Céline and Julie Go Boating (dir. Jacques Rivet, 1974) with Ali Smith

A free screening of Jacques Rivet's cinematic masterpeice Céline and Julie Go Boating (1974), chosen by the writer Ali Smith to launch the 2017 Swedenborg Film Festival.

Shortlisted for the 2017 Man Booker Prize and one of today's most significant and original storytellers, Smith has curated a season of films – from rarely seen cinematic masterpieces to contemporary artist shorts – on the theme of 'dreams'. All screenings take place in grade-II-listed Swedenborg Hall, 'one of London's most atmospheric venues' (Guardian).

About the film:

"Rarely seen today, yet the director’s biggest commercial hit, Jacques Rivette’s Céline and Julie Go Boating is an exhilarating combination of the themes of theatricality, paranoia and ‘la vie parisienne’, all wrapped up in an extended and entrancing examination of the nature of filmmaking and film watching."

Celine (Juliet Berto), a magician, and Julie (Dominique Labourier), a librarian, meet in Montmartre and wind up sharing the same flat, bed, fiancé, clothes, identity and imagination. Soon, thanks to a magic sweet, they find themselves spectators, then participants, in a Henry James-inspired 'film-within-the film', a melodrama unfolding in a mysterious suburban house with the 'Phantom Ladies Over Paris' (Bulle Ogier and Marie-France Pisier), a sinister man (Barbet Shroeder) and his child. The atmosphere, however, is more Lewis Carroll, with Juliet Berto and Dominique Labourier as twin Alices. The four main actresses improvised their own dialogue in collaboration with Rivette and scriptwriter Eduardo de Gregorio. Acknowledged by director Susan Seidelman as a huge influence on her own hit film Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), Celine and Julie Go Boating was Rivette's greatest commercial and critical success – its freewheeling, playful spirit still capturing the imagination of new audiences today. (bfi.com)

FURTHER INFORMATION

THE 2017 SWEDENBORG FILM FESTIVAL explores the theme of 'dreams', with a season of iconic features and visionary shorts chosen by the writer Ali Smith. With free admission, screenings take place in grade-II-listed Swedenborg Hall at the heart of Bloomsbury. Shortlisted for the 2017 Man Booker Prize and one of today's most significant and original storytellers, Smith has curated a season of films – from rarely seen cinematic masterpieces to contemporary artist shorts – all questioning boundaries between imagination and reality, performance and identity. Smith is also guest judge of the annual Swedenborg Short Film competition, featuring international artists with new moving image works responding to the theme of 'dreams'. The festival will conclude with the screening of the 2017 shortlist and Smith's announcement of the winner.

SCHEDULE:

2 November: Céline and Julie Go Boating (dir. Jacques Rivet, 1974)

9 November: Nights of Cabiria (dir. Federico Fellini, 1957)

16 November: An Evening of Short FIlm with Ali Smith

18 November: Short Film Festival Screenings & Announcement of Winner

THE SWEDENBORG FILM FESTIVAL is curated by Gareth Evans (Whitechapel Gallery) and Nora Foster (Frieze). The only film festival in the world inspired by the work of a single philosopher, the SFF has received a huge response from thousands of filmmakers around the world since its launch in 2010. For the 2017 edition, filmmakers were invited to explore the concept of 'dreams' – a theme encountered in the work of scientist, philosopher, theologian and visionary, Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772) as well as those he influenced, from William Blake to Jorge Luis Borges. Screenings take place in Swedenborg Hall, 'one of London's most atmospheric venues' (Guardian). Artists including Bridget Smith, Andrew Kötting, Jeremy Millar and Lech Majewski have shown work at or judged the SFF. For 2017, Ali Smith was invited to guest judge the short film competition and curate a