Grande Champagne, the first cru of the Cognac region. The legendary decanters have been made of fine crystal for generations, mouth-blown by some of the most skilled master craftsmen. LOUIS XIII features exceptional aromas evoking myrrh, honey, dried roses, plum, honeysuckle, cigar box, leather, figs and passion fruit.

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How Louis XIII and Martin Scorsese saved a century-old film

Thomas Barrie

11/6/2019 12:00:00 AM

The cognac brand has partnered with Scorsese’s Film Foundation and the director Joanna Hogg to restore a classic silent film first released in 1919

If you were a keen film-goer in the US in 1919, you almost definitely would have enjoyed The Miracle Man, a silent Paramount production eight reels long that told the story of four confidence tricksters who use faith healing to try to swindle a small Massachusetts town and which became the most popular of the year (it made more than twice its nearest competitor). Or, you might have bought a ticket for DW Griffith’s Broken Blossoms, perhaps based on the reception of his (highly controversial, even then) The Birth Of A Nation four years earlier, the film widely regarded as rehabilitating the image of the Ku Klux Klan. And you might also have seen The Broken Butterfly, a film by French director Maurice Tourneur that follows the tragic love story between a young woman who becomes the muse of a composer, plus his tribulations after she drowns herself in a river alongside their lovechild – or does she?

Statistically, it’s very likely you would have seen all three. Weekly cinema attendance in the mid-Twenties hovered around 50 million, rising to 90 million by the end of the decade, when the entire US population was only about 115 million. And yet, a hundred years later, a staggering 90 per cent of silent films – including The Miracle Man – are lost or damaged beyond repair, as are 50 per cent of films made before 1950.

It was this sad fact that spurred famous cinephile Martin Scorsese to found The Film Foundation (TFF) in 1990, a charity that restores and preserves vintage films and educates schoolchildren on their importance. And this week, in association with the iconic cognac brand Louis XIII, TFF held the first ever UK screening of a restored version of Tourneur’s The Broken Butterfly at London’s British Film Institute on the South Bank.

The Broken Butterfly, before and after restoration

The partnership didn’t spring from nothing; Louis XIII global executive director Ludovic du Plessis first encountered Scorsese during publicity for 100 Years, a 2015 film that the brand commissioned in order to lock it away ahead of its release in the year 2115 (ie, a century after production). The concept was a nod to Louis XIII’s own brand heritage: the cognac is made using the most precious eaux de vie – doubly distilled wines – and each decanter is the life achievement of generations of cellar masters. When Scorsese came across 100 Years, he was impressed, but raised a valid question: as well as looking a century into the future, why not look to the past? Du Plessis agreed and Louis XIII decided to fund the restoration of a film from 1919. The Broken Butterfly was the result.

At the screening in London, the British director and TFF board member Joanna Hogg spoke about the importance of preserving films from the past, comparing the routine loss of early silent classics to the (unthinkable) inability to read a copy of War And Peace, or to allow a Caravaggio in need of restoration to rot away. Hogg also spoke to GQ about her involvement with Scorsese and TFF, whose board she joined “about a month ago”. The two directors first met in 2014, after Scorsese saw her second film, Archipelago, and bonded over an interest in old films, says Hogg, “which include Michael Powell and British cinema of the Thirties and Forties”. “On one visit to his house I went away clutching a DVD of Night Of The Demon [a classic British horror film from 1957 directed by Jacques Tourneur, son of Maurice Tourneur of The Broken Butterfly] and the short stories of MR James, after a discussion about ghost films and what film I should make next.”

Ludovic du Plessis and Joanna Hogg toast at the BFI

In talking to Scorsese, who executive produced The Souvenir, Hogg’s most recent film, she also realised that she wasn’t taking enough care to digitally preserve her own films. The Rehearsal, which she shot on black-and-white 16mm film stock in 1985, only existed in rushes on a VHS tape; Hogg had allowed her film school to destroy the other copies. “I don’t like to watch my films after I’ve finished making them,” Hogg notes, “making it easy to ignore what happens to them in the future. However, I realise, whatever I think now, I must respect other people may want to view the work in the future.” It’s a sentiment echoed by Du Plessis. “It’s about heritage, transmission and asking, ‘How do we make sure that what we do today will be there in the next century?’” he says of the similarities between making Louis XIII and The Film Foundation’s preservation efforts. “Time is our raw material.”

At the screening of The Broken Butterfly, Hogg also echoed some of Scorsese’s recent qualms about the state of modern cinema, describing it as increasingly “homogenous” and questioning whether she would be able to produce the sort of socially realistic, low-budget character studies that she has mastered over more than a decade. Scorsese, for his part, has described the Marvel movies that have dominated the box office for the past decade as “theme parks” and penned a New York Times op-ed in which he doubled down on his stance that we risk losing the confusing, human side of the medium in favour of easy, formulaic blockbusters that take no creative risks.

So for Hogg, the work that The Film Foundation is doing with Louis XIII is essential. All films – not just the most popular ten per cent – should be preserved. “Whatever we think of our work now,” she says, “we should allow future generations to be the judge. How can we know which films will be the ones to be cherished and watched in the future?”

