La Clef Revival from Paris Arrives in New York for a Week of Film Screenings; Featuring Tributes from Martin Scorsese and John Carpenter.

      No matter where you consider home, it's challenging to remain engaged in cinephile culture without thinking about its sustainability. It wasn't just a casual remark when Sean Baker used his Oscar acceptance speech to advocate for increased attendance—each year, every ticket bought at venues like Anthology, Spectacle, or Maysles increasingly feels like a commitment to the future, or possibly a dissenting vote against our current reality. Among those championing this cause is the La Clef Revival Collective, a Parisian group that has garnered accolades from filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, Jean-Luc Godard, David Lynch, Quentin Tarantino, John Carpenter, Justine Triet, Leos Carax, Adèle Haenel, and Céline Sciamma (the latter serves on their board).

      When La Clef, a Paris theater that originally opened in 1973, faced the threat of closure in 2019, the Revival Collective and the noted filmmakers united to save it. They aim to raise $400,000 by April to fund renovations and will be visiting New York this week to host promotional screenings. It is, to put it bluntly, a privilege to collaborate with them and present Lina Soualem’s Bye Bye Tiberias this Sunday at the Brooklyn Center for Theatre Research, where tickets are currently on sale. (If you’re reluctant to heed my suggestion, consider Brian Cox's endorsement.)

      Here are the details for each screening, along with video testimonials from Scorsese and Carpenter. While other events across the five boroughs deserve recognition, La Clef’s visit to New York is undoubtedly your prime cinematic choice this week.

      **Wednesday, March 5 at 8pm - Film Forum (209 W Houston Street)**

      *A Woman Is a Woman* by Jean-Luc Godard (1960, 88’)

      Angela, an afternoon stripper at the seedy Zodiac Club, longs for motherhood, but her live-in boyfriend Jean-Claude Brialy "isn't ready yet," while the persistent Jean-Paul Belmondo is eager to help.

      **Thursday, March 6 at 7:30pm - Anthology Film Archives (32 2nd Avenue)**

      *Earthlight* by Guy Gilles (1970, 98’)

      Pierre, a young man residing in Paris with his father, travels to his homeland of Tunisia in search of childhood memories, including those of his long-deceased mother.

      **Saturday, March 8 at 7:30pm - Spectacle (124 South 3rd Street)**

      *Dernier Maquis* by Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche (2008, 90’)

      Mao, the owner of an industrial pallet and truck repair yard, strives to keep his Arab and African employees content and productive, as long as it doesn’t harm his profits. However, peace between labor and management is disrupted when Mao establishes a mosque on site.

      **Sunday, March 9 at 7:30pm - Brooklyn Center for Theatre Research (251 Huron Street)**

      *Bye Bye Tiberias* by Lina Soualem (2023, 82’)

      Hiam Abbass (Blade Runner 2049, Succession) leaves her Palestinian village to pursue her dream of acting, leaving behind her mother, grandmother, and seven sisters. Three decades later, her daughter Lina returns with her to revisit the lost places intertwined with the memories of four generations.

      **Monday, March 10 at 7pm - Maysles Documentary Center (242 Lenox Avenue / Malcolm X Boulevard)**

      *Xaraasi Xanne (Crossing Voices)* by Raphaël Grisey & Bouba Touré (2022, 122’)

      Utilizing rare archives, *Crossing Voices* tells the story of Somankidi Coura, an agricultural cooperative founded in Mali in 1977 by West African immigrants living in worker housing in France. This tale of an unlikely, idealistic return home navigates the ecological challenges and conflicts in Africa from the 1970s up to today.

      **Wednesday, March 12 at 7pm - Alliance New York (22 East 60th Street)**

      *The Temple Woods Gang* by Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche (2022, 116’)

      A retired military man resides in the Temple Woods housing project. Just as he buries his mother, his neighbor Bébé, a member of a local gang, plans to rob the convoy of a wealthy Arab prince.