"Ciné-Pousse" Filmmaking Workshops for Kids

10 Jun 2015

In 2010, the Association Atelier 76 began running filmmaking workshops called “Ciné-Pousse” in primary schools in the working-class neighborhoods of Seine-St-Denis near Paris. But Ciné-Pousse is much more than just a filmmaking project…

These workshops aim to open up children’s minds to art and culture through slapstick film. The association is committed to offering equal opportunities to the children of Seine-Saint-Denis. Every child involved has several roles in a multifaceted cultural project. The children (re)discover the life and work of Charlie Chaplin, and are also taught to write, act in, and produce their very own short silent film.

The association now also organizes workshops with children and teenagers at an out-of-school setting, the Cinéma Le Trianon in Romainville. To date, 15 films have been written and produced by the participating kids, including a class of children with disabilities. When the films premiere at Cinéma Le Trianon, the kids themselves welcome guests and run the ticket booth.

To get in touch, donate or simply to learn more about this fantastic association, check out the Ciné-Pousse webpage. Roy Export and the Chaplin family are happy to be sponsors of Ciné-Pousse.

Photos: © Frédéric Boyadjian and Christophe Raynaud de Lage

"City Lights" Soundtrack - Now Online

02 Jun 2015

“One happy thing about sound was that I could control the music, so I composed my own. I tried to compose elegant and romantic music to frame my comedies in contrast to the tramp character, for elegant music gave my comedies an emotional dimension. Musical arrangers rarely understood this. They wanted the music to be funny. But I would explain that I wanted no competition, I wanted the music to be a counterpoint of grave and charm, to express sentiment, without which, as Hazlitt says, a work of art is incomplete…. Nothing is more adventurous and exciting than to hear the tunes one has composed played for the first time by a fifty piece orchestra.” -Charles Chaplin, Extract from My Autobiography, 1964

Chaplin’s full original soundtrack from “City Lights” is now on youtube so you can listen from anywhere! Visit our Youtube channel or play the video above to listen.

You can also get the full soundtrack on:
- iTunes
- Spotify
- Deezer
- Amazon

"The Circus" Soundtrack - Now Online

19 May 2015

Chaplin returned to his early silent films later in life, to compose music to accompany them on soundtracks for new theatrical release. The Circus was re-released by United Artists in 1969. At the music recording session, a male vocalist was employed to sing Swing High Little Girl, which was to be played over the opening credits of the film as Merna Kennedy swings on a trapeze. His recording still exists in the Chaplin archives, but according to arranger Eric James, the interpretation, though good, was not quite what they were looking for. Chaplin was apparently always singing the song, and James suggested that they record him, just so that he and his family could have it to listen to with orchestral accompaniment. Chaplin happily complied… and his rendition was the one that was chosen for the film. He was 79 years old.

The full soundtrack from The Circus is now on youtube so you can listen from anywhere! Visit our Youtube channel or play the video above to listen.

You can also get the full soundtrack on:
- iTunes
- Spotify
- Deezer
- Amazon

The Gold Rush Soundtrack - Now Online

03 May 2015

The Gold Rush originally premiered at Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood on June 26th, 1925 as a silent film. Though Chaplin resisted including dialogue in films for some years after the introduction of sound, the advent of sound nevertheless enabled him to compose complete synchronized scores for his films, beginning with the release of City Lights in 1931. Chaplin returned to The Gold Rush in 1942, and revised it by replacing the silent-era title cards with a narration and by composing his own musical score. In the coming days, we’ll publish a new track from the full score once a day on youtube so you can listen from anywhere! Subscribe to our Youtube channel or follow @ChaplinOfficial on Twitter to keep up with our daily posts.

You can also get the full soundtrack on:
- iTunes
- Spotify
- Deezer
- Amazon

Happy Birthday Charlie Chaplin!

16 Apr 2015

Charlie Chaplin was born on this day in 1889. Read about his life in the biography section of our website.

The Kid Soundtrack - Now Online

02 Apr 2015

The Kid (1921) is perhaps Chaplin’s most potent marriage of comedy and high emotion. The story relates how an unmarried mother abandons a baby, which is found and unwillingly adopted by the Tramp.

Chaplin wrote, produced, directed, edited, and starred in the film, and in 1971, he composed a new musical score. In the coming days, we’ll publish a new track from the full soundtrack once a day on youtube so you can listen from anywhere! Visit our Youtube channel.

You can also get the full soundtrack on:
- iTunes
- Spotify
- Deezer
- Amazon

French Radio Show: "Carnet Nomade, Charlot"

06 Jan 2015

Kate Guyonvarch & Charly Sistovaris / COLETTE FELLOUS © RADIO FRANCE

For French-speaking Chaplin fans, listen to a special episode of France Culture’s program “Carnet nomade” dedicated to Charlie Chaplin : http://bit.ly/1whO22e

Guests :

• José Moure, co-author of Charlot : histoire d’un mythe (Champs / Flammarion)
• Kate Guyonvarch & Charly Sistovaris of Association Chaplin