Saturday, November 8, 1 – 4pm
Still from Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. © 2004 Touchstone Pictures
$15; members and students free
About the Event
This three-part film series is presented with our latest exhibition, Henri Rousseau: A Painter’s Secrets. Curated by BlackStar Film Festival founder Maori Karmael Holmes, each screening highlights directors and collaborators who were influenced by Rousseau and the generation of surrealist artists he inspired. The films’ use of whimsy, mystical themes, deep blacks, and, in some cases, lush forest imagery evoke Rousseau’s best-known works.
Today’s program explores the feature-length film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), directed by Wes Anderson. With a plan to exact revenge on a legendary shark that killed his partner, oceanographer Steve Zissou (Bill Murray) rallies a crew that includes his estranged wife, a journalist, and a man who may or may not be his son. The screening will be followed by a brief lecture and conversation with Meta Mazaj, a senior lecturer in cinema and media studies at UPenn.
This program takes place in the Comcast NBCUniversal Auditorium and includes access to the Barnes collection and Henri Rousseau: A Painter’s Secrets.
Don’t miss our other film screenings:
December 13: Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
January 10: Short films (coming soon)
About the Film
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
Directed by Wes Anderson
Internationally famous oceanographer Steve Zissou (Bill Murray) and his crew, Team Zissou, set sail on an expedition to hunt down the mysterious, elusive, possibly nonexistent jaguar shark that killed Zissou’s partner during the documentary filming of their latest adventure. They are joined on their voyage by a young airline copilot (Owen Wilson), a pregnant journalist (Cate Blanchett), and Zissou’s estranged wife (Anjelica Huston). Wes Anderson has assembled an all-star cast that also includes Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Michael Gambon, Noah Taylor, Seu Jorge, and Bud Cort for this wildly original adventure-comedy.
Duration: 119 min
This film is rated R for strong language, stylized violence, substance abuse, and mature themes; viewer discretion is advised.
Speakers
Maori Karmael Holmes
Holmes is the chief executive and artistic officer of BlackStar Projects. She has organized programs at Anthology Film Archives and Whitney Museum, as well as exhibitions at ICA and Pearlstein Gallery. Holmes was named one of Kennedy Center’s #Next50, a 2023 United States Artists Berresford Prize recipient, and a 2022 Philadelphia’s Cultural Treasures Fellow.
Meta Mazaj
Mazaj is a senior lecturer in cinema studies at the University of Pennsylvania, where she teaches courses on world cinema, film theory, and American independent cinema. Her writings have appeared in edited volumes and journals including Cineaste, Studies in Eastern European Cinema, and Transnational Cinemas. She is the author of National and Cynicism in the Post 1990s Balkan Cinema (2008) and co-author of World Cinema: A Critical Introduction (2018) and Critical Visions in Film Theory: Classic and Contemporary Readings (2010).
Go Further
Daily Gallery Talks
Every day, our gallery specialists offer talks about the Barnes collection. Learn more about our history, founder, and collection.
Online Salon: Made of Metal
Learn about 19th-century metalwork from a panel of distinguished art and history scholars.
First Friday: AAPI Jazz Collective & PAAFF
Music by AAPI Jazz Collective, plus a screening from the Philadelphia Asian American Film Foundation’s annual festival.