Also Directed by JR
Art and social uproar interweave in this film based on the ballet Les Bosquets of New York City Ballet, inspired by the 2005 French suburb riots. A continuation of JR's Portrait of a Generation, it recalls his experience in the ghetto of Montfermeil using various means of expression and narration: video archives, choreography, and testimony.
Ellis, a fourteen-minute film directed by JR and written by Academy Award winner Eric Roth, tells the elusive story of countless immigrants whose pursuit of a new life led them to the now-shuttered Ellis Island Immigrant Hospital. Following its opening in 1902, approximately 1.2 million people passed through the facility, where the Statue of Liberty can be seen from the windows. Languishing in a sort of purgatory awaiting their fate, many were never discharged.
JR, a contemporary artist, returns to Clichy-Montfermeil in the suburbs of Paris where his artistic adventure first began 14 years ago with Ladj Ly, his strongest link to the neighborhood. Both decide to create a monumental mural portraying a singular portrait of the inhabitants of this territory, inspired by the Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. "The Clichy-Montfermeil Chronicles" not only illustrates how an urban utopia of the 1960’s has transformed into a neighborhood in a state of unrest, but also sheds a light on subjects JR and Ladj Ly covered over a decade ago.
Director Agnès Varda and photographer/muralist JR journey through rural France and form an unlikely friendship.
