This year is a big one for us as we celebrate our 120th anniversary! Major events will be organized throughout 2015 and one of them will be the main attraction, a unique exhibition at the CENTQUATRE-PARIS.
In 1895, Léon Gaumont took over the Comptoir Générale de la Photographie. In the same year, he became fascinated by the cinematograph and decided to manufacture projection equipment in 1900. He then worked on sound with the chronophone and color with the chronochrome. Eight years later, the famous daisy, or marguerite in French, was introduced to the company’s logo in honor of his mother’s first name.
Thus began the story of Gaumont.
Today, our film catalog is one of the richest in France. With more than 1070 films, including works by renowned directors such as Luc Besson, Matthieu Kassovitz, Francis Veer, Jean-Jacques Beineix and multiple award-winning directors Federico Fellini, Maurice Pialat and Jean-Luc Godard. We would love for you to experience these 120 years of cinema over 15 weeks at the 104 center.
From April 15, the exhibition will be an exceptional opportunity to look back over 120 years of cinematic history from both a technical and artistic point of view.
Spread across several rooms, this retrospective look will allow you to discover, or rediscover, the most outstanding aspects of our company since it was founded in 1895.
Two rooms will be transformed into museums with an exhibition of heritage collections. Posters, lithographs, equipment, set props, they will undoubtedly send you into nostalgia over your favorite memories of the silver screen.
At the heart of the CentQuatre-Paris, a fairground tent will also be set up to show film extracts and will be decorated with pieces borrowed from the Musée des Art Forains. You’ll be able to find contemporary works that showcase the fairground and the cinema around this majestic room. A mirror image of art within art that will be set in motion.
There will also be an interactive room, entitled “La Cueillette” (the harvest/picking), an homage to the famous daisy, which will allow you to dive into the worlds of the major films distributed by Gaumont. The stage production of this room will add a new dimension to these cinematic masterpieces.
Finally, a last room will offer you an entirely new experience. A series of screens will take you to the very heart of our filmography, organized according to thematic and form-related references, or as a tribute to the biggest names.
We hope to see many of you from April 15 onwards to enjoy this memorable experience!
©Collection Musée Gaumont / Agence NC – Gaumont
