A Nowness Film for MOYNAT: Parisian Promenade

MOYNAT Parisian Promenade

A Parisian Promenade 

 A Nowness film for Moynat 

 Marie, a young actress, observes Paris from the square of the Sacré Coeur church. The bird’s eye view of the capital from the peak of the Montmartre hill leaves her breathless: this is what dreams are made of… Back home, in her apartment on rue Saint Honoré, a stone’s throw from the Tuileries gardens and Concorde, she opens her Moynat trunk in red Morocco leather, an Art Deco masterpiece and award winner of the 1925 Decorative Arts exhibition. The trunk contains a photo album of the celebrated French actress Réjane, her role model, and the script of a theatre play. Marie puts her things in order in her Réjane bag. Created in homage to the famous actress, the Réjane bag evokes the friendship between her and Pauline Moynat. Trunk maker since 1849, Pauline Moynat was the purveyor of fine leather goods by appointment to the Théâtre Français. A fervent admirer of Réjane, she created the first handbag dedicated to a comedian. Marie sits at the renowned Nemours café, neighbouring the Théâtre de la Comédie Française, behind the Palais Royal. She studies her script; she hopes to land the starring role in the play, one that had been created by the great Réjane herself. At the Palais de Tokyo, along the slope of the Trocadero, Marie hurries down the museum steps, yet another Art Deco monument. She continues her Parisian promenade as a biplane crosses the skies above her, evoking equally the thrill of travel dear to Pauline Moynat and the escapism promised by theatre and cinema. Night falls on the quai Montebello behind the Notre Dame, legendary cathedral and literary masterpiece. Marie scribbles notes in the margins of her script. Neither the fireworks nor the sailboat followed by a family of swans can sway her concentration. She is immersed in her future role. Only the snow manages to distract her. From the Pont des Arts, the most romantic bridge in Paris, she looks across to the Académie Française, the temple of French literature created by Richelieu in 1635. A shooting star streaks across the sky. It is time to head back home. On the way, Marie stops in front of the Paris Opera Garnier. The young actress, imbued with her role and by the beauty of Paris, raises her eyes to the sky: just above the roof of the majestic monument, the planets seem to align themselves. It is the eve of her audition. Her Réjane bag will bring her luck. 

 Duration of the film 2’10 

 Produced by Nowness 

 Directed by Mary Clerté 

 Music Valleys 

 Actress Jeanne Damas