͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more

Wes Anderson: The Archives of a filmmaker - in Paris

… presence, not absence ... passage through light and shadow …

MARTINA NICOLLS

May 30

READ IN APP

Sometimes, stepping into a filmmaker’s world feels less like visiting an exhibition and more like unlocking a secret drawer in someone’s imagination. That’s precisely the sensation evoked by the exhibition “Wes Anderson: The Archives” at the Cinémathèque Française in Paris through from 19 March to 27 July 2025.

This is the first exhibition ever dedicated to Wes Anderson’s singular cinematic filmography and it is meticulously assembled.

Chronologically arranged, the show walks visitors through Anderson’s evolution from his early days as a self-taught filmmaker in the 1990s to his most globally celebrated works, such as The Grand Budapest Hotel.

What makes this exhibit truly magical is how it reveals the alchemy behind the screen, such as the collaborations with long-time creative partners: cinematographer Robert Yeoman, screenwriter Roman Coppola, composer Alexandre Desplat, and production designer Adam Stockhausen.

Visitors will find treasures like the hand-painted model of the Darjeeling Limited train; the iconic painting “Boy with Apple” from The Grand Budapest Hotel; costumes curated by Oscar-winning designer Milena Canonero; miniatures from model-maker Simon Weisse; graphic designs by Erica Dorn; and the original books from Moonrise Kingdom. There are also the puppets from Fantastic Mr. Fox and Asteroid City, showing the craftsmanship behind Anderson’s most surreal landscapes.

As someone who lives in Paris, I sometimes forget how much magic can be tucked away inside museum walls. This exhibition reminds me that cinema, like memory, is a curated dreamscape made real through collaboration and curiosity.

The films in the exhibition include Bottle Rocket (1996), Rushmore (1998), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), The Darjeeling Limited (2007), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), Moonrise Kingdom (2012), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), Isle of Dogs (2018), The French Dispatch (2021), and Asteroid City (2023).