Release Date: March 31, 2006

National Gallery of Art 2006 Spring Film Program Features American and Washington Premieres, World-Renowned Directors, and Famous Hollywood Legends

Love in the Afternoon (part of Billy Wilder at 100 film series)
April 15 at 12:30 p.m.
(1957, 35 mm, 126 mins.)
Photo courtesy of Photofest

Washington, DC—This spring the National Gallery of Art showcases films that range from new releases on artists Paul Cézanne, Marsden Hartley, and curator Henry Geldzahler to programs devoted to director Satyajit Ray and artists Sophie Taeuber-Arp and Charles Sheeler. Also featured are films starring such great actors as Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, William Holden, Maurice Chevalier, Audrey Hepburn, and Walter Matthau. In association with FilmFest DC, the Gallery features the premiere of a new film from Armenia on poet Ashugh Jivani and a new experimental film from Iran by Abbas Kiarostami. Retrospectives of works by Billy Wilder, Nam June Paik, and Theo Angelopoulos are featured as well.

To complement two major exhibitions that opened this winter—Cézanne in Provence and Dada — the Gallery presents recent documentaries on Paul Cézanne and Sophie Taeuber-Arp, and the film series World War I and Dada, a four-part program demonstrating that Europe’s first major conflict of the modern age proved profitable and appealing as a subject for motion pictures throughout the 20th century. All screenings are held in the East Building Auditorium, which has stadium-style seating.

Other screenings include a selection of films from the Flaherty Seminar, one of the oldest American showcases for experimental, documentary, and often overlooked or forgotten works of fiction. During April, the National Gallery of Art, along with the Freer Gallery of Art and the American Film Institute Theater, presents films by Japanese master Mikio Naruse, the first Japanese filmmaker to be reviewed in The New York Times. Throughout the season, several filmmakers will introduce their works and take questions from the audience. For dates, times, film descriptions, and a schedule of appearances by filmmakers, visit http://www.nga.gov/programs/film.htm.

General Information

Films are shown in original format in the East Building Auditorium, which is located at Fourth Street and Constitution Avenue NW. The auditorium is equipped with an FM wireless listening system for visitors with hearing impairments. Receivers, ear phones, and neck loops are available at the Art Information Desk near the main entrance. Seating is on a first-come basis. Please plan to arrive at least ten minutes before showtime. Programs are subject to change. For current information, visit www.nga.gov/programs/film.htm or call (202) 842-6799.

General Information

The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden are at all times free to the public. They are located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, and are open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Gallery is closed on December 25 and January 1. For information call (202) 737-4215 or the Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) at (202) 842-6176, or visit the Gallery's Web site at www.nga.gov.

Visitors will be asked to present all carried items for inspection upon entering the East and West Buildings. Checkrooms are free of charge and located at each entrance. Luggage and other oversized bags must be presented at the 4th Street entrances to the East or West Building to permit x-ray screening and must be deposited in the checkrooms at those entrances. For the safety of visitors and the works of art, nothing may be carried into the Gallery on a visitor's back. Any bag or other items that cannot be carried reasonably and safely in some other manner must be left in the checkrooms. Items larger than 17 x 26 inches cannot be accepted by the Gallery or its checkrooms.

For additional press information please call or send inquiries to:

Press Office
National Gallery of Art
2000B South Club Drive
Landover, MD 20785
phone: (202) 842-6353 e-mail: pressinfo@nga.gov

Deborah Ziska
Chief of Press and Public Information
(202) 842-6353
ds-ziska@nga.gov

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