#JR
by Serge July, Daniel Ablin, France 2018, 52'
SCREENPLAY: Serge July, Antonie de Gaudemar    SOUND: Denis Lepeut, Guillaume Valeix
CAMERA: Eric Genillier, Lucas Milliard    PRODUCER: Marie Genin 
EDITING: Isabelle Martin    MUSIC: Thomas Verovski 

Schermo dell'Arte - Archivio Film  Presented at Lo schermo dell'arte 2020

www.folamour.fr 

In this documentary, well-known French artist JR, who’s made black-and- white blow-ups his hallmark, traces his artistic career from his first nocturnal actions to the shooting of his short film Ellis, starring Robert de Niro. The story unfolds among the artist’s various projects, starting with a portrait of his friend, the director Ladj Ly, in 2004. This first large-format poster became the background for riots in the Paris suburbs. JR says that at that moment he understood “art’s power to move people from one place to another”. He began to create projects in critical areas: the wall between Israel and Palestine, portraits of women in Havana’s slums; enormous eyes on the rooftops of the Providencia favela in Rio de Janeiro. JR’s art sparks heated debates. Director Agnès Varda offers a more intimate vision of his character. The artist worked with her on the film Visages Villages. Varda describes JR as a spectacular but shy and reserved person whose private life is off-limits. 

Serge July is a journalist and director. In 1973 he co-founded the newspaper Libération, which he directed until 2006. Subsequently he was a columnist for RTL and Europe 1. He is the author of books, including Dictionary for Journalism Lovers (Plon 2015). He has made many documentaries for Folamour and is the author of the A Film & Its Era series.

Daniel Ablin has worked in the advertising field making corporate films and is the author of numerous documentaries for French television. He has made the opening credits of the Cannes Film Festival since 1991.

Filmography:  
Serge July: 2002-2020 Co-author of 48 episodes of the cinema collection A film and is era 2015 Following the Fromanger trail 
Daniel Ablin: 2020 Marie-Antoinette, the last secrets of a queen, 2016 Hitler’s train, 2015 Following the Fromanger trail
 
 

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