Heidi Ellison
Heidi Ellison, a long-time Paris resident, is a freelance journalist specializing in art, travel and literature. Her articles have been published in dozens of international publications, and she has contributed to a number of guidebooks on Paris and France.
Grand Trouble
If You’re Looking for Trouble...
While some of the works in the exhibition “Grand Trouble” (“Big Trouble”) at the Halle Saint Pierre are indeed troubling (I am thinking, for example, of Olivier Estoppey’s frightening concrete sculptures of baying wolves or Marc Prudent’s heartrending photos of people sleeping … Read More
Paris Update Events 07.06.17
June 9-10 Bubbles galore La Champenoise festival offers tastings of champagne from 65 producers. Les Halles du Boulingrin, Reims June 15-22 Franco-American film festival The Champs-Elysées Film Festival presents American independent films, French and American short subjects, and premieres attended … Read More
PHOTO OF THE WEEK 07.06.17
The lake at the Château de Fontainebleau. © Paris Update
Le Petit Champerret
Meaty Meal for Mighty Appetites
Le Petit Champerret, with its zinc bar and banquettes, has the homey feel of a bistro that has been around for a while and satisfied many a big appetite. Its chef, Marc Fontaine, may be new, but Corsican owner Gérard … Read More
Paris Update Events 31.05.17
June 3-5 Art history festival The Festival de l’Histoire de l’Art spotlights the United States this year, with special guests Jeff Koons and Frederick Wiseman. Château de Fontainebleau, Fontainebleau June 3-5 Theater in English “Some Stupid Bitch Killed Ana Peaceful,” by … Read More
From Zurbarán to Rothko
Consolations of Collecting Art
After seeing “From Zurbarán to Rothko: The Alicia Koplowitz Collection” at the Musée Jacquemart-André, I sat down to read about the collection of Spanish billionairess Alicia Koplowitz and quickly became fascinated with her life, fittingly described by a French magazine as … Read More
Gare au Gorille
Feeding Time at the Zoo
I had dropped into Gare au Gorille, a neighborhood restaurant with a hot reputation, for a quick lunch several months ago and loved it, but felt I had to go back for a more leisurely meal to properly assess it. … Read More
L’Amant Double
Psychosexual Gothic Romance
I hate reading reviews of films before I see them because I like to be surprised and want to avoid being influenced by someone else’s opinion. I do, however, try to get a sense of whether a film is a … Read More
Les Fantômes d’Ismaël
Hitchcock, Bergman, Truffaut? Non!
The popular French film director Arnaud Desplechin is back with a new movie, Les Fantômes d’Ismaël (Ismael’s Ghosts), which opened this year’s Cannes Film Festival. This is another one of the director’s sprawling, apparently autobiographical, angst-ridden psychodramas, so sprawling that … Read More
Paris Update Events 24.05.17
Left Bank gallery crawl > Open house at 50 galleries for Art Saint Germain des Prés. Various venues, Paris, May 18-June 3. Gold in galleries “Passage” ((2017), by Aude Herlédan. At 1831 Art Gallery during Carré Rive Gauche. > The … Read More