Open air film screening – Kirikou and the Sorceress

As part of its cultural programme, the Musée national Fernand Léger is renewing its partnership with Cinéma de Beaulieu and the La Bande Passante collective and is presenting an open-air film screening on Friday, September 18, 2026, at 8.30pm, in the museum gardens.

Initiated in 2022 on the occasion of the exhibition Fernand Léger and Cinema, this collaboration aims to resonate with the exhibitions presented at the museum and the artists celebrated, as exemplified by the film L’Inhumaine, whose sets were designed by Fernand Léger and which immersed the artist in the world of cinema. This ambitious project opened the way for new encounters and collaborations in the field of cinema.

For the museum, it is also an opportunity to offer joyful and festive events, free and open to all, in an exceptional artistic and natural setting, while inviting audiences to rediscover masterpieces of cinematic heritage. This screening brings together all the ingredients needed to joyfully celebrate the end of summer, in the lush green setting of the Musée national Fernand Léger.

19H30 - Open PIC-NIC

Bring your own cushions, blankets and folding chairs to enjoy a convivial moment in comfort before the film begins. No seating or refreshments will be available on site.

20H30 - SCREENING

Kirikou and the Sorceress by Michel Ocelot (1998)

This French-Belgian-Luxembourgish animated feature tells the story of Kirikou, a brave little boy who is born in a village in West Africa. Barely born, he can already speak and asks a thousand questions. He discovers that his village is under the spell of the mysterious sorceress Karaba, who has dried up the spring and made the men who try to resist her disappear. Eager for answers, Kirikou seeks to understand the origins of Karaba’s wickedness. To find the answers and save his village, he embarks on an adventure alone that will take him beyond the forbidden mountain, where he will meet his grandfather…

Release date: December 9, 1998
Running time: 1h15

Léger and African Art

Our exhibition Léger and The Creation of the World. An Avant-Garde Ballet highlights a landmark ballet of the 20th century, The Creation of the World, created in 1923 by the Ballets Suédois. It was conceived based on the argument by Blaise Cendrars, a poetic text with incantatory overtones that recounts the genesis of life, drawing inspiration from African cosmogonic legends compiled in his Anthologie nègre* (1921).

Fernand Léger, initially not particularly drawn to this enthusiasm, became passionate about the project and created the stage curtain, sets and costumes for this innovative ballet. He envisioned it as “the only possible Negro ballet in the whole world, and one that would remain as the archetype of the genre.” By transposing the Judeo-Christian myth of Genesis into an idealised elsewhere, embodied by a timeless Africa, Léger and Cendrars created a new narrative of Humanity, regenerated and purified far from the violence of the Western world. Alongside Léger, Cendrars and choreographer Jean Börlin, the other creators of the ballet, also took an interest in African literature, sculptures, dances and objects, contributing to the emergence of a new artistic imaginary around Africa in 1920s Paris. The ballet also stands out for its great creative freedom and its ambition as a total work of art, combining dance, painting, poetry and music.

This encounter between modern art and African imaginaries finds an echo, nearly seventy-five years later, in the world of Kirikou and the Witch. In both works, the story unfolds as a visual and rhythmic world, where myth, music, dance and stylised forms come together to explore origins, the forces of nature and humanity’s place in the world.

In partnership with the Bande passante collective and the Cinéma de Beaulieu. 

_{*In the exhibition, we reproduce the historical expression “art nègre”, which in the 1920s referred to all non-European arts, which were still largely unknown to Western audiences. Although this terminology reflects the colonial and racist context of the time, the artists of The Creation of the World discovered the richness of African arts with fascination. By looking at these objects anew—masks, sculpture, dance and oral literature—they helped pave the way for the aesthetic recognition of these cultures, which profoundly inspired and transformed their work.
Fernand Léger, Preparatory drawing for the ballet curtain, The Creation of the World, graphite on gridded paper, dated 1924 © Musée national Fernand Léger, Biot, 2026
Open-air film screening in the garden of the Musée national Fernand Léger, in front of the mosaic on the south façade. Photo: DR / Musée national Fernand Léger, 2026.}

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Free screening in the museum garden at sunset (around 8:30 p.m.).
Free admission, subject to availability. Booking is strongly recommended via the Affluences platform.

Please note: Bring your own picnic, cushions, blankets, folding chairs and anything else you may need to enjoy the screening comfortably. No seating will be provided. No refreshments or food will be available on site.

Getting to the site :

Free parking is available at the museum and in Biot town centre, subject to availability.

• Museum car park: 18 spaces
• Bâchettes car park: 330 spaces
• Baume car park: 46 spaces
• Chemin Neuf car park: 13 spaces
• Saint-Jean car park: 58 spaces
• Fontanette car park: 141 spaces

To locate these car parks, please consult the list of addresses

Envibus on-demand shuttle service
You can also book an Envibus shuttle, provided by the City of Biot, which will drop you off right next to the museum.
For more information +