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The New Life Of "THE BROKEN BUTTERFLY" A Rare Film From 1919 Restored 100 Years After In 2019

10/8/2019 12:00:00 AM

As a tribute to its unique relationship with time and dedication to preserving craftsmanship, LOUIS XIII Cognac has partnered with The Film Foundation to restore THE BROKEN BUTTERFLY: a rare film from 1919 to be rediscovered 100 years later. At LOUIS XIII, we think a century ahead. Each decanter is the life achievement of our cellar masters.

"I'm grateful for The Film Foundation's partnership with LOUIS XIII. For many years, they have provided generous support for the foundation's preservation, exhibition, and education programs. LOUIS XIII is passionate about its own legacy, and it's gratifying to know they are equally committed to protecting the world's cinematic heritage and sharing these great works of art with audiences for decades to come," said Martin Scorsese, Founder & Chair of The Film Foundation.

The Premiere took place on October 4th, at The Whitby Hotel in New York City, followed by an exclusive Q&A session and private dinner with Martin Scorsese and Ludovic du Plessis, LOUIS XIII Global Executive Director. They were joined by notable attendees including Kelly Rutherford, Halston Sage, Jean Reno, Fran Lebowitz, J. Smith-Cameron, Stellene Volandes, Brigitte Lacombe, Kenneth Lonergan and more to celebrate this incredible restoration in film. The New York premiere kicks off a series of upcoming screenings in London and Los Angeles with special guest filmmakers.

"Thanks to The Film Foundation and Martin Scorsese, THE BROKEN BUTTERFLY can be experienced once again one century later. Restoring this piece of memory is for us, at LOUIS XIII, a real pleasure and honor. Time is our raw material," said Ludovic du Plessis, LOUIS XIII Global Executive Director.

THE BROKEN BUTTERFLY by Maurice Tourneur was first showcased in 1919 but has been unseen since. Now, 100 years later, it has been painstakingly restored with the support of LOUIS XIII Cognac. The film tells the eternal story of love lost and found, of emotions and memories that shape a lifetime.

Only 20 percent of American films produced in the 1910s and 1920s survive in complete form, so the opportunity to see any fully restored silent film is special indeed. And when that film is a rarely seen gem from an esteemed cinematic artist, it's truly an extraordinary event. Founded in 1990 by Martin Scorsese, The Film Foundation has helped restore over 850 films which are screened at festivals, museums, theaters, and educational institutions all over the world. When it comes to THE BROKEN BUTTERFLY, an extensive digital 4K restoration, that took over 6 months, was required before being shared with audiences.

Martin Scorsese and Ludovic du Plessis at the release of "The Broken Butterfly", directed in 1919 and restored 100 years later in 2019 by The Film Foundation and LOUIS XIII Cognac (PRNewsfoto/LOUIS XIII Cognac)

Martin Scorsese and Ludovic du Plessis at the release of "The Broken Butterfly", directed in 1919 and restored 100 years later in 2019 by The Film Foundation and LOUIS XIII Cognac (PRNewsfoto/LOUIS XIII Cognac)

Jean Reno and Ludovic du Plessis at the release of "The Broken Butterfly", directed in 1919 and restored 100 years later in 2019 by The Film Foundation and LOUIS XIII Cognac (PRNewsfoto/LOUIS XIII Cognac)

Jean Reno and Ludovic du Plessis at the release of "The Broken Butterfly", directed in 1919 and restored 100 years later in 2019 by The Film Foundation and LOUIS XIII Cognac (PRNewsfoto/LOUIS XIII Cognac)

Kelly Rutherford at the release of "The Broken Butterfly", directed in 1919 and restored 100 years later in 2019 by The Film Foundation and LOUIS XIII Cognac (PRNewsfoto/LOUIS XIII Cognac)

Kelly Rutherford at the release of "The Broken Butterfly", directed in 1919 and restored 100 years later in 2019 by The Film Foundation and LOUIS XIII Cognac (PRNewsfoto/LOUIS XIII Cognac)

Ludovic du Plessis and Halston Sage at the release of "The Broken Butterfly", directed in 1919 and restored 100 years later in 2019 by The Film Foundation and LOUIS XIII Cognac (PRNewsfoto/LOUIS XIII Cognac)

Ludovic du Plessis and Halston Sage at the release of "The Broken Butterfly", directed in 1919 and restored 100 years later in 2019 by The Film Foundation and LOUIS XIII Cognac (PRNewsfoto/LOUIS XIII Cognac)

Martin Scorsese and Jean Reno at the release of "The Broken Butterfly", directed in 1919 and restored 100 years later in 2019 by The Film Foundation and LOUIS XIII Cognac (PRNewsfoto/LOUIS XIII Cognac)

Martin Scorsese and Jean Reno at the release of "The Broken Butterfly", directed in 1919 and restored 100 years later in 2019 by The Film Foundation and LOUIS XIII Cognac (PRNewsfoto/LOUIS XIII Cognac)

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Art House Theater Day

9/18/2019 12:00:00 AM

Celebrate Art House Theater Day on Wednesday, September 18, 2019. Join fans, filmmakers, and hundreds of mission-driven, community-based theaters for a day of truly exceptional screenings and cinematic experiences.

