Princesse Tam-Tam

Rounding out the Chicago Favorites, series, Princesse Tam-Tam with a guest introduction by Ayana Contreras, host of Reclaimed Soul on WBEZ and Vocalo Radio.

Buoyed by the success of the French musical Zou Zou a year earlier, the same team created this comedy in which a mischievous shepherd girl rises through society to become a pretend princess and the toast of Paris nightlife. While in Tunisia seeking inspiration for a new novel, a French aristocrat (Albert Préjean) becomes infatuated with the innocent gamin Alwina (Josephine Baker) and constructs a plot to bring her back to Paris and pass her off as an Indian princess. In a thinly veiled parallel to Baker’s own experience, Alwina becomes a celebrity, a favorite subject for the city’s great artists, and a guest at the most important social events. Her rise to notoriety climaxes in a posh nightclub, where she strips off her shimmering evening gown and dances as only La Baker could.
 
Content consideration: Princesse Tam-Tam includes language and depictions of racial stereotypes. As suggested by the Criterion Channel, we encourage you to view scholar Terri Simone Francis' contextualization of Josephine Baker’s film career in the “Terri Simone Francis on Josephine Baker” video available on the Channel, and/or Francis’ conversation about her book, “Josephine Baker’s Cinematic Prism”, with Nina Collins on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1KpQXp7SqE

Tickets are $6 for Film Center members; $12 for General Admission