AFI Silver Classic Film Weekend: PAVEMENT BUTTERFLY + ntroduction by film historian Katie Gee Salisbury, author of “Not

Date and Time for this Past Event

• Friday, Jun 14, 2024  7:15pm - 9:30pm

Location

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Event Category

In-Person

About

"Pre-Code: Sex and Censorship" electrifies the first AFI Silver Classic Film Weekend. Immerse yourself in the thrilling era of pre-Code cinema, a fleeting moment from the late 1920s to 1934 when films defied convention before the Hays Code stifled Hollywood's boldness. These movies, lighthearted or dramatic, showcased complex women and flawed heroes struggling against social injustice, and unflinching explorations of sex, ambition and crime. Witness legendary stars ignite the screen: Clara Bow, James Cagney, Barbara Stanwyck, Cary Grant, Jean Harlow, Joan Blondell, Spencer Tracy, Warren William, Anna May Wong and Josephine Baker. Festival guests, including film historians Richard Koszarski, Steven C. Smith, Farran Smith Nehme, Katie Gee Salisbury and David Stenn, will introduce each film.

PAVEMENT BUTTERFLY (aka CITY BUTTERFLY)
Introduction by film historian Katie Gee Salisbury, author of “Not Your China Doll: The Wild and Shimmering Life of Anna May Wong”. Live piano accompaniment by Jon Mirsalis

Actress Anna May Wong, stifled by the racist limitations of Hollywood, found stardom and creative freedom in Europe. This rediscovered gem, the second of her three films with German director Richard Eichberg, showcases Wong's extraordinary talent in a role not based on her "exoticism" but on her screen presence and acting ability. A fan-dancer participating in a carnival act that goes wrong, Wong's dancer flees and finds refuge with an artist, becoming his muse. An encounter with her past leads her to escape again, this time to the streets, where she is rescued by a baron, who is captivated by her portrait and offers her salvation. Yet in glamorous Monte Carlo, she faces the ultimate choice: will she succumb to a life of luxury as a kept woman or embrace independence? Wong's nuanced performance reveals a woman fighting for agency, while breathtaking cinematography makes this one of the era's most visually stunning silent films