Études sur Paris at the Barbican

To accompany their exhibition on photography and architecture in the modern age, the Barbican is running a series of films, talks and debates exploring cinema’s relationship to the city. Sponsored by the Brazilian Embassy and partner with Guardian Cities, the wide-ranging programme offers international perspectives on the urban experience.
One of the highlights of the season is the screening of André Sauvage's gorgeous cinematic portrait of Paris life in 1928; Études sur Paris. Sauvage's camera takes us down the city's grand avenues, into its squares and through its backstreets to give a precious insight into what the city was like during the bustling inter-war years. This is a silent film, but, being screened as it is in one of the world's leading arts venues, it will be accompanied by the Prima Vista quartet playing an original score by Baudine Jam. Who could ask for more?
The city has flourished since the birth of industrialization. From the satanic mills of Victorian Manchester to the unbounded favelas sprouting up around São Paulo, the story of the city has been an inexorable rise. With half of the world’s populace now living in urbanised communities, a figure predicted to increase to 75% within the next half century, there has never been a more apt time to look into the changing face of metropolitan life.