Are you a theater who wants to participate? Visit our enrollment page.

Are you a film fan who wants to attend? Read about our participating theaters.

The Films

In Fabric (2018)

A24
Dir. Peter Strickland

A lonely woman (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), recently separated from her husband, visits a bewitching London department store in search of a dress that will transform her life. She’s fitted with a perfectly flattering, artery-red gown—which, in time, will come to unleash a malevolent curse and unstoppable evil, threatening everyone who comes into its path.

From acclaimed horror director Peter Strickland (the singular auteur behind the sumptuous sadomasochistic romance The Duke of Burgundy and auditory gaillo-homage Berberian Sound Studio) comes a truly nightmarish film, at turns frightening, seductive, and darkly humorous. Channeling voyeuristic fantasies of high fashion and bloodshed, In Fabric is Strickland’s most twisted and brilliantly original vision yet. (118 mins)

Pre-show: TBD

Trailer, Website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

Booking contact: Nicole Weis, nicole(AT)a24films.com and Sean McDonnell, sean(AT)a24films.com

Putney Swope (1969)

American Genre Film Archive
Dir. Robert Downey Sr.

“Funny, sophomoric, brilliant, obscene, disjointed, marvelous, unintelligible and relevant. If anybody tries to improve it, they should be sentenced.” — Vincent Canby, New York Times

“I just think [Downey’s] one of our great American directors.” — Paul Thomas Anderson

New 50th Anniversary restoration by The Academy Film Archive and The Film Foundation with funding provided by the George Lucas Family Foundation! An unforgettable late-’60s counterculture masterpiece, Robert Downey Sr.’s Putney Swope remains a vital provocation on race, pop culture and America. Putney Swope, the only African-American exec at his ad firm, is unexpectedly elected its president and turns the industry on its ear through a series of outrageous, taboo-busting TV commercials (strewn throughout the film like comedic landmines.) As Swope becomes the Generalissimo of Madison Avenue, Downey takes no prisoners and skewers the entire political spectrum. Essential viewing. (84 mins)

Pre-show: Recorded introduction from director Robert Downey Sr.

Website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

Booking contact: Bret Berg, bret.berg(AT)drafthouse.com

The Hottest August (2019)

Grasshopper Film
Dir. Brett Story

A complex portrait of a city and its inhabitants, The Hottest August gives us a window into the collective consciousness of the present. The film’s point of departure is one city over one month: New York City, including its outer boroughs, during August 2017. It’s a month heavy with the tension of a new President, growing anxiety over everything from rising rents to marching white nationalists, and unrelenting news of either wildfires or hurricanes on every coast. The film pivots on the question of futurity: what does the future look like from where we are standing? And what if we are not all standing in the same place? The Hottest August offers a mirror onto a society on the verge of catastrophe, registering the anxieties, distractions, and survival strategies that preoccupy ordinary lives. (94 mins)

Pre-show: Recorded introduction from director Brett Story.

Website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

Booking contact: Nick Newman, nick(AT)grasshopperfilm.com

My Twentieth Century (1989)

Kino Lorber Repertory
Dir: Ildikó Enyedi

“It’s a bracing combination of wit, invention, common sense and lunacy. It’s a gravely comic meditation on civilization at the turn of this century.” —The New York Times, Vincent Canby March 17, 1990

30th Anniversary. New 4k Restoration by the Hungarian National Film Archive. Ildikó Enyedi’s fairytale-like, unconventional ironic film luminaire was awarded the Golden Camera at Cannes in 1989. On the eve of the 20th century, two twin girls, Lili the anarchist and Dóra a luxurious woman of loose morals, along with Mr. Z. who loves them as an entity, all reach the Hungarian border at the same time on board the Orient Express. Their story, rushing under the spell of Edison’s inventions, is a special ‘research of happiness’, reclaiming the ‘mass murdering century’ from the restlessly changing world and the miracle of existence. Tarkovsky’s fabulous actor, Oleg Yankovsky, performs an unforgettable double with the young Polish actress Dorotha Segda. The complete 4K digital restoration of the film was carried out at the Hungarian Filmlab, supervised by the Hungarian Film Fund – Hungarian National Film Archive in 2017. (89 mins)

Pre-show: TBD.

Press Kit, Website

Booking contact: Jonathan Hertzberg, jhertzberg(AT)kinolorber.com

Vever (For Barbara) (2019)

Video Data Bank
Dir. Deborah Stratman

A cross-generational binding of three filmmakers seeking alternative possibilities to the power structures they are inherently part of. Each woman extends her reach to a subject she is outside of. Vever grew out of the abandoned film projects of Maya Deren and Barbara Hammer. Shot at the furthest point of a motorcycle trip Hammer took to Guatemala in 1975, and laced through with Deren’s reflections of failure, encounter and initiation in 1950s Haiti.

A vever is a symbolic drawing used in Haitian Voodoo to invoke Loa, or god. (12 mins)

Website

Booking contact: Zachary Vanes, info(AT)vdb.org

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