Miraculous World: New York, United HeroeZ

Franju’s wild final feature, and second foray into Feuillade territory, is a pulpy fantasy/crime thriller featuring a search for treasure hidden by the Templars, a red-masked villain known as The Man Without a Face (plus his army of zombielike killers), and Gayle Hunnicutt equipped with a catsuit and deadly darts.

In this adaptation of Jean Cocteau’s novel, delusions of reality are conveyed through two very different yet equally idealistic protagonists in WWI France: a Polish widow (Emmanuelle Riva) who aids wounded soldiers on the front lines and a starry-eyed teenager (Fabrice Rouleau) who creates a new identity in order to enlist.

This playful, hyper-stylish homage to Louis Feuillade’s silent serials follows the titular black hat and cloak–wearing vigilante, whose latest target is a thieving banker, entangling his virtuous daughter, her child’s scheming governess, and a detective on Judex’s trail.

“If the visual intensity of the silent film had never existed, Franju would have invented it.” – Raymond Durgnat

An exquisite Emmanuelle Riva appears in the title role of a complex woman stifled by a confining provincial existence and loveless marriage. Her increasing resistance to playing the role of perfect wife and mother triggers an intense, murderous hatred for her boring, landowner husband (Philippe Noiret)

Before directing his debut narrative feature in 1958, Franju made a series of extraordinary shorts, notably documentary portraits of French society in the 1950s: the nocturnal Paris in La Premiere nuit (The First Night, 1958), a portrait of Notre-Dame, Cathédrale de Paris (1957) – both newly restored.

Throughout the weekend, Tinker Auditorium will feature a pop-up Comic Arts Fest Artist Alley & Bookstore: a hub for book signings and meetings with authors, as well as exclusive books and merchandise for sale. Food and beverages will also be available for purchase.

Witness the collaboration between music and visual art in this Great Gatsby-inspired live illustrated concert. Artist Benjamin Lacombe will bring the classic novel to life through projected real-time illustration, paired with contemporary jazz from New York-based musicians who shape their music to Lacombe’s images as they appear.

What defines a modern superhero? Leading comics artists, including Fabrice Sapolsky and Julie Rocheleau, exchange on questions of morality, politics, gender and violence around the figure of the superhero.

Dive into the history and mythology of the superhero through the first episode of this acclaimed PBS documentary featuring interviews with Stan Lee, Chris Claremont and other stars of the comics industry. Through this unusually rich gathering of writers, artists, editors, and screen creators, the documentary unfolds as a rare and authoritative oral history of the American superhero, narrated by those who have defined, expanded, and reinvented it. Following the screening, hear from director Michael Kantor, writer Laurence Maslon and comics writer Ivan Cohen.

What does it mean to look at America from the outside? Julie Rocheleau (Globetrotters) and Elene Usdin (Detroit Roma, René·e aux bois dormants) discuss how their work approaches America as a place of projection, displacement, and imagination.

L’Alliance New York and Studio in a School invite students to discover the work of French-speaking artists and create their own pieces that will be displayed in a new exhibition in L’Alliance New York’s Skyroom.

As a lighter version of the monumental installation Les plantamouves originally created for the Centre Pompidou in Paris, this exhibition-workshop combines the tactile whimsy of mobile sculpture with interactive dance, inviting audiences of all ages to engage with more than 240 vibrantly colorful foam pieces through inventive video tutorials.

In this workshop, students learn about the scientific processes at work behind climate change.

Created for family audiences, EUPHORIA is a playful duet told through movement, color and sound. Two half-human, half-owl creatures undergo a strange, poetic metamorphosis, discovering a new sense of wonder and joy.

Daughter of a Turkish father and a French mother, Euphrate is a high school senior learning her dual heritage has shaped her identity. Blending dance and spoken word, this charming solo performance by Nil Bosca tells the story of a young woman discovering her own voice.