The Great Arch
From Wed 11 Mar to Sun 19 AprExclusive Release
1982. French President François Mitterrand decides to launch an international architectural competition for the flagship project of his mandate: the Great Arch of La Défense, aligned with the Louvre and the Arc de Triomphe. Against all odds, Otto von Spreckelsen, a Danish architect, wins the competition. Overnight, this 53-year-old man, unknown in France, arrives in Paris where he is propelled at the helm of this pharaonic project. While the architect intends to build the Great Arch exactly as he envisioned, his ideas quickly clash with realistic constraints and the vicissitudes of politics.
Director Stéphane Demoustier (The Girl with a Bracelet) masterfully weaves together the vision of an architect with conflicting politics.
The Great Arch won 2 César awards this year for Best Production Design and Best Visual Effects.
Special Screening
Preview on 11 March followed by a Q&A with director Stéphane Demoustier and actor Claes Bang, moderated by Samira Ahmed, BBC journalist, broadcaster and writer, President of the Twentieth Century Society
Intro
Introduction by director Stéphane Demoustier on 12 March at 17.50
Watch our exclusive interview of Claes Bang
See also